Page 84 of Dangerous

* * *

They discussed matters until Mia, Adam, and Martín could hardly stay awake. Much of what they would do would depend on the situation they would find in Oran when they arrived.

“In any case,” Ramsay said when he noticed the amount of yawning among the three, “we can’t decide everything right now. You might as well get some sleep as there is nothing else you can do today. The earliest we can depart will be tomorrow, and we will need a bit of luck for that.” His lips twisted into a mocking smile. “I had a rather important engagement in London and will need to send word to postpone things before I leave. You will have to give me the afternoon to see to matters and we can meet to discuss everything at dinner.”

Lessing Hall, the seat of the Davenport earldom, was considered one of England’s most impressive country seats and it was easy to see why. The ancient house dated from the Saxon period but had been expanded upon in the centuries that followed.

The mistress of the house, Lord Ramsay’s aunt—the current Countess Davenport—was away in London with her twin sons but her housekeeper, Mrs. Faring, had lovely and spacious chambers ready and waiting for them.

Adam had brought Sayer with him and the two disappeared into his bedchambers while Mrs. Faring showed Mia to an adjoining room, where a maid waited.

“I’ve taken the liberty of having Bessie wait on you, my lady, as you’ve brought no maid with you. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Faring.”

The housekeeper departed and Mia waited until Bessie finished undressing her and took her clothing somewhere to be cleaned before opening the connecting door to Adam’s room. The bathing chamber held the largest copper tub she had ever seen. Standing beside it, with a towel in his hand, was her husband. Something moved at the corner of her vision and she saw Sayer, his arms full of clothing. He saw her and left the room without saying a word.

It hurt more than she could have believed that Adam would take his bath without her; he knew how much she loved bathing with him.

He was angry and she had no idea how to find her way back to the intimacy they’d shared before her lies had divided them. Had she broken the fragile bond that had grown between them? Had she found love after all these years only to ruin it?

Mia must have made a sound because he lifted his head and looked at her.

She went toward him and held out her hand, not asking, but taking the towel he was using to dry himself. His eyes were like disks of glass as he watched her rub the water from his body. He returned her smile with an impassive stare.

“This is quite the largest bathing tub I’ve seen.”

“Ramsay is a large man and his uncle and grandfather were the same.” He lifted his arm so she could dry beneath it.

It seemed to Mia that no matter how often she saw her husband naked, she could not keep her heart from leaping into her mouth. When she looked up into his eyes she saw that his eyebrows were two black slashes on his pale brow and she flushed under his direct stare, ashamed at how she’d forced him to chase her and fight his way into another man’s house. She’d treated him badly and exposed him to yet more ridicule—no different from his other wives, it seemed.

“I am ashamed at how I treated you, Adam.”

He gave her the same cold look he’d given her the night they met. The night he’d come alone to her father’s house, one man in a crowd of hundreds who would not even acknowledge him. “Can you forgive me?”

He leaned down until their faces were almost touching. This close she could see the white and blue shards of his eyes. The muscles in his jaws tightened and Mia could feel his anger—his pain. She did not know what to do or what words to say to bring back the warmth.

“Is my forgiveness so important to you?”

Her heart pounded as she considered his cold, mocking words. She could think of nothing that would express how she felt, how her heart had broken to leave him. She took his hand and lifted it to her mouth, kissing his palm.

“What can I do to apologize, my lord?”

He shrugged lazily, the muscles of his chest and shoulders contracting in a way that made her want to lick every inch of him. “I daresay you’ll think of something.”

He watched through narrowed eyes as she sank to her knees before him.

His pose was arrogant, his hands on his hips. The sight of calluses on his thumb and forefinger—mute evidence of his hours spent fencing—was unbearably erotic. She looked at his face and saw the faint, dismissive smile she’d not seen since the early days of their marriage—he’d once again donned his mask. The only sign he was not bored hung between them. Mia looked from his cool gaze to his erection and brought her mouth to the level of his hips. She leaned closer and flicked him with her tongue, pleased by the violent shudder that tore through his body.

No, not bored.

She ran her tongue the length of the pulsing vein, an action that ripped a gasp from him.

“Good God.” The words were harsh and utterly lacking in contempt.

Mia smiled and took him in her mouth.

* * *