Page 56 of The Redemption of Remy St. Claire

Because that’d be her downfall. As much as she trusted him, he was still a man, and had the power to hurt her. She moved quietly over to her bag and pulled out her outfit for today. A nice, simple cotton dress. Not at all fancy like her wedding dress had been. She’d take the gown to be dry-cleaned and then tuck it away in case Calleigh ever wanted it. That was what mothers did for their daughters, right? Or what big sisters did for their little ones.

After dressing, she settled at the desk with pen and paper.

“What are you doing?”

Remy glanced up. How much time had passed since she’d dressed? “Just reviewing some testimony.”

Rusty’s brow furrowed and he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. “You brought work with you?”

“No, I’m going over it in my mind. There was a pad of paper and a pen, so I started writing notes to myself.” She’d promised not to bring work home during herhoneymoon,and she’d kept that promise. Sort of.

“How long have you been awake?”

She glanced at her watch. “Just over an hour.”

“You should have awakened me.”

“You looked peaceful, and you deserved the rest. You’re always living on the girls’ schedule. I decided it might be nice for you to sleep in for once.”

“Very generous of you.” He rose, stretching.

She tried not to stare, but what red-blooded woman wouldn’t? Then she got her first good look at her new husband. She’d never seen him without a shirt, and hot damn, he had a lean, hard body. Light hair dusted his chest, and her fingers tingled at the memory of touching it yesterday. Upon closer inspection, her heart sank. She pointed to his arms

“Did I do that to you?”

His gaze settled on his left biceps, brows raised, staring at the raw-and-red scratches. After a moment, he looked at her. “Yeah, I guess you did. But it’s no big deal, Remy. Don’t give it a second thought. I’m going to shower.”

She watched, stunned into silence, as he grabbed his toiletries bag and clothes.

No big deal?She did that to him, and they looked painful. Her overreaction from last night shamed her. She’d panicked. In all their open and frank discussions last night, he hadn’t asked why she’d freaked out. Why she’d lost her head. He had faith she could get help for this, but she wasn’t so sure. Her body’s reactions shamed her. A disconnect existed between her mind and her body, and she had no idea which led which.

When the bathroom door opened, he emerged, his hair damp. He wore a long-sleeved shirt that covered the evidence of their encounter last night.

“Rusty…I don’t know what to say.”

He looked over at her, compassion in his eyes. “I told you not to worry about it, and I meant it. Have you been worrying about it all this time?” He came over, reaching for her hands.

She let him tug her to her feet.

He leaned in for a kiss, stopping a whisper’s breath away from her mouth. “Good morning, sweetheart.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss.

At first it was light, but damn it, she wanted more. Grasping his biceps, she pulled him closer. His chest rumbled when she opened her mouth for more intimacy. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer.

He traced down her spine and came to rest his hands at the small of her back, gently pulling her toward him. She was pliant and soft against his hard planes.

When he pulled away, his breathing was labored, and he placed his forehead against hers. “That was a nice way to say good morning.”

Her lips twitched. “I could get used to it.”

“How’re you feeling?”

She took a breath. “Better.”

“Good, let’s get some breakfast.”

Taken aback by the shift in topic, she acknowledged what he was doing. He wasn’t making a big deal of anything. He wouldn’t rehash last night, for which she was grateful. She was also a little hungry herself. For food. Just for food.

Chapter twenty-four

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