Page 76 of The Lady Was Lying
“We can do whatever is best for us.”
“We enjoy kissing each other. You kidnapped me. We are eloping. I secured a room for us for the evening. Ravishment is obviously the next step in this journey.” Her brows drew together. “Did you truly believe we would never end up sharing a bed? Seems rather shortsighted of you. It takes how many days to reach your estate?”
“I already told you that I intended to travel through the night.”
“It’s hardly safe to travel at night.”
“It’s safe enough. My outriders are armed, as is my coachman,” he replied, folding his arms. “I believe I’ve mentioned that I’m an excellent shot myself. I would never allow harm to come to you. You shouldn’t feel obligated to sleep with me just because you were kidnapped. You didn’t even like kissing until?—”
“I kissed you,” she interrupted, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees. “Don’t you see? Everything with you is different. It has been from the start. I’m aware that I’m not always good at expressing myself, and I know I tend toward confusing, but you kidnapped me in the most perfect manner imaginable so you must comprehend the complexities of my mind. At least a little.”
“I thought I did, but this”—he gestured at the bed—“is surprising.”
“Truly?”
Her question was valid. With the way she had tried to kiss him before she knew his name, he probably shouldn’t have been surprised. If he’d thought beyond convincing her to marry him, he might have been more prepared. “I suppose not.”
“Our kisses gave you enough confidence that you felt comfortable snatching me off the street in order to convince me to marry you. I refuse to believe you kidnapped me without considering bedding me also.”
“Just because I’ve considered it doesn’t mean we have to do it now.”
“That’s fair.” She hesitated. “But if we don’t, it’ll loom over us, becoming more weighted with each passing day. I don’t handle that sort of stress well. It makes me…wild and unpredictable.” She linked her hands together in her lap. “If you’re worried I’ll overreact afterward, I can’t promise that I won’t. But that’ll happen regardless of when we do it. You should have considered my fickle nature before you decided to kidnap me.” She blinked up through her lashes. “Be honest. Do you genuinely not want to?”
“I do. It’s just…I thought…we aren’t even married yet.”
“Marriage is not a requirement for ravishment.”
“I know.” The part of his brain that insisted on a proper courtship was attempting to circumvent the part that had planned and executed a kidnapping. He refused to succumb to his stoic ways, so instead of arguing further, he said, “You’re right.”
Her jaw dropped. “I am?”
“I wouldn’t have run away with you if I hadn’t been absolutely certain about us. If ravishment is what you require to be assured too, then by all means, let the ravishment begin.”
Her lips parted as a knock sounded at the door.
“Dinner,” a muffled voice called.
James sighed and then strode to the door and pulled it open. Ravishment would have to wait until after they ate.
One bed was all they required, and they were going to use it as it was meant to be used. Belinda had never been surer of what she wanted. The awareness that pulsed between them could be nothing other than attraction, and the questions that had plagued her entire adult life had gone silent.
She wanted him.
Not the idea of him. Or the hope of him. Just him.
Earlier that morning, she’d been wrestling with herself about her interest in him. But now she could embrace it. Accept it. Enjoy it. Her tangled mind had been holding her back, but it wasn’t constrained any longer.
She was free.
James opened the door, and the innkeeper and the young woman entered the room, each carrying a tray. They were followed by James’s coachman carrying a small trunk that Belinda recognized as her own with another slightly smaller one perched on top. He placed the trunks against the wall, tipped his hat, and disappeared into the hallway.
The innkeeper and the woman set the trays on the table, and then the innkeeper asked, “Anything else, Your Grace?”
“That’ll be all,” she responded. The man clearly had been speaking to James, but it gratified her that she was able to reply. “Don’t forget about the water.”
“It is heating now.”
“Thank you,” James added graciously, reminding her that even duchesses should be appreciative of good service.
