Page 59 of His Wife, the Spy
Travis came into the room and took the ice from the maid when she arrived. His examination was quick and relatively painless. “Just a bruise, I believe, but a bad one.” His grin wasthat of a soldier used to skirmishes and victories. “The other man, however, may be the worse for wear.” He stood. “Keep ice on it, my lady. It will help ease the swelling.”
He left them alone, closing the door behind him. Annabel rested against the desk, standing half stooped to keep the towel-wrapped ice on his knuckles. Her eyes were full of questions.
Jasper pulled her to his knee and kept her hand in his good one, twining their fingers. “Chippenham was at White’s.” He thought it best to leave out Granville and his wager.
“Is that why you came home in your shirt sleeves?”
“No.” He glanced at his discarded coat and waistcoat. Would she believe he had removed them at the door? “There wasn’t a boxing match. I ambushed him in the bar.”
Her lips quirked, sparking a light in her eyes. “I wish I could have seen that.”
His laughter shook them both. “I’ll do a command performance at the next ball, just for you.”
“With your other hand, please.” Her giggle revived his flagging cock.
“Yes, dear.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and let his nose rest against her hair. She smelled of spring, though he thought he could smell something of himself on her now. “He won’t be asking you to dance—or anything else—again.”
She brushed her lips across his cheek. “Thank you, Jasper.”
The house was alive with noise, piano practice and servants on the stairs. Carriages rattled past outside, and the downstairs clock chimed the half-hour. The dressing gong would be next. Their lives were not their own.
A month-long honeymoon on the Continent had always seemed frivolous and unnecessary. New wives returned with wardrobes, and new husbands replenished their stables. When they attended balls, they seemed as distant as they’d been before the wedding.
Given the nature of their engagement and wedding, Jasper had considered it a waste of time and money. Annabel had agreed.
Her kisses hinted that perhaps she’d changed her mind. They had certainly changed his.
But they’d lost the opportunity for a long trip to anywhere private. However, a break in Parliament’s schedule and a traveling coach could be a decent substitute.
“We should visit the country while Parliament is in recess,” he said, hoping he sounded decisive. She was no longer in the throes of passion and might have changed her mind. “Just the two of us.”
“I would like that,” she said in a whisper. After a moment, she straightened her spine. “We could do our audit while we’re there.” Her businesslike tone made him smile. “And visit with the tenants and—”
He put his finger on her lips. “We can doanything.”
The dressing gong rang through the house. Annabel, her cheeks pink, stood. “I’ll make preparations for the end of the month.”
Two weeks? He was supposed to be under the same roof with her, sharing a wall but not touching her, for a fortnight?
Fuck privacy.
Her skirts swayed as she walked away from him. She didn’t need to know that he’d knock on her door tonight, did she? Honesty didn’t equal no surprises at all, did it?
She paused at the door. “Where’s your hat?”
“The wind caught it while I was crossing the street, and a carriage trod it into the mud.”
After all, there was a fine line between honest andhonest.
Chapter Fourteen
Annabel couldn’t stopwatching her husband. Less than two hours ago, they’d been locked together on the floor of his office, their lips swollen, and their eyes glazed with passion. Now he was across the room, teasing his sisters and talking to his mother about his Uncle Edgar’s health.
We can do anything.
The growl in his voice, the spark in his eyes, had been full of a promise she didn’t quite understand, but she wanted to know. Dinner had only heightened her curiosity. Every time he savored his food or his wine, she felt his lips on her skin. His laughter was like his hands on her body, warming her until it was difficult to concentrate.
Which was why she had removed the same five stitches from her embroidery for the last half-hour. When she closed her eyes, she was back in his arms. When she opened them, he was staring at her like she was a rabbit, and he was a hound.
