Page 14 of The Baron's Return
When he turned to face Abigail again, he took the time to examine her closely. He didn’t think she was lying. He’d well and truly taken her by surprise. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to turn the situation to her advantage.
“I am not content to play the role of an occasional visitor in her life. So unless you plan to relinquish custody of her to me, my plan is the only logical course of action.”
Her expression was so transparent he could almost see the thoughts flit through her mind. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d want custody of his child. Which left one question: Would she take this opportunity to cast the girl aside and return to society, unfettered by the obligation of motherhood? The woman he’d once thought her to be would never do such a thing, but he’d been so wrong about her then.
He closed the distance between them. This time he took a seat next to her on the settee. Not close enough to touch her, but he could tell that his proximity unsettled her further.
She licked her lips before speaking, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to look down at her mouth. But that didn’t mean he could hold back the memory of how much he’d once enjoyed kissing her.
“Tell me, my lord. Are you proposing this just to punish me? Like my first husband, will you also be sending me away after we’ve wed?”
The bite in her tone only served to tell him that he’d made the right choice. “I won’t take Gemma’s mother away from her. If you decide not to accept my offer, that decision will be yours, not mine.”
“This isn’t what I would call an offer. It’s an ultimatum.”
He lifted one shoulder. “You can have your freedom.”
Her face set in determination, her fear seeming to evaporate. “Never. I will never abandon my daughter. If you insist on taking her, you’ll need to take me as well.”
Somehow she made it sound as though she were the one making this decision and not him. That fact should annoy him, but it didn’t. It spoke to the love she had for her daughter. Their daughter. She might only have been pretending to love him all those years ago, but it was very clear that the woman sitting next to him, arms folded across her chest and a scowl on her face, loved the child they’d created.
“Then it is settled. I will have my solicitor call tomorrow with the marriage contract. If there are any changes you wish to make, you can let him know. As long as they’re not too outrageous, I’ll have no issue accommodating them.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “That is very generous of you.”
“I do have one condition that I insist upon.”
Her shoulders straightened. “Of course. What is it?”
“You are to remain faithful to me.”
Her eyes—those beautiful blue eyes he’d once loved to gaze into—sparked with anger. “I’ve only ever lain with two men. You were the first and my husband was the second. There’s been no one since he sent me away within a year of our marriage.”
He nodded. That fact shouldn’t have meant anything to him but he couldn’t ignore the relief he felt. He told himself it was only because he wouldn’t need to worry about her passing off another man’s child as his.
“But tell me, my lord”—her words dripped with false sweetness—“do you intend to do the same?”
He wanted to laugh. What right did this woman have to demand he remain faithful when she’d so easily cast him aside for another?
“That will depend entirely on you. As long as I don’t tire of our bed sport, I see no reason I’d need to look elsewhere.”
Her mouth dropped open before she snapped it closed. “I didn’t think that we… that you would want to…”
He leaned into her space. “What good is a wife if I can’t fuck her?”
She flinched at the crudeness of his words, which was exactly the reaction he’d hoped for. But then it was his turn to be shocked when she leaned closer.
She stopped when her lips were just an inch from his. “Then you’ll need to teach me everything I must do to keep your attention.”
Fire flooded through his veins, and he took her mouth. He’d meant to control the kiss, to punish her, but it was clear from the moment their lips touched that neither of them was in control.
Their mouths moved together as though they were both starving. That shouldn’t have been true for him—heaven knew he’d had his share of lovers since returning to England—but it was. Not one of those other women mattered to him, just this woman in his arms. The one he’d lifted to sit across his lap without even realizing he was doing it.
His thoughts were ablaze, his cock harder than it had ever been in his life. He ground her backside against his hardness, enjoying the soft little mewl she made in the back of her throat. Her fingers threaded through his hair, and it was clear she wasn’t going to stop. He could have her right here on the settee.
He would have to be the one to pull away. He didn’t want their first time together again after all these years to be like this. Out of control and filled with passion. If he was going to maintain control in their marriage, he needed to find a way to gain the upper hand over his errant lust for Abigail.
Lust that had apparently only intensified over the years.
