Page 92 of If the Slipper Fits
In for a penny…“Do you regret making love to me?”
His lids lowered to half mast. “Ah.”
Misery settled over her. The man was buying time rather than answer her. Never a good sign.
“Doyouregret what happened, Anna?”
Answering a question with a question, now? She lifted her chin. “Oh, no, you don’t, Caden Thurgood. I asked you first.”
Chapter Eighteen
Do you regret making love to me?
The carriage slowed as it rumbled downhill and entered a tunnel of trees. The coach’s interior went dark despite the fact it was barely one in the afternoon, and, facing aft, Caden and Anna both lurched back into the cushions.
Anna yelped and reached for Caden. He took her small, gloved hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. She turned her head to face him.
His eyes had adjusted enough to make out her anxious expression. “Not to worry. The road will soon level out,” he assured her.
Meanwhile, he could only thank the heavens for the seconds the changing terrain bought him to consider how best to answer her question—a loaded one if ever he heard one, and one he had not anticipated.
He’d assumed Anna would stay true to form and avoid any and all topics that might put her on the hot seat. He ought to have known. With Anna, he never could keep his footing.
The coach leveled off, though they remained shrouded in shadow.
“Regret? Not a term I would use, precisely.”
Beside him, her body went rigid, and she gave him her most haughty profile.
“What I mean to say—” He broke off. He wanted to reassure her. However, he had no intention of giving away his entire hand. Not yet.
He took a bracing breath. “There are certainly regrettable aspects to what transpired. The fact of your virginity, for one, your current marital status for another.”
Her shoulders rose and fell in deep sigh, and her chin dropped. “I see. I did ask, didn’t I?”
The coach shifted again, starting up another slight incline. Caden’s grip on her hand tightened, locking her beside him. He didn’t want to risk her toppling off the bench, he told himself.
She turned to face the opposite window. “You dislike lying with virgins?” she asked in a small voice. “Or was it how I…what I…”
His resolve to hold his cards close crumbled. He crooked a finger under her chin, urging her to face him.
“I disliked hurting you. That is all. Aside from that, I can say without a moment’s hesitation…” His voice lowered seemingly of its own accord.“Making love to you was…”
The trees surrounding the carriage thinned, diffuse light spilling into the carriage to light-up Anna’s heart shaped face. Gods she was beautiful.
“Yes?” Her voice held an unmistakable note of hopefulness.
He could withhold nothing from her. “…Everything I could have hoped for and more.”
Her rose-colored lips parted briefly in surprise. “I see,” she said again. Same words, different meaning entirely.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. How inordinately pleased with herself she sounded.
“What of you? Do you regret what happened between us?”
She didn’t hesitate. “No.” A tremulous smile curved her lips, despite her obvious attempt to staunch the grin. “Last night was…” she swallowed.
Unable to refrain from touching her face again, he traced his fingertips over her cheek. “Did you enjoy my lovemaking, Anna?”
