“He wants me now, but once tongues start wagging, he’ll reconsider, and I’ll be blamed for the whole sordid ordeal.”
Delfine inhaled sharply, her hand patting Marena’s. “I’d give him a bit more credit than that. The man barely batted an eye about the fact that your sister and I are practically married, and”—she pointed a finger at her own chest—“may I remind you that he in no uncertain terms asked us to come to live in his big mansion in Mayfair with seemingly no caveats about our relationship.”
This was true. He had taken it all in stride, like he did everything. The unflappable Duke of Linley.
Except, when it came to her, she had seen some cracks in that calm demeanor. For her, Arlo had lost his composure more than once. The man had carried a basket through the Marais, been stung by a bee, and today she’d seen the hurt in his eyes when she rejected his touch.
“The way he looks at you, Mare, that’s not something to walk away from.”
“But—”
“Was it unfulfilling?” Lluvia asked, as if only now realizing that could be the reason for Marena’s discomfort. She once again felt grateful for the family she was born into. “Maybe you don’t want hi—”
“No, that is not the issue. On the contrary, it was too fulfilling,” she said in a mortified whisper.
That elicited a knowing laugh from the other two. “Then see where it leads. Let yourself have this. You know how to take care of yourself, and no matter what happens, we will be home to support you.” Delfine’s strong voice made Marena almost believe this could be true.
“And we have him to thank for that.” That was Lluvia, always the truth teller.
“And don’t forget, I’m his sister. I can give him a piece of my mind if he steps out of line.” That made them all smile again.
“He does say he believes in the equality of the genders,” Marena offered, already feeling like a massive boulder had been plucked off her shoulders.
“We will test that particular pronouncement until we have confirmed its veracity,” Delfine stated imperiously, already moving to stand. “We should return home. We are both exhausted from too much excitement and not enough sleep.”
Marena stood and looked at the two women who had always been by her side, each so familiar that they were practically extensions of herself. “I’m so glad you’re both coming home.”
“You and Arlo did this for us—together.” Lluvia was never one to take the subtle approach. “Now see us off so you can mend things with the man.”
Marena walked with them to the door of the study. “I don’t know if I can continue a liaison with Arlo in London, but I will at least make things right with him tonight.”
Lluvia and Delfine exchanged frustrated looks at that, but didn’t press her on it again.
Within moments the two women were in a carriage and heading home, and Arlo and Marena were on their own once more. She stood on the front walk for a minute, then another, still unsure of what she would say to him. He’d been with her as they saw their sisters off, but when she came back inside, he was nowhere to be found. He’d left her there without saying a word, and he knew she would be leaving in the morning. She was being unfair and unreasonable, but she was incensed that he would not even say goodbye.
She walked back into the study only to find Cyrus placidly looking at her. “Would you be so kind to tell me where His Grace has gone?”
“He’s in his bedroom, miss.”
“Thank you,” she said, turning on her toes and heading up the ridiculously large marble staircase, not caring that the valet knew she was headed to Arlo’s private rooms. She stopped in her room for a moment to find and insert her cervical cap. She was angry, not foolish. Or at least not that kind of fool.
It took her exactly ten footsteps to reach his door, and before she had a chance to really think about what she was doing, she was pounding on it. She should have expected he’d answer it bare-chested…and scowling.
Chapter Fourteen
“May I help you, Marena?” Arlo was not sure what outcome he was aiming for, but he could not stop himself from acting like an arse.
“Were you really going to let me go without saying goodbye?” she asked without preamble, a wounded expression on her face.
The truth was that he’d been hurt too. They’d come back from the gardens, and things had seemed to shift on their day out. He’d thought that, like he, Marena had seen something worth pursuing, but as soon as Delfine and Lluvia arrived, she’d acted like he was a total stranger, and though he understood why she’d been so startled, he’d hoped she could trust him more.
“I came to say goodnight.” She was irritable and a bit disheveled and he wanted more than anything to take her into his arms and make love to her until the tension melted off her body. And he could either keep his pride from stealing the last chance he had to tell her how he felt, or he could let her go back to London and lose the best thing that would ever happen to him.
“I was coming to see you,” he confessed.
“With no shirt?” she asked as she glared in the direction of his upper torso.
“I thought you enjoyed seeing me in a shirtless state,” he said provokingly, unable to help himself.
She growled, eyes still locked on the area where his chest hair was most prominent. He ran a hand over it and was rewarded with an audible hitch of her breath.
“I know how much you enjoy my pectoral area. I wanted to offer you one last look as a parting gift.” She looked positively indignant and again, every base instinct in him bubbled to the surface. He wanted to pick her up and kiss her senseless. Make her laugh until she dissolved into a pile of giggles, then lay her on his bed and make love to her all night. But she wasn’t laughing. She looked miserable, and he wished with a disquieting ferocity that he could make every one of her worries disappear. But if he tried, she’d just push him away.
“I…” She paused and wrung her hands. “I’d like to talk to you.” A glimmer of hope lit up inside him.
“In my room? Ms. Baine-Torres, is that appropriate? Given the nature of our corresponding positions in—”
“Oh, do shut up, Arlo,” she exclaimed as she pushed past him into the room with surprising ease. She shut the door in a huff and stayed with her back pressed against it, her brown eyes roaming over him. “You are infuriating.”
“Then we have that in common, love. I don’t think anyone in my entire life has perplexed me as you do, and yet I keep coming back for more.” He took a step toward her, eyes on the mouth he’d been deprived for what felt like days. “You drive me absolutely mad,” he said as he planted both palms to the door, covering her with his body. He leaned down until his lips hovered above hers. “I can’t get your taste out of my mouth.”
She scoffed, turning her eyes to the ceiling as if pleading to a deity for patience. “I’m clearly having similar issues.” She sounded so flustered, and yet she pressed herself to him. The linen of her dress rubbed against his skin.
“My ailment is more precarious than that, Marena,” he explained, and brought a hand down, needing to touch her. “No matter what I do, all I want is to be here.” He cupped her sex, his mouth watering with the need to taste her.