The muscles in Royce’s cheek jumped, and his eyes blazed with an unholy light. For a moment Mary thought that he would not answer her.
But then, turning away, he growled, “Yes! Yes, I did love her. However, the events did not unfold precisely as she says.” He pivoted back. “Her parents did not refuse to let her marry me. It was her decision, not theirs. Sabrina liked me well enough, but her primary interest was money. No, I am wrong—she had two interests, money and position. She thought I had enough of both until Lord Humphrey began to dance attendance on her. She kept me dangling for a while until he came up to the mark. When he made an offer, she cut me loose—with that sweet smile and an artful tear, of course.”#p#分页标题#e#
Mary winced at the sarcastic tone of his last words. Nothing, she thought, could have said more clearly that the wound in him had never healed. He still carried Sabrina in his heart.
“That is why you didn’t join us when she came to call, isn’t it? Why you didn’t want to go to her dinner last night? You could not bear to see her.”
“No, I did not want to see her. I should be quite happy never to see her again. I cannot think why that should concern you.”
“You asked me to marry you, and you don’t think that the way you felt about her, the way you still feel about her, is any concern of mine? You don’t think a future wife might care to know that you love another woman? Your arrogance is astounding. You don’t even think of a wife as a person, just another possession you set somewhere in safekeeping! Something without feelings or understanding or pride.”
“What? No! I don’t believe that at all. Have you gone mad? I’ve never done anything to suggest I think that way of you. Or of my wife.”
“Then why did you not tell me about her? Why did you not say your heart was given to Sabrina?”
“Because it is not! Bloody hell, Mary, but you twist my words. I admitted that I loved her—twelve years ago. I do not love her now.”
“No? You were so hurt by the reminder of her and all she meant to you that you got drunk the night she came to call on us. You went to the tavern and drank, and then you came home and sat drinking and brooding about the woman you loved and lost.”
“I went to the tavern to get information, to find out if anyone had been seen about town. I drank because I was being convivial, trying to loosen tongues.”
“You just happened to choose that particular night to do it?” Mary raised a skeptical brow. “You kissed me that night. You kissed me because you were drunk and I was here and she was not!” Mary stopped, unable to go on for fear tears might spring forth. She would not let him see her cry over him.
“No! That isn’t true!” He took a long step forward, his eyes blazing.
“Isn’t it? You drank too much, trying to forget her. Then you used me as a substitute for the woman you really wanted.”
“If you believe that, you’re a bloody fool.” Royce took her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her. “You are the one who has run me mad the past few weeks. Can’t you see that? It is you I think of every night in my bed. It is you who makes me lie awake, sweating, wanting you so badly it is all I can do to keep from going down the hall into your room. Sweet heaven, Mary—it is your lips, your breasts, your soft white flesh that I crave. That I cannot live without …” He clamped his lips closed, staring down at her, his green eyes blazing with frustration and heat.
Mary gazed up at him, speechless, her mouth rounding in a startled O. The raw passion of his words stirred her, turning her insides warm and aching.
“Blast it, Mary, all I desire is you.” He stared at her for a moment more, his face stamped with an undeniable hunger. Then he swooped down to kiss her.
Chapter 22
Mary trembled, struggling to remain unaffected by his kiss, by the whirlwind sweeping through her. But she could not deny the hunger that sprang into life as soon as he touched her. His lips plundered hers, claiming, demanding, and she could not resist.
She flung her arms around him, pressing her body into his, eager to feel once more his strength, his power, his hard flesh digging into her softness. She shuddered as his hands moved over her, molding her to him intimately, curving over her back and buttocks. Memories of their lovemaking poured through her, mingling erotically with the sensations he evoked in her now. His fingertips dug into her fleshy cheeks, lifting her up and imprinting her with the hard length of his maleness. He rubbed her against him, and she could feel the quiver and throb of his desire.#p#分页标题#e#