Haunted by the Earl's Touch - By Ann Lethbridge Page 0,85

I won’t be but a moment.’

He gave her a look that said he was not prepared to argue. ‘No trouble at all.’

She gritted her teeth. All morning he had been at her side, as if he expected her to try to leave the moment his back was turned.

He clicked his fingers and his dog immediately came to its feet.

‘That animal should not be in the drawing room,’ Mrs Hampton sniffed. ‘Gentlemen leave their hunting dogs in the stables.’

‘My dog, my drawing room, my house,’ Bane said. He bared his teeth in a hard smile. ‘And no one in this house has ever suggested I was a gentleman.’

‘You are the earl,’ the widow said. ‘So now you must act like one.’

Mary felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. ‘He is a very well-behaved dog. I do not mind his presence at all.’

A mocking smile crossed the earl’s face. ‘I am pleased to hear it.’

Now what had she said to provide him with amusement? Whatever it was she was not going to ask. Not when he was behaving like a shadow. Indeed, after their exchange of truths in bed she had half-expected him to avoid her altogether, since he thought her a liar.

She strolled towards the door and he strode to open it for her to pass through. He bowed as she swept past. She couldn’t help notice just how elegantly he did so, or the way her heart fluttered. Dash it all, it was hard to be annoyed when he was being so charmingly attentive.

At the library door, he moved around her to open the door, but remained, with his dog at his side, barring her way, looking down at her with those silvery eyes with an expression she could not read.

‘I am sorry if you find my presence wearisome,’ he said.

Was that a note of hurt she heard in his voice? She felt an unwanted pang of guilt. She pushed it away. He was playing on her emotions.

‘I gave my word that I would not leave, for heaven’s sake,’ she said. ‘But you are making me feel like a prisoner.’

His mouth tightened, and whatever amusement there had been left in his expression, it was gone now. ‘You are. Until we are safely wed.’

‘After that it won’t matter, you mean.’

‘It will matter. But not in the same way.’

‘Because there is no escape, once we are wed.’

‘I will do my best to make sure you do not feel the desire to escape.’ His rough voice caressed her.

A delicious shimmer of desire warmed her, and infuriated her, at how easily she succumbed to his sensual wiles. ‘I wonder if your best will be good enough.’ She bit her lip at the flash of pain in his eyes. She had not meant to hurt him, just to maintain some distance, some control over herself, now he had taken away all her options. Petty, but necessary to her sense of self. Except it wasn’t his fault she found herself in this predicament. He hadn’t so much seduced her as fulfilled her every spinsterish dream and more.

She deserved whatever fate awaited her, for giving in to those fantasies.

She made to step past him.

‘Wait.’

She looked up into his handsome face and once more her chest squeezed painfully with the knowledge he would never love her. She forced herself not to care. ‘Yes, my lord.’

His mouth tightened as if he did not like what he was about to say. ‘I have to leave the house, on an errand of my own.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘You intend to leave me to my own devices? I am honoured by your trust.’

His expression became rueful. ‘You will do as I request and remain here or face the consequences. You have agreed to be mine.’ He laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.

The possessive note in his voice gave her a delicious thrill low in her belly. A carnal response to the darkness in his voice she could not help. ‘Our agreement is a marriage of convenience. That is all.’

‘And as my affianced wife, you are mine to protect.’

‘You are the one I need protection from,’ she grumbled.

He grimaced. ‘Perhaps. But you will not leave the house while I am gone.’

‘And if I do?’ she challenged.

‘You won’t.’

He released the door and bowed her in. ‘Have a pleasant afternoon, dear Mary. I will see you at dinner.’ At his side, Ranger wagged his tail, looking up at his master with complete adoration. She knew how he felt, she just hoped she