The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,59
by society, his family, and the church itself that he was always right.
Folding her hands primly in her lap, she stared at Benedict on the seat opposite her in their carriage and tried her best not to smile. “I told you so.”
Benedict managed to look chagrined as he tugged at his cravat. But he suddenly pounded a fist against his thigh. “The audacity of that woman.”
“To which woman do you refer? There were so many.”
“The duchess.”
“Ah. Of course.” The Duchess of Marbury had been succinctly malicious in her rejection of Irena at the ball. Whereas other, less powerful women in the room had taken to loud gossip and serene looks of disdain from across the room, the duchess had mastered the most effective insult of all. She simply refused to speak or look at Irena upon their introduction.
“I don’t care what title the woman possesses. No one gives my wife the cut direct. No one.”
“Don’t think too harshly of her, my lord. We women must steal our power where we can, and in the world of the ton, that power is sadly limited to the reduction of other women.”
“If she were a man, I would call her out.”
A bubble of laughter burst forth from her chest, as uplifting as it was unexpected. Benedict met her eyes with a surprised gaze. “Are you laughing at me?”
“I’m sorry,” Irena said, holding her fingers to her lips. “I just . . . that is an image I will never forget.”
“Be careful, my dear. Your laughter is such a welcome sound, I may be driven to homicide yet.”
“How very romantic.”
“I did say I would do anything to prove my love.”
“Perhaps it’s a good thing, then, that you will be gone the next few days,” she mused. Benedict had to travel to his estate to deal with some matters there. Irena would never admit it to him, but she was not looking forward to his leaving tomorrow.
The carriage bumped uncomfortably across a rut in the muddy road. Irena winced as the bones of her stays dug into her rib cage.
“Are you unwell?” Benedict asked.
“I will be fine as soon as I can remove this bloody monstrosity of a gown.”
He cocked a half smile. “I don’t suppose now would be an appropriate time to tell you that I find it exceedingly arousing when you speak like that.”
“No, it would not.”
“Still, if you should find yourself in need of assistance in removing said gown, I am at your service.”
Heat stole across her skin, pooling in places that cared little that her dignity demanded self-righteous indignation. Her dignity, however, had fallen under his spell as much as every other part of her body. Especially when they’d danced tonight. He’d held her unfashionably close, even for a husband and wife in a waltz. His hand upon her back had burned straight through the silk of her gown and left an imprint upon her skin. The spinning sensation had continued long after the music had ended.
“I’m sorry this evening didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped,” Irena said, irrationally nervous all of a sudden.
“I got to hold you in my arms. It turned out exactly as I’d hoped.”
His words sent a shiver down her spine and raised goose bumps along her arms. It was a miracle she could hear anything over the thud of her own heart. She was a fool for letting him get this close again, but she was also a fool for thinking she could continue holding him at bay. Not when her body demanded the same thing his did, and not when her heart seemed determined to follow.
The carriage slowed in front of their home. A footman opened the carriage door, and Benedict alighted himself to the cobblestone street. Turning, he extended his hand to help her down, and when he tucked her hand in his arm, the warmth of his body once again set hers ablaze. If things progressed as they had the previous two times they went out together, he would escort her to her room and bid her good night with a chaste kiss on her hand. And then, an hour later, he would join her in the library to read by the fire.
Something told her he would want more tonight.
Or maybe that was just her own desire talking.
He escorted her into the house and directly to the stairs. Neither spoke until they stood outside the closed door of her room.