need rest. Doctor’s orders.”
Tabetha narrowed her eyes at him. “But I’ve been doing nothing but resting for two days. I thought—”
“Besides that, our journey up here wasn’t an easy one. And then you didn’t get much sleep the night before your injury.”
“The night before my injury?—Oh!” Heat spread from her core to the tips of her fingers and even the roots of her hair. “I didn’t think about that. But of course.”
“I didn’t—!” His eyes opened wide. “Not because of that!” His horrified look nearly shattered her. And it confused her.
“You mean you didn’t—?" But of course, they had. “We didn’t…?” He was shaking his head. “Didn’t you want to? I don’t understand. We married two days ago, did we not?”
“We did. And of course, I wanted to.” He squeezed her arms. “It’s just that…”
“What aren’t you telling me, Rock Chester?”
He shifted his gaze to the corner of the room and then back to her again. “The two of us might just have... er... celebrated with a tad too much whisky after the ceremony.”
Whisky?
“But I don’t drink whisky.”
“Perhaps you didn’t before.” He winced. “You do now... rather... you did.”
“You got me drunk?”
“You got you drunk. I only gave you the ammunition to do so. You didn’t require much.”
“I… You… We… So, we haven’t?”
“We haven’t.” He tilted his head apologetically. “But not because I didn’t want to. You know how much I want you.”
“So I’m…” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that she was a married virgin. “And you said we have to wait three more days?”
“Five.” But his arms were still around her, holding her pressed against him, and by now, she easily recognized the evidence of his desire.
“Four?”
“Six.”
He pulled her even closer. She could almost think he had a gun in his pocket.
This banter—this teasing—reminded her of dancing. The giving, the flirting, the coy invitations.
She trailed her hand down his shirt, tracing the ridges of his abdomen over the fabric, and then the waist of his trousers.
He caught her wrist, and she thrilled at his strength. She lifted her mouth at the same time he lowered his. The next five days just might be the longest of her life.
Although, lacking most of her memory, she couldn’t be sure.
And as long as his arms were around her, she really didn’t care.
Chapter 13
There’s this Duke…
Stone deepened the kiss but his hands remained on her hips. She arched herself into him. She wanted him to touch her!
Intimately.
“Mr. Chester?” A voice sounded from the other side of the door. “I’ve the tray you ordered.”
The poorly timed announcement interrupted a rather heated embrace that might otherwise have shortened those five days into five minutes.
“My thanks,” Rock answered without so much as looking over his shoulder. He pressed his forehead against Tabetha’s. She flicked her gaze from his eyes to his lips, which were shiny from her kisses.
“I still don’t see why we can’t eat downstairs. We could share a private dining room,”
“I need to keep you safe,” he answered.
“Safe?”
“You need to rest.”
Which was it? Safety or rest? An alarm bell sounded in her head. He was almost acting like they were hiding out.
“Are you running from someone?” She blurted out the question before she could even think to stop it. She hadn’t intended to take issue with his request that she be diligent while she was on her own. But the private dining room was only a few steps away, and it was private, for heaven’s sake!
She stepped out of his embrace and planted her fists on her hips, determined not to be distracted by his… dreamy, intoxicating… Rockness.
Because despite all his wonderfulness, this caution was not at all normal.
His evasiveness did nothing to quiet her concerns.
“Are you an outlaw?” she demanded. What if he was a highwayman? “Did you kidnap me?” She was already so deeply in love that she doubted even that could change her feelings for him.
But who was he? And if she’d run away with him, what kind of woman did that make her?
“I’m not an outlaw. Tabetha, and you came with me willingly.”
Ironically, his answer was faintly disappointing. The idea that he’d been so overcome with love and desire for her that he’d snatched her out of a lackluster suitor’s carriage was oddly exciting.
But if not an outlaw, then what?
“Are we running from my family?” That was a far more likely scenario. “Did my father oppose our marriage?” Except Rock had told her they were traveling to London so that she could be around her brother