“He was too young then.”
The kindness in his gaze angered her.
Her mind went to that time. Her mother had grown thinner with some worry. She’d been vague and distracted about it and once had even become angry when Perry had railed against being restricted to riding with at least two armed grooms.
She’d been a dreadful child during that time. She squeezed her eyes against that load of guilt.
His hand still warmed her. A shiver went through her. “What were you to her, Fox? Or maybe I should ask, what was she to you? Were you…” She sucked in a breath. “In love with her?”
“In love?”
She felt his body rise taller, never releasing her.
When she opened her eyes, the truth she saw in his gaze pressed all the air from her lungs. “Oh, my God. You. My mother.”
She was a fool. Fourteen or twenty-four, at any age she was a fool.
She tried to pull away, but he yanked her closer. “No. Not like that. She was like a…a mother, Perry.”
“A mother.”
He nodded, unconvincingly.
“You and she were not lovers?”
His gaze darkened, light from the glowing ocean making his eyes sparkle. He turned her to face him and tugged her tighter, pressing them together hip to shoulder, squeezing the air from her, forcing her chin up.
“Your mother and I wereneverlovers. Never. Never inclined to be either.Youwere fourteen. Far too young.” One broad finger touched her lips. “Then.”
Wild anticipation pulsed through her. He set her back from him. “Come. I’ll show you to your room.”
