Do not fool yourself. This means nothing. He is dealing with his pride. It does not mean he cares for you, much less that he loves you.
The rest of the carriage ride was painful to bear as her ears had to endure the emptiness next to the sound of the horses’ thunderous hooves and the road’s rattle. Finally, they reached the front gates of Huntington. Kenneth did not wait for any assistance. He flung the door open and stepped down. Then, he turned around to reach out for Madeline’s waist and lifted her to the ground.
Even as her feet touched the gravel, he did not let her go. Keeping a firm hold on her, he guided her up the steps. Langdon opened the door, looking startled at the sight of the two of them. Madeline could only walk faster to keep up with Kenneth’s footsteps. She whimpered in protest when she saw that they had gone past her bedchamber door. He brought her to his own chambers and shut the door behind them.
“Unhand me this instant!” Madeline cried, trying to pull herself away from his grip. He let her go, and she stumbled backward into the room. Her heart was pounding hard. Would he ever hurt her? No. It could not be. He had always made her feel safe. “What is happening? Why are you pretending to be outraged now?”
“Pretending?” Kenneth echoed, as he removed his leather gloves and threw them onto a nearby armchair. “Do you believe this is a performance, Madeline?”
“I... I do not know what to think!” she yelled, her voice cracking with long-withheld emotion. “You avoid me for days. Now that I have finally found a place where I am appreciated and wanted, you insist that I leave early. What is the differencebetween my staying there for two days and my remaining here at Huntington? Nothing. The only difference is that youhappenedto notice that I was not there.”
“You were laughing with that man!” Kenneth exploded as he took two more steps toward her. His chest heaved with anger. If he had not raised his voice ever before, tonight seemed to have shifted things. “You sat next to him, looking at him as if he were the center of your world, Madeline! You gave him all the smiles and laughter that should belong tome.”
“Mr. Sheffield was merely being polite. He will be family soon. He will be Selina’s brother-in-law!”
“I do not care if he is royalty!” Kenneth exclaimed as he took more steps to close the gap between them. Soon, he was looming over her. “You are my wife, Madeline! I do not share what is mine, and I will not keep quiet when you spend the better part of the evening smiling at another man!”
“What you are showing is possessiveness, Kenneth!” Madeline explained, her voice raised like his, as her emotions heightened. “This is territorial pride, not love. You want me to remain a well-behaved ornament or a prisoner ready for your next whim. You are furious that I dared leave the house!”
“I do not know what it is,” he admitted, flinging his hands upward in frustration. “Call it whatever you will. Perhaps it is pride or possessiveness, as you say. All I know is that I felt my heart being ripped apart when I saw you laugh with another man. I could not breathe. I could not think properly. My mind told me that I would murder him if he dared touch you, and I... I would also die if I could not touch you again. That is the extent of my feelings, Madeline!”
A sob erupted from Madeline’s mouth. It was involuntary. She swore to herself that he would not make her feel strong emotions once more. She told herself that she had had enough, but her throat felt tight as she heard Kenneth’s raw admission of his undoing.
“I am dying, Madeline,” Kenneth whispered, his voice becoming a ragged plea. “It pains me if anyone dares insult or hurt you. I would go to the ends of the earth to destroy them. But it also hurts me to see you finding happiness in someone else, sharing what we should be sharing with each other. And I know that it is my fault, but it does not stop my heart from cracking. I would do anything to see your smile once more, not directed at Sheffield or anyone else, but at me.”
Madeline remembered that this was the same man who had paid her father’s debts without waiting to see her expression of approval or gratitude. That and the revelation of his agony squeezed her heart.
She had spent weeks trying to find a single crack in his walls. She had not expected them to come down all at once, and the sight of it stole the breath from her.
“Are you truly angry?” she asked breathlessly.
“I am furious,” Kenneth admitted, shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of an image. “Furious enough to do this.”
Kenneth reached for the front of her dark-green silk gown and, with one violent jerk, ripped her corset open by the stays. For a moment, her ears lingered on the sound of tearing silk, bouncing pearls, and popping laces.
Madeline gasped. The heat that enveloped her gave way to the cool air of the room, hitting her bare skin. However, there wasno time to contemplate how cold she was because Kenneth’s mouth quickly descended on hers.
Their mouths melded together, deepening the kiss quickly as each seemed to have been starving for a long time. When his tongue touched hers, Madeline could not help but moan aloud. She could feel that this kiss was different from the others. Kenneth did not mean to stop.
And even then, she did not push him. No, she clung to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, just as possessive as he was. Her fingers threaded into the curls on his nape.
Meanwhile, Kenneth’s hands explored her body. They were everywhere, as if he were trying to prove that all this was his. Still, he made quick work of his own clothing, shrugging off his coat and waistcoat, tearing at the buttons of his shirt until it joined the rest on the floor. His breeches followed, and then he stood before her, bared and unhurried, letting her look her fill.
Then he stopped. For all his fury and his hunger, he did not reach for her again. He held her gaze instead, and when he spoke, his voice had lost its edge.
“I want you, Madeline. I have wanted you since the day you crawled out of that lake and refused my coin.” His jaw tightened, as though the next words cost him. “But I will not take what you do not wish to give. So, I am asking you. Will you have me?”
The question undid her more than any command could have. For weeks, she had held her ground, trying to make him love her first, but that rule had been built to guard a heart that was no longer hers to guard. She had given it to him already. He had not said that he loved her, and somehow it no longer mattered. She loved him too much to refuse her own heart.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Kenneth. I want you.”
“Then get on the bed.”
Her heart was thudding. Both of them were moving on instinct alone now. Passion. Was this not the very thing she had always wanted? She scrambled onto the bed, shedding the rest of her gown until she was left in only her thin chemise.
Kenneth followed her down, parting her thighs with his body and settling between them as though he had always belonged there. He buried his face in her neck, dragging his teeth along her shoulder, and then his hand was between her legs. She had not even felt it travel beneath her chemise. His fingers found her soaked and slick, and he made a low sound of approval against her skin.
“You are so drenched for me,” he murmured. “Already.”
