Page 79 of Unbound Duchess

“Solomon’s man is in place,” Laurence said, murmuring the words in Ellen’s ear.

She nodded, her blue eyes scanning the busy garden party before them for Benedict. She could not see him, but she knew that meant nothing. He could be in the house, or he could not have arrived yet. He would be there, though. She was sure of it. She had even gone so far as to secretly send him a letter expressing her interest in seeing him again.

“Remember what I said,” Laurence murmured when she did not answer. “Stay by my side. Always.”

“I am well aware of your rules,” she murmured in response, her tone clipped.

She felt Laurence’s arm tighten around hers, and she finally looked up at him. It was the first time she’d done so all day. As they had sat across from one another in the carriage, the ride was tense and silent. Even as he’d tried to break that silence by telling her she looked beautiful. She’d merely muttered her thanks and kept her eyes on the view from the carriage window. She didn’t want to look at him. If she looked, she would feel that want, that pull toward him that had developed over the last few weeks—and it would hurt.

Even as she braced herself for it presently, the slamming sensation in her gut was torture. She hated how handsome he was. How she was falling in love with the chiseled lines of his face. The green of his eyes. She hated how concern flickered in those green eyes.

“Ellen, I know you are unhappy with me,” he said, his deep voice sending longing shooting through her core, despite her best efforts to steel herself from it. “I know that as of late I have not been quite fair to you. But this is almost over. And when it is, perhaps we can…”

She turned away from him and began to walk, not wanting him to finish what he was about to say. She already knew that, after dealing with Benedict, he did not want to be around her anymore. He did not have to protect her anymore, and even though she had tried to tell herself over and over again that she was not falling in love with her husband, the truth was, she already had. She was in love with him, and once Benedict was arrested, she was going to lose him.

Her plan to stop him from talking about it worked, and he hissed out a quiet “Ellen!” as he made quick steps to catch up to her.

“What?” she asked, doing her best to sound unbothered. “I knew you would catch up to me. It is not as if I was running from you.”

Like you are running from me.

Laurence gave her a warning look as that muscle in his jaw ticked, but he did not try to speak about his plans for ‘after’ again. Instead, as she went to take another step, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her into his chest. The warmth and pleasure of his body flush against her own instantly had Ellen’s lashes fluttering and womb tightening with need.

“I will chase you through this entire garden, little wife,” he whispered warningly into her ear. “Guests or not. I do not care who sees. What I care about is getting to the end of this day with you being perfectly safe. Do you understand me?”

A shiver of anticipation moved down Ellen’s spine as the imagery of him doing such a thing conjured in her mind. She thought of how thrilling it would be to dash past all of the prettily dressed guests and elegantly decorated tables. To make her way into the garden and trees, getting lost as she ran. The way her heart would race. The way her body would burn. The way she would be both thrilled and terrified when Laurence no doubt caught her and finally kissed her again.

Ellen drew in a steady breath, willing the images and her arousal to fade, and whispered yes through gritted teeth.

“There’s my good girl,” Laurence praised, his deep voice growling in that way she loved, as he ran the tip of his nose up the shell of her ear.

Hell. She was quite certain she was in hell.

“Laurence.”

Laurence let go of her, and they both turned to see a disapproving Madalene glaring at her brother. Solomon was by her side, looking at Laurence with quiet, speculative intensity.

“Come along, sister,” Madalene said curtly, leaving Solomon’s side to take Ellen’s hand. “Since these men are being rather brutish today, we will get our own lemonade.”

Though her body willed her to stay in Laurence’s embrace, Ellen stepped away the moment she felt his hold on her grow limp, and she hurried to take Madalene’s offered arm.

“We are to stay together,” Laurence seethed through clenched teeth.

“And Ellen and I will stay together,” Madalene countered sharply. “You two go look for your man, and leave us be for a moment. We need a reprieve from your suffocating hovering.”

Laurence blinked in surprise, but before he could respond, Madalene was leading Ellen away from them and toward the refreshment table.

“I swear that man is a walking contradiction,” Madalene grumbled at Ellen’s side. “He needs to stop playing with your feelings.”

“Perhaps he does not even understand his own,” Ellen mused. Unable to help herself, she cast a glance over her shoulder. Laurence was still watching them like a hawk, but Solomon was walking away, no doubt looking for Benedict.

“Well, whatever is wrong with him, he needs to figure it out,” Madalene said with a huff as she placed a glass of lemonade in Ellen’s hand.

A ghost of a smile twitched on Ellen’s lips as she glanced at Madalene with gratitude.

“Madalene Curtis, is that you?” a sweet, feminine voice said excitedly a few moments later.

Madalene and Ellen both turned to the voice, and at Ellen’s side, Madalene set down her glass as she let out a squeal of delight and rushed to a lovely young woman wearing a sun-yellow dress and carrying a matching parasol just a few steps away.