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Verity snorted at the notion that she could hurt Ash. “He’ll be fine. His skin is thick and his shell is harder than mine. His arrogance is impenetrable.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Pru cautioned with a weary glance.

“Don’t worry. Just…cover for me should anyone ask.”

“We have your back, Verity,” Tempy reassured with a wink and then practically shoved her out the door while directing Pru to the card table.

So Verity was off, down the corridor, in a hurry, but desperately making the appearance as though she wasn’t.

And then as a last minute decision, she stepped into the retiring room to actually freshen up. It wouldn’t do to show up unkempt for Ash. Her heart spun inside of her while her stomach tightened at the prospect of getting disheveled with Ash. Surely, she would need Tempy’s help if she wanted to return to the parlor a respectable widow.

Just as she closed herself off from the rest of the room, she heard voices. Corisande.

“I can’t believe she thinks that she can snag a duke.”

Another female voice responded, “Don’t worry. It won’t last. The Duke of Quelston can’t possibly see anything in her. He’s incredibly powerful. And he’s a corinthian. A god. She’s a nobody. Just an old, worn out widow.”

“Don’t be rude.” Corisande snickered, “But you’re right. She is old, isn’t she? I’ll just have to bide my time and redouble my efforts when I see the chance.”

“Or pursue the Duke of Elwin?”

“He is cute, isn’t he?” Corisande giggled. “I just might do that.”

The two exited the room leaving Verity alone with her thoughts. Which was sometimes a terrible place to be.

This…this did not feel good. It didn’t sit right with her.

Yes, she was old. But not that old. Men married and remarried at far older ages. Dukes didn’t marry for love or beauty, they most often married to continue their legacy. Not that that was what Ash was doing with her. He wasn’t thinking about marriage or children or legacy with her. He wasn’t thinking about any of that.

Because this wasn’t even real.

That was the linchpin. That was what everything hinged upon. No matter how angry she was at him for lying and manipulating her into this situation, they could both temporarily use each other for protection and pleasure. This was a finite arrangement that had a planned end date. After this house party, they would end it. Which gave them only a week to play their charade. It shouldn’t bother her one iota what those women had said because it didn’t matter. She wasn’t in the running for Ash’s affection. It shouldn’t matter at all.

It didn’t matter.

And that’s what she told herself each step of the way to the library.

Chapter 15

Ash

The lies were adding up. And he hadn’t fully been absolved of any of them. What would she think when she found out that he was the one trying to buy her land? That he had misled her about the promise. He had implied that the promise had been between him and Alec, in truth, it was a promise to himself to not be witness to the demise of a great estate and all its staff and tenants.

He couldn’t reveal any of that yet. Not until he found the last piece of the puzzle. The evidence clearly showed that Alec was poorly managing the estate, but it was unlikely he was doing it alone. There had to be someone helping him, but so far Ash couldn’t tell who was on Alec’s side. From all that he had uncovered, no one was loyal to the man. So it all had to remain a secret.

If he told Verity of his plans to buy the estate, someone could still sabotage the plans. Some lies were wrong. Some lies were meant to protect.

The knock at the door ushered Verity into the room.

“You’re here.” He breathed out the air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.

“I’m here.” She pressed her back against the door, palms flat on the wood.

He didn’t waste a second going to her. He locked the door and fisted his hands in her hair. Not caring how he groaned into her mouth or how feral it sounded.

She responded in kind, her hands burrowing through his hair until they found a solid grip. Her mouth opened to his, inviting him to take his fill. Tongues swept over each other. Hungry. Famished. As if they hadn’t partaken in each other’s nourishment yesterday.

All he wanted was to taste her. More of her. Again, of her. He dropped to his knees, “Hold these.” His voice was gruff as he shoved her skirts into her hands. He didn’t go slow. His hands snaked up her legs as she parted more for him.