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Chapter 9
As the music started and the betrothed couple led the dance, Annalise steered her husband out of the ballroom. Blake was fairly bristling in indignation. He was outwardly calm and smiling at the passing ladies and gentlemen, but she could feel his arm vibrating beneath her fingers, his muscles bunching from strain.
The minute they left the ballroom, Annalise looked around the hall, trying to gauge where Lavinia might have gone.
Blake rounded on her and took her by the arms. “I thought you said you don’t love him,” he barked.
Annalise’s attention snapped back to her husband. She disengaged from him, her eyes growing round. “Are you out of your mind?”
“I didn’t particularly think so, no,” he answered in all seriousness.
Annalise let out a nervous laugh. “You are so caught up in your suspicions and jealousy that you do not see past your own nose,” she said angrily and was glad to see him falter.
“I don’t see how that’s so far beyond the world of possibilities, especially considering your reactions just now.”
“My reaction was a worry for my friend. And if you’ve ever paid attention to me or the company I keep, you would have known it. Lavinia, not I, is the one who is in love with Kensington. She was the reason I was stricken by the news.”
“Oh,” he exclaimed, his righteous anger dying down. It only fanned the flames of her own rage. “Then why—”
“You must remember to never confuse us,my dear husband,” she spat the endearment. “It is you, not I, who repeatedly betrayed your spouse. You, not I, who had paramours and… and mistresses….”
“Annalise—” Blake made a step toward her, but she stepped back, shaking her head.
“Even when I thought you dead, I’ve never been unfaithful to you, unlike you, who—” She didn’t get to finish the sentence, for, at that moment, Blake reached her in two long strides, seized her, and planted his lips on hers.
Annalise instinctively reached for him and grabbed onto his shoulders, lest she fall. He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her as if he wanted to devour her. His hands roamed her body, and she gave in under his onslaught. With a sigh of surrender, she opened her mouth and welcomed his tongue as it entered her warmth. It felt so good to be touched again, kissed so hungrily. She missed being wanted, desired. She missed the comfort of his arms.
He felt different to her touch. His shoulders were much broader than when he’d disappeared a year and a half ago; his skin felt tighter and his body harder. His lips hadn’t changed, though. They were as hard and demanding as they ever were. She moaned at the ticklish, sensual feeling of his tongue sweeping over her mouth as if he owned it. And perhaps at that moment, he did.
He groaned in satisfaction, and his mouth gentled instantly. One hand came up to cup her cheek. His hand was large and calloused, so different from the soft aristocratic hand she remembered. He ran his thumb over her skin in a light, gentle caress, and her mind went blank. His other hand smoothed its way down to her bottom and squeezed her, bringing her body closer to his. So close, in fact, that she could feel his erection pressed up against her stomach through all the layers of their clothing.
The door opened at that moment, and Annalise jumped back from her husband’s arms. Blake steadied her with one hand and moved closer to shield her from the curious onlookers.
“Annalise,” he finally said with a ragged sigh. “I have never been unfaithful to you either… At least not in the way you think I was.”
Annalise sniffed while a sharp pain originated in the middle of her chest. She rubbed it in soothing circles, and Blake followed the movement. “But you will not believe me whatever I say.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to cause you more discomfort. I shouldn’t have acted as I did just now… I apologize for my outburst, I just”—he raked his hand through his hair—“I don’t know how to act around you anymore. I feel like I don’t know anything about you. I feel like I don’t know you.”
Well, now you know how I feel.
“I promised you a new start, and I haven’t delivered. But I shall. All I ask of you is to give me a fair chance. No past.”
Annalise stared at her husband’s open face. She had trusted that face two years ago, and it didn’t bring her anything but pain and sorrow. She wouldn’t survive going through that again. “I don’t know if I can forget the past.”
“Then maybe put it aside? Let us get to know each other now. I’ve changed, and I just want the chance for you to get to know me again.”
Annalise nodded. “I… I need to check on Lavinia.”
Blake gave a slight nod. “Do you want me to escort you?”
“No, but I shan’t be long.”
Annalise turned and walked away from her husband, her emotions in turmoil. What had just happened there? What was that kiss? And would she be able to resist him for much longer?
He’d given her two months, and now he was waging a battle against her weaknesses. There was a slight possibility that he had changed in the past year and a half, but she was yet to see it. If she gave in to his promises and kisses, she doubted she would be able to withstand another heartbreak. Annalise needed to keep her wits about her and never forget that he was the one who’d ruined her trust in the first place.
* * *
Unrestrained and uncontrolled sobs shook Lavinia’s body as she cried on Annalise’s lap. Annalise ran her hand through her friend’s hair; an inadequate gesture meant to soothe, to comfort. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t working. Annalise had found Lavinia in one of the closed rooms on the second floor, crying her eyes out. She couldn’t imagine how Lavinia was feeling.
