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Grace really didn’t want to knowhowlong.
Because she cared for him herself?
Because she wasfalling in lovewith him?
Much as Grace wished she could claim otherwise, she could think of no other explanation as to why she had so willingly responded to Alaric’s lovemaking the previous night.
But under no circumstances did she intend for him to ever know of her feelings for him when she knew herself to be nothing more than another conquest to him. One, moreover, Alaric believed he had succeeded in taking from another man.
“Ido not believe it fair that Redding had you first,” Alaric said, confirming his continued displeasure over that relationship. “Which is also why I now wish to know how many other lovers you had before him.”
Grace looked down to where Alaric’s fingers were clamped so tightly about her wrist, his knuckles and the skin about her arm were white. A brief glance at his face showed her his eyes were glittering darkly, with deep and angry grooves in his cheeks and beside his thinned lips.
All outward signs that if Grace did not answer him honestly, those consequences he alluded to could become very dire indeed.
She drew in a deep breath as she lifted her chin. “None.”
Alaric’s tension was tangible. “None?”
“No.”
“Redding took your virginity?”
Grace paused, knowing how revealing her next answer might be. “No,” she finally answered.
“No?” Melborne repeated softly. “Are you saying you are still a virgin?”
Grace’s mouth had gone dry. “Yes.”
“But— How can that be?” He appeared to be too shocked to hide it.
She gave a choked sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh at the bewilderment of his expression. “The usual way, I believe, in that no man’s cock has ever been inside my vagina.” Her cheeks warmed.
Alaric’s lips thinned. “How about your arse?”
“Not there either,” she snapped.
Alaric leaned back so that he might see her face more clearly. “But that— What do you and Reddingdoon those evenings he visits you?”
“We sit and talk.”
“About what?”
She shrugged. “Everything. Nothing.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
“Were any of the answers I gave you lies?” Her gaze was unwavering as it met his.
To Alaric’s surprise, he realized the pulse in Grace’s wrist was as steady as the one in her throat. Both indications she was telling him the truth.
Except Alaric really had no idea how any red-blooded man in his prime could ever— “Is Redding impotent?” It seemed the only explanation left to explain the other man’s odd behavior. But even that would not explain why he had set a beautiful woman up in her own house, knowing he was incapable of fucking her.
“I find that doubtful considering he has three children,” Grace answered calmly. “The youngest child is less than a year old, I believe.”
Alaric shook his head. “Then explain to me how Redding spends two evenings a week in your company withoutfucking you?”
Grace drew in a ragged breath, her gaze no longer meeting his. “I cannot do that.”
