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I looked back at the door my mother had gone through. She was probably right on the other side, listening for something else to berate me about. She always looked for more ways I’d failed her as a daughter. Still, better me than Rose. Though now I was terrified that she was Mother’s next target.
He gave my waist a small squeeze. “Amelia, answer me.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t do it.
“Look at me.” His voice came out hard, an order.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I met his gaze.
His jaw was clenched tight, fury lighting up his blue eyes.
“Tell me what happened.” The or else hung between us, unspoken.
“Do what you want to me. Your punishments aren’t worse than hers.”
His eyes widened, and he pulled me into his arms.
I tried to resist.
It was probably a trap, but the second his arms were secure around me, I melted against the soft cotton of his shirt, warmed by his skin.
“I’m not going to punish you. I want to protect you, but I need to know what I’m protecting you from.”
Gentle words. They were a trap, they had to be, but the safety of his arms made me want to trust him.
“Amelia, I have made mistakes with you. I was trying to make up for them at the museum.”
He drew a deep breath, moved a lock of my hair out of my face, and tilted my chin so I could look him in the eye.
“I can’t promise I won’t punish you again, but when I do, I want it to give you pleasure, not just pain. Every strike I give you on that perfect ass should sting but also arouse you. I will never lay a hand on you out of malice.”
I stared into his eyes for a long moment, searching for the truth in his words. He at least believed what he was saying, but did I?
What other choice did I have?
“My mother said I was too fat for the dresses, and I was going to have to diet until the wedding.” Not a lie, but not why I was crying.
“Don’t you dare!” The venom in his words made me jump and pull away from him. “Your body is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. You have curves so perfect that altering you in any way should be a crime against God.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I put my head back down on his shoulder, hoping to hide the blush that was now rising in my cheeks. He already saw me so well. I didn’t want him to see the effect his words had on me.
“Your mother is a jealous, petty woman. She would have been making comments like that the second you started to outshine her. I’d bet that happened a long time ago. By now you would’ve built up a thick skin to that bullshit. You’re too strong not to have. Tell me the truth so I can protect you.”
He really saw right through me. He had been paying attention. There was no way Henry would have been able to tell him when my mother started insulting me.
I stayed silent but my tears stopped flowing.
He cupped my jaw, wiping away the remaining tears with his thumb. “Let’s try this again. What happened?”
I looked back at the door.
“Don’t worry about her, worry about me. Tell me what happened. I won’t let her touch you again. You have my word.”
“Is your word any good?” The words slipped out of my lips before I even thought about it.
“Excuse me? Do you want to repeat that, princess?”
“I just mean… I don’t… I don’t…”
