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She drew in a shaky breath. “Please let me up, my lord.”
“What?” Rex attempted to process her words. Drawing away, he could see her smile was gone. In its place, her mouth had tightened.
Petal turned her face away. “This is not at all proper. You must get up.”
“As you wish,” he rumbled, but pain—and regret—made his movements slow. As soon as he’d lifted off of her, she scurried away from him and stumbled to her feet, crossing the room to stand on the other side of the bed. A vein pulsed in her neck as she drew in a shaky breath. She wasn’t completely immune, which was comforting to know.
Once there, her eyes assessed him with unwavering attention as one might look at a snake about to strike. “You must leave, my lord.”
He gave a single jerk of his chin. “Can I help you remake the bed at least?”
“That won’t be necessary. Please go.” Then she pointed to the door.
* * *
Rex gave her a long look, his chin dropping so that his eyes were intent upon her. She nearly squirmed under the gaze. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and added, “Please.”
His mouth pinched as he began walking toward her, or the door, she couldn’t be certain. Drat. Why had she placed herself between him and the only exit that didn’t involve a three-story drop?
He stopped a few feet in front of her. “But don’t you wish to know why I was two-and-a-half stories up the wall outside your window? Aren’t you even a tiny bit curious?”
A little huff of breath escaped her lips. She was curious and he knew it. He was certainly using that against her now. “That has nothing to do with you leaving.”
One corner of his mouth quirked up. “I disagree. Now is the time for us to have a private conversation.” Then he stepped closer. Gently, he reached his hand toward her and brushed back a stray lock of hair from her face. “I have a fair number of more private questions I’d like to ask.”
She grabbed his hand and pushed it away. “There will be no private conversations. Go.”
“You were more than happy to rest in my arms this afternoon, my little flower.” He quirked a brow as moved another half step closer.
Daffodil refused to step back. His proximity was creating a riot in her body, it ached and fluttered, her breath coming in quick gasps. To move away would be a relief. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d caused such a reaction. “I was half dead with smoke inhalation.”
He let out a low chuckle that danced along her nerves sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. “I’ve told you, Petal, I’ll behave. I’ve made a promise to Theo and he is the one person in this country I’d not disappoint.”
“All the same, you should go.” Daffodil pointed to the door. “Sleep well, my lord.”
“Rex,” he repeated as he turned on heel and marched toward the door.
It clicked closed behind him; Daffodil’s shoulders sagged. She was relieved, of course. But as her fingers trailed down the piece of hair that he touched, she wondered if those shoulders had betrayed her and slumped in disappointment.
Chapter Five
Rex rubbed his eyes for the third time in as many minutes as they traipsed down the damp London street. Not that he minded getting up with the sun, but more because thoughts of a certain little flower had kept him awake m
ost of the night.
Jacob had already knocked upon the doctor’s door and the man had agreed to attend Mrs. Fields later that morning.
Now, they were off to the baker and the butcher to have a decent amount of food in the house.
“I think we should get a duck or several quails for tonight’s dinner,” he said.
Jacob shot him a look. “But they’re more complicated,” he said.
“I did promise to teach Petal how to properly cook meat,” Rex replied. And that would require an extensive amount of time in the kitchen so she’d have to stay with him for a lengthy lesson.
It was dastardly, he knew that. He should do as she clearly wanted and leave well enough alone. She needed a husband and he…well, quite honestly, he needed to return to Barbados. He’d come back to England with Theo only to make sure that his estate was being properly managed. His island holdings now represented a significant portion of his earnings and, frankly, his life was less complicated there.
The sun burned away all the memories that plagued him here in the mother country.
