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“Not good enough to match you,” she murmured, though she did smirk.
“There are few who can,” he answered honestly. “You came far closer than most.” Reaching up with his free hand, he rubbed his cheek where she’d slapped him. “And you did get me, eventually.”
She giggled, and the little sound was music to his ears. Yes, they would get on well enough. First a trip to the library, a way to connect with her, then they could retire, and he could indulge in his desire for her.
ChapterTwelve
Lily
The Talbot House library was not overly large, but it was full of books Lily did not have at home. There was some crossover with the Shakespeare and classics collections, but her parents’ library was mostly dedicated to gardening, plants, and travels, all the things they preferred to focus on. Lily was interested in those things as well, but there was only so much botany she could take, which was how she’d ended up with such a large network of correspondents.
She’d always been most interested in history, not only what had happened but why it happened. What were the motivations? What caused mass groups of people to act a certain way? Or one individual to betray everything, including their country? Not that she thought researching such matters could inevitably lead to the traitor, but she was incredibly curious about what would cause someone to take that route.
She had not expected to spend much time in the library on her wedding night.
The captain—Nathan—smiled as he escorted her into the room.
“We have a much larger library at the country house, but this is fairly representative of the collection,” he said, waving his arm grandly.
“Is there anything in particular you recommend?” She was curious where he might try to steer her.
“It depends on your interests, of course, but if you have any questions, I have read every book in here.”
Lily blinked in surprise, coming to a halt in her steps.
“Every book?”
“Oh, yes.” Nathan flashed her a smile. It really was a charming smile, but there was something in his eyes that made it look not quite genuine. “My favorite room in the whole house has always been the library.”
“Mine, too.”
It felt as though there was something he was not saying, but Lily decided not to press. Letting go of his arm, she wandered to look more closely at the titles now that she had the time. Nathan stayed in the center of the room, watching her. Feeling his steady gaze made her skin prickle, but she did her best to ignore it.
Still.
As much as she loved books and loved learning from books, she had expected to be learning something far different tonight—and from a hands-on tutor, not from reading. She sighed inwardly as she looked over the titles, slowly heading toward the far back corner.
“Ah, perhaps these?” Nathan’s voice cut through her perusal.
She turned to see him standing on the opposite side of the room from where she was headed. There was a tightly suppressed emotion in his voice she could not identify, but it roused her curiosity. She got the impression he had not expected her to wander so far into the shelves—especially the particular shelves in front of her. He was looking to distract her.
“What are those?” she asked, still moving in the direction she’d been headed.
“Lily.” He practically growled her name.
Coming to a halt, she looked over her shoulder. There was something menacing about his stance as if he was about to spring across the room to grab her, and…
Well, what would he do then?
“Yes?” She smiled sunnily at him, very aware she was poking the beast. Unfortunately, it was in her nature to push and prod until she knew where a line was drawn. Just as she had that night in the cottage.
The memory heated her blood and made her cheeks flush. This was even more exciting since she had a good idea of where it would end… except they were married now. He could take even further liberties with her person if he chose to. The liberties her friends had whispered to her about.
Lily took another step closer to the shelves he apparently did not want her exploring.
* * *
Nathan
