Stranger in My Arms(11)

To her mortification, she saw that her innocent touch had aroused him, causing a heavy, unmistakable ridge to strain against his trousers.

Lara flushed and jumped back from him.

The remnants of his grin lingered. “Pardon, sweet.

A year of celibacy has erased whatever selfcontrol I may have once possessed.” He gave her a look that made her insides knot with tension, and he extended a hand to her. “Now come with me, Lara. I want to go home.”

Chapter 3

LARA WOULD HAVE liked to change into a fresh gown, but she had no intention of disrobing with her husband-for she was nearly certain he told the truth-present. She pinned up her hair as neatly as possible, conscious all the while of his intent gaze on her.

When she had finished, he crossed the room and proffered his arm.

“Shall we?” he asked with a quirk of one thick brow. “They’re all waiting with hated breath to see if you’ll come with me.”

“Do I have a choice?” she asked.

He gave her a sardonic glance. “I’m not going to drag you there kicking and screaming.”

Lara held back, sensing that if she took his arm and left with him, she would be committing herself to a course from which there was no retreat Dropping his courtly pose, Hunter reached for her hand, his long fingers wrapping around hers.

“Come,” he said, and they began the walk to Hawksworth Hall.

“It will take some time for the earl and countess to move their belongings,” Lara said.

“They’re not the earl and countess,” he said shortly. “You and I are.

And I’ll have them out of Hawksworth Hall by this evening.”

“Tonight?” Lara was stunned. “But you can’t possibly send them away so soon.”

“Can’t I?” His face hardened, and he suddenly looked far more like the man she had married five years earlier. “I won’t allow Arthur and Janet to disgrace my home another night. You and I will stay in the private family rooms.”

“And Arthur and his wife will occupy the guest rooms?”

“No,” he said inflexibly. “Let them stay here or find lodgings elsewhere.”

Lara gave a spurt of horrified laughter at the thought. “That’s going too far. We must offer them the guest rooms at the Hall.”

“If this old gatekeeper’s cottage was suitable for you, it’s a damn sight too good for them.”

“You won’t get them out, in any event,” Lara said.

“They’ll do everything in their power to paint you as an impostor.”

“I’ll get them out,” he said grimly, and turned her to face him. “Tell me something before we reach the Hall,” he said. “Do you still have doubts?”

“A few,” Lara forced herself to admit, trapped by his smoky dark gaze.

“Do you intend to express them to the others?”

There was no expression on his face.

Lara hesitated. “No,” she whispered.

“Why not?”

“Because I…” She bit her lip and searched for a way to explain the inner sense that it was wrong somehow to deny him. The wisest course, it seemed, was to wait and see. If he wasn’t the man he claimed to be, he would make a mistake sooner or later. “Because if you’re not my husband,” she said, “I will find out soon enough.”

He smiled, though it contained no warmth. “Indeed,” he said tersely, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

“I’m impressed with what they’ve done with the place,” Hunter said brusquely as they entered Hawksworth Hall. The antique Flemish tapestries and side tables bearing French porcelain vases had been replaced by nude marble statues and silk hangings in garish shades of peach and purple. The medieval fireplace, large enough to fit a dozen men inside, had been stripped of its original carved Flemish overmantel. Now a heavy mirror framed with golden trumpeting angels towered over the hearth.

Hunter paused to survey the full effect with a scowl. “It’s not everyone who can take an elegant home and decorate it like a brothel in such a short time.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lara replied. “I’m not as well acquainted with brothels as others are.”

He grinned at the crisp rejoinder. “As I recall, you were more than happy for me to spend my nights in brothels rather than visit your bed.”

Uncomfortably Lara returned her attention to the vulgar decor.

“Unfortunately none of this can be changed now.”

“Why not?”

“It would be wasteful.”

“We can well afford the expense.”

“You had better look through the estate books before you make any assumptions,” Lara said in a low voice. “I suspect that our accounts have been depleted in your absence. Your uncle has extravagant habits.”

Hunter nodded grimly and took her elbow as they went through the hall.

He had an air of calm authority, seeming entirely comfortable in his surroundings. Surely an impostor would have displayed some sign of uncertainty, but he showed none.

Lara had never dreamed they would be together in this house again. She had closed away the memories of her life with him. But now he had come back with a suddenness that left her reeling. It was impossible to believe that he was here, even with his large hand on her arm and the taste of him lingering on her lips.