"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"I should have said something sooner."
"A damn sight sooner." His anger was replaced with a frustrated sigh. "Please tell me how you can spend years working in a blasted brothel and still be a virgin?"
His question caused memories of Victor to surface.
"Victor was a complicated man, obsessed with propriety. I doubt you would have believed me even if I had told you the truth."
Why did she sound so weak and pathetic? Why did she feel so inadequate?
"Probably," he said honestly. "I'm struggling to believe it now."
Desire still thrummed through her veins. Her heart pumped rapidly and tiny beads of perspiration formed on her brow. Where was Marie Labelle when she needed her?
"Well, I'm sorry if the whole thing has been a huge disappointment." She batted at her dress, pulled up the hood of her cape, and squared her shoulders. "I'm certain virgins lack the skill necessary to please your licentious needs."
"Why are you so angry?" He brushed the strands of hair from her face.
Anna shrugged. Perhaps she liked the way he looked at her when he assumed she had the experience to please him? Perhaps embarrassment had forced her to be blunt. Yet she suspected her feelings stemmed from a deep sadness, regret for having not had the opportunity to be close to him.
"Why are you so angry?" she countered.
He exhaled loudly and shook his head. "Probably because I have never taken a woman's virginity and never had any intention of doing so. It complicates things."
Well, she could not berate him for his lack of honesty.
"I should have told you," she reiterated. "I just … I didn't expect things to progress so quickly."
"So quickly?" he chuckled. "I've been waiting all day to feel your lips on mine again." He took her chin between his finger and thumb, not as firmly as Victor used to do, but he mistook her shiver for something else. "Look. You're cold, and we need to get back to the monastery. But I need to know, Anna. I need to know if you still want me."
She could feel her cheeks suddenly burn. "I do," she said swallowing down her nerves.
He gave a relieved sigh. "Then on the way home you can tell me how you managed to save yourself, how you managed to keep such a treasured prize in a world full of debauched heathens."
"It wasn't a choice, Marcus. You should know that if Victor had wanted me, I would have been powerless to prevent it."
He muttered a curse. "Then I am grateful the man was a hypocrite and a fool. Indeed, I am grateful he is dead. It saves me the trouble of running a blade through his black heart."
She gave a weak smile, touched her fingers to his cheek. "If only you had been there to save me all those years ago."
He turned his head and kissed the tips of her fingers. "But I am here for you now."
The shock following his surprising discovery still resonated deep within.
Damn it all.
If he'd have known she was a virgin he would have — what? Refused to press his attention upon her? Been cold for fear she might do something as ridiculous as fall in love with him? Isn't that what virgins were known to do — profess undying love to the first man to tickle their fancy?
Although in truth, he was the one who felt changed by the experience. Perhaps the ache in his chest came from a burning desire to mate with her? Was that why her welcoming body had felt so magnificent? Was that why he had an overwhelming desire to take her to his chamber and never let her leave?
Marcus mentally shook his head and focused on the conversation. "How old were you when your parents died?" He took her hand again as he guided her back through the woods.
"Twenty. I suppose I could have stayed in Marlow, married a local man—"
"You had offers?" He was not surprised. What man wouldn't want a wife so beautiful it made his cock ache just looking at her?
"I received an offer or two. But I was naive enough to believe in love. I refused to settle for anything less." She sighed. "And so I went to London with the intention of working for a year or so."