“Floating?” he asked.
Her dazed eyes narrowed. “Gloating?”
“That happens when my fiancée presses so close when my mouth is on hers, it’s like she’s trying to absorb me.”
“Warning, my lord, it doesn’t matter how handsome you are, arrogant is not a good look.”
Snatching her ever closer, he roared with laughter.
“Ugh, he’s smug. The worst,” she complained, pushing with no real strength at his shoulders.
“Feel revived?” he asked.
“I’m wearing a hat to our wedding.”
She wouldn’t.
She’d give him anything he wished.
That was who she was.
He knew it to his soul.
It was why he chose her.
So he could give that back.
“We’ll be happy, Satrine,” he promised.
A shadow passed over her face before she covered by quipping, “Whatever you say, dukeling.”
“You think that’s a cut, but you could say practically anything, still pressing your body to mine, and I wouldn’t care a whit.”
She tried to pull away.
He kept her close.
“You said no backing you in a corner,” he remarked. “You made no demands about a desk.”
It was then, he triumphed.
Because her beautiful eyes grew huge.
And then…
For the first time since they met…
Holding her in his arms…
He got to watch as she dissolved into laughter.
Chapter Ten
One Day at a Time
Satrine
“You’re going to what?”
“Mom, chill out,” I whispered.
She was pacing, wearing a satin and lace negligee set that was everything.
I was up on her bed, my legs curled under me, wearing much the same, but mine didn’t have lace, and it was clear Edgar skimped on a few things, because Mom’s bedclothes were rad and mine were just awesome.
Maxine was out like a light in Mom’s bed due to the “draught” the doctor had given us to help her sleep.
Yes, the doctor had come and gone.
He did this with Mom flatly refusing to let Maxine go back to the hospital.
With Loren, Ansley, Maitland, the doctor and me all watching her, while she wore an outfit Carling unearthed from the rafters (or wherever) that was okay, but it wasn’t like any of mine (mine were more Victorian Cinderella, hers was more Dangerous Liaisons vixen), she decreed, “She’s mine now. I have her back. We’ll arrange instruction so we can learn what we’re doing. We’ll hire a nurse who just knows what she’s doing. We’ll come to you for regular appointments so she continues to have the care she needs. What we’re not going to do is let her go again.”
Damn, Mom was into being Corliss of this world.
The doctor seemed thrilled by this and replied, “She’s grieved for you greatly.”
“Well, that’s over,” Mom returned.
“Being with her loved ones in a stable environment will do her wonders,” the doctor continued.
“Marvelous!” Mom cried, twirling her hand in the air. “We’re all agreed!”
She then stopped just short of raising her fist to the heavens and exclaiming, “We’ll never go hungry again!” which meant she was a bit overdoing it, but, whatevs.
So, apparently, imprisonment in a dungeon for nearly a month with her daughter-not-daughter and meals of gruel and broth wasn’t enough to break my mother.
I should have known.
Obviously, they’d had their baths, eaten, and gotten dressed. Then Mom settled Maxine in with some sketchbooks by a window, met Ansley, Loren, Maitland, and the doctor came and went.
Mom returned to Maxine.
I wanted to go with her and get to know my “sister,” but Loren took me aside before I could do that.
“There’s much to be done,” he declared.
I was thinking wedding.
“I’m sure.”
“We need to go to the constabulary and make our statements.”
Oh, well then.
Not wedding.
“Father and I’ll do it now. We’ll take you and your mother tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Right.”
“We’ll be needing to make other arrangements.”
I should not push this, considering the fact I was going to find a witch as fast as I could and let Loren off the hook, but still.
I hoped this world had peonies.
“Carling had a chat with Father as you were demonstrating how much you enjoy my mouth.”
I squinted my eyes. “It wasn’t like you didn’t have a bit of fun, mister.”
“Oh, I did indeed,” he whispered, a lazy, sexy look in his eyes.
My clitoris pulsed.
Yikes.
Mental note: he was better at the comeback than me.
“Hello, fancypants Marquess. Carling?”
There you go. He was way better with the comeback.
He grinned.
God, he was going to kill me.
Gorgeous, normally.
Knock-you-off-your-feet when he was happy.
The grin died and he said, “Not for now, but Carling shared some things that were concerning. Your mother’s return will cause a sensation. Your existence will as well. But it’s untoward me, or Father, or even Marlow stay with you.”
“Bummer,” I muttered.
“Pardon?” he asked.
“Um…nothing. It’s French,” I said hopefully.
“What?”
Oh shit!
“Fleuridian,” I amended.
“It is?”
“Do you speak Fleuridian?”
“Fluently.”
Ah hell.
“Let’s stay on track, shall we?” I sidestepped and prompted, “You can’t stay.”
“Your mother would be an acceptable chaperone, but we have a townhome two blocks from here. There’d be no reason why we’d be staying, especially me, except one. You’ll have enough interest coming your way, we don’t need to provide reason for more.”