“I suppose your sisters were devastated.”
“They certainly weren’t happy about it.”
There was another silence while Kyle took another bite.
“Are you fond of rice pudding?” Selena said finally.
“Not particularly.”
“Is there some dessert you prefer, then?”
Kyle held his spoon aloft as his gaze narrowed on her. “I like apple tarts. Look, why all the questions?”
Selena pressed her lips together in irritation. “I was only attempting to learn more about you.”
“I’d rather you spared me the wifely concern.”
His sarcastic reply nettled her. What did he have to be angry about? He was the one who had decided to continue their marriage. But it was apparently pointless to attempt a discussion when he was so obviously in a foul mood.
She set down her spoon, and Kyle immediately threw down his napkin. “If you’re finished with dinner, I’ll escort you to your cabin.”
“I don’t wish to retire just yet,” Selena answered stiffly.
“No?” His gaze raked her. “What do you wish to do?”
The suggestion in his tone brought an angry heat to Selena’s cheeks. “Have you forgotten there is an entertainment planned for the passengers this evening?”
“You actually want to attend an oratory on the evils of alcoholic spirits?”
“It should prove edifying.”
“And boring as the devil,” he said dryly. “Besides, it won’t begin for another hour.”
“I’m aware of that. In the meantime, I intend to walk on the gallery.”
Kyle clamped his mouth shut, biting back a sharp reply. A solitary evening stroll with Selena was precisely what he didn’t wish for. It was bad enough having to be near her in daytime or when there were scores of other people present. But at night, even when the moon was missing, Selena was in her natural element. He would find it a living torment. But he couldn’t refuse her without sounding like the veriest ogre.
“Very well.” Pushing back his chair, he rose abruptly.
“I don’t require your escort,” Selena informed him as he came around the table to her side.
Kyle shot a glance around the half-occupied common room. “I’m not about to let you walk alone out there. It would be an invitation for trouble.” He offered her his arm. “Let’s go.”
She took his arm with the greatest reluctance, sensing still that air of repressed anger about him.
It didn’t leave him when they stepped out onto the gallery; Kyle dropped her arm as soon as possible, almost as if he were afraid to touch her.
He was. His senses were crying out for relief. And merely not touching her didn’t supply it. The velvet-black evening was alive with the sounds of the churning paddle wheel, but it was the soft whisper of Selena’s sigh that caught his ears; the earthy night smells of the river were primitive and powerful, and so was the odor of burning wood from the steamboat’s furnaces, but it was Selena’s fragrance that filled his nostrils.
In an act of self-preservation, Kyle went to stand at the rail. Below, the reflection from a boat lantern faintly illuminated the dark water.
To his dismay Selena followed him, coming to stand only a few feet away. Kyle tensed and swore silently.
Trying to distract his thoughts, he stared down at the powerful river that could sweep fallen trees along like wood chips. Yet he was totally aware of the quiet elegance of the woman beside him, the pale luster of her hair. It was like being seduced by moonlight, having to endure her nearness.
Reaching out, he gripped the railing. Hard. But it didn’t help to drive away images of how she’d looked naked in his bed. Or the sensation of having Selena’s pale, slender body wrapped around him.
Kyle’s grip tightened as he recalled fragments of memories from that wild night. Her courage in defying the storm. Her utterly lovely, compelling nudity. The fascinating contradiction of primness and passion. How he had molded her to match his desire. He’d wanted to give to her, to take from her....