Light to Valhalla (24 page)

“Why did you kiss me again?
”
She snatched a pillow from beneath the heavy quilt, shielding herself from his gaze.

“
Charley
…
”
He opened his mouth to say more, but nothing came
.
All he could think to say was
Charley
and the name rolled so perfectly off his tongue that
all
he wanted was to say it again… preferably in
that
bed… with her arms and legs wrapped around him.

“Why?”

Because I have
n’t
had sex since God only remembers when
.
Not the best approach
.
“Because y
ou’re my wife.”

“I am
not your wife
.
”
Tears sparkled in her eyes
.
Still
not the best answer
.
S
uddenly Alex had serious doubts about his logic that if she kissed like an innocent she hadn’t been with
another man
.
“I am your means to a
n end
.
Your means to an heir
.
I heard you and your mother talking
.
All you want is to see me bedded and round with child so you can go back to
your
military
career
.
Sidney warned me as well.”

Alex recoiled as if she’d struck him
.
Return to duty?  The concept was laughable
.
Had she seen him walk? 
“Is that what you think of me?”

A single tear dripped
over her bottom lid, tracing a
forlorn path along her cheek, and
that single tear appeared as lonely as he felt in
side
.
“It’s the truth, Alex
.
We both know you don’t think of me as your wife any more
than I consider you my husband
.
Do not mistake me for one of those silly females who will fall giggl
ing into your arms over a few
pretty speeches
and a kiss
.”

“If I’m not mistaken you were falling into my arms just a moment ago.”

She gasped, thoroughly affronted
.
“
I tripped.
”

A bark of ironic l
aughter
burst from his throat
.
“And fell right into my arms
.
Would you deny the truth?
”

“Yes.
”
She faced him stubbornly
, a defiant gleam
in her eye
.

Pure fire pumped in his veins, dragging his tightly controlled emotions out of the hole he
’d
stuffed them in
so many years ago
.
Christ above did she have any idea how close she was to bein
g thoroughly ravished? 
P
robably
not
.

Challenge sparked in
her
eyes
.
“You think that because I looked to you with the moon in my eyes as a child I’ll fall into bed with you without a single question, but you’re wrong
.
In fact I think it’d be best if we just dissolve our marriage.”

Dissolve the marriage? 
Abruptly he stepped forward, trapping
Charley
between the
mattress
and the
flat of his rock hard chest
.
The heat of her vivacious figure fl
owed freely
through him, heating his
blood to a boil
.
“No,” he growled
.
“
Out of the question
.
You’re min
e.”

Her eyes widened
.
“Why?
”
Her voice softened… changed
.
“Please, Alex, tell me what’s different
from three years ago
?
  Give me proof.
”

“I’
ve had a lot
time to think.”

She shook her head
.
The mess of fiery curls swirling through the air
.
“Three years isn’t so very long.”

“
Then p
erhaps dying had something to do with it.”

Charley’s jaw dropped a foot, and Alex could have kicked himself for
blurting
the truth behind his charge of heart
.
She’d believe him mad if he told her of his experience on the battlefield
.
Hell, half the time he didn’t believe it
himself
.

“D-dying?”
Charley stammered
.
“What do you mean?”

Alex put his arms up and stepped back defensively
.
“
Forget it
.
You’d never understand.
”
He scooped his discarded jacket from the floor and headed for the door
.
“Rest assured, my lady, I will not touch you again unless it is upon your implicit request.”

*
             
*
             
*

Charley
licked her lips—still tingling from Alex’s searing kiss
es
the night before—
tossed the cool rag resting over her eyes
aside
,
and rose
irritably
from the chaise
in her bedroom
.
The cloth
hit the floor with a distinctive
squish
.

Wait
one half hour indeed.

Mrs. Kent’s blasted remedy for puffy eyes
wasn’t working
.
And
Charley
’s
eyes were indeed puffy
.
H
er entire face was puffy
.
She’d been awake since four
o
’clock
that morning
, dressed since fiv
e, and attempting to temper the
bags beneath her eyes for the last two hours
.
At this rate
sand would be
permanently embedded in
her eyeballs
.
Not to mention that
the entire household—to include Alex
, who she rather desperately wanted to look
indifferent
and more than a little
pretty for
—would know she’d been awake half the night
bawling her eyes out
.
Charley hated to cry, hated more when others knew she’d been crying, but it was quite simply how she dealt with her emotions
.
She sighed
.
There was nothing for it
.
Only a decent night’s sleep would banish the grit behind her lids
and the puff from her face, and
such a feat would prove
impossible until
she and her husband
found some common
ground to stand upon.

Deeply unsettled,
especially in light of Alex’s bizarre outbu
rst about dying
,
she
stole from the room
into the cheery morning sunlight
.
Why couldn’t it be cloudy?  She was feeling ra
ther gray this morning and the brilliant display of sparkling light did nothing to improve her mood
.
At least gray skies would be fitting
.

Where had Alex gone after their fight?  According to her mother there was no other room for him to sleep in
.
One of the servant girls perhaps?
 
Her stomach rolled at the decidedly unpleasant prospect
.
Unlikely,
she assured herself, though she was unable to completely shed the suspicion as she moved toward the stairs
.
Charley
had
several
married friends,
men had needs,
and she’d heard rumors of husbands dallying with the household staff
.
She
shook her head
.
Lack of sleep had her imagination running wild
.
What she needed was a good breakfast
.
Some eggs, toast
, tea with lemon and
cinnamon
…

Charley
passed her father’s study on the way to t
he dining hall and stopped dead in her tracks
.
Sprawled in a leather bound chair before the hearth, a decanter of brandy
propped against one knee, head lolled back and to the side, snoring
softly was Alex
.
She stifled a
smile of amusement and relief
.
In all he looked rather adorable, hair boyishly mussed, and a shadow of dark whiskers dusting his jaw
.

C
areful not to disturb his slumber
she crept into the room
, taking in the gentle
rush of his breathing, and t
he relaxed set of his powerful shoulders
.
It was eas
y to forget how young he was
.
Not quite twenty-seven
,
the m
arquis pervaded
an aura of experience
men twice his age did not possess
.
A single dark lock
lay
across his forehead
.
She curled her fingers into her palm, resisting the urge to
brush t
he wayward curl
aside.

She sighed softly
.
He was beautiful
.
Without a doubt the most
stunning
man she’d ever seen
.
Classically handsome in a
dashing, fairytale prince s
ort of way
,
there was something infinitely more to his superficial beauty
—something dangerous and forbidden
shimmering just beneath the
surface
.
He was not an
Adonis
or comparable to the God’s of Greek lore, but simply a man… br
oken and scarred…
flawed and mortal.

Though he’
d proven time and again to be hard driving and an
utter scoundrel
on occas
ion
, Alex
seemed
different, as though his hard edge had dulled
.
The long silver scar
he’d
acquired rescuing her from the river running through the Grayson lands winked from his left forearm in testament to the fact this m
an was in fact her old friend, b
ut n
ew scars marred his hands and
muscular forearms, and she could not help but wonder
where he’d come
by them?  Dare she ask after the
injuries?  Would Alex
confide in her or would he be like her grandfather and nary speak a word of his war experience? 
Fo
r every
visible scar
a score of unseen
wounds
likely marked his soul
.

Her gaze settled on his face, and
her heart softened
.
A dark, pleasantly sloping br
own sat over deep set oval eyes
that tipped ever so slightly down at the outer corners lending him a sensual, almost sad appearance
.

What made him sad? 
War?
 
Family?
  Both she’d imagine
.

Alex stirred
ever so slightly
, his lids lifting to half-
mast
.
“
Charley
?” he murmured in a voice
so
very hesitant and broken it
all but
took her breath away
.
“
Is that you? 
Are you really here?
”
Disbelief shone on his face, a faraway glaze shimmering across the blue surface of his eyes
.
“Help me, love
.
Save me, please.”