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“What?” She half moved her head as if to follow him. “What do you mean?”

He smirked. “Wifely duties. I think you misunderstood what I meant.”

Her cheeks were flushed red, and she couldn’t have looked more confused… not to mention, embarrassed. “I don’t… what do you mean?”

“This marriage, Charlotte. It was only ever meant to be a white marriage.” He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to understand the concept. “As in, a marriage without consummation.”

She frowned, blinking to herself, coming to terms with his meaning. “But then what did you mean…?”

“I wish for you to have a hand in managing my estate,” he said simply, feeling a little too proud of how flushed she appeared. “As you might know, this title of mine is new to me. As is this home. You’ve only been here a short while, but as you’ve probably noticed, it’s in need of a makeover. Desperately. And I thought that seeing as you’ll be living here from now on, you might like a hand in turning it into something respectable and worthy of our being here. That is if you would wish it?”

She couldn’t have looked more confused. Not angry. Just… as if she couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. He could see the hurt there, too, a natural reaction at being denied so suddenly.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course, I am. Why? What did you think I meant?”

Her eyes flashed. “How dare you!”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t ‘excuse me!’ You know full well what you did.”

He frowned and tilted his head, making sure to run his eyes purposefully over her body, even licking his lips because he enjoyed the way it made her snarl. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Lies!” She fumed, half covering herself because of the way his eyes roamed over her. “This whole thing…” Her body shook. “Was it fun for you? Did you enjoy making a fool of me?”

“I can assure you, that wasn’t my intention,” he said with a smirk and a wink.

She widened her eyes at him. “And I’m just supposed to believe that?”

He shrugged. “Believe whatever you wish. But the fact remains, this marriage is more a business relationship than anything romantic. I’m sorry if I got your hopes up.”

“You…” She narrowed her eyes at him… or she tried to. But he noticed where she looked, the way she was fighting her desire to stare at his bare chest, as if to do so might burn her. “Oh, don’t apologize to me. I suppose I let the rumors go to my head. I have only myself to blame.”

“Rumors?”

She smirked. “You know the ones. It’s all anyone speaks of.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “That you’re a rake who spends more time on his back than on his feet.”

Henry’s eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t say such things if I were you.”

“And why not?” She crossed her arms. “Too close to the truth?”

Those rumors… they were half the reason he’d gotten married in the first place. Ones that persisted no matter what he did to dispel them. And while it was all well and good for men whom he didn’t know to spread them, to laugh behind his back and poke fun, for his own wife to say such things…

“I will remind you that you’re the one who came to me,” he shot back.

“I did not!”

“Really?” He gestured around the bedroom. “I suppose you stumbled in here by mistake.”

“I was looking?—”

“For me, yes, I know.”

He stepped toward her quickly, so quickly that she didn’t have time to move back before he was on her. Again, he towered over her, and while she leaned back, she held her ground.

“Which makes me wonder…” He leaned closer to her, pressing his lips to her ear, and he heard her breath hitch again. For a brief moment, he wanted her more than he could have imagined. He was trying to tease her but had become lost in his own game as the smell of her filled his nostrils and set him afire. The urge to take her and grab her and hold her… it was nearly too much. “Who the real rake is here.”