Simply Sinful by Kate Pearce

to deny the social conventions by which most of us live.”
    “Don’t patronize me!”
    “Abigail, there is no shame in realizing you do not wish to renounce these things.”
    She shook her head, her mouth dry as he continued to stare at her. With a muttered oath he dropped to his knees in front of her and kissed her hand.
    “I’m more than sorry I’ve upset you. Despite what you might think, I’ve come to admire and respect you over the last few days.”
    She wrenched her hand out of his grasp. “You respect a woman who allows you to cuckold her husband?”
    His head came up and he met her gaze, his eyes a harsh silver beneath the soft blue-gray. He got slowly to his feet and bowed.
    “Lady Beecham, forgive me, but trying to make me angry will not help you feel better about what just happened. You, of all people, know how much James loves you, and insinuating otherwise is disrespectful not only to him but to yourself.”
    “You are suggesting this is all my fault?”
    He bowed again. “I have some correspondence to deal with. I will remove myself from your presence.” He picked up a pile of letters from his desk and strode toward the door. “If you wish me to leave in the morning, just tell Tom. He can help me pack.”
    Abby watched dry eyed as he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. She struggled to her feet and threw her brandy glass at the door. The tinkling sound of the breaking glass roused her from her stupor. How dare he speak of such personal matters and how dare he presume to know her better than herself!
    She stormed back into her own room and flung herself on the bed. Despite her anger, her body mocked her, still filled with desire for a man who…Abby sat up. A man who respected and desired her. A man she’d driven away because of her own uncertainty and guilt. A man who had defended his lover, her husband, with quiet dignity and without flinching from her anger. She covered her face with her hands, felt her tears finally flow. What had she done and how on earth was she going to put it right?
    She wanted a child not just for her own sake but for James. Despite his claims that his family name meant nothing to him, she knew how deeply his land and his house were embedded in his sense of self. Peter presented them with a perfect opportunity to turn their uncertain future into a happy one, where even if they couldn’t love each other in the conventional sense, they could both love their child.
    Abby scrubbed the tears from her face. If she wanted to achieve her desires, she would have to be bold for the first time in her life. She glanced at the clock and stripped off her nightgown.
     
    Peter found his way down to the library and lit a few candles on the vast walnut desk. He threw his letters onto the leather surface, sat down and put his head in hands. How depressing that Abigail had suddenly rediscovered her social conscience. Her attempts to seduce him had stimulated and aroused him more than he could’ve imagined possible.
    He stroked a hand down the front of his breeches. He was already half-erect again, his cock eager for her sex. He sighed. Damnation, how had he misjudged her so badly? She’d seemed willing, if not downright eager, during their lovemaking. Only afterward had she seemed to change her mind.
    He sighed as he slid a paper knife beneath the seal on a letter from his bank and quickly scanned the contents. Over the years, he’d held enough weeping women in his arms to realize that most wives didn’t have the ability to get back at their cheating husbands without suffering some emotional guilt.
    The candles guttered and smoked as he worked his way through the pile of business correspondence. He’d told Adams not to bother to send any social invitations along as he was unlikely to be able to attend. He didn’t even miss the endless round of parties and long evenings spent drinking and whoring. In truth, he had no close friends apart from the Sokorvskys and the