him definitely wasnât love. Heâd filled a need in her life when sheâd been wretched and lonely, then confused her with his expert lovemaking.
Marina resolved to do the right thing and break her engagement when she returned home. She wouldsoften the blow for Shane by giving him both the horses and the business name of the riding school heâd helped build up with her mother. Somehow she didnât think heâd be too upset with the arrangement.
As for doing the right thing at this end of thingsâ¦
That was up to James, wasnât it?
CHAPTER SIX
âY OUâRE looking much better,â James said as he handed her into the back seat of the green Bentley for the ride to the hospital, supposedly only a ten-minute tripâfifteen if the traffic was bad.
Marina had earlier secured Henryâs approval for her choice of a plain black suit for the occasion, as well as the way sheâd done her hair, its bright mass of red-gold curls held back at the nape of her neck with a plain black clip.
The valet hadnât actually said anything, but she was beginning to read his facial expressions, as subtle as they were. Approval rated the barest nod of his head on first sighting, plus the minutest gleam in his steely grey eyes.
Henry would not have approved if heâd been able to read her mind. Or her heart. Sheâd been breathless with anticipation for Jamesâs return from the moment sheâd woken, hardly able to wait to see him again, to be with him again. Lunch had been stuffed down, not because sheâd felt hungry but because James had ordered her to eat. Marina suspected she would do anything Lord Winterborne ordered her to do.
âYou obviously had a good sleep,â he added when he climbed in beside her.
She tried not to stare, but sheâd forgotten, even inthat short space of time, just how handsome he was. Mindful of Henryâs warnings, and her own infernal conscience, she hoped nothing of her innermost feelings showed in her face, or her eyes.
But how wonderful it would beâjust onceâto feel free to lean over and press her mouth to his, to look deep into his eyes and tell him how her heart raced whenever he was near, how heaven, for her, would be to spend just one night with him.
Her mind drifted to such a scenario, but this time, strangely, her fantasy was no longer of an explicitly erotic nature. She saw them as just lying together, naked, yes, but simply looking at each other and touching each other tenderly, long, stroking caresses, without tension, without the distraction of the flesh aching for release.
And then she realised she was thinking about how it would be with himâ¦afterwards. Shane always rolled over and went straight to sleep. Marina knew, instinctively, that James would not do this. Not with her â¦
âThatâs a most attractive perfume youâre wearing,â he muttered, the softly spoken compliment snapping her back to the present. âI donât recognise it.â
She simply could not look at him. Not at that moment. If she did, she would surely undress him with her eyes and blush awfully. âItâs called True Love,â she said, and turned her head to stare through the passenger window.
âAhh. A gift from your fiancé?â
Her head whipped back to deny she had a fiancéany more, not in her heart, and very soon not in reality. But she could not bring herself to say the words. Marina found this distressing, because deception was not in her nature. She wondered if she was deceiving James for his sake, or hers. Henryâs warning about going home with a broken heart had been a fair one. Men like James didnât break their engagements for girls like her. They took them as mistresses, not wives.
For all Marinaâs saying she was as good as the next person, in the circles James moved in relationships had different rules. Hadnât her own upper-crust mother had to run away to
Marina resolved to do the right thing and break her engagement when she returned home. She wouldsoften the blow for Shane by giving him both the horses and the business name of the riding school heâd helped build up with her mother. Somehow she didnât think heâd be too upset with the arrangement.
As for doing the right thing at this end of thingsâ¦
That was up to James, wasnât it?
CHAPTER SIX
âY OUâRE looking much better,â James said as he handed her into the back seat of the green Bentley for the ride to the hospital, supposedly only a ten-minute tripâfifteen if the traffic was bad.
Marina had earlier secured Henryâs approval for her choice of a plain black suit for the occasion, as well as the way sheâd done her hair, its bright mass of red-gold curls held back at the nape of her neck with a plain black clip.
The valet hadnât actually said anything, but she was beginning to read his facial expressions, as subtle as they were. Approval rated the barest nod of his head on first sighting, plus the minutest gleam in his steely grey eyes.
Henry would not have approved if heâd been able to read her mind. Or her heart. Sheâd been breathless with anticipation for Jamesâs return from the moment sheâd woken, hardly able to wait to see him again, to be with him again. Lunch had been stuffed down, not because sheâd felt hungry but because James had ordered her to eat. Marina suspected she would do anything Lord Winterborne ordered her to do.
âYou obviously had a good sleep,â he added when he climbed in beside her.
She tried not to stare, but sheâd forgotten, even inthat short space of time, just how handsome he was. Mindful of Henryâs warnings, and her own infernal conscience, she hoped nothing of her innermost feelings showed in her face, or her eyes.
But how wonderful it would beâjust onceâto feel free to lean over and press her mouth to his, to look deep into his eyes and tell him how her heart raced whenever he was near, how heaven, for her, would be to spend just one night with him.
Her mind drifted to such a scenario, but this time, strangely, her fantasy was no longer of an explicitly erotic nature. She saw them as just lying together, naked, yes, but simply looking at each other and touching each other tenderly, long, stroking caresses, without tension, without the distraction of the flesh aching for release.
And then she realised she was thinking about how it would be with himâ¦afterwards. Shane always rolled over and went straight to sleep. Marina knew, instinctively, that James would not do this. Not with her â¦
âThatâs a most attractive perfume youâre wearing,â he muttered, the softly spoken compliment snapping her back to the present. âI donât recognise it.â
She simply could not look at him. Not at that moment. If she did, she would surely undress him with her eyes and blush awfully. âItâs called True Love,â she said, and turned her head to stare through the passenger window.
âAhh. A gift from your fiancé?â
Her head whipped back to deny she had a fiancéany more, not in her heart, and very soon not in reality. But she could not bring herself to say the words. Marina found this distressing, because deception was not in her nature. She wondered if she was deceiving James for his sake, or hers. Henryâs warning about going home with a broken heart had been a fair one. Men like James didnât break their engagements for girls like her. They took them as mistresses, not wives.
For all Marinaâs saying she was as good as the next person, in the circles James moved in relationships had different rules. Hadnât her own upper-crust mother had to run away to
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