The Stranger I Married

her to the bed. “Do you think I am a boy now?”

Her heart raced. “Gray, really-”

“Yes, really,” he purred, his jaw set ominously as he thrust his hand under her buttocks and tilted her pelvis to cradle his. He rolled his hips, rubbing his cock against the perfect spot between her legs. “I want to know. Do you think me less than a man because I am younger than you?”

She swallowed hard, her body tense and straining beneath his. “No,” she breathed. Her subsequent inhale filled her lungs with his luscious scent. Grayson was virile, temperamental, and most definitely a man.

He stared down at her for a long moment, his cock hardening and swelling between her thighs. Lowering his head, he took her mouth, his tongue licking between her parted lips. “I have wanted to do this all day.”

“You did do this all day.” Her hands fisted in the counterpane to prevent herself from touching him.

Gray rested his forehead against hers and laughed. “I hope you have no objection to Spencer’s visit.”

“Of course not,” she assured him, managing a smile through her near painful attraction. What the devil was she to do with him? With herself? She could only hope that Lord Spencer would distract him from his single-minded seduction. How long could she truly expect to resist?

“Thank you.” He brushed his mouth across hers, then twisted to drape her body over his.

She frowned, puzzled. “No need to thank me. This is your home.”

“This is our home, Pel.” He settled into the pillows. When she tried to slide off him, he caught her waist. “Stay here.”

When she opened her mouth to argue, he grimaced, which arrested her. “What is it?” Before she could think better of it, her hand was cupping his cheek. He leaned into her touch and sighed.

“Spencer told me that I am his hero.”

Her brows rose. “What a lovely thing to say.”

“But it’s not. Not at all. You see, to him, I am the brother he knew before. That is the man whom he and his friends emulate. They are drinking in vast quantities, associating with questionable people, and showing no concern whatsoever for the effect of their behavior on others. He said he has yet to manage two mistresses, but he is giving it his best effort.”

Isabel winced, her stomach clenching at the reminder of how wild her husband was. His edges might have smoothed some, but he was no less dangerous. So far he had been cocooned with her while awaiting his garments, but soon he would be out and about. Once that happened, everything would change.

He nipped the fleshy part of her palm with his teeth, and held her gaze with his. “I told him he was better off finding a wife such as you. You are more expensive than two mistresses, but worth every shilling.”

“Grayson!”

“It’s true.” His smile was wicked.

“There is no hope for you, my lord.” But she had to bite her lip to keep a straight face.

His hands left her waist and followed the curve of her spine. “I missed you, dear Pel, these last four years.” He gripped her shoulders, and pulled her gently but firmly to his chest. “I must begin anew. You are all I have at the moment, and I am grateful that you are more than enough.”

Her heart welled with tenderness for him. “Whatever you need-” He chuckled, and her eyes widened in horror. “As far as your brother is concerned, you understand. Not for…” She wrinkled her nose as he laughed. “Odious man.”

“Not for sex. I collect what you meant.” His mouth nuzzled into her hair, and his chest expanded beneath her. “Now, you must understand what I mean.” Cupping her buttocks, he rocked her against his rigid cock. His lips to her ear, he whispered, “I ache for you-for your body, your scent, the sounds you make when we’re fucking. If you think I will deny myself those pleasures, you are mad. A raving lunatic.”

“Stop that.” Her voice was so thready it had no substance. He was like warm marble beneath her-hard, ridged, solid. She could almost believe he would support her, provide her an anchor, but she knew men of his ilk too well. She did not hold it against him, she simply accepted it.

“I will make a bargain with you, dear wife.”

Lifting her head, she caught her breath at the heat that burned in his eyes and flushed his cheeks. “You do not honor your bargains, Grayson.”

“I shall honor this one. The day you stop wanting me is the day I will no longer want you.”

She stared at him, taking in the wicked arch of his brow, before sighing dramatically. “Can you grow a wart?”

Gray blinked. “Beg your pardon?”

“Or overeat? Perhaps cease to bathe?”

He laughed. “As if I would do anything to make myself less attractive to you.” The fingers that combed through her hair were gentle, the smile he gave her tender. “I find you irresistible as well.”

“You never paid me any mind before.”

“That is not true, and you know it. I am no more immune to your charms than any other man.” His jaw firmed. “Which is why Spencer will accompany you when you go out tonight.”

“Your brother has no interest in the tame social affairs I attend,” she said with a laugh.

“He does now.”

Isabel took a moment to absorb the sudden quiet intensity of her husband’s tone, before sliding off of him and leaving the bed. The fact that he let her go without argument made her wary. “Must I be home at a certain time as well?” she asked tightly.

“Three.” He sat up further on the pillows and crossed his arms. The unspoken challenge was evident in his tone and posture.

She picked up the gauntlet. “And if I fail to return by that time?”

“Why, I will come after you, vixen,” he replied with ominous softness. “I’ve no wish to lose you, now that I have found you.”

“You cannot do this, Gray.” She began to pace.

“I can, and will, Pel.”

“I am not chattel.”

“You do belong to me.”

“Does that possession apply to you in like fashion?”

He frowned. “What are you asking?”

She paused next to the bed and set her hands on her hips. “Will you always return at three when I am not with you?”

His frown deepened.

“When you do not return in a timely manner, will I have the right to hunt you down? Shall I barge into whatever den of iniquity you happen to be gracing and rip you from the arms of your lover?”

Gray rose from the bed with slow, predatory grace. “Was that your intent? A lover?”

“We are not talking about me.”

“Yes. We are.” Rounding the bed, he came toward her on bare feet. Somehow she found the sight arousing, which only goaded her temper. The man was everything she did not want, and yet she wanted him more than anything.

“I am not a sex-obsessed female, Grayson, which is what your question implies.”

“You can be as sex-obsessed as you like. With me.”

“I cannot keep up with you,” she scoffed, backing away. “Eventually, you will fill the lack elsewhere.”

“Why worry about ‘eventually’ now?” His gaze penetrated as he stalked her. “Forget the past and the future. If there is one thing I learned over the last four years, it is that this moment is the one that matters.”

“How is that any different than how you lived before?” Sidestepping quickly, Isabel nearly ran to the door that led to her boudoir. She gasped as Gray caught her about the waist. The feel of him behind her-hard, aroused- flooded her with memories.

“Before,” he said harshly in her ear, “everything in my life could wait until another day. Visiting my estates, meeting with my stewards, seeing Lady Sinclair. Sometimes that other day never comes, Pel. Sometimes today is all there is.”

“See how different we are? I will always think of the future and how my actions today will come back to haunt