Page 13 of Keeper of Secrets

Ryker assessed her, his keen eyes staring into hers, before they drifted to her mouth, and then lower, his gaze seeming to take in every detail.There was no passion in his gaze, however; it was an assessment that made Chloe shrink in on herself.

“I need a drink.”Ryker turned away then, crossing to the buffet where a line of crystal decanters sat in a neat row.

“It’s not even ten in the morning,” Mildred huffed.“Have ale.”

“Woman, cease telling me what to do,” he spit back.“You’ve always been meddlesome.”

“Someone has to help you find the right path.As advanced in years as you are, you’re still completely lost.”

“Lost?”He spun back a full glass in hand.“In my own house?”

“You know what I mean.”

“As a matter of fact, I do not know.I am on the exact path I choose to be, for the reasons I choose to be there.I have indulged your mothering because?—”

“You needed it.”Mildred’s chin raised higher.

“Because I care for you.”

Mildred snorted.“If you cared for me, you would have had children already while I’m young enough to love them the way I did you.”

“You should have had children of your own,” Ryker tossed back.

“You think I don’t know that?”Mildred looked down at her then and she reached out a hand, brushing a stray lock of Chloe’s hair back from her forehead.“But life has provided me with two children I didn’t birth, and I intend to take care of them both.”

Ryker let out a long, frustrated breath.“Damn meddling woman.”

Chloe reached for Mildred’s hand, holding it in her own.“Might I ask a question?”

Mildred scowled down at her even as Chloe silently pleaded with her eyes.“Fine,” Mildred answered, squeezing her fingers.

She wasn’t certain this information mattered to Mildred, but it did to Chloe.She looked at Ryker, plucking up the courage to ask her question and hopefully gain some clarity.“Why did you kiss me last night?”

* * *

Why didhe kiss her last night?

His aunt’s brows rose, her eyes sharp on Ryker.She was clearly also curious about the question.But he couldn’t very well tell the truth…

You were a bet.The sort of behavior he engaged in regularly because that was what men did.At least the men he spent his time with.He rolled his head, cracking his neck.This was an impossible situation.His charge was the woman he’d compromised.Used and then left.“You’re stunning.”

He didn’t add that he was the sort of man who took what he wished when he wished.Even he had the decency to not utter such words in front of his aunt.His heart shrunk in his chest.Bollocks.He could see the disappointment in Aunt Mildred’s eyes, and he didn’t wish to keep upsetting her.Damn the woman; she meddled, but she cared for him.

Not that it mattered.Mildred clearly intended to press the issue.What were his next plays?Strong-arm his aunt into silence.That was the first choice.

His aunt was as kind as she was energetic, but that did not mean she was easily manipulated.And she had a will of iron when she chose.It ran in the family…

He thought of the unopened letter on his desk.The king was growing increasingly impatient.Apparently, he didn’t like his dukedoms being left to chance.He wanted the title and all its influence to remain close to the throne.And the king could only be held off for so long.

His gaze flitted to Chloe.She was beautiful.Easily coerced into kissing, easily controlled by his aunt.She was a scared little mouse who’d fainted at the very sight of him.

He could make a stand against marriage as he’d been doing for the last fourteen years or…

A plan began to form.

He looked at Chloe again, those large blue eyes begging him for… he wasn’t entirely certain, but he could guess.

She was alone in the world, save for his aunt.She needed a secure position and that was something he could use to his advantage.

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