Page 53 of Bound By her Earl

“Wonderful,” he said dispassionately. Calm and collected. That was how he would get through this without anything so distasteful as feminine tears. Emily’s tears, in particular, sounded abhorrent to him.

“First,” he said, careful to keep his tone level, “no affairs.”

“What?” she yelped. This time she wasn’t just surprised—she was offended if the bright spots of color that leapt to her cheeks were any indication. “I beg your?—”

“This goes for both of us,” he interjected. “It’s not hypocrisy. I will remain faithful, but I demand the same from you as well.” When she gaped furiously at him, he arched an eyebrow. “Do you have an objection to this?”

She scowled at him and some deep, wretched part of him adored it.

“I do not,” she said primly. “I merely think you’re being redundant; this was covered in the vows yesterday. Perhaps you should learn to pay better attention.”

He grinned a sharp, vicious grin but stopped himself before he could get lured into sparring with her. That was the kind of thing that led him to pin her down on her bed, arms trapped behind her back while he touched her until she exploded for him.

Which was antithetical to his purpose here today. A purpose he cared about. A purpose he needed to see fulfilled.

“I prefer clarity to brevity,” he said simply instead, refusing to take the bait. “Next, we shall always present a united front when in public.”

She looked very distinctly annoyed, but she nodded. “Fine.”

“No matter what is happening between us at home,” he warned.

Her eyes narrowed, and he had the impression that nowshewas the one holding back from sparring with him.

“Fine,” she repeated through clenched teeth.

He breathed in and out through his nose. This was going—well, it wasn’t precisely going swimmingly, but it was fine as Emily had said. Or, at least, close enough to fine. But this last part was the most important—and he feared, the one she’d find hardest to swallow, given what he knew about women.

“And no love,” he concluded firmly.

She didn’t even bother to protest that time, merely stared at him in openmouthed shock.

Benedict was not about to lose that advantage, no matter how cowardly it seemed.

“Excellent,” he said, preparing to stand. “That is all. I’m glad we understand one ano?—”

“Whatare you talking about?” she demanded, her voice shaking with a low, dangerous anger. He looked at her, and for a moment, he thought her eyes spoke of pain, but it was quickly replaced by a clear, pure rage.

He fought to not match her fire with his own. It never helped, he’d long since learned, to get emotional with an overemotional woman. His mother had shown him that again and again and again.

“I’m sure this is not a surprise,” he said coolly. “You and I both know perfectly well how we ended up at that altar. This is a marriage of convenience. You got to save your reputation, and I got a countess. Convenient. Feelings arenotconvenient.”

She’d returned to gaping at him, and again, he pressed the advantage.

“I must reiterate, Emily, I am not a hypocrite. I know there are men who would demand adoration from their wives while having no intention of returning that feeling in kind. That is not what I mean. Do not ask for love—and do not feel it, either. That will keep matters simple between us.”

There. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? After all, he wasn’t asking for anything he wasn’t prepared to offer in return. It was positively liberal-minded, frankly.

From the way his wife shot to her feet, scarcely seeming to notice as the chair almost toppled behind her, she did not agree with his assessment.

“I—” she began before cutting herself off with a sharp shake of her head. Her curls looked even wilder than usual, as if they were responding directly to her heightened emotions. The vibrant flush on her cheeks was annoyingly fetching.

When she spoke again, her tone was cold as ice.

“I should not be surprised at this—stunt.” She practically spat the word, made it feel like the vilest epithet. “I really shouldn’t. After all, you’ve shown yourself more than capable of surpassing my wildest imaginings of appalling behavior. But truly, this does outdo your previous efforts, Benedict.”

Hearing her say his name like that, full of spite, felt like a slap after only ever hearing it moaned in pleasure. It struck him violently, knocking loose his last grasps of composure. He, too, rose to his feet.

“Don’t be a child, Emily,” he scolded, voice dripping disdain. “You can feign surprise, but it’s nothing more than a game; you cannot fool me in that regard. I’ve seen how easily you wear a mask.”

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