Page 17 of Forbidden Lord
“Good.” Unlike Patrice when he requested something, with Sheena, he had hope that she would remember the conversation. He fixed the button on the top of his shirt and set out to show her his library and study.
She patted his arm. “Why?”
“What?”
Sheena placed her hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Why do you want to eat together?”
They entered the formal dining room on the way to his library. He held out a wooden chair that currently had royal blue upholstery. As a boy he’d seen blues come and go. The staff had always made the decisions regarding the furnishings and that hadn’t changed when he’d become Count.
Sheena sat and he smelled her lavender perfume. He took the seat beside and brushed his finger against hers as he said, “And sleep together?”
She turned toward him and trembled.
No other woman he’d known had done anything like that when he’d touched her. Her reactions were interesting. He fully took her hand. She said, “Yes, that too.”
He needed to explain to her in a logical, nonsexual way, his mind screamed, but he kissed her hand and goosebumps grew on his body from the touch of her bare skin. “I never knew my mother.”
She blinked. “What?”
The statement alone didn’t explain but she had him confused. Her touch shouldn’t set off fireworks in his veins. The positive to his reaction was knowing they’d have something good between the sheets, even though he hadn’t sampled her.
“I didn’t know her,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about her other than she’d died. My father had multiple women, in multiple suites, in this house that he used to satisfy his wants.”
She turned her nose in the air like he’d just offended the sensibilities of a sixty-five year old noble lady that never discussed sex out loud. “I didn’t pick up on that vibe in these walls.”
She never would. He sat back in his chair and spoke clearly. “The staff is well-trained to keep the place in pristine condition in case a lady joins us. Or running the place, despite horrible ownership. They’re probably delighted to see me with you.” Even if both of them spent every dime they could, theestatehad more for any future counts.
Her lips pinched together like he’d said the wrong thing. She said, “Ah yes, I already know you threw wild parties.”
Which might not make his point that he was ready for change. His heart sped up like he’d been caught in a lie. “I kept up family traditions.”
She folded her hands on the table and crossed her ankles. “I’m not much of a party person. Unless it benefits a certain cause. I’ve always preferred intimate gathering with friends where we can talk.”
The opposite of him. He scooted closer, eager for her kiss, like that might help the tension in his belly. “You’re going to be good for me.”
A small sigh showed her true opinion that she wasn’t interested in flattery before she said, “That doesn’t explain why you want to eat meals together and sleep beside me. Your past sounds like a warning shot to never get near.”
Her words cut through his skin like she had knives attached to the verbs. “That might be wise, but I don’t want any future Count of Korbel to know what sordid means before he turns three. I also didn’t want cousins to inherit, so I figured even with Patrice I could do better than my old man and show my son a thing or two in life so he wasn’t as messed up as me.”
She rubbed her arms but he noticed that the goosebumps stayed. “Sordid?”
Sheena was a lady, which was a good and bad thing for him—otherwise their kisses would have gone much further already. “It’s a good word to describe my childhood.”
“You always struck me as carefree.”
He kissed her fingertips and she let out another one of her rather sexy sighs. “I took chances, hoping to disappear where nothing matters.”
She leaned close and the curve of her chest brushed the table. “Yet, you’re so full of life.”
Matteo ached to reach under her shirt and palm the weight of her breasts, to see for himself the color of her nipples. With a guilty swallow, he jumped out of his seat. “Sheena, let’s get lunch.” The library and his study could wait—he had to get a grip.
She stood like she was the Queen of England but didn’t ask if they would eat in the formal dining room. Sheena followed him to the hall. “And you’ll explain more about what kind of life you want together?”
Her words were like weapons that dug into his soul. He led her to a stairwell that went to the master’s chambers. Together, they walked up the stairs. “Sure. I want to know what traditional family is and to at least provide stability for my son.”
Side by side, they took the next step. Sheena asked, “What if we have a daughter?”
Fair question. He nodded as they made it to the second level. “Her too. I’m just projecting based on my own past.”
