Page 26 of Master of Games
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Slowly, she set down the glass on the mantel and then unlaced the chemise enough to pull her arm from the three-quarter sleeve.
He could see the marks on her chest, the ones that dipped below her neckline, lancing down the delicate flesh of her arm past her elbow.
He ached for her.
And the scars did nothing to change how he felt about her.
Crossing the room slowly, carefully, he reached behind her, removing her overskirts, before tugging at the laces of her corset.
She stood in nothing but her chemise and it was then that he leaned down, placing a light kiss on her raised angry flesh.
A small cry fell from her lips. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. I just…” A small sob fell from her lips. He pulled her belly to his, holding her close as he kissed her again, a little higher, and then lower, right to the edge of her clothing. He’d like nothing more than to pull the fabric away, assessing the totality of the damage, but for today, this was enough.
Instead, he trailed his lips over her shoulder and down her arm, keeping her close as he murmured soft words between the kisses.
Finally, her hands raised up to thread into his hair, her fingers clutching the strands like she was hanging onto a buoy.
He kept kissing.
Her head fell to his shoulder as she trembled in his arms. “I don’t regret the scars,” she whispered. “I don’t regret going in the building.”
“But you will hold yourself apart before you let anyone hurt you again.”
“Yes.”
He brushed the tip of his nose along her skin. “I understand.” He did. Completely. “Your bed looks ridiculously comfortable.”
“Caden.” His name on her lips held all kinds of warning. But she was calling him Caden again.
“It’s just sleep. I promise. I’ll only toss and turn in that room by myself.”
“Me too,” she sighed as she nodded against his shoulder.
He smiled against her skin. Because he was making progress. He just had to keep knocking down the very thick walls she’d built around her heart.
CHAPTER NINE
Despite the comfort of Caden’s arms, Tabbie couldn’t sleep.
Mayhap it was the nap, though her body still felt exhausted. But her thoughts wouldn’t quiet.
She was afraid of being rejected.
If she were honest, she was afraid of being judged by Caden more so than most. He had the power to break her heart like no one else before him.
She wasn’t supposed to care for the rake. The man who coerced women into his bed at will.
But he’d been so much more than that. He’d been her friend and confidant the past few days in a way she hadn’t experienced in so long.
Was that how rakes worked? They told a woman what she needed to hear so that she lowered her defenses?
He’d asked her to marry him. Did he mean it? What would marriage be like?
For the first time, she allowed herself to explore a different future than the one she’d been imagining.
