Page 31 of Caged in Desire
“There were several salacious rumors about that hiatus involving more than one illegitimate child.” Henry reaches across the back seat and rests his hand on my thigh, squeezing slightly. “Katarina, you’ll be fine.”
“I didn’t realize I was speaking out loud, but of course I’ll be fine,” I say, giving him my most polished, charming smile.
Henry chuckles, pulling my hand from my lap and kissing my knuckles. “I know you will be. You’ve been mumbling the whole ride, though, and I don’t want you to stress yourself out about tonight. You’re already going to blow everyone away.”
“Hmm, perhaps. Henry?”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a boat? It seems there’s a trend among your peers when it comes to aquatic hobbies.”
Henry’s laughter deepens. A sound I’ve grown to love above most others. “Yes, we have a boat. A very nice, very large yacht.”
The car stops, and my husband hops out with haste I’ve yet to see from him. I take my time to unfasten my seat belt, and before I know it, my door is pulled open and Henry has extended his hand to mine.
He pulls my hand to his mouth and bends down slightly to kiss my knuckles again. When he hovers just a moment longer than before, his hot breath against my skin sends chills through my body. “Mrs. Sinclair.”
When he’s successfully helped me out of the car, he bends his arm, allowing me to loop mine through, and leans down to whisper in my ear. “Your beauty is otherworldly, Katarina. I don’t think I’ll be able to tell you enough how stunning you look tonight.”
“Henry! It’s great to see you!”
A man who looks to be around the same age as my husband walks up and pulls him into a hug, much more familiar than thegreetings of stiff handshakes we've been receiving since walking inside. “And who do we have here? This lovely lady can’t be the mysterious wife we’ve heard so much about, can it?”
“Ah, Charles Dawson, it’s been too long. This is indeed myincrediblylovely wife, Mrs. Katarina Sinclair.”
The man turns his attention to me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Sinclair,” he says, shaking my hand.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Dawson, and please, call me Kat,” I say with a smile.
“In that case, call me Chuck. I’m not sure if Henry has mentioned me. We went to school together in England and got into our fair share of trouble,” he says, squeezing Henry’s shoulder.
“Of course he has. I believe he’s mentioned your hobby for picking locks, having come in handy time and time again.”
“Oh, so you do remember me!” He chuckles, looking at Henry. “When I found out you were married, I thought you must have forgotten about me. That’s the only plausible reason I wouldn’t have received an invitation. But now that I’ve met her, I believe you were just trying to keep Kat’s beauty hidden lest you have some competition.”
Chuck winks at me, and I can’t help but smile. He’s a rather charming man, and not terrible on the eyes either. If not for my Greek god of a husband, I might call him handsome?
Henry pulls me against his body so fast, I’m surprised I don’t have whiplash. “That will be enough, Dawson. We’ve got to make our way to our seats soon anyway.”
“Ugh, I hate this part of these events. An hour of boring speech after speech before we can get to the fun part of the night,” Chuck says, not seeming to notice Henry’s caveman behavior. “Again, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kat. I hope you’ll save a dance for me later?”
“I wouldn’t count on any dances withMrs. Sinclair,”Henry says andpulls me away, placing a hand on the small of my back in an obvious act of possession.
As he guides me through the crowd to our table, his fingers trail lower and lower. His touch has been constant but modest since we’ve arrived, but by the time we reach our table, he’s practically groping my ass.
It’s been over a week since the incident in the bath, and I’ve been doing my best to avoid him, but I’ve missed his touch.I’ve missed him.Whatever feelings of rejection I’ve felt since then have all but disappeared. After countless touches, countless compliments, and the way helooksat me, he’s made his desire clear.
“Thank you,” I say when he pulls back my chair.
“Come here,wife,” Henry says, pulling my chair against his, throwing his arm around my shoulders, and leaning his head close to mine. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Have I told you that tonight?”
“Only about twenty times,” I breathe out.
“Mmm, so not nearly enough,” he whispers in my ear before slowly trailing his nose down the curve of my neck and placing a kiss on the edge of my bare shoulder.
“You’re the most beautiful. Stunning. Extraordinary. Breathtaking. Brilliant. Goddess of a woman. To have ever. Existed,” he whispers, each word punctuated with a kiss as he makes his way back up my neck.
The kisses are chaste in nature, but the combination of his words and his breath on my neck sends a flood of arousal to my core.
