by Diana Bold
“Good morning, wife,” he replied gruffly, his arms tightening around her.
“What are your plans for the day?” she asked, truly curious. She had no idea what he did with his time when he wasn’t donning a mask and cape and jumping across rooftops. She had so much to learn about him, but for the first time since he’d agreed to marry her, she had hope that he might allow her to discover the answers. That’s all she wanted, for him to open up and let her in, the way he’d started to when he’d visited her flat in the dead of night.
“I’ll be in my lab,” he informed her. “I’m working on a project for a friend of mine, and I promised him I’d have it done tomorrow.”
“Your friend?” she asked, so surprised she didn’t stop to think about how that sounded.
“Yes.” He drew back a little, staring at her with a wry smile. “I know you find it hard to believe, but I do have a few friends.”
“That’s not how I meant it,” she hastened to reassure him. “I’ve just never heard you talk about anyone besides your brothers.”
“In the course of my work, I often find myself with questions. Sometimes there is nothing to be done for it but to brave the world and find the answers.” He laughed a little, stretching beside her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the flex of his long, lean body against her. “I find that intellectual people are for the most part too involved in their own minds to worry about my scars. So most of the people I count as friends are doctors or scientists of one kind or another.”
“I count you as a friend,” she told him seriously. “And I am neither of those things.”
“No,” he murmured, running his hand lingeringly down her body. “You certainly are not. You are a mystery to me, darling.”
She was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t reciprocated her claim of friendship, but at least he hadn’t rejected her outright. She supposed that was a step in the right direction.
She rubbed her hand up and down his back, glad to be having a normal, pleasant conversation with him. She cast about for something else to talk about, wanting to stretch these moments out. “I don’t quite know what to do with myself,” she mused, continuing to rub his back, eliciting a soft appreciative sound from him. “All my life, I’ve had to work or rehearse nearly every day. It’s only been two days, and I’ve already run out of things to do.”
“Do you want to go back to acting?” he asked, his voice carefully neutral.
The fact that he seemed to be giving her that option melted her heart completely. He truly was an enigma, like no other man she’d ever known. If she continued to act, his reputation would suffer even more than it had already. Yet she sensed he didn’t care, if that’s what she needed to be happy.
“No,” she assured him. “I’m done with all of that. I just feel like I need to be doing something worthwhile with my time. I don’t want to be just a decoration in your parlor.”
He shifted against her again, and she realized he was aroused. She caught her breath, trying to remain focused on their conversation.
“Perhaps you could volunteer at Brookhaven,” he murmured, lifting his hand to caress her breast. “Fiona takes on far too much and could really use the help of someone who truly cared about the children.”
That’s a wonderful idea,” she exclaimed, wondering why she’d hadn’t thought of it herself. “Gabriel would probably enjoy returning sometimes to visit with the other children.”
“Do your best to find ways to make the children more comfortable, and then insist Fiona take our money,” he said, with mock sternness. “I fear she’s far too penny-pinching. I’ve never had any luck getting her to take more than the bare minimum that place needs to function.”
His hand drifted lower, forestalling any response she might have made. She sighed and parted her thighs, granting him full access. He smiled wickedly and kissed her passionately, erasing all thoughts of the gulf that still lay between them from her mind.
* * * *
Early that afternoon, an invitation to dinner at Morgan and Anne’s house arrived. Vanessa’s hands were trembling with excitement as she opened the envelope and skimmed the contents. This was the first invitation they’d received, and it gave her the sense of belonging that she’d desperately wanted to find.
“Thank you,” she told the footman, and then unlocked the desk drawer where the household funds were kept. “Can you run a quick errand for me as well?”
“Of course, ma’am,” he told her.
“Can you please run down to the apothecary and ask for their best remedy to get rid of burn scars?” Last night, it had occurred to her that a good salve rubbed on his scars would make them suppler, less rough. Plus, he would probably enjoy having those areas massaged and treated with tenderness.
The footman gave her a quick smile, obviously discerning what she wanted it for. “Right away, ma’am.”
After he’d left, she went once again in search of Adrian, but couldn’t find him anywhere.
Exasperated, she cornered Clinton. “Can you please tell me where my husband is?”
The man had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, ma’am. He likes his privacy. If he hasn’t shown you his lab, I’m afraid I can’t take you there either.”
“Can you at least tell me if he’s still somewhere in the house?” she asked, fighting her irritation. It wasn’t Clinton’s fault that her husband wanted to avoid her. She’d hoped that after last night, things would be different…
Clinton stared at her for a long moment, and then nodded. A mischievous grin suddenly split his face, and he winked and pointed upward.
“The attic?” she whispered.
He just smiled and walked away, whistling.
Smiling, she went in search of the stairs that led to the attic. She took a few wrong turns, but finally ended up in front of a door that could only be Adrian’s mysterious laboratory.
She raised her hand and knocked, then held her breath, hoping against hope that he would let her in. Silence reigned for a long moment, but at last the door opened and her husband stared down at her.
“Hello,” she said softly. “May I come in?”
A battle raged within his expressive blue eyes, but finally he nodded and stepped aside, allowing her entrance.
She entered the room tentatively, her eyes widening as she took in the controlled chaos of her husband’s beautiful mind. Books littered the wide countertops, as did glass bottles filled with different colored fluids. In the far corner, an amazing mechanical creation took center stage, though it looked as though he was in the process of disassembling it. Sketches of what could only be a flying machine covered a desk. An acrid scent hung in the air.
He hung back, letting her take it all in.
“Did Clinton tell you where to find me?” he asked at last.
She shook her head, smiling a bit as she told herself she wasn’t technically lying. “No, I found you out on my own.”
He sighed. “I guess it was bound to happen.”
She turned to face him. “Do you want me to leave?”
He dropped his gaze. “No. I’m sorry. I’m just not used to having anyone in here. It’s where I come to…get away.”
“Get away from what?” she asked softly.
He shrugged uncomfortably. “Since the fire…I haven’t felt as though I fit in anywhere but with my brothers. This is where I come when the loneliness gets too…much. When I’m here, the questions I pose for myself, the answers I try to find, they make everything else go away.”
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to keep from reaching out for him. “I’m glad you have work that you enjoy. I won’t bother you here, if you don’t want me to. But you don’t have to be alone any more, Adrian. You have me now. And Gabriel.”
“That means…a lot to me,” he replied, and his mouth turned upward in the hint of a smile. “I just haven’t quite gotten accustomed to the idea yet. A wife, a family of my own. I never thought to have those things.”
His wo
rds gave her a powerful surge of hope. She drifted over to his mechanical mess, realizing it was an automaton of some sort. “Did you want those things, Adrian? A wife. A family?”
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against him. Brushing her hair behind her ear, he pressed his warm mouth to the side of her neck. “I want what Morgan has. Do you think…even after the way things began, that we can ever have that?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “I think so. I hope so. I love you, Adrian. Don’t you know that by now?”
He stilled, and then his arms tightened almost roughly. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.”
“I love you,” she whispered again. “I love you.” She’d never said those words before, but once she had, she wanted to keep saying them, now and forever. She wanted to say them until he believed them, until he finally said them back.
He spun her in his arms, staring down at her with frightening intensity. Then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with the same fiery passion she’d come to expect. She’d have liked him to say the words back, but she knew he wasn’t ready for that yet.
It didn’t matter. She could wait. She would wait for this man forever, if that’s what it took.
At last he broke away, leaving her dizzy and trembling. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He took a few steps away and turned his back, as though he couldn’t bear to look at her. “I was so angry when you came to me with your proposal. I drank myself into a coma. Did you know that? I completely tore this room apart. I was so determined not to ever forgive you. But it’s been less than a month, and I’m already letting you back in.”
Tears stung her eyes. She hated what she’d done to him. Somehow, she had to find a way to fix this. “You can trust me,” she promised. “I won’t hurt you. Everything I’ve done…it was because I just loved you so much and didn’t want you to push me away.”
“I’m starting to believe that,” he said. “I just need a little more time.”
“I know you do,” she told him, “but I’m not going to quit trying to show you that I’m here for you. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Silence fell between them for a long moment, but then he turned to face her again. “Do you want more children?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”
“Good,” he said, the darkness lifting from his expression. “Hannah has me wrapped around her little finger, and I’ve wanted that so badly. A daughter of my own.”
She grinned, imagining how beautiful their daughter would be. “Speaking of Hannah… I came up here today because we received an invitation to Morgan and Anne’s for dinner tonight.”
“Would you like to go?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
“I would love to go,” she assured him. “I’ve never had much in the way of family, and what you have with your brothers…I hope you realize how special that is. I want to get to know them, if you think they’ll ever accept me after what I’ve done. And Anne was so kind to me at the wedding.”
“Anne is very sweet-natured,” he agreed. “I’m glad she treated you well. If you’re sure you want to go, send a footman with your reply. It might be…fun.”
Vanessa laughed. “You say that word as though it is completely foreign to you.”
“It has been,” he admitted. “Until you.”
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you. For everything.”
* * * *
Long after Vanessa had left, Adrian stood where she’d left him, smiling like a fool. She loved him! Perhaps he was a fool, but when she’d said those words, ones he’d waited an entire lifetime to hear, he’d believed her.
A woman like her could have had whoever she’d wanted, but for some reason, she’d chosen him. All the anger he’d been feeling for the way she’d used her knowledge of Prometheus against him had faded, replaced by a tentative hope that had him smiling—smiling!—as he went back to work.
Perhaps they could make this marriage work. Perhaps all the things that had seemed so unreachable to him were finally in his grasp.
All he had to do was trust Vanessa.
Could he do that? Could he put the past behind them, trust her when she said that she’d only done what she had because he’d pulled away from her and she didn’t know how else to get his attention?
He wished he’d had the courage to unveil himself that last night he’d gone to her flat. She’d begged him to do so, and he now realized that she’d already known who he was. She’d known about his scars, but she’d still wanted to see his face. If he’d just taken off that damned mask, things could have gone so differently.
He’d hidden behind that thing for far too long.
Closing his eyes, he thought back to the night he’d spent in his wife’s arms, and the tender way she’d touched his scars. What he’d seen in her eyes earlier when she’d said she loved him had been truth, he was almost sure of it.
Somehow, against all odds, she looked at him and saw something other than the scars he’d thought defined him. How could he not love her?
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Vanessa entered Morgan and Anne’s house on Adrian’s arm, it was the epitome of so many dreams come true. Gabriel pranced before them, absolutely thrilled to be reunited with his cousins, and Anne greeted them both with a wide smile that left no doubt that they were truly welcomed.
For the first time in her life, she actually felt as though she were part of a family, and she couldn’t help but beam at her wonderful husband. “Thank you for this,” she whispered, as the footman took her cloak.
He raised a questioning brow, obviously not understanding her gratitude, but smiled in return.
That was twice she’d made him smile today!
“Come with me,” Anne coaxed, taking her hand and leading her down the elegant, white-columned entryway to a lovely sitting room done in shades of blue. “I’ve always wanted a sister,” she exclaimed, as she gestured to a comfortable-looking settee near a crackling fire. “I’ve so been looking forward to your visit!”
“Thank you,” Vanessa said with a happy laugh, a little overwhelmed by Anne’s kindness after the cold shoulder she’d been given by everyone else in Adrian’s life. “I’ve been looking forward to it as well. I’ve never had a sister.”
The word sounded a bit foreign and awkward, but Anne didn’t seem to mind. As the two women made themselves comfortable, the men and the children spilled into the room, the children shrieking and clamoring for attention, and the men laughing good-naturedly.
They all piled over to an elaborate train set in the corner. Anne turned to Vanessa with worried eyes. “I know the children should go to the nursery, but Morgan and I do so love having them with us all the time. Adrian is used to it, but if you’d prefer a little peace and quiet…”
Vanessa laughed and shook her head, watching as Gabriel joined in the fun, looking the way she felt, hanging back a bit, but hope and excitement shining in his wide blue eyes. “No, please. I love this. It’s wonderful.”
Anne glanced over at the men, who were now giving the children horsey rides on the carpet. A wistful smile curved her lips. “Adrian looks very happy and relaxed. More so than I’ve ever seen him. You’re very good for him.”
“I hope so,” Vanessa replied, her eyes tearing up a bit as she watched her handsome husband on his hands and knees, Gabriel clinging breathlessly to his back as he bucked across the floor. They did look very much alike. No one would ever guess that Adrian wasn’t Gabriel’s real father. “I’m trying very hard to be everything he needs me to be.”
Anne shook her head. “I never understood why it took so long for someone to look beyond his scars. Look at the man—he’s utterly beautiful, and he has such a good heart.”
“Well, I’m very glad the women in your circle are fools,” Vanessa said tartly. “Their loss has certainly been my gain.”
�
��You do love him, don’t you?” Anne gave her a searching look. “Morgan was so worried that you didn’t. The two of them are closer than you can imagine, and he would hate for Adrian to be hurt. But when I met you, I could see the love in your eyes and I told him he needn’t worry.”
“Yes,” Vanessa murmured, still a little taken aback by Anne’s frankness. She’d expected her new sister-in-law to be far more reserved. “Of course I love him.”
“And the child? He truly doesn’t belong to either of you?” Anne pressed.
“He belongs to both of us,” Vanessa said, a bit testily, wondering where Anne was going with this. “But, no, neither of us are his natural parents. We…worked together to save him from…a very bad man. In the process, we both fell in love with him. When Adrian adopted him as a wedding gift for me, it was the most wonderful surprise I’ve ever been given.”
Anne smiled. “I knew I’d like you, Vanessa.” She reached out and took Vanessa’s hands, squeezing them conspiratorially. “I’ve never known anyone like you.”
Vanessa struggled to keep the smile on her lips. “An actress, you mean?”
Anne squeezed her hands even tighter. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” she told her hastily. “But, yes, I suppose that’s what I mean. All of the women I know have the same background as I do, and frankly, they are all a bit of a bore.”
Vanessa raised an eyebrow, unsure how to take her sister-in-law’s comment.
“What I am trying to say is… I suppose I’ve been dreaming that with you…perhaps I can be myself? I’ve always wanted a friend I could share secrets with, talk about things that truly matter, my hopes and dreams, the things that hurt and bother me, instead of making polite chit-chat about the weather and fashion.” Anne flushed and dropped her gaze. “You must think me such a loon. We’ve only just met.”
Vanessa smiled hesitantly. “I think you are a very rare and precious woman, Anne. And I’d love to be that sort of friend to you. I think we have both felt rather like the odd ducks out, haven’t we?”
