Lydia’s mother examined the necklace and said, “It’s real.”
“How do you know?” Joe asked, truly curious how she could tell the real thing from something fake.
“By this.” She held out the necklace to him, and Joe leaned over to look at what she was pointing out.
“What am I looking at?” he asked.
“The chip in this sapphire.” Bella glanced at Bull, and Joe thought she blushed as she said, “I dropped the necklace the same day it was given to me and chipped this stone.”
“I never noticed that,” Lydia said. “Why didn’t you have the chipped stone replaced?”
“Because . . .” Bella met Bull’s gaze and finished, “I never wanted to forget what your father and I shared that day.”
This time it was Bull’s cheeks that looked pink. Joe wasn’t a mind reader, but he had a feeling Bella might have expressed her appreciation to Bull for the necklace in some way that had resulted in the necklace becoming unimportant enough to end up getting dropped on the floor.
“What now?” Alicia asked, her eyes frightened and her body trembling.
“Now we all go home,” Bella said.
“Easy for you to say,” Alicia retorted, as fear mushroomed into rage. “You have Blackthorne Abbey.” She shot a narrow-eyed look in Bull’s direction. “And his billions.” She turned her furious gaze back on Bella as she finished, “Gabe and I share a small flat in London. We have to live by our wits—”
“And by stealing,” Bella interrupted.
“You can’t blame us for doing what we have to do to survive,” Alicia said. “It’s not fair that you should have everything and we should have nothing. You should have shared, Bella. A loving sister—”
“How dare you!” Bella said in a steely voice. “I was willing to share everything. That changed because of your behavior. You know what you did.”
Joe was lost. Something had obviously happened to alienate the sisters from each other, but it was impossible to tell from what Bella had said exactly what it was Alicia had done.
“Bella,” Bull said. “That’s enough.”
Joe realized the Duchess’s breathing had become erratic again.
“Your Grace!” her assistant said urgently. “You must calm yourself.”
Alicia looked confused by Bella’s behavior. “Bella? What’s wrong?”
“We’re leaving,” Bull said, ushering Bella toward the door.
“Goodbye and good riddance,” Gabe called after them.
Once they were outside the room with the door closed behind them, Bull lifted Bella into his arms.
“That’s not necessary,” Bella said.
“When I hear your breathing return to normal, I’ll set you down,” Bull said brusquely.
He was still carrying her when they reached the front door of the hotel.
“This is where we part ways,” Joe said to Lydia’s parents as the limo pulled up to the curb. “I’m sure my sister will be in touch.”
“Don’t you want a ride back to your hotel?” Bella asked.
Joe shot a glance at Lydia. He didn’t have a room of his own. He’d been sharing hers. “No thanks. I can manage on my own.”
To his surprise, Lydia said, “I have a few things to discuss with Joe before he leaves. I’ll go with him.”
Lydia’s father had set Bella on her feet, and Lydia hugged her mother goodbye. “Please say you forgive me, Mother.”
“I think you’ve learned your lesson,” the Duchess replied.
“Come here, sweetheart,” her father said, gathering her in his arms and hugging her close. “Be good.” He glanced over her shoulder and met Joe’s eyes as he added, “And if you can’t be good, be careful.”
Joe felt the tips of his ears redden again. He supposed it didn’t take much divining by her father to figure out that he was as susceptible to Lydia Benedict’s siren call as any other man. He was sorry their interlude was over. Somehow, in just two days, he’d fallen under her spell. He wasn’t sorry their paths had crossed, but the sooner he got out of here, the less heartache he would have to endure.
Lydia stood beside him and waved as her parents’ limo drove away. Then she turned to him and said, “We need to talk.”
Chapter Eighteen
Bella invited Bull into her suite, then spoke privately for a moment with Emily before her assistant retired to her own room.
As the door to the suite closed behind the young woman, Bull said, “She didn’t look like she wanted to leave you alone.”
“Emily worries about me.”
“It seems like she has good reason to be concerned,” Bull said as he crossed to stand in front of her. “Just how sick are you, Bella? This time I want the truth.”
Bella kept her features even and worked hard to stay relaxed, so her pulse would remain under control. “Why don’t we sit down?”
He took her by the shoulders and pulled her so close she could see the black irises within his blue eyes grow large as he drank in the sight of her. She was aware of the heat of him and the familiar masculine smell that was his alone. It had been so long! She wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go. But she remained still, not wanting to encourage Bull to take the embrace further. At least, not before they’d talked about the tragedy that had separated them.
“I’ve spent ten miserable years without you,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. “Tell me that you’re going to be okay. Tell me that we have a lifetime ahead of us.”
Just being close to Bull was exhilarating. She laid her head against his chest so she could feel the beat of his powerful heart and put her arms around his waist. She should have made peace with him years ago. She hadn’t been any happier without him than he’d apparently been without her.
But she’d been fuming mad when he’d accused her of cheating on him with another man. She’d become frantic and desperate as the stubborn man refused to listen when, at last, she’d tried to defend herself. She’d ended up offended—and unforgiving—because he’d trusted her so little that he’d actually believed she’d broken her wedding vows.
And, of course, she’d thought they had forever to make amends. The fact that they didn’t made it easier to say the quiet words she spoke next.
“It wasn’t me that you saw in our bed with another man. It was Alicia.”
“Alicia?” Bull jerked away and stared at her in horror. “Why didn’t you just say so ten years ago?”
Bella sighed and sank onto the closest surface, which happened to be the sofa. “You never gave me the chance.”
“You could have made me listen,” he said furiously. “Why didn’t you?”
“I was appalled—and hurt—that you could believe I would betray you like that.”
“What on earth was she doing in our bed?” Bull said.
Bella sighed. That was a much longer story, which she had no intention of telling Bull right now. Instead, she shrugged and said, “Who knows? Some crazy whim of hers, I suppose.”
He sank onto the sofa beside her. “God, Bella. What a fool I’ve been.” He shoved both hands through his hair, leaving it askew. He met her gaze, a deep, vertical furrow appearing between his brows, and said, “What fools we’ve both been.”
Bella couldn’t disagree. They’d lost ten years that they could have spent loving each other. Ten years that they couldn’t get back. And she didn’t dare spend time with Bull now, or he would discover the truth about her precarious health. If he did, he would surely try to stop her from accomplishing the goal she’d set for herself before she died: finding loving partners for her unmarried children.
She felt a niggling dissatisfaction and wondered at its source, until Bull sighed heavily and said, “I’m sorry, Bella. I should have trusted you. I shouldn’t have gone off half-cocked like that. I should have believed in our love. Can you forgive me?”
There it was. The apology that provided a healing balm to the terrible ache in her heart. Bull’s admission that the love they’d shared
should have been enough to convince him his eyes had deceived him. That he couldn’t possibly have seen his wife in bed with another man, because she’d loved him too much ever to dishonor him—or their love—in such a manner.
Bella suddenly felt like she could run forever, the wind in her hair, her arms held wide in exultation. But considering the state of her heart, she was happy to settle for making love to her husband. She’d missed being held in Bull’s arms. Tonight she intended to make up for lost time.
She rose, reached out a hand to him, smiled sweetly and said, “Come with me.”
Despite the impression she’d given to her husband, Bella had been faithful to her marriage vows. She had no idea whether the same was true of Bull. She didn’t ask, because she didn’t want to know if he’d found release in another woman’s body. After all, his wife had rejected him and made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with him. If he’d been unfaithful, it was because she’d sent him away.
“You’re every bit as beautiful as I remembered,” Bull said in a reverent voice as he eased her evening gown off her shoulders. Bella shivered with excitement as he placed a kiss on the flesh he’d bared.
They undressed each other impatiently, Bull shoving at her dress to get it out of his way, while Bella pushed his tuxedo jacket off his shoulders. She reached for the studs in his shirt, tossing them aside as though they were glass, rather than the expensive diamonds they were. She was laughing, giddy with joy as they stripped their clothes away, until at last they stood across from one another, as naked as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Bella let her eyes roam what she desired and noticed the subtle changes that ten years had wrought in Bull’s body. His shoulders were still broad and muscular, and his waist was still trim, but the crow’s feet around his eyes had grown deeper, and the black curls on his chest were now threaded with silver. She didn’t have to wonder whether he still desired her. Her eyes trailed down his flat belly to the erection that throbbed in expectation of their joining.
She resisted the urge to cover her body as his eyes roamed over her the way hers had over him. Her breasts were not as high as they’d once been, and her belly was not as flat, despite all the yoga and pilates she’d done. And where gray had sprouted at Bull’s temples and on his chest, she had silver among the black curls that protected her womanhood.
They had both grown older. And hopefully wiser. She, at least, had realized that life was finite, and that it should be grasped with both hands and lived to the fullest. She smiled to herself, certain that her doctor would approve of the moderate exercise she had in mind over the next hour or so.
They came together slowly, electricity arcing between them and sending frissons of feeling up and down Bella’s spine. She savored the feel of her breasts nestled in the rough hair on Bull’s chest, the feel of his warmth and heat and hardness against her thigh as his arms closed tightly around her.
Bella realized she was trembling as Bull’s lips touched hers, tasting, looking for differences, then capturing her mouth and taking what he wanted. The familiar blended with the strange to create unimaginable pleasure. Overlaying it all was the sheer thrill of knowing they were together once again.
She gave a giddy laugh when he picked her up and headed for the bedroom. He set her down long enough to tear the covers from the bed, and she heard a guttural moan of pleasure issue from her lips as he lowered her to the sheets and covered her body with his own.
He felt so good. So right.
“I want you,” he said in a harsh voice.
She couldn’t wait either. They’d been apart too long to want to play. She needed to be joined with him. Now. I need you inside me. Please, Bull. She reached for him and guided him home.
She cried out as he plunged to the hilt, and he stopped and would have pulled out, except that she wrapped her legs around him to keep him inside. “I’m okay,” she rasped. “It’s just . . . It’s been a long time for me.”
“How long?”
There was no help for it. She would have to tell him the truth. “Ten years.”
Bull groaned, a rough, animal sound. He put his hands to either side of her face and kissed her, thrusting his tongue deep to claim her. Then he looked deep into her eyes and said, “My beautiful wife.”
He didn’t admit to similar celibacy. She hadn’t expected it, and she didn’t blame him for it. But she was glad that he treasured her fidelity. And she was glad they were going to have this moment in time to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh that she’d missed over the years they’d been apart.
He was as gentle as a man ravenous for a woman could be. Bella found herself smiling as her husband moved heaven and earth to bring her to fulfillment. His climax came before hers, but he knew enough to make certain she found the same joy in their coupling. When it finally happened, her release was earth-shattering.
All through their lovemaking, Bella had been unaware of her heart. It wasn’t until they were lying together, lungs heaving, bodies slick with sweat, that she realized her heart was thundering in her chest. And it hurt.
She put a palm against her chest as though she could will her heart to slow, and then she concentrated on the mountain lake that was the place of peace she always imagined when she wanted to calm herself.
“Bella?”
She heard the concern in Bull’s voice, but she wasn’t sure what was causing it. Then she realized he’d raised himself up on an elbow and was looking down at her with those beautiful, piercing blue eyes. He must have asked her a question or something that she hadn’t answered. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing in and out, in and out.
“Bella!”
She opened her eyes and tried to smile, but her lips wobbled. “I’m fine.” The words came out in a whisper and wouldn’t have convinced anyone, let alone an anxious husband, that she was as fine as she’d claimed to be.
“I’m going to call a doctor.”
She reached out and caught his arm before he could leave the bed. She spoke a careful, single word at a time. “I. Will. Be. Fine.”
He took her in his arms and held her close, rocking her as though she were dying. “Don’t leave me, Bella. Please, don’t leave me.”
“I’m not. Going. Anywhere.”
He gave a weak laugh and said, “You got two words together that time.”
She managed to smile back. “I need to. Exercise. My heart. But I don’t think. My doctor had. This in mind.”
“You should have told me. I wouldn’t have—”
She laid her fingertips against his lips to silence him. Her heart rate was slowing, and she could feel the strength flowing back into her limbs and her lungs. She took a deeper breath and let it out, and then another. She smiled at him and said, “I’m better already.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m going to take you to a specialist.”
“I’ve been to a specialist,” she said, her voice almost back to normal. “I just need rest.” She smiled invitingly. “And exercise.”
“No,” Bull said, pulling her into his lap and holding her close. “Not again. Not until you’re well.”
That wasn’t going to work because she was never going to be well. Bella knew better than to argue with him. She’d never met a man as stubborn as Bull Benedict. Instead, she slid her arms around his neck and said, “Whatever you say, Bull.”
He tightened his arms around her. “Damn straight.”
Bella suppressed a girlish giggle. Despite her husband’s honorable protestations, she could feel his arousal grow and throb beneath her. They had a long night ahead of them. With any luck, it wouldn’t take much persuasion to change his mind.
Tomorrow morning she would explain that she had business in Greece and had to get back. In fact, she had to find a wife for Riley. Bella froze as she realized the solution to her problem might have been right under her nose all along.
Samantha Warren needed to spend time in Greece hunting for her missing father. Bella had actually met the girl w
hen she was younger, and she’d promised to be quite a beauty. Who better to help Sam find her father than Bella’s son Riley, who was completely at home on the ocean? Bella realized that she could invite Sam to come to Greece on the pretext of discussing her future employment as the investigator for the Duchess of Blackthorne. She would make sure Riley was on hand and heard about Sam’s need to find her father. What red-blooded male could resist helping a female in distress? Once she’d introduced the two of them, all she had to do was let nature take its course.
As it had with Sam’s brother Joe and the Duchess’s wayward daughter. Joe had come to Lydia’s aid and managed to charm her in record time. If Bella wasn’t mistaken, the two of them were well on their way to making a match. When they did, she would present the Ghost to her daughter as a wedding gift. After all, it was what had brought them together in the first place.
Satisfied that she’d settled matters to her satisfaction, the Duchess turned her attention to seducing her husband. She slid her fingers into the hair at Bull’s nape and felt him shiver. She pressed his head down so their lips could meet and slid her tongue into his mouth.
After that, she let nature take its course.
Chapter Nineteen
Ever since he’d talked with Lydia on the phone, Oliver hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his younger sister, wondering if she was in trouble. Getting a text from Bull was odd enough that it signaled something was afoot. He needed to know that Lydia was all right, and that she’d actually had his mother’s permission to borrow the Ghost. And the best way to find out the truth was to check out the situation himself.
Rather than confront Lydia directly, which might suggest that he didn’t trust her, he’d decided it would be better to ask questions of his mother’s able assistant. He’d met Emily Sheldon on several occasions, and she’d struck him as a very capable woman. She would be likely to know more about what was going on than anyone else. Moreover, she could be trusted to be discreet about the fact that he’d been making inquiries.
The techniques Oliver employed that helped him to locate missing art were useful in helping him to locate his mother and her assistant. To his surprise, it turned out they were in Rome. That was suspicious, because the last time he’d checked, his mother was in Greece. So why had she left and gone to Rome? What the hell was going on with that necklace?
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