The Ties That Bind by Kate Pearce Page B

into your bed tonight."
    She glared at him, hating his arrogance, yet unable to deny the thrill of desire pulsing through her body. Why did he still have the power to attract her?   "When have your promises ever meant anything to me?"
    He paused in the act of opening the door. "Surely that is the pot calling the kettle black. You haven't exactly kept your vows to me either have you?"
    Arabella opened her mouth to reply and realized she had nothing to say. She bobbed him a curtsey and swept past him, her nose in the air. He could force her to receive him in her bed but she didn't intend to make him welcome. Her footsteps slowed as she realized he hadn't directly forbidden her to see her lover again either. Why was that? He probably intended to wait and find out exactly who she was sleeping with before he acted to separate them.
    She shivered as she entered the cavernous hall. Perhaps she should warn Tom to be careful. As James' land agent, he would have to come into contact with her husband before long. Surely it would be better for him to know? She hurried into her private sitting room to write him a note.
    After a last disgusted glance at the portrait of his father-in-law, James returned to the desk and sat down. He rested his head in his hands and shut his eyes. Arabella's dislike was not unexpected but it still hurt.   He'd walked away from her after their wedding night without a word of explanation and made no effort to explain his actions since. He hadn't dared. Her father's threats had served to keep him away.
    At first, in his rage, he'd blamed Arabella as well as the old man, convinced she had been in on the plan to get herself a title in exchange for some hard cash from dubious origins. Her reaction to her father's death had changed that. It hadn't occurred to him that she might have been bullied into the marriage as well.   He'd thought she cared about him.
    He rose to his feet as the clock struck eleven. He'd promised to take some of his guests for a ride around the estate. When he went to Arabella's bed tonight, he would have a chance to explain what her father had made him do. He hoped she would understand why he had been forced to leave her and forgive him.
    "Good morning, my lord."
    He smiled his thanks at the footman who opened the door into the stable yard for him and continued on his way. He was already dressed in his riding gear and eager to get out and explore the countryside around his house. A pleasure denied to him during his father-in-law's life.
    Arabella was an excellent rider. He pictured her dressed in her tight red riding habit, her booted foot drawn up against the side of her horse, her black hair escaping from under the demure hat placed at an angle on her head. In the shadow of the stable wall, he took a moment to adjust his growing erection. The thought of slowly undoing all the buttons on Arabella's habit until she screamed at him in frustration was an enticing one.
    He smiled as he recalled her stricken expression when he'd mentioned the possibility of her having a lover. Had his wife really used the word 'fuck' without blushing? If he'd done one thing right by her, it had been persuading Tom Lakeland to become not only his land agent but Arabella's lover. She deserved to be loved properly. James gave his cock another quick squeeze. And now, thanks to Tom's hard work and dedication, James was about to reap the benefits of her sexual education.
     
    *****
     
    "I got your note."
    Arabella almost jumped as Tom Lakeland appeared at the door of her sitting room where she had gone to avoid some of the more annoying guests her husband had invited for a weeks hunting.
    "You should've stayed away."
    She held her breath as he shut the door and strolled toward her. His dark good looks and broad shoulders were the antithesis of her husband's golden hair and great height. He knelt on the rug in front of her, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners.
    "Why? What do you think he is going to do to