The Faithful Wife by Diana Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page B

sensible woman packed such man-trap bait for a holiday in the winter wilds of Wales with her kid sister?
    Her protestations of innocence regarding her part in this wearisome farce would have held a darn sight more water if she’d been muffled in flannelette right up to her pretty pink ears!
    â€˜Right.’ He cleared his throat. He tried to pull his eyes from her but couldn’t; they were stubbornly intent on drinking in all that sensual loveliness, and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing he could do about it. ‘Let’s get things sorted out.’
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    His voice had husky undertones, Bella noted. Oh, he’d tried to make it crisp, but he’d dismally failed. She knew that tone, recognised the sultry gleam in those hooded eyes. He wanted her. He couldn’t disguise it. Not from her.
    Two years into their marriage, around the time she’d gone back to work with Guy, he’d stopped wanting her. He’d barely been at home at all, and had been exhausted when he was. The lust that had led him to marry her had finally been slaked. But it hadn’t completely died...
    The shock of it made her stomach twist, ignite with curling flames of fever that rampaged through her body. She sucked in a sharp breath and dragged the duvet up to her chin. The passion of her rage with Evie and Kitty for landing her in this mess had encompassed him, making her oblivious to what she was wearing.
    â€˜Go away.’ She knew she sounded feeble now, hated herself for it. And, far from doing as she’d said, he took a few more paces into the room. Any closer and she’d weakly give in to the temptation to beg him to take her in his arms, hold her and make love to her again. Beg him to take them both back to the beginning, when she’d believed everything to be perfect and that he could give her everything she wanted.
    â€˜I’ll go when you’ve explained why you were so desperate to get me here.’
    The delayed modesty, the wide, troubled eyes, didn’t fool him. It was all a cynical act. It took one to know one, he thought tiredly, wanting to get this sorted out, packed away and put behind him as he had assumed—wrongly, it would seem—it had been for the whole of the past twelve months.
    â€˜You don’t believe a word I say,’ she accused, her voice shaky. He thought she was a scheming liar. It hurt. It shouldn’t, because she ought to be used to it, but it did. Unbearably.
    Her eyes filled with tears. If he didn’t leave this room, right now, she’d go to pieces, and her pride wouldn’t let that happen twice in one day. Just as her pride hadn’t let her try to make contact of any kind with him after he’d ended their marriage by walking out.
    â€˜Just tell me what it’s all about,’ he suggested tiredly. Suddenly he felt drained. He didn’t want to argue with her, to have to play it her way and coax and cajole her into explaining herself. He wanted out.
    Bella saw bored indifference, heard it in his voice, and anger stirred again, deep, deep inside her. ‘How can I, when I don’t know?’ she said through gritted teeth. She saw him shrug, turn away, and knew she wanted to feel relief because he was on his way out but, perversely, didn’t.
    She wanted to beg him to stay, to stop accusing her of something she hadn’t done, talk to her, just talk to her, treat her like an intelligent human being for once.
    â€˜Well, don’t say I didn’t give you the opportunity,’ he said tonelessly. ‘I can’t force you to tell me why you set this up, and quite frankly I don’t want to put myself to that kind of trouble. If you’ve blown the opportunity to tell me your reasons you’ve only yourself to blame.
    â€˜I’ll be leaving at first light, and you won’t be going with me. Even getting to the nearest farmhouse and a telephone won’t be a picnic, and I’ll make better