Charles felt his face growing quite hot, and a muscle was pounding furiously in his temple.

“It is probably bad form to have an affair with one of your friends, but is it bad form to have one with a distant cousin?”

He was starting to see everything through a strange red haze.

“I am almost certain it would be bad form to entertain a lover here in our home,” she continued, “but I'm not sure where—”

A strangled, hoarse, half-shout-half-grunt erupted from his throat and he launched himself at her. “Stop!” he yelled. “Just stop.”

“Charles!” She squirmed frantically beneath him, which only served to make him crazier.

“Not another word,” he rasped, his eyes burning hot holes into her skin. “If you utter one more word, so help me God, I will not be responsible for what I do.”

“But I—”

At the sound of her voice, his fingers bit into her shoulders. His muscles shook, and his eyes grew wild, as if he no longer knew or cared what he did next.

Ellie stared up at him, suddenly quite wary. “Charles,” she whispered, “maybe you shouldn't…”

“Maybe I should.”

She opened her mouth to protect, but before she could make a sound he devoured her with a fiery kiss. It felt as if his mouth were everywhere—on her cheeks, on her neck, on her lips. His hands roved up and down her body, pausing to squeeze the curve of her lips and the fullness of her breasts.

Ellie could feel the passion rising within him, and she felt it within herself as well. He ground his hips into hers. She could feel his arousal as he pressed her deeper into the ottoman, and it took several seconds for her to realize that she was meeting his thrusts with her own.

He was seducing her in anger, and she was responding. The mere thought of it was enough to douse her passion cold, and she shoved her hands against his shoulders, squirming out from under him. She made it across the room before he was on his feet.

“How dare you,” she breathed. “How dare you.”

Charles lifted one shoulder in an insolent shrug. “It was either kiss you or kill you. I thought I made the right choice.” He strode to the connecting door and put his hand on the knob. “Don't prove me wrong.”

Chapter 10

Charles awoke the next morning with a thundering headache. His new wife seemed to have the ability to make him feel hideously hungover without his having imbibed a drop.

There was no doubt about it. Marriage was not good for one's health.

After washing and dressing, he decided that he ought to seek Ellie out and see how she was faring. He hadn't the least idea what he should say to her, but it did seem as if he ought to say something.

What he wanted to say was, “Your apology is accepted,” but that required that she actually apologize for her scandalous talk the night before, and he doubted she was going to do that.