“So you married Angélique,” Abby whispered.
There was a silence before he said, “It didn’t go well.”
“Did she know how you felt?”
“I’m sure she did.”
“But she married you anyway because she wanted to be your wife.”
At least he didn’t try to say that she was following orders too. No doubt Angélique had been in love with him for years.
“My father got what he wanted, and then miraculously didn’t die. He’s still alive trying to run things even though he put me in charge. I wouldn’t put it past him to have bribed the doctor to lie about his condition in order to get his way.”
“I can’t comprehend a parent doing that.”
“What saved any of this for me was the birth of our little girl Nicolette. She was two and half months at the time of the crash.”
A groan came out of Abby. She wished she hadn’t asked him about his marriage. She knew he would always be in pain over that. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” Raoul hadn’t been married to Angélique very long. Even if it hadn’t been the ideal marriage or anything close, how could one get over losing both of them in such a horrid way?
What kind of a dream world had Abby been living in to drive here with this fabulous, enigmatic, important man in order to see something possibly written by Lord Byron? What was she hoping for now? That Raoul would fall desperately in love with her? That she’d live happily ever after with a man this tormented by family problems and tragedy?
Abby should never have mentioned his wife. She looked around the room that shouted as nothing else could how foreign his world and aristocratic background was to hers. She could never be his raison d’être. Abby needed to leave for Italy tomorrow, no matter what.
Unable to sit there any longer, she stood up. “Thank you for dinner and the opportunity to see the Salon de Dionysos. I feel very privileged that you would allow me a glimpse inside your Saint des Saints.” She’d tried to pronounce it correctly. “But it’s getting late and I’m positive you’re tired after our long drive today. I’d better go back to my room.”
Lines darkened his striking features. “Now that I’ve been honest with you, why do I get the feeling you’re running away from me already?”
He could see through her with those piercing black eyes. She started to tremble. “Because I’m questioning my own judgment. Since we arrived at the estate, nothing feels right.”
“That’s because what we felt for each other when we first met was like a clap of thunder out of a blue sky. I was reminded of a line in ‘The Young Fools’ by Verlaine.”
“What line was that?” She’d enjoyed much of the French poet’s translated work.
“Suddenly a white nape flashed beneath the branches, and this sight was a delicate feast for a young fool’s heart.”
“Raoul—” Where had he pulled that from? He never ceased to amaze her.
“The reverberations have been growing stronger with every passing minute, so don’t deny it.” He got up from the couch and reached for her with his strong hands. Their mouths were only centimeters apart.
“I don’t deny it, but I’m not looking for any kind of complication. I never want to go through the pain of betrayal again.”
She heard his sharp intake of breath. “I’m positive my father lied to me to get his own way. You think I don’t understand betrayal?”
Abby shook her head, not immune to the tortured tone in his voice. “I don’t know what to think,” she cried.
“Then don’t,” he said before covering her mouth with a kiss so hungry and full of desire that she moaned. Finding herself immersed in sensations her body had never known before, she slid her hands up the silk covering his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.
As Abby began kissing him back, she was overwhelmed by her need for him and what he was doing to her. She couldn’t get close enough to him. The thought of his stopping was agony.
He rubbed her back and hips, molding her to him. “Mon Dieu, you have no idea what you do to me,” he whispered against her lips. “To think I almost put off going to Switzerland until the end of the month.”
“I shouldn’t have come with you. My friends warned me, but I couldn’t help myself. Verlaine was right about young fools.”
“But he got it right.” Raoul shook her gently. “Now that you’re here, I’ll take you to my grandparents’ apartment in the morning. Come on. Much as I’d like to keep you in here all night, I’ll drive you back to the petit château.”
He kept hold of her hand during the quick trip. When he pulled up in front, he took her to the door and unlocked it for her.
“Good night, Abby. I don’t dare kiss you again or I’ll never leave your apartment. Do you hear what I’m saying?” he ground out with a fierceness that shook her before he disappeared.