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“I’m waiting for you to be ready.”
    “I’m ready.”
    “You only think you are.” He shook his
head as though he was frustrated. “I want to show you
something.”
    She looked down toward his trousers.
“I just saw your something and it’s very impressive.”
    He chuckled. “I want to show you that,
too. But I want to show you something else, first.” He bent down
and kissed her cheek. “How long will it take you to
dress?”
    “If getting dressed is part of it, I
imagine you won’t be showing me anything,” she said, trying not to
appear surly. And failing. Miserably.
    “Will you please trust me?” he said.
“Trust that I know you well enough to know what you
need.”
    “You don’t know me at all.”
    His face clouded. “But I
knew him . And
that’s enough.”
    Him . He referred to her late husband. “Will he forever be in your
mind?”
    “He’ll be out of my mind as soon as I
banish him from yours.” He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look
into the depths of his eyes. “The fact that you are even worried
about pleasing me means that he’s still at the forefront of your
thoughts, darling.” He pinched her bottom lightly and called for a
maid to help her dress.
    ***
    “Where are we going?” Charlotte
stomped across the grounds toward a glass enclosure in the center
of Trent’s garden. He stopped in front of the doors and turned to
grin at her. Then he thrust the door open and urged her inside with
a hand at the small of her back. Charlotte gasped. Humid indoor air
met her, chasing the chill of the early morning from her body.
“Your greenhouse?” she asked, turning back to him, unable to keep
the smile from her face. Charlotte loved plants. She loved getting
her hands dirty with potting soil. She loved making things grow.
Encouraging them. Nurturing them.
    “It’s actually more than a
greenhouse,” Trent said as he took her hand and led her deep into
the building. They went by rows and rows of every sort of plant and
trees, fruit bearing and otherwise. Some were planted directly in
the earth. And others were potted and set about strategically. A
butterfly came to land on her shoulder. Charlotte reached out to
touch it, but it flew away. That was when she realized how many
there were. They hung in the trees and on the bushes. Some were
scattered in dishes full of water. “It’s a haven for
butterflies.”
    She smiled and spun in a circle,
trying to take it all in. “It’s amazing.”
    “It’s one of my favorite places,” he
confessed, looking a bit sheepish.
    “I could live here,” she breathed. He
gave her hand a gentle tug and dragged her further into his
personal jungle.
    “If you promise to come with me, I
might grant you access once in a while,” he teased.
    “Grant me access, huh?” she asked
playfully. She liked this side of him. He looked almost abashed at
the thought of sharing his favorite place with her. “Do you bring
all of your women here?” she asked, without even thinking. She
groaned loudly at herself before he could respond. “Ignore
that.”
    “You’re of the opinion that I have a
lot of women underfoot, just waiting for me to lead them along the
path of debauchery.” He tilted his head to the side and regarded
her for a moment.
    “You don’t?”
    He shook his head, looking sheepish at
her again. “I’ll admit that I did my fair share of carousing when I
was younger. But for the past few years, I have chosen my partners
with discrimination.”
    “But you didn’t choose me,” she
reminded him. “I chose you.”
    He nodded and then took her hand in
his, bringing it to his lips. “I hope you’re pleased with your
choice.”
    She would be if he would ever fuck
her. But that didn’t seem to be part of his plan. “I can’t have
children,” she said softly. “If you’re worried that you’ll get me
with child, and that’s why you haven’t… done anything. Then you
needn’t worry. I am barren.” She laid a hand over her stomach.