Read The Seduction of His Wife for Free Online

“Don’t tempt me.”
    She raised a brow and pursed her lips. “If you succeed in keeping me here, I will do everything in my power to make you regret coming home.”
    With that, she turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind her. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. That was not the start he was hoping for.
    *   *   *
    Emma locked herself in her room the first chance she got. She didn’t know what else to do. What else she could say.
    Her husband had really come home. Had wasted no time in installing himself here after their first meeting in a dozen years. It all felt like some cruel joke on her. With the threat of Waverly revealing her art to the greater part of the world, why did Richard have to come home now?
    He was mistaken if he thought he could walk back into her life. If he thought he could control her every move.
    There was nothing to do but leave. Which she’d been planning to do regardless of his presence.
    She needed familiar, comfortable surroundings right now. She knew Richard stayed in their London house on occasion when she was in the country. So whenever she was here, she always imagined his presence. Could even swear she felt him like some sort of ghost, even though he was flesh and blood. She’d never liked this house.
    She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a few of the items she’d left at the beginning of the summer, tossing them on her bed. When she had nothing else to keep her hands busy, she sat in a heap of puffed-up skirts on the floor. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stay in the same house as Richard. She didn’t know how to talk to him. Didn’t know how she was supposed to act around him. Didn’t like how he accused her of taking lovers.
    What would she do if he followed her back to Mansfield Hall?
    Why did he have to come back into her life now? When everything felt like it was falling apart. With Waverly threatening to expose her secrets.
    A knock at the door had her heart pumping faster in her chest. What if it was Richard? She wasn’t ready to see him again. Her nerves were on edge. Her emotions irrational. She felt light-headed, as though she’d faint if she stood. She couldn’t move from where she sat on the floor wondering what she should do.
    “Emma, love, let me in.”
    It was Grace.
    Her shoulders slumped as she let out a long huff of air. She could deal with Grace. She could not deal with Richard. Never Richard. Unfolding her legs, she forced herself up to her feet and wobbled on shaky legs over to the door.
    The moment the door shut behind Grace, Emma relocked it. Her hands shook so hard, she thought for a moment she wouldn’t be able to turn the knob.
    “What’s happened?”
    “He’s here.”
    “I saw him sitting in the parlor as I came up.” Her sister’s arms should have been comforting as they came around her, but they didn’t help with her shaking. “What has you in such a state?”
    Emma shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Was she in some sort of shock after her confrontation with Richard? Too much had happened in the past few days. Too many changes were taking place in her life. She didn’t like it at all.
    “You’ve had a bit of a surprise running into him twice now. I’d feel the same way if my husband found me in a harlots’ den.”
    “I thought … if he ever came home that I’d be happy. That he’d be like his father. Kind, loving. But he’s nothing like I imagined. Nothing. He cares for no one but himself. And now with Waverly trying to ruin everything in my life…”
    “Hush.” Grace petted her hair, smoothing it away from her face. “Richard will warm to you. Everyone does. Men are strange beasts. He’s no different from any of the men I’ve known. Give him time.”
    Emma stepped away from her sister and went to pull out the portmanteau from under her bed. “We have to leave. I can’t stay here with him in this house. I’m not ready to face him yet.”
    “Do you want