Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (95 page)

events.

He must have need of them on occasion.

Other items included books of history and poetry that must be some of his favorites. All of them were written in Spanish. Yet he spoke two languages as did his wife. They had spoken in both English and later in Spanish that It

's Seduction

meant he was a man of education and likely some travel due to his work.

He'd gleaned from Elena's comments that he traveled for business, at least on occasion, like the Madeira cargo she'd mentioned. But at heart, he was a farmer. He'd known it when he'd looked out the window in Elena's room and seen the acres of land spreading before him. Of all the things he'd been told today, being a was the only one that resonated. It didn't conjure up any memories of his past, but at least it seemed natural to him.

It was more than he could say about his marriage to Elena. His marriage felt both natural and

Her incongruous reactions to him

in the morning had left him

The woman

who had lain naked against him throughout the night and unabashedly dressed in front of him was a woman used to the presence of a man. But the woman who had been startled by the simple press of his hand over the breakfast tray sent a different message. She'd been skittish and uncertain.

Then he had kissed her and she'd become fluid passion in his arms. It had taken all his restraint not to claim her right then. She was his wife-he didn't have to show restraint-but he'd felt that he must, that somehow, regardless of her willingness in the moment, she wasn't quite ready

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to accept that her husband had returned a

year long absence.

Alejandro idly ran a hand over the items on the dresser,

over all he

weighing the

against what he didn't know. One thing was certain: he didn't need a memory to recognize a mystery when he found one.

Chapter 9

Elena stared at the open doors of her wardrobe, but her mind was not truly focused on the gowns.

Instead, her thoughts were consumed by the handsome stranger down the hall. She had to take the upper hand, and quickly. Her nerves had nearly been her undoing that morning. She'd felt it and so had

She had to be

It

was too late to back out. The game was in

motion.

messenger from Don Alicante's pazo in the hills had already come to ask for an audience.

She'd hoped for a little more time, but word must have traveled

indeed if it had already

reached him. Now, she could not delay-it would look

to be reluctant to meet. Two days

was all the time she could buy-two days to subtly fill in the gaps of Alejandro's memory. She was just starting to realize the depth of the risk she took.

Elena reached for a gown at the back of the wardrobe and held it against her, shaking out the

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wrinkles it had acquired with lack of use. The deep-blue silk felt smooth beneath her hands. She had not worn this gown for nine years, not since the early days of her marriage to

andro when

she'd thought they could build a life together. The neckline was cut low, the bodice tapered to a tight waist and a

skirt. She'd loved this gown.

She'd purchased it in Santiago de Compostela when she'd bought her trousseau, but there'd been little cause to wear it in the following years.