He came to his feet, easing his back and shoulders until he stood tall and firm. “I’ve made my decision, Storm. You can’t change my mind.”
“It’s not about changing your mind. It’s about obeying me, which I recall you had a problem with from the beginning.”
Burke opened his mouth to speak, and Storm was quick to still him with a warning.
“Think wisely, Mr. Longton, your response will affect many lives.”
Burke remained silent, though it wasn’t because he intended to change his mind. He merely wondered how he would convince her that this was his choice, something he had to do. Suddenly he realized the perfect solution. He’d sidetrack her.
“I told Lady Alaina she could come to America with us.”
Storm glared at him, and damn if he didn’t see the tempest rising in the blue of her eyes. He wished he had a storm coat to protect him from the squall that was about to hit.
“There is no us. Worse, you gave Lady Alaina hope.”
“There certainly is an us, and what is wrong with hope?”
“Hope always disappoints. It does so right now since you are so hopeful about us.”
“Hope does not always disappoint,” Burke argued. “Whether you want to admit it or not, there is an us and there will continue to be an us all the way to America.”
“See, you hope, and your hope will soon be dashed, and then what?”
“Let me reiterate. Hope does not disappoint. It offers encouragement and urges one to pursue his dream and see it to fruition. I intend to free my brother and have him live with me in America. We will watch our children be born and grow together. We will be family.”
“Senseless dreams,” she scoffed.
He stomped over to her and grabbed hold of her arms. “A dream perhaps, but a dream I will see to fruition.”
“Believe what nonsense you will, but unless you listen to me you will never free your brother and return with him and Lady Alaina to America where you will live this idyllic life.”
“I will have it,” Burke said adamantly. “And there will be an us.”
“That’s not possible,” she assured him.
He took hold of her shoulders and yanked her up against him. “Yes, it is possible, Storm, for I am determined that you will be my wife.”
Chapter 30
William and Philip entered the camp, forcing Burke to release Storm, for which she was grateful. For an instant, though, she thought perhaps it would have been best for him to continue to hold on to her, since she feared her trembling legs might fail her and she’d collapse, so weak did she feel.
Burke’s remark had hit her hard. Did he really presume that she would wed him? He had yet to claim to love her, and here he stated that she would be his wife. The man certainly was a fool, or was he hopeful?
He was an idiot.
She spoke with William and Philip and spent a few moments with Tanin before she wandered off to find a secluded spot in the forest. She needed time alone to think.
Burke was making a mistake that he would surely regret, and yet she could not convince him of it. He was so intent on rescuing his brother that he couldn’t see that he was making the wrong choice.
How did she convince him not to keep that meeting tomorrow?
How did she make him realize that he was about to do his brother more harm than good?
How did she let him know that she would never be his wife and that she would never go to America with him? And why did the thought upset her?
Hope.
There was no hope for the likes of her. Burke did not understand that and foolishly wasted time and thought on an impossible notion. She, however, was practical, and already a plan had begun to form in her mind. It was a dangerous one for sure, but if it proved successful, Cullen would be free, and she wanted that for Burke. She wanted to see him set sail for America with his brother at his side.
