“Undressing.”
He unbuckled his belt. His pants fell to the floor with a soft thud and he stepped from them, kicking them aside. For a moment he stood facing her. She couldn’t keep her eyes from sliding over his body nor, to her own dismay, could she keep from feeling that there was something strangely superb about him. He stood so very tall, broad shouldered, with his flesh burnished copper by the very pale firelight that danced so lightlyupon the nighttime shadows. A fierce wave of sensation seemed to encompass her, one she fought to throw off. She crossed her arms firmly over her chest, demanding, “Why?”
“Why? I prefer to sleep naked. I was raised in a tipi, you must realize,” he mocked.
Then tremors shot through her because he was so suddenly at her side, sweeping her off her feet, laying her down upon the bed. He was beside her then, his fingers upon the lace and ribbon of her bodice.
“You can’t do this!” she lashed out as she tried to catch his wrists.
“But I can. I have, and I will.”
“No, you can’t—you can’t just…”
He released her, rolling over to strike a match from the bedside table and relight one of the candles there. He stared down at her, naked, his flesh glistening, his eyes unfathomable. He looked far more civilized with clothes on, she decided. He didn’t touch her as he leaned over her, staring into her eyes.
“Don’t you think it’s a little late for you to be reneging on the marriage agreement? What’s the matter with you?” he demanded.
“The matter with me—I beg your pardon?” she cried, shimmying up to the headboard to put distance between them. “What is not the matter here!”
“The rules were set. You chose not to get an annulment?—”
“I chose not to get an annulment? If you wanted one, why didn’t you file papers?” she demanded in return.
“You chose not to get an annulment,” he repeated, seeming to grow angrier. “You chose to be a wife. Now suddenly?—”
“Suddenly! There’s nothing sudden here! It’s a wretched situation. Let’s see,” Skylar told him. “Just for starters, I barely know you!”
“You know enough. We got acquainted rather well last night. I know everything I need to know about you.”
“There you have it, Lord Douglas!” she exclaimed. “You think you know everything! You’re rude, presumptuous?—”
“Yes, but I’m also your husband. Married to you. Just as you have willed it that you are my wife. Our agreements have been made.” He threw up his hands with impatience, and his tone was harsh. “What do you know of this great western frontier you’ve come upon? Especially since the war, with the death of so many men back east, women have flocked out here by the scores to husbands they have never before seen to take up the toil and drudgery of eking out an existence on the plains. You’ll not have to get a single blister. But I promise you, those husbands have not brought their wives west so that they may sleep apart.”
There never seemed to be any arguing with him, she thought rebelliously. She felt the rise of tears coming hot to the backs of her eyes. She fought them, her chin very high, her voice regal.
“Those husbands want wives. They are surely courteous, while you, Lord Douglas, are one wretched, cold bastard!” she hissed to him.
“Not true. Not true at all. Bear in mind, those husbands knew they were acquiring wives, while I am still in shock over your arrival. No, I don’t want a wife. I’ve never lied about that, and neither will I forget the very strange circumstances of your arrival and cast flowers at your feet. Indeed, I did not desire a wife, but I have discovered that I do want the woman I’ve acquired. Therefore, I am not cold at all, rather, I’m burning. A bastard on fire, if you will.”
“Then very recently heated, I think! This isn’t even your room. You had no intention of coming here until I had the ill fortune to stumble upon you?—”
“And how do you know that this isn’t my room?” he demanded, watching her. Then he suddenly smiled. “Ah, you’vebeen exploring. Searching my house. Uninvited. So, you’re offended that I didn’t have you taken to my room.”
She shook her head strenuously. “You’re mistaken. I’m offended that you’re in mine.”
“Or are you offended because you suspect others might have been invited to mine?”
“Not at all, if you’d only the good grace to remain there yourself!”
He started to laugh. “Lady Douglas, you are unique, I do grant you that!”
“And you are a presumptuous bastard, I do swear it. Still assuming I somehow wronged your father. Well, I didn’t seduce him into his heart attack. I never slept with him. You surely do know that now for a fact—” She broke off, wanting him gone.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I’ll never tell you anything! Never!”
“Then it seems that what we share in this bedroom must suffice to make us man and wife.”
