“I took your virginity. I hardly think you need to ask.”
But she did. And his response proved achingly disappointing. There was no more talk of caring for her, and certainly not the declaration that perhaps she was secretly hoping for. For a moment, she wished for a little more of the insouciant courtier prone to flatter, rather than the implacable Highland warrior. She didn’t know what she expected, except that it was more.
A wry smile hid her disappointment. “You don’t need to marry me for that.”
He bridled, and a fierce expression obliterated the joy of only moments before. “My honor demands otherwise.”
Honor. The soft blow hit with a forceful impact. “And that is all?” she asked quietly. “That is the only reason you wish to marry me?”
His eyes shuttered, and he hesitated a moment too long. “I told you before that I cared for you.”
He swept his finger along her jaw in a soothing caress, but she turned her head away.
He doesn’t trust me,she realized.And maybe I don’t completely trust him.Not enough to risk her future or, she feared, her heart.
She felt the bond they’d just shared unraveling. “No,” she said tonelessly. “I won’t marry you.”
Incredulity warred with the sudden flare of anger that appeared on his face. “But you agreed.”
She lifted her chin. “I did no such thing. You asked me if I understood the consequences. I did. I do.”
“You gave yourself to me.” The hard look in his piercing blue eyes sent a chill through her bones. “You are ruined.”
She flinched. Never had she more resented that term. It seemed to sully everything about what they’d just shared. “I hardly think my loss of virginity will be a bar to finding a husband. Not that I would mind if it did.”
Something pained flickered in his gaze before anger smothered it. The fingers caressing her jaw stopped and held firmly. “Am I to understand that you were using me for your own ends, Flora?” His voice was deceptively calm, though nothing had ever felt so dangerous. “To make yourself less appealing as a bride, perhaps?”
She couldn’t deny that the thought had crossed her mind, but she never would have given herself to him for that alone. She shook her head. “That was not my intent. No more than you were using me for your own, I’m sure.” He held perfectly still. He might have masked his reaction, but there had been one.
Had she simply wounded his pride by refusing, or was there something more? She didn’t want to hurt him, but she needed to be sure that his motives for wanting her were what they appeared—surety that so far he’d been unable to provide. But there was no denying the magic of what had just occurred between them. Magic that she didn’t want to lose in unwarranted suspicion.
She held the wrist of the hand on her face and leaned up to place a tender kiss on his lips. “Please, don’t be angry. I don’t want to let this misunderstanding ruin the beauty of what just happened. Your honor is intact. I came to you willingly, and with full understanding of the consequences. I would do so again, if you asked.”
Lachlan couldn’t believe it.What could she be thinking?He didn’t want her as his leman, but as his wife. He bit back a crude retort and the spur of anger unleashed by her refusal.
Did she think him simply a stud, good enough to fuck but not refined enough to marry? He’d never asked a woman to be his wife before. And never had he anticipated a refusal, let alone one that would sting so badly. Coming as it was on the heels of the most incredible sexual encounter of his life. Making love to Flora had been unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Deep. Raw. Powerful. Life-changing.
It was as though he’d waited his entire life for something he hadn’t even known was missing. And now that he’d found her, he sure as hell wouldn’t let her go. Not without a fight. She belonged to him, she just didn’t know it yet.
They’d made love. She’d given him her innocence, he had every right to expect that she would marry him. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have a choice. But he couldn’t be sure that Rory would compel her to marry him, even now. Nor did he want to force a marriage between them that way—not if there was a chance he could convince her.
And he intended to do just that.
He ran his finger down her collarbone and over the lush tip of her bare breast. Her nipple tightened immediately. He’d prove to her that despite their different backgrounds, they were alike in the only way that mattered.
“No one else will ever make you feel like this.”
She eyed him warily, the soft flush of desire working its way across her body as fingers skimmed the soft naked velvet of her belly to reach between her legs and probe her intimately. She was wet and soft and responded to his touch with a sensuous press of her hips. He loved the way she closed her eyes and squeezed her legs against his hand.
He surrendered to the sultry haze for just a moment, reveling in the completeness of her response. Leaning over, he gave her a hard kiss on the lips and slid his finger from her damp heat. His body, stirred by her response, throbbed its objection.
Her eyes opened in surprise at the swift curtailment of pleasure.
But if he had to wait, so would she. “Not again, Flora. I won’t make love to you until you agree to be my wife.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “That was a rotten trick.”
He shrugged, not disagreeing. “I would do right by you this instant. Say the word and I will give you more pleasure than you can stand.”
