“Only think of it, Mr. Winter. We will have time to make our announcement to society. I can return to my father’s townhome, and you shall go back to The Devil’s Spawn. In time, we can reach a suitable agreement between the two of us.”
“Who is it you think you have married,Mrs. Winter?”
Mrs. Winter.Good heavens, how strange it sounded.
His tone was a warning, and she knew it. But she was not in the mood to retreat. She was in the mood to fight. Battle was all she had left, because she feared what would become of her and her child. She could not raise a babe in a gaming hell.
“I do not know whom I have married.” He was a stranger, an enigma. She was fascinated by him, frightened of him, desperately drawn to him.
He was the wicked seducer every society mother warned her daughters about.
And she had given in to him.
Had given herself to him.
“Allow me to rectify, Duchess.” Grasping the straps, he rose to comical height, hunkered over, balancing himself with an ease that belied the state of the wintry roads. He bowed. “Dominic Winter. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
With that pronouncement, he tipped the brim of an imaginary hat and settled himself once more on the expensive squabs opposite her.Heavens take the man.That had been…charming. Her lips wanted to curve into a smile.
She bit her lip again, hard, to keep that unwanted expression at bay. “I am more than aware of your name. You are being obtuse to irritate me.”
He grinned. “Is it working?”
Once more, her lips twitched. He had not been wrong when he had warned her she had made a bargain with the devil. Only the devil himself could be so smooth, so charismatic, so commanding and dangerous all at once.
“You are fortunate you did not strike your head on the roof of the carriage with your antics,” she told him instead of admitting anything.
“I never take risks unless I know they are in my favor.” His grin changed, deepening into a true smile.
The corners of his eyes wrinkled. Her breath caught.
Blessed angels, when he smiled, truly smiled, he was…the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
His words finally settled into the cracks he had created in her ability to concentrate.I never take risks unless I know they are in my favor.
Telling, that statement.
“Was marrying me a risk in your favor?” she asked him, wondering again at the reason for his abrupt desire to marry her.
He had not wanted to marry her when he had believed her a mere mistress. Was it because she was the daughter of a duke? And yet, he dismissed society and curled his lip at his own half brother.
“Marrying you was an excellent decision,” he countered softly, an appreciative light entering his intense stare. “Aside from your impertinence, I have no regrets.”
He was doing it again. Charming her.
Blast him.
“I am gratified you do not have regrets, some two hours after our nuptials, Mr. Winter.” She kept her voice carefully cool.
Colder than the January wind outside, howling and buffeting the carriage. The journey to London was not overly long, thankfully. However, with the unusual cold and the bouts of snow they had been suffering, travel was certainly not ideal.
“You arealmostthe most stubborn woman I have ever known,” he told her.
She could not be certain if this announcement was an insult or a compliment.
But she did know a sudden pang of jealousy at the notion of him consorting with any other women. Foolish, she knew. Burning in her breast like a hot coal, nonetheless.
“Whoisthe most stubborn woman you have ever known?” she could not resist asking, though she feared the answer.
