“Don’t let me keep you.”
Ignoring her, he leaned over to the brandy decanter and poured himself a healthy shot. “It wasn’t wise to provoke him that way. Can’t you just hold your tongue for a few more days? I need time to convince him you were tired and upset and didn’t mean what you said today. Then I’ll take you home to the Manor and we needn’t see him again until the baby’s born.”
Kate clenched her hands at her side, pacing the room. “I meant every word,” she told him. “I’m tempted to create a scandal neither of you will ever live down.”
Daniel sighed. “Think about what you’re saying. He would never allow you to do such a thing without reprisal. If you continue to behave this way, he’ll destroy you.”
“Do you really think I care?” Her voice broke as the effort to remain strong became too much to bear. “The two of you have already broken my heart. Talon is gone. What else can he possibly take from me?”
“Your child,” Daniel answered. “He’ll take your child from you if you’re not careful.”
Kate closed her eyes and turned away, gripping the cool marble of the mantel until her knuckles turned white from the strain. He was right. There were consequences for every action, and she was no longer the only one at risk.
“Oh God, Daniel.” She turned around and pressed her hands over her stomach. “Do you realize what you’ve done? Do you see the danger you’ve put us in?”
He paled and reached for her hand, pulling her to sit on the sofa beside him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, awkwardly putting his arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. But it will be all right. I swear it will.”
It was the first time he’d ever held her, and for a moment she let herself lean against him. She absorbed his warmth, trying to find the strength to get through this night and all the cold, lonely nights to come.
Daniel touched her chin, tipping her face until she was forced to meet his earnest gaze. “Do you think you’ll ever grow to love me, Kate? Even just a little bit?”
Her eyes widened as he moved closer. Surely, he didn’t mean to ... Oh, but he did. Daniel’s mouth descended on hers in an ardent kiss. For a moment, she was too stunned to react, but when he lifted his hand to her breast she gasped, shoving away from him with all her strength.
They stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Kate forced herself to resist the urge to wipe the taste of him from her lips. She couldn’t afford to anger him, not now when she was at his mercy as his wife in the eyes of the law.
“Don’t do this. Please, Daniel. I can’t bear it.”
Daniel got to his feet and slammed his hand against the wall, making the fragile crystal vase on the mantle shudder. “What can’t you bear? My touch? My kiss? My body lying next to yours in the dark?”
He advanced toward her as he spoke, his eyes a little wild. Kate cringed against the sofa, terrified of him and what he might do. Suddenly his entire posture changed, and he sank to his knees before her. “Give me a chance. God, just give me one chance.”
“I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, curling in on herself, praying he wouldn’t force himself on her. The thought of his hands on her body, the same hands that had touched Philip Carrington... Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed, tears stinging her eyes. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I can’t.”
His handsome face filled with despair. “I’ve been such a fool. I disgust you, don’t I? The mere thought of making love to me is abhorrent, and after what you witnessed that night you came up from the country... how can I possibly blame you?”
He was right, but she didn’t want to hurt him any more. They were both hurting enough already. “You don’t disgust me. This isn’t about you.” She touched her stomach, beseeching him with her eyes. “I’m going to have Talon’s baby. I love him more than my own life. I could never share myself with anyone but him. Can you understand that?”
Daniel laughed, a low, lost sound. “I’ve made a mess of everything, haven’t I?”
She nodded in heartfelt agreement, afraid to give too much away, afraid to trust the glimmer of hope his words provoked.
He smiled, and something in the tilt of his lips reminded her of his brother. “You know, you’re not my ideal lover either, Kate. No offense, but you’re just not my type.”
She burst into surprised laughter, glad for his flash of humor. It made everything much easier. “Tell me. Why this sudden urge to be my husband? You’ve never cared about hearth and home before.”
He shrugged and got to his feet, coming to sit beside her on the sofa. “It just seemed like it would be so much easier. Being with you. Starting a family. Perhaps my father wouldn’t hate me so much if I could do this one thing right.”
Kate took Daniel’s hand and squeezed it. “Do you really love Philip Carrington?”
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything any more.”
* * * * *
Daniel closed Kate’s door and leaned against it, trembling with emotion. Dear God, what had he done?
For the last month, all through the long voyage across the sea, he’d spun sparkling fantasies of a new life. He’d imagined donning an entirely different persona, becoming the kind of father to Kate’s child that Sutcliffe had never been to him. With the love of a good woman, he’d planned to put the past behind him, deny the sinful urges and destructive behavior that had ruled his life so far.
The love of a good woman. What a farce. Kate cared for him, but she would never look at him the way she looked at Talon. How could she? He’d never be able to love her the way his brother had.
