Page 45 of Claiming His Christmas Angel

“I’m surprised you don’t already know the answer.”

“I wouldn’t have asked the question if I knew the answer, you arrogant bastard.” Anger made her hands curl into fists at his insouciant demeanor.

“Because I like you.”

Beneath the soft, velvety caress of his seductive voice, Octavia heard another thread of emotion. She trembled as she tried to identify it. It was as if there were words he’d left unspoken. Was he saying he cared for her?

Isn’t that what liking someone means, Octavia? Didn’t he just say he wanted to marry you because he likes you?

It wasn’t the same thing as love. When she didn’t speak, a small smile touched his lips, while his heat engulfed her as the space between them vanished.

“I don’t think you find me too objectionable, Octavia. And I know we desire one another. You mentioned the necessity for pleasure in the bedroom last night. I can offer you that and more. But I harbor no doubt that our marriage would be a happy one.”

Beneath his scrutinizing gaze, Octavia’s heart skipped a beat. Soft and compelling, the sincerity in his voice hovered between them. There was something fervent and heartfelt in his last statement that made her heart slam into her chest.

Emotions she never knew she possessed brutally slashed into her heart with the same power as a stormy sea battered the shore. Atticus narrowed his eyes at her, his intense, piercing gaze.

Fear wrapped around her with a suddenness that chilled her. His proposal had been delivered as a requisite of bedding her. It was a barrier he intended to erect if she refused him. It made no sense. Why would he make it clear he wanted her, only to deny them the passion and delight of that desire if she didn’t accept him?

“I know you’re finding it difficult to believe we can be happy together, Octavia. But I believe we can,” he said with a quiet patience that threatened to make her yield to him. Alarmed, she gave a vehement shake of her head.

“Are you mocking me?” she spat out, terrified he was doing just that.

“No, I’m not. What I’m saying is that I want to marry you for who you are,” Atticus said with a gentleness that alarmed her almost as much as the warm, reassuring note in his voice. Fire scorched her skin the moment he cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “While there are other reasons to marry me, the only one that truly matters is that I want the woman I’ve come to like and respect as my wife. I know I can make you happy if you’ll just say yes.”

For a moment, Octavia studied the sincerity and warmth on his face. In his eyes, she saw a flicker of something that gave her hope. In the next breath, she stiffened and jerked back from him.

“What other reasons?”

“For Christ’s sake, Octavia. I just told you there’s only one reason that matters.”

“Yes, you’ve made that quite clear, but I’m not asking you about the only reason that matters,” she snapped as she narrowed her gaze at him. “I’m asking about the reasons you’ve not mentioned, Atticus.”

“Desire,” he bit out with frustration.

“What else?”

“A promise of passion.”

“There isn’t any difference between the two.”

“No, they’re two different things, but you asked about reasons to marry me,” he growled. “You make me laugh. You aren’t intimidated by me, and there are all the things we have in common, our enjoyment of painting for example.”

When he didn’t continue listing the reasons why she should marry him, Octavia frowned. Studying his handsome features, her heart sank the instant she saw worry flash in his eyes. Octavia shook her head, and resignation crossed his strong, masculine features. It only strengthened her belief he was hiding something.

“No, there’s something else, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me?”

Atticus remained silent, and Octavia’s mouth went dry. He’d said he didn’t want her dowry and would sign it over to her. He’d said the only reason that mattered was that he wanted to marry her for who she was. If all that was true, why did she still think there was another reason? A reason he knew she wouldn’t like. What other—Octavia grew still as her eyes widened with renewed horror.

“You think I’ll have no choice but to marry you because there will be a scandal.”

“Yes, which is why I’m asking you now. I want you to be my wife, not because honor demands I marry you, but because I believe we can be happy together,” he said in a gentle voice. She dismissed his answer with a fierce shake of her head.

“That’s ridiculous. No one needs to know—”

“Damnit, Octavia. Think about what you’re saying. Do you honestly believe people won’t find out we were alone together all this time? It won’t matter that a blizzard trapped us here,” he bit out with restrained anger. “Servants talk, and people will find out. Then there’s you.”

“I will be a brief side note in the scandal sheets.”