Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(66)

But she had been capable. She’d played a good game so far, had surprised both Colton and herself.

In the end, though, it had not mattered.

A rustle behind her. She looked back but could see no one.

What if somebody did come? What if somebody saw them together?

Foolish. Foolish. Foolish.

It had all been so foolish.

She was no longer sure what she had ever hoped to prove. That she was desirable?

She had already proved that. He did want her, want her willingness, her obedience—her body. He just didn’t want her, didn’t want the woman she was at her core, at least not for more than a brief interlude. That was the lesson she had learned yesterday afternoon. He did not want her once desire faded.

“There you are.” His voice spoke from the darkness. “I thought you would come to the rose garden.”

She had been right. It was the most obvious. “You did not say where we should meet. I cannot read your mind.”

“Here I was thinking you could. You are very good at knowing what I want.”

“And what do you want now?” The words were out before she could hold them back. She had not meant to be flirtatious. She rose to standing, not wanting to have him loom above her.

The light from the house fell across his face, and she could see desire and need grow there. His eyes moved over her, and despite her mind’s wishes she felt her body respond, her breasts swelling, her thighs tightening, and that forbidden moisture pooling between her thighs.

He shifted, and his face again fell into darkness. “What do you think I want?”

“I know I do not wish to play this game any longer. Just be honest with me.”

“And what game is that?”

“Colton!” She knew all the frustration that she felt sounded in his name.

He took a step nearer. He paused. And then paused longer. His mouth opened and then shut. Opened again. Another step forward. “I want you to marry me.”

Time froze. It seemed the wind stopped blowing, the flowers stopped moving, even her heart quit beating—and then it grew, expanding, filling her chest. “I am sorry?” She could not possibly have heard those words.

“You heard me. I will not say them again.”

“You wish to marry me?” Her voice was little more than a strangled quiver. Hope filled her, fragile and yearning.

“Yes.”

Joy should have filled her. Her plan had succeeded. Colton wanted her. All she had to do was take a risk and it could all be hers. Instead, all she could do was repeat the question. “You wish to marry me?”

“Are you going to keep repeating like a parrot?”

If only she could find cool, calm thought. This was not at all what she had imagined, not that she had ever imagined that this was why he wished to talk with her.

Oh, she had imagined his proposal, imagined his bended knee, his look of longing—and she’d imagined both her scornful refusal and her blissful agreement. What she had not imagined was his look of strange detachment.

“Well, are you ever going to answer, or are you going to keep gathering wool until all the sheep are bald?”

She did need to answer, and yet she had no answer. “Why?” She spit out the question that was at the core.

“Why?” Now it was his turn to play the parrot. He moved closer and she could feel the warmth of his body, sheltering her from the wind.

“Yes, why do you wish to marry me?” She had to ask, no matter how little she wished to know. In truth she wanted nothing more than to press forward until they touched, until she satisfied the cravings that filled her.

“I think we would suit after all. It is that simple.” He stepped back and turned from her. The cold air struck her again, causing a slow shiver to run through her.

He did not seem to notice.

“And yet before, you felt that we would not suit,” she said.

“You have changed my mind. You have demonstrated qualities I did not think to find in a young lady.” He turned to her again, reaching out to run a finger down her cheek. This time her shiver was not from cold.

She fought against it, fought the swelling of her breasts, and fought the heat that pooled between her thighs, fought against her own desire. This was not the moment to be ruled by her body. “That I am willing to suck your cock?” Her hands rose to her mouth. She could not possibly have just said that. She might feel rising anger at how uninvolved he seemed, but surely she had not allowed such crudity to pass her lips. But she had.

He laughed. Colton actually laughed. “I would admit that does not hurt.”

“That is not enough of a reason for marriage.” Why could he not say the words she needed? One small hint of caring and she would be his.

“There are far worse reasons. And I do believe that we would muddle along well together.”

She blinked. Muddle along well? Her heart and soul were beginning to ache. “I did not know you could be so romantic, my lord.”

“Marriage is not romantic.”

Why had she ever wished to marry this man? Her near joy of a few moments ago was fading fast. “But it certainly does not need to be callous.”

He pulled in a deep breath. “I would say practical rather than callous.”

He would. “You still have not given me a good reason for marriage.”

“Would you have been so questioning if I had asked you when you first wished me to? I think not.”