Page 40 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

“I do,” she said bravely. “I am.”

He studied her for a moment longer. His eyes working over her, behind which she could see him trying to figure through the moment. “And I am afraid I cannot allow that. This is…” He pushed his tongue into his lip, the clear signs of frustration growing. “This is not something that I want, Caroline. It is something that I must do.”

“And what about what I want?”

“What you want?” The duke frowned and tilted his head. “Yes, you have told me. A marriage of convenience. But even in such instances?—”

“No, not that…” It had been earlier when the duke had asked Caroline what she wanted from this marriage, a question to which she still had no answer. The only half truths she could ring from her conscience concerned what she did not want, which wasn’t quite the same, but it would have to do. “You asked me what I wanted earlier. Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean it? What do you?—”

“Do you even care,” she cut him off. “Do you care about what I desire, or are your own needs the only ones which matter? Typical.”

The question appeared to anger the duke at first. His eyes flashed and Caroline sensed she had gone too far. It had always been this way with them, since the first time they had met. Even when he was trying to be nice, she simply could not help but push…I really need to get better at that.

But then his expression softened considerably and he took a deep breath. “I do,” he said. “Although I understand why you might think the opposite. This entire arrangement…” He scoffed and shook his head. “It has been a tempestuous time for both of us, such that I understand why you think so little of me.” He raised an eyebrow at her, as if expecting her to deny this claim. She did no such thing. “As I thought…”

She grimaced. “I do not wish to fight with you either. That is not…” She clicked her tongue. “I am not such a fool to think that this is a love match or has any chance of being one. More than that, I doubt either you or I want such a thing.”

“I ask you again, what do you want?” He looked right at her, and for the first time she felt herself believing him. He wasn’t trying to trick her. He wasn’t trying to manipulate her. It was as if he cared.

“I…” She hesitated, considering the question once again. “I do not know what I want—but I know what I do not want,” she hurried when she saw his expression tighten. “I do not wish to be used. I do not wish to be little more than a…” She scoffed. “Then a vessel for children. If I was to say yes to you right now, I know exactly what would happen.”

“Which is?”

“You would forget me—worse than that, you would expect me to do whatever you command, whenever you command it of me. Called upon when you require me in your bed, forgotten as soon as the deed is done. And when the child is born, it will be the same. I will be little more than a tool with one purpose only.” Her lip curled at the thought. “I will not have it.”

The duke studied her closely, and she wondered what he was going to say.

Caroline guessed that he would care little for her worries. Why should he? Didn’t he say from the beginning he wanted little to do with her? So why would that change if they had a child together? He was likely confused, not understanding why she feared being forgotten when she had told him herself she wanted a marriage of convenience. Isn’t that the same thing?

There was the other side of the coin, also, a concern that Caroline would not dare to voice. What if she slept with the duke once and became obsessed with him? Their sexual chemistry was intense, proven as such moments ago when she had very nearly given in completely. If she slept with him one time and then he forgot about her, she was not certain how she would handle such an event.It would very likely break me. Not to mention the shame I would feel at giving in, in the first place…

“I have a proposition for you,” the duke said suddenly.

“You… what is it?” she asked with caution.

“I understand your concern,” he said. “And my hope is that you understand mine. I need an heir, Caroline. It is that simple.”

“And I am not going to sleep with you simply because you think?—”

“But you are worried,” he spoke over her. “Fearful that once you give me an heir, I will shut you out. A fair assumption,” he admitted. “Considering what you likely think of me…” A shadow passed behind his eyes and he grimaced. “And how we have treated one another to this point. But it does not have to be that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Give me a chance,” he said to her. “In fact, give me five chances.” He held up a hand and splayed five fingers open. “Five separate occasions during which I will prove to you that this marriage does not have to be the hellscape that you have envisioned. Five nights and days of my choosing to demonstrate who I am and what this marriage might be.”

“I don’t…” She shook her head, confusion reigning on her. “I don’t understand. You mean to seduce me?”

“To court you,” he emphasized, chuckling softly. “By the end of which, if you agree that I am not a monster whose only wish is to use you, then you will give me what I have asked for. An heir,” he confirmed.

“And if I refuse?”

He clicked his tongue. “Let us just hope it does not come to that.”

Caroline considered the proposition, doing her best to see through the words so she could get to their truth.Is this a trick? Some sort of trap? Surely, he cannot be serious. Based on everything I have heard of the duke, and seen with my own eyes, this is the exact opposite of what I should expect from him. And yet…

Was he really as bad as she thought? Yes, they fought often. Yes, they were constantly at one another’s throats. But he was not evil or mean. And he had never done anything that might cause her to fear him. Really, if not for the stories she had heard, told from outside sources, she might not have thought nearly as little of him as she did. Or as she had, anyhow.

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