Page 82 of A Rogue's Rules for Seduction
“Two things,” Kieran said. “The first is that both Finn and I have alternate means of providing for ourselves, and Celeste and Tabitha. Finn at the gaming tables, and me, with my publishing venture. But even if we didn’t have a single groat between us, that wouldn’t matter. Which brings me to my second point: we’d far rather that you were happy than for either of us to be heaped with cash.”
Dom swallowed around the thick lump in his throat. “Without her, I don’t know if I can ever behappy. If she doesn’t want me—the best thing for you both is to stay away from me. I’ll only drag you down.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Finn said firmly.
Kieran placed his hand on Dom’s shoulder. “You miserable son of a bitch, we love you.”
“Just like you to say something so daft.” Yet Dom put a hand on each of the brothers’ shoulders, overwhelmed by their care when he so clearly didn’t deserve it.
There were so many things in this world he didn’t deserve, and yet the Universe kept givingthem to him. The trick came in not squandering those gifts.
As he looked back and forth between Kieran and Finn, he understood that the greatest gift he’d ever received was Willa, and he would do anything to keep her.
Chapter 26
By rights, Willa should be asleep. She had barely slept in the last twenty-four hours, and her body had done its utmost to keep up with the insatiable desire that blazed between her and Dom when they’d been at the cabin.
Yet after a bath that was supposed to be soothing, she’d climbed into bed and simply stared at the ceiling beams. Sounds from the house party crept faintly underneath her door. Music and laughter echoed as the other guests continued to amuse themselves with Mr. Longbridge’s endlessly provided entertainments. Normally, noise never bothered her whenever she tried to sleep. But now it did. Same with the afternoon light that sifted in through the closed curtains.
She’d prided herself on being able to sleep whenever, wherever. And she trulyoughtto get some rest. Her body needed it, and her feverish, whirling thoughts could use the relief of unconsciousness.
Dom’s offer of marriage ran like a rushing river through her mind, and even though she lay quietly in bed, her heart thudded in her chest.
Marriage. To Dom. She’d been engaged to him once before, awhirl in an immature infatuation and giddy with the belief that she was defying Society—and her parents. Hardly the foundation for a lifetime of joy. She and Dom had both acknowledged what a disaster it would have been, had they actually exchanged vows that day last spring.
Since then, she had evolved into someone else. Someone, she hoped, with a great deal more maturity and wisdom. And yet being wise where Dom was concerned... that was beyond her power.
Theycouldbe happy together... or they might be miserable, like her parents. Hell, she could find herself standing in front of the altar again, only to have Dom realizeagainthat he was about to make a terrible mistake, and abandon her once more. And this time, the pain would be even greater, because... she loved him.
Willa sat up, pushing back the covers.
Shelovedhim. And it terrified her. If she took what he offered, and if everything was to detonate once more, a trip to the Continent wouldn’t help. Years in the country or abroad would do nothing. It wouldn’t matter where she was or what she did with herself. She would be shattered, never to be whole again.
How could she sleep when the most monumental decision of her life stood before her?
The thought of joining the other guests made her stomach clench—but she had to dosomething. Slipping from bed, she strode to a small table where she’d set a stack of books. Perhaps one of them might distract her, or even provide an answer. Tabitha had recommended several texts to her, which could give some guidance. Yet when Willa went through the pile of borrowed books, they all had long, complicated titles with words such asepistemologyandontology, which made her head ache, although the Wollstonecraft seemed promising.
A knock sounded at her door, far firmer than Isla’s gentle tap. It could be one of her brothers, come to check on her as was the habit of elder siblings.
“Come in,” she called.
Dom stepped into her bedchamber, and she pressed a hand to her leaping stomach. It didn’t seem to matter that she’d seen him only a few hours ago. Every time she was around him, her whole being came alive, as if a nearby fire had suddenly burst into existence and filled her with heat and energy.
Her gaze raked over him, taking in every small detail. The dark stubble on his jaw—he hadn’t shaved since their return. The messy folds of his neckcloth—he had tied it hastily at the cabin andthat, also, he hadn’t attended to since they’d gotten back. His steel-blue eyes in the half-light of her bedroom as he looked her up and down, gleaming with desire. He stared at her from the top of her head to her bare toes peeking out beneath the hem of her nightgown.
God, how she wanted him. And he made her laugh, and she’d trusted him with her most unprotected self. But was thatenough?
“Whatever you want,” he said, rough but resolute. “That’s what we’ll do. We don’t have to marry. We can live as lovers.”
She started, unable to believe what she’d just heard. “What?”
“I’ve learned so much about you,” he said solemnly. “About myself. I see your strength, and mine, and I see that we’re also vulnerable. But it’s not a bad thing, that vulnerability. It’s good. Very good. Because it lets us feel, it lets us connect. And I’d rather link my soul to yours with or without the bonds of matrimony and feel the joy and pain of our connection, of all of it, than be without you. Because I love you.”
Her fingertips flew to her lips. He’d never said these words to her before, and she’d never said them to him, and to hear themnow, after everything... she could barely stand as happiness and fear buffeted her in equal measure.
“Not the princess,” he went on, unwavering. “But the lioness. Who is strongandsensitive andso much more than anyone has ever given her credit for. I love you, and Ineedto be with you, Willa. In any way you desire me.”
It took her several tries to speak. “Your inheritance... you won’t get any of it if we don’t marry.”
