Page 49 of Her Daring Earl
She pushed at him again, but this time he caught her wrists in his hands, holding them close to his chest.
“You will not marry any of them,” he said firmly, looking into her eyes. “Because you will marry me instead.”
He leaned down and, before she knew what was happening, pressed his lips against hers.
Fitz wasn’tsure what had come over him.
He had agreed to marry her, yes, but he wasn’t exactly happy about it. Then, when they had walked up to the women in the orchard and he had overheard Eliza telling Siena of her plans, a possessive rage had come over him at the thought of her ever being with anyone else.
The words emerged before he even had a chance to consider them, and in that moment, he had been unable to prevent himself from capturing her lips, drinking her in, knowing deep within him that as much as he had told himself a union with her would be all wrong, this was right for him.
She kissed him back for a few moments, her passion for him clear, until she suddenly broke the kiss, leaned back, and shoved him away.
She was surprisingly powerful for a woman of her size.
“What,” she seethed, “do you think you are doing?”
“Kissing my bride,” he said, puffing his chest out with the possession of his words.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I have not yet agreed,” she retorted.
“You told me you wanted to be married!” he countered, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Yes, before you were a complete ass.”
“I do not believe that is language a proper young lady should use.”
“At what point in our relations did I ever strike you as aproper young lady?”
They were standing face to face, both of their chests heaving, and damn it, but he did want to kiss her again. Was it worth the risk? Probably. But reason prevailed and he did begin to slowly back away, as though if he moved too quickly, she might attack – or flee.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, lifting a brow, and she let out a growl and fisted her hands at her sides.
“No!”
“I thought this was what you wanted! When will you make a final decision?” he asked, flabbergasted. Eliza was changing her mind from one moment to the next faster than a weathervane in a storm.
“When I determine whether or not I am with child!” she yelled, forgetting herself.
And the fact that anyone could be walking through the orchard.
Which, as it happened, they were.
“Eliza Gertrudis Munroe, what did you just say?”
Eliza froze as still as a statue, her eyes wide, her lips parted.
Fitz whirled around, stilling himself when he saw their mothers standing there in a fair state of distress.
He knew his problems had increased exponentially, and yet, he couldn’t stop himself from focusing on one thing he knew should not matter. And yet…
He looked at Eliza. “Did she just call youGertrudis?”
Her lips parted as she stared at him incredulously. “What importance could that possibly hold right now?”
“A great deal of importance if you have any inkling of naming my child that.”
Eliza placed her hands on her hips as she looked down her nose at him. “Do you seriously think I would name my child something so hideous?”
