Page 135 of His Grace, the Duke
“Perhaps her opinions have changed—”
“Or perhaps she is so desperate to have all three of us, she is willing to sacrifice herself on the altar of love for the sake of you and Tom. She will give in to my cruel demands. Everything or nothing. She will appease me. Well, I will not be the man who breaks her spirit. I will not be the man who chains her in a marriage she doesn’t want all for the chance to love her. Marriage isoffthe table,” he said with a swipe of his hand, pacing away again.
Burke took a deep breath. “James... weneedyou to marry her. Can’t you see it? That’s the only way this all works. You are taking the most risk, so you must reap the most reward. You are the only one who will get to call her ‘wife.’” He laughed, dragging a hand through his hair. “God, I could kill you for it... if it didn’t make me so happy I could weep.”
James spun around, his face murderous. “Did you notlisten to a word I just said? She does not want to marry me!” He enunciated each word. “Not like this anyway. Not with such a power imbalance between us. If she wasn’t so goddamn stubborn, I’d settle a dowry on her and make a legal contract blocking me from accessing it. But I can barely get her to accept a dress from me without a fight. Hell, I even told her the diamonds were fake!”
Burke frowned. “You what?”
“The diamonds!” James barked. “The necklace. The one she wore tonight. I told her they were fake.” He gave a bitter laugh. “They’re not fake; they’re worth a fortune. She could sell it and pocket the money, use it as insurance to leave the moment she tires of us. Hell, between the jewels and all the clothes, she could live a comfortable life.”
“Is that why you keep giving her things?” Burke pressed with a raised brow. “You’re trying to pad her with feathers, so she sees a life with you as a nest and not a cage?”
James closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “She is... everything to me. I want to give her everything. She’s lived such an ugly life, Burke. I know we can make it beautiful again. She deserves to be surrounded by such beautiful things.”
“What she deserves isyou,” Burke murmured. “That is all she wants, James. You see her agreeing to marry you as her abandoning her principles, tearing herself asunder to be whatyouneed. I don’t see that at all. I see growth. I see a woman willing to meet you halfway and give you what you need, while resolutely refusing to yield her own wants and desires.”
James paused in his pacing, turning to look at him.
“Christ, James.Lookat us. Look at what we’re arguing over! You want to marry a woman who wants to marry you. A woman who loathes marriage and all it stands forwantsto beyour wife. Her only condition will be that you accept not one, buttwoother lovers into the marriage. It’s madness, but there we have it,” he said with a laugh. “She will not marry you if you cast us out. To marry Rosalie Harrow is to marry Horatio Burke and Tom Renley. Can you accept her terms? Can you gain two husbands with your wife?”
James swallowed, eyes wide. “I—this is—”
“Before you keep blubbing like a fish, there is more you should know.” He knew how he’d wanted this reveal to go, but James was not always predictable... especially when it came to being territorial about Burke. “While you’ve been chasing your lovesick tail, desperate to avoid us, we none of us have been idle.”
“What does that mean?” James muttered, his body going tense.
Burke took a breath, placing his hands on James’ shoulders. James stiffened. Not a good sign, but Burke had to charge ahead. No retreat. All cards on the table. No surrender. This ended tonight. “James... Tom and I are lovers. As much as I want you, I want Tom too. As much as I can’t wait to have you... I already have Tom.”
James hissed and shrugged away.
“We’ve kissed and we’ve fucked, with Rosalie between us, under us... and he sucks my cock like a goddamn dream—”
James rounded on him. “Why the hell are you telling me this?”
Burke smiled. “Because you need to face all your fears, James. We’re not leaving this room until you do. I told the others this hesitancy you have ends tonight.”
James scoffed and stomped off. “You think I’m afraid of Tom? Or, what... afraid to share Rosalie with another man?”He paused by the fireplace, his lip curled into a sneer. “Or perhaps you think I’m afraid to shareyouwith another man? You, who I’ve always kept on such a short leash. Is that it? You want me jealous of Tom? You want me to prove I can fuck you as well as he can?”
“Your words, not mine,” Burke needled.
“You’reallfucking mine,” James growled, surging forward. In a rage, he wrapped a hand around the back of Burke’s neck. “You know me better than any person living. You know my greatest weakness is also my greatest strength: Icovetthings,” he whispered, his breath hot in Burke’s ear.
God, Burke was so hard. If James inched any closer, he would feel it.
“So be careful how you push me, Horatio. If you unleash me, I will claim you so fully, so fiercely... you willneverescape me. I will brand myself on every inch of your fucking soul. You say I am your air?” He shifted his hand on Burke’s neck, wrapping it around the front, giving his throat a squeeze.
Burke couldn’t contain the groan that escaped his parted lips.
“Then breathe for me,” James rasped, inching closer until their mouths were almost touching. Burke slowly exhaled, his cock twitching as James sucked in a sharp breath, Burke’s air filling his lungs. “Do you want me to covet you, Horatio?”
“I want you to see how we covetyou,” he replied, voice tight.
James gasped, leaning away.
Burke held his gaze. “You are the one who is coveted, James. You are the one who is wanted beyond all reason. You are the only one Rosalie chases. She made Tom and I scale her walls, content to sit back and watch us struggle every step of the way.Youare the one she fights for even now.”
James blinked, lips parted in surprise.
