Page 100 of A Virgin for the Duke of Thorns

When Colin looked back at Alice, her green eyes were wide with surprise.

“You are marrying me?” she asked incredulously.

“If you will have me, little lamb.” He smiled tenderly at her.

She frowned. “And if I won’t?”

He pushed her back onto the bed, eliciting a surprised squeal from her.

“In that case, I have numerous means at my disposal to convince you otherwise…”

She giggled and ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders, watching his gaze darken with desire as she did so. “It should hardly take my Wolf so much effort to convince me,” she murmured, looking up at him from beneath her lowered lashes.

He growled and kissed her deeply. “Oh God, I love you. I love you so much!”

“I love you, too, my Wolf.” She smiled up at him. “Thorns and all.”

Colin smiled at her again as his lips descended to meet hers. He could not have found a better woman to entrust his heart and happiness to. Alice was his match in every single way.

And he would dedicate the rest of his life to her.

A Wolf would only have one mate in its entire lifetime, and for Colin Fitzroy, the Duke of Thorns, no one but Lady Alice Barkley would do.

EPILOGUE

The wedding of the Duke of Blackthorn to Lady Alice Barkley was the talk of the Season precisely for the reason that their unorthodox courtship had set tongues wagging all over London. The couple had been betrothed once, which lasted for all of a fortnight before Lady Alice declared that both she and the Duke were ill-suited for each other.

Nevertheless, it would seem that the Duke of Blackthorn had some truly compelling means, for he managed to convince the young lady that they were both perfectly matched for each other. This caused a great many young ladies to sigh in envy and bemoan the great fortune that could never be theirs.

As all this talk swirled around her, Lady Evelyn Fitzroy merely sat serenely as the rest of the guests chatted in anticipation of the arrival of the bride. This was still her very first Season, and although she had had a reasonable amount of success, she was not so favorably inclined towards the suitors lining up to her door.

Fortunately, her brother was not one to force her into marriage and had even declared that she may have her pick of whomever she wanted, and if she did not find anyone that she liked, well…

“What did those poor flowers ever do to merit your fierce dislike?” a low voice teased her from behind.

Evie swiveled and found one of her brother’s closest friends—the most vexing one—regarding her with a single eyebrow raised in the most despicably arrogant manner.

Daniel Stanton, the Duke of Ashton, was most probably the most irritating man she had ever met.

“It is not so much the flowers as the company.” She sniffed.

She honestly did not know what her grandmama was thinking when she arranged for the Duke of Ashton to sit behind her, when she knew they hated each other. If they had not been in a place of worship, Evie might have been more inclined to commit some form of bloodshed.

That, and it was only with the help of this infuriating man that her brother was able to find true happiness with the woman he loved and who loved him deeply in return.

For that, she supposed she might be able to tolerate his presence a little more today.

How fortunate for him!

Daniel looked as if he was about to say something but was stopped from doing so when the music for the bride’s entrance began to play. A frown marred his handsome features, and she could not help but smile in satisfaction to see him so thwarted.

Did I just think him handsome?

Evie shook her head inwardly.

I did not just think that!

She surreptitiously slid her gaze to him, and true enough, the Duke of Ash was quite incredibly a fine specimen of masculine perfection. In fact, there were very few who could match up to his good looks.

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