Page 15 of Keeper of Secrets

Chloe blinked in surprise.“I beg your pardon?”

“You won’t become pregnant.”

“But how can you know?—”

“I know because we won’t have that sort of relationship.”

Her lips parted in shock, her eyes clouding with confusion.

“That is my other caveat, Chloe.If we wed, there will be no intimacy.I won’t touch you.”

She gasped in a breath, falling back on the settee, her wide blue eyes becoming impossibly large.“You can’t mean it.”

“I do.Every word.”

CHAPTERFIVE

Chloe staredat him attempting to understand.A duke who didn’t want an heir?It was ridiculous.Absurd.

What would Mildred say if she heard all this?But of course, Mildred had been asked to leave.Ryker didn’t want his aunt to know what he was proposing.

Cad.

But it wasn’t Chloe’s position to judge.She needed this man to finance her future one way or the other.

What would he do if she rejected his proposal?The very idea that he’d still provide her a dowry after she’d told him no…

She nipped at her lip again.She had created this situation.Indulging in that kiss was having the most unimaginable consequences.“You don’t want a physical relationship with your wife?”

“Technically, I don’t want a wife at all.I never have.But as the situation requires it, I can find some benefit in our match.”

“Such as?”

“Well, my aunt will cease playing matchmaker.The King will stop sending me increasingly aggressive missives…”

He was tired of being harangued.

“And if the lady understands what I require, a match of… convenience could work in my favor.”

Chloe blinked at him.In his favor?Worry niggled down her spine.Generally, when something was designed for one person’s convenience, it would be far from convenient for the other.

But he would be meeting her most basic needs.She needed her financial future secured and that, he could provide.And she’d be settled.She’d have Mildred as a permanent family member…

She shook her head, looking at her clasped hands.“I don’t know…”

He moved closer then until he stood next to the settee, close enough that she could reach out and touch his thigh.Her fingers curled tighter together.What was it about this man that provoked such a reaction?This senseless need to touch him?

He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, then hooked a finger under her chin, lifting her face.“Chloe.What’s there to decide?This is beneficial for us both.”

It was true.Except… she found him so tempting, she couldn’t deny it, it’s why she’d allowed him the liberty of kissing her last night.And then there was the fact that she wanted companionship.She missed the security a real family had always provided.Not just financial but emotional.“How would it work?Us not being together…”

He withdrew his hand.“You could choose which of my estates you’d like to reside.You’d spend your time there… I would be mostly here…”

She was going to be shunted off like some dirty secret.That knot of dread tightened.“And if no one discovers that we kissed.Would you still want to go forward with this plan, or could I find someone else?”

He stared down at her with unreadable eyes.“The plan is now the plan.Even if I agreed, you know Mildred.She’s decided that she’d like both her adopted children settled.You could marry someone else, but then she’d return to meddling in my affairs.The unique thing about you is that with you, I can be honest with my wishes.”

She shook her head, forcing herself to stand.With the low table in front of the settee, she found herself trapped so that their bodies nearly touched.She still needed to tilt her chin a ridiculous amount to look at him.“You’re a duke.Plenty of women would make all sorts of deals…”

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