Page 63 of A Kiss at Midnight

But I don’t understand why Blake is choosing me to marry. He can have anyone; he can be with the wealthiest of the wealthy, with aristocrats, even with royalty. Why in the world would he choose me? I’m a nobody, someone who can’t do anything for him... other than pretend we’re a happy couple.

I finally slip on my shoes and am ready to flee, but when I step from the bathroom, he’s standing near the door, his face a mask. There’s no way of escaping unless I suddenly develop some prize football prowess and can knock him on his ass and vault right over him. This nearly makes me smile — almost, but not quite.

“I need to go,” I tell him, standing far enough away that he can’t snake out his arms and grab me.

“You haven’t responded to my request yet, Jewel. You’re the one who wanted to talk, and when I did, you rushed off into another room for an hour and now you’re heading straight for the door. To me, that’s not talking.”

Taking a calming breath, I look at his nose, knowing better than to meet his eyes. “Yes, I wanted to talk. I was wrong. I... this... I can’t think,” I stammer, frustrated I can’t find the words I’m searching for. “You already have me in your bed. I don’t understand why you want more than that. It doesn’t make sense, and my head’s too muddled to try to make it sound better, so I need to be alone.Please.” He doesn’t move.

So much for attempting to reason with him. “Look, Blake, I’ll do anything to get my brother back, but this is extreme.” He still doesn’t move, which makes me even more nervous.

“Why don’t you want to marry me?” I stop squirming and finally look in his eyes, but as usual, I read nothing.

“Because even though I’ll probably never get married, the act of marriage still means something to me. The institution isn’t a mere charade in my way of thinking. Yes, a lot of people seem to see it as a meaningless piece of paper, legally binding two people until they tire of each other. I, however, was taught that it means more than that...”

“Our marriage will be real,” he calmly tells me.

“There can’t be a marriage, Blake. I don’t know when or how you came up with this idea, but it’s not going to happen,” I say, my voice rising with each word.

“I met with the judge, Jewel, and he told me that because you don’t meet the conditions the court has set, you’ll have a very slim chance of getting your brother back. If you do get him, it will take months. Our marriage will speed this up... significantly.” This is too close to what the attorney said to me.

“I... I... How can they put this sort of condition on getting custody? It’s wrong,” I say, my head spinning.

“It is what it is, Jewel.” He’s speaking so casually — as if he has conversations like this every day. He looks at me intently for several moments.

“Why me, though? Why on earth do you want to marry someone likeme? I’m sure you can find a hundred other women — socially acceptable women — who won’t hesitate to take your name, and who’ll help you lock in your business deal with no problem.”

“I wantyou. And you need me. It’s that simple,” he says. “This way we both get something important to us, and you won’t have the constant urge to run and hide.”

“I can still run, even if we’re married.”

“Not if we both have custody of Justin.”

“You think I’ll give up my rights to him as soon as I get him back?”

“You won’t get him back without me, Jewel.”

“What sort of man are you?”

“I’m the sort of man who knows what he wants and goes after it.”

“I hate to tell you this, Blake, but you can’t own another person.”

“You’re very wrong, Jewel. I can own you,” he says, and the shiver that runs through my veins has nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

My eyes flash dangerously. “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into? Do you know how much work caring for a child is, especially one who’s been through the trauma Justin’s been through? You can’t do whatever you want whenever you want if you have a boy of his age and circumstances living in your home. Children are messy, they’re demanding, and they’re exhausting. Why don’t you give me back my brother, if you can, and go and find some easy woman, one who’s willing to bend all the rules for you? Why are you hell-bent on making a bad situation worse?”

“I’ve already told you this, numerous times. I want you, and I won’t change my mind.” The steel in his voice tells me he’s speaking the truth, and the anxiety in my stomach tells me the same. He isn’t going to back down.

“You aren’t giving me a choice, and you know it.”

“I’ve told you what I want and expect, Jewel.” He then moves from the door and goes to his desk where he leans on it. Is this a test? Is he going to let me go now? I pull open the door and take a step toward freedom when I feel his fingers grip my arm. Yep. I knew he wouldn’t make it easy.

“Something to remind you of what we have together,” he says before his lips descend and he’s kissing my breath away... again. When I sway toward him, he releases me. “We’re good together, Jewel. We both know in the end you’ll agree, but if you need to fight this so you feel better about yourself, take your time to do it.”

With that, he steps back once again, indicating with a gesture that I can go or I can stay. I flee. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop running, and I don’t even know who I’m running from — Blake or myself. Most likely both. I will bend... it’s just a matter of time.

Chapter Review

---