Page 50 of Bought For The Marriage Bed

He opened the door of her suite for her and looked down at her, his expression unfathomable. ‘I would like you to think about our marriage becoming a real one.’

Nina stared back at him, her heart starting to gallop behind her breast.

‘I want what is best for Georgia and, in spite of what my brother told me, I now believe that you do too. That is why I feel it would be best if we conduct ourselves in a normal manner so as to give her the best possible environment in which to grow up. It would not be good for her to be around parents who bicker and snipe at each other all the time.’ He gave her a soft smile as he reached out to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘You are still jet-lagged. I will let you sleep in peace. For now.’

She didn’t want to sleep in peace! She wanted to sleep with him, but how could she tell him that without revealing her true feelings?

‘Go on, cara,’ he said when she didn’t move. ‘I am trying to be a gentleman here but you are not making it easy for me.’

‘I—I’m not?’ She moistened her dry lips.

‘No, you are not. I only have to look at you and I want to bury myself inside you. Go now while I still have the strength to resist you.’

Nina turned and went into her room with dragging steps, the door closing softly behind her.

She wasn’t so sure she liked the thought of Marc being able to resist her, especially when she had no such strength where he was concerned. But then he wasn’t in love with her, she reminded herself painfully. He hated her even though he desired her, but he had decided to put that hatred aside for Georgia’s sake. How much more would he hate her if he ever found out who she really was?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NINA woke some time during the night with the familiar cramps that had plagued her on and off since puberty, the clawing fingers of pain tearing at her from the inside. She stifled a groan as she dragged herself from bed.

She made her way to the en suite bathroom and, after swallowing a couple of painkillers, sat on the edge of the bath, willing them to work before she made her way back to bed.

‘Nina?’ Marc’s voice sounded from just outside the door. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine,’ she answered.

‘I thought I heard you groaning. Are you sick?’

‘Not really.’

‘Can I get you anything?’

She eased herself off the edge of the bath and opened the door. ‘I’m fine. It’s nothing I haven’t had before.’

Marc frowned as realisation gradually dawned. ‘You are having a period?’

‘You’re off the hook, Marc,’ she said as she made to move past him. ‘You’re not going to be a father; aren’t you pleased?’

He caught her wrist on the way past and turned her back to face him. ‘You look pale. Are you sure you are all right?’

‘Georgia is fast asleep, Marc. You don’t have to pretend you are the least bit concerned for my welfare right now.’

‘You are living under my family’s roof and therefore under my protection,’ he said. ‘If you are sick you need to tell me.’

She pulled out of his hold. ‘I am not sick! I just need to be left alone. Is that so much to ask?’ She felt the blur of tears film her eyes and spun around for the door.

Marc caught the back of her over-sized nightwear and, like an elastic band, she bounced back towards him. He turned her around and looked into her streaming eyes, something deep inside him loosening as he saw the betraying wobble of her chin.

He brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek where a tear was making a crystal pathway, the softness of her skin like velvet beneath his touch.

‘You are crying,’ he said, his tone sounding surprised.

‘You don’t say.’ She gave a little choked sob and brushed at her eyes with her free hand.

‘Why are you crying?’

She lifted her head to look at him. ‘Do you have a law against it, Marc? Do I have to ask your permission before I have a good howl?’

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