Page 19 of The Forbidden Bride He Stole

Had they married in private, they would not have done so, but they were doing it here in front of the board, and he had professed to love her.

It was no matter. Physical touch could mean very little to him.

And yet the memory of how he had responded to her body two weeks ago lingered within him.

She looked panicked, and he gripped her chin, studying her. “I’m your husband,” he said.

She did not relax beneath his touch. He leaned forward, and pressed his mouth to hers, keeping it brief and nearly chaste. And still, the crack of flame that woke within him was like nothing he had experienced before.

He felt her lips go pliant beneath his. Felt that resistance change. So that her mouth clung to his.

Everything was softness. Everything was peaches.

He pulled away.

And then that moment passed, and the ceremony was done. And he let the lingering impression of peaches slip away.

They turned to face the crowd, and the priest announced them. It was silent in the room. Everyone was staring with wide eyes. Uncertain of what they had just witnessed.

They walked down the aisle together, hand in hand. When they returned to the antechamber, he released his hold on her. “Go and speak to your friends,” he said.

“But...”

“I assume we have an entire reception to get through?”

“I...”

“We are married,agape. Try to look as if you might be happy about it.”

“I’m not. I was doing this to get rid of you.”

“You had no idea that Rocco was a con artist, did you?”

“No. Was he trying to... Was he trying to con me?” She looked genuinely hurt by that. And he felt the urge just then to soften what he had just said.

For many years he had dealt with her by paying for her life. And with that money he provided safety, structure. She’d had a place to stay when she’d been on holiday. But he’d not had to...contend with her. With her emotions.

It had to change now.

“I have no evidence of that. Only what he did in the past. He was clean as long as he was here. But... Given his inclinations, I would not necessarily want to trust him with a fortune of your magnitude. Or with... Or with you, Hannah. I fear he could’ve hurt you. I hope for your sake you did not really love him.”

“And if I do? If I do love him, you are happy to have separated me from him?”

“If you loved him, then I am extremely happy to have made sure you won’t have your heart broken by him.”

“That’s almost nice. Except you took the whole situation and manipulated it to your own advantage. All of the protections that you’re concerned I don’t have... Well, now you have access to the company. To all of my money.”

The accusation that he was using her for money scraped close to wounded bone, and he found himself snarling in response to it.

“How dare you? I do not need your money. Nor your father’s company. I am a self-made man. The company that I built with Cameron is the one that I want, and the one that I care about. But you are my responsibility. And now for the next year I will be able to guide you on this journey.”

He’d only just purposed to be more gentle and here he was growling.

She’s strong. She’s not a girl. If she wishes to be treated as a woman, as an adult, then she will have to deal with your anger when she ignites it.

“You’re asking me to trust you when you didn’t think that I was capable of figuring out whether or not I could trust Rocco.”

“Yes. I do expect that you might have a bit more trust for the man who has cared for you since you were sixteen years old than for the man that you met a few months ago.”

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