Forbidden Bastard: Opposites Attract Matchmaker Romance (Princes of Avce Book 10)

by Victoria Pinder

  "Yes," Sheena said.

  Good. Soon no one in Avce would talk to him, but at least he could repay Sheena's kindness. “I saw her work at the palace. If she has any more pastoral scenes of vineyards, I might know a few buyers.”

  “I’ll let her know.”

  Bench-pressing was next now that he'd warmed up his arms. “If that’s all, I need to get to sleep now.”

  “Of course. Night.” They hung up.

  For a few minutes Charles stopped thinking about anything other than how far he could stretch his body.

  He needed this--to build up a burn.

  Once finished, he took a water bottle from a small fridge in the corner of the room and gulped it down.

  Next he dressed, then flung open the door, intent on that glass of wine now, but Bernard stood like he was at attention and waiting for him. “Your Grace.”

  The butler hadn't been so visible before today. Charles lifted his brow and asked, “Has Miss Smith left the maze?”

  Lightning flashed outside the windows, brightening the halls as Bernard said, “No, Your Grace, and it’s going to pour rain soon.”

  Sandi was smart and capable. She didn’t need him to run in to rescue her. He lowered his head. “I’m not sure…”

  “Go,” Bernard said, like he was the one making the calls.

  But Sandi hated him. He widened his stance and shook his head. “She wishes to be alone.”

  Thunder pierced the air.

  Bernard was right.

  “Never mind. I’m going.”

  Bernard walked him toward the side door closest to the maze and opened the coat closet door. “Bring her an umbrella, Your Grace. No woman likes to be wet and miserable the night before her wedding.”

  Bernard handed him one of the black servant's umbrellas meant to escort an important guest to keep them dry. Charles took it. “I can… ensure she’s safe.” Other than that? It was out of his hands.

  He opened the door, but Bernard also handed him two rain jackets. Charles shrugged the male coat over his t-shirt but carried the small light-purple one for Sandi.

  As he headed into the maze, the first cool drops hit his nose.

  If she was still out here, he should have come sooner.

  It didn’t matter if she hated him or not. Safety was first. The rain pellets hit harder. “Sandi?” But she didn’t answer. Thunder crashed. He continued forward and said a little prayer that Bernard was wrong, and she'd left to the guest house already.

  The rain grew heavier and he opened the umbrella as he said to the hedges, “You probably can’t hear me.” Nothingness stared back at him. He continued on but saw no signs of her.

  She was probably in her bed, sleeping. He said out loud, “You don’t have to love me back. I’d marry you if you said yes anyway.” Rain drops echoed and it sounded like every drop was another laugh in his face that he wasn’t the guy who gets the girl. He stuck his hand in the pocket of the rain jacket. “But that’s probably too much to hope for.” He turned another corner and continued talking out loud, “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  When he rounded the next section of the maze, he found Sandi. Her red hair clung to her pale face, her green eyes big. She quickly stood and wiped her backside that must be soaked. “Charles?”

  He wrapped the jacket around her and ensured she was under the umbrella. She trembled. He should have come sooner. “I came to bring you this.”

  He removed his arm from her shoulders so she could slip her hands into the sleeves of the rain jacket. She glanced up and said, “Please don’t go.”

  Was he supposed to leave her? His skin was on high alert. He half-wondered if he carried her out of here, if he would get her inside faster, but other than wet she just seemed… sad. His jaw clenched. “Seeing you… I’m glad you're okay.” He wanted to stop feeling this pain.

  She latched her arm through his like she needed to hold him tight. “Can you help me find my way out? It got so dark because of the storm.”

  He patted her hand and looked around the green hedges. It would be faster if they finished the maze so he directed her forward rather than back. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  She pressed her fingers into his bicep and said, “It’s the opposite. Charles, I was stupid. I was wrong. I should have realized something and told you right away.”

  He held the umbrella over her not minding that he got a little wet. Her serious tone suggested she was about to say something important. “What was that?”

  Lightning and thunder rumbled back to back, the light and sound bouncing off the ocean. She stared ahead and said, “Not here. I’ve been stupid and listening to my panic instead of my heart.”

  A moment later he had her out. Luckily for her, he never forgot where to go once shown, even in the dark. It was a side-effect of being left behind and unwanted, to always remember the way.

  He led her toward the side door of his house and held it for her. “Well, here we are.”

  He closed the door and handed her a towel Bernard had left for her, but she pressed her body against his and said, “Charles, I don’t want to go to my parents.”

  The storm was bad. He wouldn't send her away. He’d let her have any bed she wanted. "You can stay here, as long as you desire." They each shrugged out of their rain coats and he set the umbrella against the wall to dry, then he motioned for them to leave the doorway.

  She walked with him. “How about forever?”

  Forever? He quickly directed her toward the main room of the house with the central staircase. “That’s a problem, as I won’t own the place much longer.”

  Sandi stepped in front of him to stop him, her hands against his chest. “Charles, I don’t want the house.”

  Water dripped off both of them as they stood in the hall. He felt guilty that the servants would have to clean up his mess. “It’s okay. It’s just a pile of bricks.”

  She brushed her fingers across his scruffy jaw. “Beautiful bricks that belong to you.”

  Charles wouldn't marry anyone else. The idea of bringing another woman here made him sick to his stomach so he avoided her gaze and said, “That mean nothing without you.”

  She caressed his cheek until he glanced at her. “Then let’s both stay, forever.”

  A dam near his heart broke inside him. He would never be able to deny the power she had over him. He hugged her waist. “Then we’re both doomed, but I’ll do whatever you want.”

  She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I want us to trust each other, as a team.”

  "I want the same thing.” Every part of him was alive and ached to possess her. The barbarian part of his brain hoped if he showed her how much he cared, she’d never have the strength to leave him.

  Charles scooped her up in his arms and cradled her to his chest as he carried her up the stairs and to their bed.

  Chapter 17

  Sandi's skin was on fire as Charles carried her to their bedroom. He set her down. The golden bed and gold and white embossed walls with the white sheets and blue blankets were the same as they’d been since she'd arrived.

  Her heart thundered. She loved him.

  Somehow she needed to ignore how every cell in her body wanted to rip his clothes off and taste his skin.

  Right now she needed to get a grip on her desire to be physical because she hadn’t explained anything to him yet.

  So when he leaned forward to kiss her, she placed her hands on his rock-hard muscular chest and said, “Charles. Wait.”

  “I’ll leave you to a warm shower.” He backed up fast as if he'd made a mistake.

  She took a step, ready to chase him if he left this room. “No. I mean… a shower sounds good as I’m cold… but I want to talk to you.”

  He massaged the back of his head. “Now?”

  She nodded. “I wanted to talk inside and in a warmer place. Your halls have too many servants.”

  He took his wet t-shirt off and tossed it and his jeans on the ground, then grabbed cotton pants for hims
elf and dry cotton pants and a white shirt for her. He lost his boxer briefs but tugged the pants on.

  Sandi glimpsed his full length, wanting him, but it had to wait.

  She sighed, but changed out of her wet clothes too. She kept her head down and ignored the sensation that he was watching her. It was probably her imagination, but she lifted her chin once she was finished and he nodded like she’d followed orders. “Okay," he said. "What’s on your mind?”

  She met his brown eyes that seemed to read her soul. Did he know how her skin was awake and needing his touch? She lowered her gaze as she said, “Charles, I was panicked when I tried to postpone the wedding. I don’t trust myself in making a decision.”

  He stepped back like she was taking up too much of his personal space, but then stopped. “Do you want to get married now?”

  She looked up at him and said, “Only if… Charles, I love you.”

  His entire face went white. “What?”

  She winced. Sure, she deserved his doubt. She’d been so… crazy before. She crossed the room and took his hand. “I love you. I want to marry you if you still love me and we have a shot at being happy and in love, together. The second you called everything off, I understood that in letting you go I’d lose out on a lifetime of happiness.”

  He didn’t pull away. In fact, his fingers wrapped around her palm. “An hour ago you didn’t love me.”

  Sitting in the maze, alone, before the rain, she’d realized as she stared at a butterfly that fluttered as if searching for somewhere to hide that she too was hiding. She’d been just like that, most of her life, so afraid of her past that it clouded her judgments. But unlike the butterfly she wasn’t hiding from a storm. She was capable of making a decision. She was hiding from her own self. And if she ran now, she’d never actually have the right to be happy.

  But the butterfly moment would be hard to describe. “I did. I do. I just needed… time. It’s hard to trust my emotions when all I ever do is make wrong choices…”

  He let her hand go and turned away. “You don’t have to marry me because I brought you an umbrella.”

  She caught his shoulder. “That's not it at all. Do you still love me?”

  He turned toward her and his hand went to her lower back to steady her. “With every ounce of my being.”

  All was not lost. Her skin buzzed. “Then please forgive me for being an idiot. I’ve never been the stable one in a relationship before.”

  His brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  Was that his dead pan humor again? Maybe she’d stretched that line. Either way this time she believed in her decision and now she needed him to believe her. “Look, I chose the wrong guys for me. Ask my parents about every guy they’ve ever met with me. I had horrible taste… I loved the idea of your half-sister’s website before we even met because it would stop me from making my own bad choices.”

  He let her go and stared outside toward the storm. “So I’m a bad choice.”

  Once again… no. She’d not always say the wrong thing. Her life depended on now. Her face heated and she hugged her waist as she lowered her heels to the floor. “I also ramble. You are not. Please hear me out.”

  “Okay.” He motioned toward chairs like this was a normal conversation.

  Sitting wasn’t possible. She shook her head and stood without moving as she forced herself to hold his gaze. “So, when you told me we were matched by the best system known, I was like "woohoo" but then when Cassidy reminded me that it was always my own choice and nothing is infallible, I wondered how on earth we fit.”

  He widened his stance. “What did I do to make you think that?”

  She walked over to him and hoped he understood. She lifted her chin and said, “Nothing. It was all in my head and my fear of choosing the wrong person flared up. So much so that I back-tracked.”

  He swallowed. “And I pushed.”

  None of her fear was because of him. He was who her heart ached to be with and she'd scared herself. “This wasn’t you. It was me.”

  He shook his head. “I was stupid.”

  No. No. No. This was all her. She let out a sigh. “You put your heart on the line for me.”

  Charles traced her skin and she ached for him to hold her and kiss her, forever. He said, “One of the things I love about you is that you’re smart and I never felt like I deserved a good woman in my life.”

  No man had ever cared half as much. She ignored how her pulse quickened and said, “Sometimes I’m smart. Sometimes I’m stupid. And there is no deserve. I’ve always been a little bit of an airhead, but I hurt you. I should have told you I loved you when you told me. Fear held me back from realizing it.”

  “What were you afraid of?”

  Good question. She blinked. “That somehow we were a huge mistake and if I let myself love you then I’d find out you still loved Sheena or only wanted to marry me for your title or to reconcile with your birth father.”

  His feet snapped together like a soldier just caught slacking by the general. “I want to marry you to spend my life with you. I should tell you now that Sheena called while you were in the maze.”

  “Why?”

  He tucked one hand in his pocket. “She confirmed her attendance at our wedding. I didn’t tell her that the wedding was cancelled.”

  Good. “I’ll marry you if we still can. I love you and want to be by your side, forever.”

  He ran his hand through her hair and massaged the back of her skull. “You love me truly?”

  This was too important. She placed her hand on his heart. “Yes, Charles. I love you.”

  He traced her arms. “I’m not a replacement for anyone?”

  His heart beat hard beneath her palm, but she didn’t pull away. “Charles, you are way too unique and wonderful to ever replace anyone. I’ve never met a man half as interesting you. You’re going to have to trust my judgment because I make great choices now.”

  Her lips tingled as he studied her face until finally he nodded and said, “I do. I believe you. Sandi Smith, let’s get you showered so we can go to bed.”

  She glanced up at him and closed her eyes as her lips parted. He reached down and claimed her kiss as his own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.

  The rest of the world dissipated as his hands found their way under her t-shirt.

  The shower could wait.

  Now she needed only him, forever.

  Chapter 18

  Charles hummed through his morning.

  Sandi was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He hadn’t helped her rest last night as he hadn’t been able to get enough of her.

  He called the caterers, and ensured the staff prepared the outside area for their ceremony later as the weather was warm and dry, but he wanted it clear of any leftover storm puddles or mud.

  Everything was on track and the kitchen was in full preparation mode.

  Bernard said the guest count was now at 150 though he expected it to rise to over 300 before the afternoon ended. They were prepared for 500 if needed--but they hadn’t sent out that many invitations.

  Soon this house would be permanently his.

  The thought struck him with joy as he returned to the bedroom to get Sandi.

  Hair and makeup had arrived. Her parents were both ready to help, especially her mother, who had tried to come with him upstairs.

  But he wanted to be very sure that she was still ready to marry him.

  Part of him might always hold a little doubt.

  Now though, all that was needed was her.

  He headed into the bedroom and moved the shades so the room had some sun.

  She let out a soft moan and her eyelashes batted open. He sat on the bed and handed her the white t-shirt she’d tossed on the floor last night. “Good afternoon.”

  Sandi quickly looked at the window and then back at him as she stretched. “It’s that late?”

  He gave her the sleep pants he picked up next and tugged on the s
heet. “It’s time to leave your bed.”

  She stood and wiggled into her pants while she laughed and said, “And be wed? That… like… totally… rhymed.”

  A laugh escaped his lips too as he kissed her forehead. “Yes, my American bride.”

  She yawned. “I thought it was bad luck to see the groom before the wedding.”

  He pressed his hand on her back to guide her toward the balcony. “I figured we could skip that nonsense.”

  She nodded and stayed beside him. “True, but before I start the day I need-”

  “Coffee.” He opened the door for her where the table was set with breakfast options despite the late hour. “It’s waiting for you.”

  She kissed his cheek and passed him with a direct line toward the coffee station. “See how easy it is to love you?”

  Sandi poured two cups of coffee and handed him one as he said, “Your mother is guarding the dress, though she showed it to Michael. The stylist just arrived and is waiting for when you're ready.”

  “Then we better hurry.” She put food on her plate.

  He joined her for coffee and a pastry.

  It was good for her to eat a little, so for a few minutes they enjoyed the warm sea air and view.

  As she had her third cup of coffee she finally stood and motioned for him to join her near the edge.

  They overlooked the patio where servants were busily setting up rows of seats, and an altar of flowers. He’d approved the peonies, calla lilies, and hydrangeas that the florists had made into an arch.

  Sandi rested her head on his upper arm and shoulder and patted his stomach muscles as she said, “This is all beautiful. Just spectacular.”

  “Nothing is as beautiful as you.” He kissed her cheek.

  Her face turned red but he claimed her lips.

  Nothing else mattered now.

  Sandi was here to stay.

  A high-pitched older voice called from behind them, “No more of that.” The world crashed back to reality as Sandi’s mother said, “Charles, it’s time for you to go. Clara wanted you at the dower house, remember?”