by Dawn Brower
Did they? Was she finally able to see past Captain Blythe’s lies? Things might have progressed far more than he realized. She seemed—open, almost trusting as she gazed at him. What caused her to finally see clearly? Still…he didn’t plan on giving all the details.
He shrugged. “A lot happened, cara, but none of which matters. If it’s all the same to you both, I’d rather forget about my time on that horrid island.”
Pearla tilted her head and studied him. She was quiet for a few moments as she contemplated his words. Then, with a firm voice, she confirmed, “Captain Blythe did lie to me.”
He studied her. “About some things, yes he did.”
“What was a lie and what was the truth?” Pearla asked.
Rubina stood and said, “I need to check on dinner.” She left the room. Damian didn’t once glance in her direction. His gaze never left Pearla’s. His sister had given them privacy to discuss what happened. He would thank her later for the gift.
Pearla fidgeted in her seat. She looked down at her lap. Damian wanted to ease her discomfort. The only way he knew how to do that was to tell her how much he needed her.
“I would never have willingly left you.” He lifted her hand and caressed it with the pad of his thumb. “But that wasn’t his biggest lie. The one that played the most havoc on our lives was letting us both believe we’d married. It was a shock to be forced into the ceremony, but it had felt right. Now that I know it was false, all I want to do is rectify it. Please, cara, consent to be my wife in truth.”
A soft gasp left her lips. He was afraid she might say no, so he pulled her into his arms and kissed her until he couldn’t tell where she began and he ended. Not once did she try to pull away. She lifted her arms and wound them around his neck, entwining her hands in his hair. He couldn’t get close enough to her. To finally have her in his arms again…no words could describe how wondrous it was. He pulled back and saw his own passion reflected back at him in her fiery gaze. This is what he’d missed and craved all the months they’d been separated. How it would be between them.
“You didn’t give me a chance to answer you.” Pearla cupped his cheeks. “Do you always leap without looking?”
“For you, I’d walk through hell and back.”
She smiled at him. “I’m starting to believe that might be true.”
His heart filled with hope. When he’d left his rooms, he never thought he’d find all his dreams waiting for him at his sister’s home. Now he might finally have everything he’d been longing for. Was she telling him what he thought she was?
“Are you agreeing to marry me?” Please say yes. “If so, I’d like to have the ceremony as soon as possible.”
“I’m still considering all my options.”
His heart fell. Not the answer he’d hoped for, but still an improvement.
“What is there to consider?” He let his smile show all the pleasure he could give her. “You know what the right answer is, cara. Say yes, and I’ll make you the happiest, most satisfied, woman in the world.”
“You still haven’t told me everything.” She frowned. “How am I to trust you when you won’t share with me what really happened to you? I know by your evasiveness it isn’t good.”
Not this again. Why was she being so persistent? It didn’t matter the horrors he suffered. All he needed was for her to agree to spend the rest of her life in his arms. Her softness would erase the atrocities he suffered and ease his soul. “I don’t wish to speak of it.” He set her down on the settee and paced the room. “It isn’t worth speaking about.”
“Damian, please,” she begged. “Make me undersand.”
He ran his fingers through his hair with frustration coursing through his veins. “I was an indentured slave,” he spat out. “They made me do things…I can’t do this. Don’t make me.”
Tears trailed down her cheeks. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaned her head against his chest. He closed his eyes, basking in her warmth, and held onto her with all he had inside.
“All right, you win,” she muttered. “I won’t push. When and if you want to talk about what you went through, I will listen.”
Thank God. He enjoyed holding her. This was what he needed. To feel her wrapped in his arms. She was what he’d lived for and fought to return to. If he could keep her warmth near him forever, it would erase all the things he’d suffered on that island. None of it mattered as long as she agreed to be his. “When will you give me an answer to my question?”
She glanced up at him through hooded eyes. “I haven’t made a decision.”
He smiled. She was being coy now. He lifted his hand and trailed his fingers through her silky blonde hair. He pulled the pins out and let them drop to the floor one by one until her curls flowed down her back. “Perhaps I can convince you.”
“Oh?” She licked her lips. “What did you have in mind?”
He kissed her forehead. “A little bit of this.” He trailed kisses down her cheeks and the base of her neck. “Some more of this.” His lips hovered above hers. “A whole lot of this.”
He pressed his lips to hers and tasted her sweetness. Their tongues dueled for control as he pulled her tighter in his embrace. The burning flame between them threatened to set them ablaze with pleasure. Damian would never get enough of her. She was his everything.
“Dinner is…” Rubina’s voice filled his ears. “Oh, um, perhaps I should come back.”
Damian stepped away from Pearla and smiled. “Don’t go, Rue.”
“Did you two settle everything?” she asked.
“No.” His gaze never left Pearla’s. “I’m still waiting for her to give me an answer to my question.”
“What question is that?” Noah asked as he entered the room. “What did I miss? Simmons said dinner is ready. Why are we still in the sitting room?”
Pearla’s laughter filled the room. It was music to his ears.
“Please, cara, say the word that I have been waiting forever for you to say.”
“Yes.” She paused and placed a soft quick kiss on his lips. “I will marry you.”
Damian hugged her tightly against him, and then glanced over his shoulder to meet Noah’s gaze. He nodded, understanding what Damian was asking without words. Pearla stepped out of his embrace. A huge smile lit up her beautiful face.
Noah clapped his hands. “Great, so that special license you had me obtain will be used after all.”
Pearla’s gaze whipped toward Noah and back at him. She raised an eyebrow and said, “What is he talking about? You knew I’d say yes?”
“I’d never presume to know what you will or will not do, cara.” He caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand. “I was only hoping you’d agree. On the lucky day you said yes, I wanted to be ready to say our vows all over again.”
She smiled. “You were always too charming for you own good.” She sighed. “So when do you want to have the ceremony?”
“After dinner.”
She laughed lightheartedly. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Pearla tilted her head and studied him. Her gaze softened. He missed her so much and hoped she agreed to an impromptu wedding. He didn’t want to give her a chance to change her mind. The sooner they had the ceremony, the happier he would be.
She shook her head and chuckled lightly. “Fine. Noah, do your magic and make it happen.”
“Consider it done,” he said and left the room.
Damian would owe the duke a great debt for making all his dreams come true. Soon, Pearla would be his wife, and nothing would stand in the way of their happiness.
Chapter Fifteen
Dinner flew by in a blur. Pearla ate, but the food had no taste. Nerves filled her as she went through the motions. A vicar would be arriving soon to marry her and Damian. This time the wedding would be real.
Was she really ready to tie herself to him?
She glanced across the table, her gaze locking with his. A sens
e of rightness overflowed through her. Yes. She wanted him like she’d never wanted anything in her life. Her wedding to Noah had been planned down to the last detail, and it ended up being cancelled. This time she wasn’t going to wait. Damian was hers. It was time the world knew what she already did inside her heart.
Noah sighed. “Is the food that bad?”
Pearla heard his voice, but the words hadn’t registered in her mind. All she could do was stare at Damian. Waiting was killing her. She wanted to marry him and start their life together. He’d made her promises she fully intended to ensure he kept. She needed to experience the passion he guaranteed she would find in his arms.
“What?” Pearla asked absentmindedly.
Damian chuckled. “The food is fine. We’re anxious to get to…dessert.”
Pearla blushed. When he said dessert, heat permeated inside her. He hadn’t meant a sweet confection when he said the word. It was much more decadent than that.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Right. I am done.”
“Let’s retire to the sitting room.” Rubina stood up. “The vicar should be here soon.”
“We’ll stay behind and discuss a few things.” Noah gestured toward Damian. “Let us know when he arrives.”
“I will.” Rubina nodded. She leaned down and quickly kissed Noah. Then she wrapped her arm through Pearla’s, leading her out of the room. “I’m so glad you’re going to marry my brother. I’ve always wanted a sister.”
Pearla was baffled. “Don’t you find it strange?”
“What?” she asked.
“Two years ago, I was standing in a church ready to marry Noah, your husband, and now I’m about to marry your brother.” Pearla didn’t understand how Rubina could be so accepting of her. She didn’t know if she would’ve been able to return the favor if their roles were reversed.
“No,” Rubina said. “Everything happens for a reason. I think you were meant to be in that church so it could lead you to the one place you were destined to be.”
Perhaps she was right. If she’d never fled London, she might not have fallen so quickly into Damian’s arms. He’d been there when she needed someone to lean on. She’d been prickly and he’d remained charming and kind. She didn’t know the full details of what happened to him when he had been torn away from her, but she hoped he would feel comfortable enough to tell her eventually. Secrets had a way of driving a wedge between people, and she didn’t want to lose Damian ever again. Prying wouldn’t give her the answers she sought. Only patience would do that.
“I understand.” Pearla smiled. “Noah is yours, and Damian is mine. That is how it was always supposed to be, and losing Noah led me to where I really belonged.”
Rubina nodded, her lips tilting into a soft smile. “These things work themselves out. I’m so glad Damian has found a woman worthy of his love.”
“How do you know I am?”
Pearla bit her lip. Did he love her? He never said. Maybe that was something she should have asked him before she agreed to be his wife. They were doing everything backward. Rubina had such faith, and Pearla questioned everything. How could she believe they belonged together and would make it when Pearla constantly doubted him? One second she was sure and wouldn’t change anything for any reason. Then a niggling feeling deep in her gut made her want to run away and not look back. How was such indecisiveness worthy of Damian’s affection? His sister should be telling her to stay away and not break his heart.
“Now you’re being silly.” Rubina laughed. “You’re worthy for several reasons, but the easiest and most obvious is because he loves you. That’s enough for me.”
There was that word again. Love. Rubina believed he loved Pearla. He certainly desired her and believed they belonged together. He was so gentle and possessive… Enough. She wasn’t going to debate the merits of marrying him anymore. She’d agreed to marry him. The time for thinking about it had past.
“Pardon me, Your Grace,” Simmons said. “The vicar has arrived.”
“Very good. Show him in, and please let my husband and brother know to join us in the sitting room.” She clapped her hands. “We have a wedding about to commence.”
“That we do,” Damian agreed as he entered the room. “One I’ve been waiting far too long for.”
Pearla glanced at him with a sheepish smile. “Seems like we already had one wedding…not my fault it wasn’t valid.”
Damian chucked and hugged her tight in his embrace. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “That is true, but it is your fault for keeping me waiting for a wedding we both know will be valid.”
Pearla held onto him and breathed in his scent. With him near, every one of her doubts and fears melted away. He always made her forget why she’d ever had a reason to object to being with him. She belonged in his arms. When they were wrapped up in each other, she couldn’t help wondering why she fought him at every turn. He was right. They were inevitable.
“I know, and I can’t apologize enough.” She stepped back and gazed into his eyes. “I had these doubts and fears. I couldn’t let them go. I’ve been let down too many times and didn’t believe I could trust my own instincts with you.”
“What changed your mind?” he asked.
“The truth?”
He nodded. She took a deep breath.
“No matter what I said or did, I couldn’t get over you. You were always there at the back of my mind and when I saw you again…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I was so angry and betrayed. You left me when I needed you the most and had just begun to accept we could have something good. How could I not believe you would do it again? I had to protect my heart because no one has ever put me first.”
His gaze softened. “Oh, cara…” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “I didn’t leave you. I was torn from you when all I wanted to do was stay with you forever. It was the worst thing that happened to me, and trust me, there have been some horrible things I’ve had to endure. Being away from you nearly devastated me. Knowing one day I’d be with you again gave me a reason to push on and fight.”
Her insides turned to mush at his words. He may not have said the one word she hoped to hear, but how could he not love her when she gave him a reason to go on living? That was enough for now.
“Are you two ready to exchange your vows?” The vicar asked.
“Yes,” they both said in unison.
The ceremony was fast and simple. They recited their vows, and before she knew it she was Damian’s wife and the vicar announced that he could kiss the bride.
“My pleasure,” Damian said and leaned down. Once his lips touched hers, sparks ignited into full-blown flames. Every time he touched her, she lit up with a need she couldn’t describe. Only he had ever had that affect on her. He lifted his head and gazed down at her. She knew he had the same need pouring out of him by the color of his eyes. They always turned to molten silver when passion ruled him.
The vicar cleared his throat. “I guess I will be going now.”
“Thank you again for coming on such a short notice,” Noah said. “Let me see you out.”
Damian looked up and watched them exit. “Rue, I think it’s time that Pearla and I left as well.” He hugged his sister. “Thank you for everything. We will come by again soon.”
“You better.” She laughed. “I’ve missed you. Besides you’ve yet to meet your nephew. Lucian needs to know his Uncle Damian.”
He laughed. “I look forward to it.”
Damian reached down and lifted her hand with his. He kissed the palm of her hand. “Are you ready to go home, cara?”
She frowned. “Where exactly is home now?”
He opened his mouth and then shut it again. “You’re right. I have a bachelor residence.”
A wide grin grew on Pearla’s face. “The good news is I have a perfectly good townhouse. You can work on selling your rooms at the Albany tomorrow.”
Damian laughed and escorted her out of the townhouse. “D
o you have a carriage?” he asked.
“I do.”
“Good. I walked over. I had a lot on my mind, and it gave me time to think.” He kissed her lips. “Now I find I’m in a hurry to take you home.”
Pearla smiled. “I am too.”
They headed toward her carriage. She nodded at the driver. When they reached the side, Damian leaned over to open the door—he crumpled to the ground before he could unfasten the latch. Pearla’s gaze shot up. A man she’d hoped never to see again stood in front of her.
“Captain Blythe,” she exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Montgomery,” he said. “I have to apologize for rudely interrupting your time with the conte, but I’m under orders to take you two to see my employer.”
Pearla gulped down a lump that had become lodged in her throat. Who was he working for now? When he held her captive before, he’d worked for the Duca d’Sordillo. She’d been informed that the evil man was now dead. Who would wish her and Damian harm? As far as she knew they had no enemies to speak of. They were supposed to go home and bask in the glory of their finally being together. They were finally married, and their lives were once again thrown into tatters at the whim of a mad person.
“What if I don’t cooperate?” she asked mulishly.
“If you’d rather I end Conte Leone’s life now, I’d be happy to oblige.” He shrugged. “Or you could come with me, and maybe you will both make it out of this alive.”
“There’s a chance we won’t?”
A sick feeling settled down into the pit of her stomach. The dinner she’d consumed threatened to come back up. Why did these things continue to happen to her? She glanced down at Damian’s unconscious body and made a snap decision. She couldn’t take a risk with his life. He needed her to keep calm and make rational decisions. It was her turn to protect him and make sure nothing horrid happened to him again. If it meant going to meet the person who’d hired Captain Blythe, she’d do it. Then she would make them pay for interrupting her wedding night and threatening their lives.