Married by Midnight (Love at Pembroke Palace Book 4)

by Julianne MacLean

  “But you both seem so well-suited to each other,” Charlotte said with disappointment. “I thought perhaps there was a chance you might fall in love, and that he might choose to stay as well.”

  Anne regarded Charlotte with understanding. “It is clear you love your brother very much,” she said. “I cannot blame you. He is a wonderful man, but the truth is...I cannot pin my hopes on him. He has made it clear to me that he is not seeking a life of matrimony in the conventional sense. Please understand that I must protect myself.”

  Eventually, the duchess patted her hand. “We understand,” she reluctantly said. “But this offer will remain in effect. Once you marry my son, you will always be welcome here, Anne. If you ever want for anything, anything at all, you need only ask.”

  Anne thanked the duchess and gazed out the window. It was important that she try and forget about their proposition, for it would not be wise to dream about a life—and a love—that was beyond her grasp. Garrett did not want a true marriage and she must honor that.

  She felt Charlotte’s eyes on her suddenly and pasted on a smile—in an effort to appear comfortable with her decision.

  Charlotte smiled at her in return, but the rest of the coach ride was filled with light conversations about the weather, while Anne felt completely and utterly exposed.

  Chapter 9

  As she dressed for dinner that night, Anne hoped she could remain aloof and sensible about Garrett, but even before she walked into the drawing room for drinks, her pulse leapt with excitement at the mere notion that she would see him again.

  She began to wonder how much longer she could behave virtuously. This powerful attraction was growing stronger each day. Was it even worth the fight? They would be married in a week regardless and would consummate the marriage at that time. What difference would a few days make if they chose to consummate it earlier? Why not steal some pleasure for herself until he left? Lord knows she had gone long enough without. But could she manage it? How would she survive if she fell more deeply in love with him and then he deserted her afterward without a care? As the contract said he would.

  When at last Garrett entered the drawing room, Anne responded with an explosive round of desire, and she was forced to accept that all her lofty goals to remain aloof were worthless. She was wildly infatuated…perhaps even falling in love with Garrett. There could be no escaping it.

  Tonight, he wore formal black dinner attire with a white waistcoat and tie. His golden hair was damp at the ends, as if he had just stepped out of the bath, and that image of him stepping out...well that alone was enough to upset Anne’s entire cart of sensible intentions.

  She turned to face the other direction, so that she couldn’t stare at him like a love-struck fool.

  A moment later, she felt a hand on her arm and knew it was him even before she turned around.

  “Good evening,” he said.

  Just the sound of his voice sent her reeling into a place where the future seemed far less important than the thrill of the present moment.

  She would most certainly be done for...if given the opportunity.

  After a day spent sleeping late and playing billiards with his brothers—and sipping far too much cognac—Garrett assumed dinner would be a stodgy affair and he would be too drunk to respond to Anne’s singular, sensual beauty. He was proven wrong when he walked into the drawing room and saw her in that form-fitting blue gown, which took on an ethereal glow in the evening light. He got a whiff of lilac perfume as he approached and had to work hard to remind himself that this was not a love affair. Not an affair of the heart. There was a binding contract between them. This was a performance for his father’s benefit, nothing more.

  “Good evening.” Her smile was luminous. “I heard you were engaged in a billiards game today, and that it lasted many hours.”

  “That’s right,” he replied. “And I heard you attended a children’s concert in the village that melted everyone’s hearts.”

  Her full lips curled into a mischievous grin and her eyes twinkled. “The children were quite adorable.”

  She was adorable. Impossibly beautiful. Utterly irresistible.

  A footman came by with two crystal glasses of sherry on a silver tray. Garrett picked them up and handed one to Anne. “I wasn’t sure if you would be angry with me today,” he softly said, glancing over his shoulder to ensure no one was listening.

  “Why would I be angry?” she asked.

  “Because sometimes a woman is displeased when a gentleman leaves her bed in the night without saying good-bye.”

  Anne slowly sipped her drink. “A woman would only be displeased if the gentleman had taken improper liberties with her, but you were a perfect gentleman last night, Garrett. So no, I am not angry. But I am curious. How long did you stay?”

  He glanced over his shoulder again. “Most of the night. I left at dawn.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  “Very well, in fact.”

  “No unpleasant dreams?”

  “Not a single one. I should thank you for that.”

  His shoulders relaxed, but the agitation did not leave Garrett, for he realized he wanted to bed her in the worst, most ungentlemanly way.

  “If you like, you could come again tonight,” she quietly suggested.

  Was it possible her resolve was weakening? Garrett wondered as he tried to decipher her motives and intent.

  “Are you sure that would be wise?” he asked.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  He glanced around. “What would the others say if they knew?”

  Her eyes glimmered like gemstones, and the ring on her finger flashed brilliantly in the firelight. “I don’t think that is your chief concern,” she said.

  “No?” he asked.

  One dark, arched eyebrow rose a fraction. “No. I think you are terrified you might fall in love with me, Garrett, then all your ambitious plans for a life of loneliness and despair would be undone. That would be terribly disappointing, would it not?”

  The butler entered just then to announce that dinner was served.

  Surprised and more than a little disconcerted by Anne’s daring inference, he offered his arm and escorted her into the dining room.

  Later, when dessert was served, he leaned close to her ear and told her in no uncertain terms that he was afraid of nothing. Then he told her exactly what time he would arrive at her bedchamber door that evening, and suggested she be ready for him.

  With a mischievous note of challenge, Anne rolled to face Garrett on the bed and propped her cheek on a hand. They were both fully clothed—she in her nightdress, he in his nightshirt. “I suppose you’ve been with a lot of women?”

  “A few,” he casually replied, sweeping her hair away from her face so he would not lose sight of her bewitching beauty. “Is there something you wish to know?”

  She began to run her fingers lightly over his chest—a rather flirtatious manoeuvre which surprised him. He let his eyes fall closed and settled in to enjoy the heavenly splendor of her touch.

  “I am curious about something, actually,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  She continued to tease him with light, featherlike strokes. “Is there someone else waiting for you in Greece? Someone you could not marry for some reason? Is that why you wanted a binding contract to ensure your freedom? So that you could leave here immediately after the wedding?”

  Garrett found himself wondering how much it mattered to her. If he said yes, would she stop running her fingers across his chest and freeze over with jealousy? Or would she tell him it did not matter, for this was merely a contractual arrangement?

  He opened his eyes and watched her expression carefully. “There is no one else.”

  “But there must have been...once.”

  He hesitated to speak of it, or even think about i
t, but did not wish to keep anything from her, for she had been very open with him thus far. “Yes, there was someone.”

  Her expression remained unchanged. “I see.”

  Clearly, she was working hard to keep her feelings hidden from him. And what were her feelings, exactly? Was she dreaming of something more between them? Was this a sign of her growing affection? Or was it possessiveness?

  Jealousy and emotional turmoil were not things he had wanted from this charade, for he had been trapped once before. He hoped those things would not become issues with Anne. He would be very disappointed if this situation moved in that direction.

  “You wish to know more,” he cautiously said. “You want to know why I left it to my brothers to find me a bride.”

  Strangely, despite everything, he wanted to tell her.

  “I admit I am curious.”

  He wrapped an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close, wondering if it would be a mistake to continue this conversation. Surely it was too intimate. It would reveal too much.

  At the same time it seemed rather selfish of him to tell her the truth, as if it would somehow ease his guilt, release his shame into the world and lighten his load—when he, and he alone, deserved to live with it for the rest of his days.

  “Remember when I told you I lost my boat?” he said, because it was too late to turn back now. “I lied when I said I was alone. There were others with me. A woman I intended to marry and her nephew—the son of her brother and his wife, who were also on board.”

  Anne sat up. “You were engaged?”

  He nodded.

  “What happened to her? Was she lost with the boat?”

  He nodded again, and Anne stared back at him in shock.

  “Good heavens. What caused the boat to sink?” she asked. “You never told me.”

  He exhaled heavily. “A sudden squall came out of nowhere and turned the boat over. I tried to save everyone, but somehow, for some reason I will never understand, I was the only survivor.”

  “Oh, Garrett,” Anne replied. “I had no idea. You haven’t told anyone in your family?”

  “No.”

  All at once, Garrett wanted to rise from the bed and walk out. Leave the house and go straight back to Greece to be alone, where no one asked any personal questions, but he forced himself to remain where he was.

  “When did this happen?” Anne asked.

  “In the spring.”

  She cleared her throat. “Why did you only come home now, and why do you want the money? Do you wish to buy a new boat?”

  “No. I mean to give the money to Georgina’s parents. That is why I finally agreed to my father’s mad plan to see me married. I am doing it for the settlement, but not for myself. I am not the one who deserves it. They lost a great deal that day.”

  Anne sat in silence, digesting all of this, then turned her face away. “I cannot believe you were engaged, and that she died. I’m so sorry.”

  She had turned away, as he thought she might. He really didn’t want to go on talking about this. It was exhausting.

  Then Anne faced him again and laid a hand on his cheek. “If it was an unexpected squall, it couldn’t have been your fault. I am sure you did everything you could to prevent the worst from happening.”

  He removed her hand from his face and set it away from him. “I’ve gone over every detail, and there were a dozen things I could have done differently that might have changed the outcome. I could have stayed in bed that day, for one. I could have turned the boat around after dinner instead of staying out to watch the sunset. Or I could have drowned with the others instead of saving myself by grabbing hold of the life ring.”

  He saw the frown in her eyes and wondered if she would suddenly change her mind about marrying him. He wouldn’t blame her if she did.

  “Everyone else was down below,” he explained, “trying to stay dry. “I was the only one up on deck. When the boat flipped over, they were trapped inside. I tried to help them when we were going down, but I couldn’t get to them.”

  Except for the boy. Johnny. Garrett had held onto his hand for as long as he could...

  Garrett suddenly wished he hadn’t come to Anne’s room. He had wanted to escape his memories of the accident, not revisit them. Was it too much to ask to spend a few blissful hours in the arms of an angel?

  “I think you should tell your family,” Anne said. “They should know.”

  He shook his head. “I just want to leave it alone. I shouldn’t have told you. I don’t know why I did.”

  He slid across the bed and reached for his robe, pulled it on and stood up.

  “Wait, don’t go.” Anne climbed out the other side and rushed around the foot of the bed to meet him. She took hold of his hands. “We don’t have to talk about that, and I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. Please, just stay. We can talk about other things.”

  Her arms slid around his waist, and she stepped into his embrace, rested her cheek on his chest. It was not a good idea, but he found himself cupping the back of her head and holding her tight against him. He felt the lush pressure of her breasts. Her hair felt like spun silk.

  Desire burned through him, and he realized that the last thing he wanted to do was talk. Or leave. He wanted only to hold this woman and satisfy this raging passion that had been plaguing him since the first moment he saw her.

  Before he could think to resist, he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her feverishly as he lifted her onto the bed. His angel lay back before him. She blinked up at him with desire while he removed his robe and tossed it to the floor.

  “If you don’t want me to make love to you,” he said, “you must tell me now.”

  She inched across the mattress to make room for him. “We will be married anyway. There is no sense denying ourselves.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  Garrett’s eyes narrowed while he paused at the edge of the bed. “I need a firmer answer than that, Anne. Otherwise, I should leave.”

  Seconds of painful, agonizing anticipation ticked by while she considered it. “I’m just a little nervous.”

  Garrett quickly reined in his passions. He took a few deep, calming breaths. “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do. I’ll stop if you ask me to. At any time, I promise. I just want to be with you.”

  Anne gazed up at him with uncertainty.

  There it was... His need for her was more than sexual. Anne swallowed uneasily while her mind whirled in confusion. She wanted him with a mad fury, wanted to give herself over to him completely. But why? Was it purely wanton lust, or something more? He was obviously tormented by guilt and needed an escape. She understood that. He needed pleasure to help him forget, and she wanted to give him that.

  But no, it was not just that. Her motivations were not entirely altruistic. As she watched his chest heave with barely controlled desire, she knew that, above all, this was lust. Greedy, hungry lust.

  Responding to a flash of yearning, she rose up on her knees and began to tug at his nightshirt. She lifted it over his head and tossed it onto the floor. He then stood naked before her in the warm, golden glow of the firelight, and she stared at him with longing.

  “You have your answer,” she said, admiring his smooth muscled chest, running her hands over his arms and shoulders, down to his slender torso and hips. “I want you to stay.”

  His mouth covered hers in a violent kiss of unrestrained passion. Then he came down upon her—his hand cradling her head, his nude body gloriously hot and heavy, pulsing against her, pressing her into the mattress.

  She let out a tiny, breathless moan as he unbuttoned the collar of her nightdress and kissed the tops of her breasts. Their mouths collided in another violent surge of hunger and desire as he tugged at her hem to gain better access to her thighs and hips and all
the magic in between.

  “Take this off.” His voice was husky and quiet.

  Anne sat up and removed her nightgown. As she sat naked before him, the peaks of her breasts firm and alert, she was aroused beyond any dream or fantasy. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  His lips found hers again and he kissed her, more gently this time, slowing the frantic, ragged pace upon which they had begun.

  “Lie back,” he whispered, and she readily obeyed.

  He leaned up on elbow beside her and ran the pad of his thumb across her nipples, then slid his palm smoothly down the center of her belly to explore her body where she ached with need. For a heavenly length of time, he used his hands to give her pleasure, and Anne arched her back as a wealth of wondrous sensations flooded through her. It was too soon. They’d only just begun, but her mind had been filled with erotic visions for days now, and she simply couldn’t hold back. She cried out and convulsed with breath-taking, trembling delight.

  Her body soon relaxed and she opened her eyes to look up at Garrett, worried that she had behaved too wantonly, but he was gazing at her with fascination.

  “Anne...” He rolled on top of her.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and lifted her head off the pillow to meet his kiss. His flesh was warm against her breasts and she couldn’t seem to get close enough. She wanted more, to hold him tighter. It was all so dreamlike.

  He slid into her then, and she sighed at the gratifying sensations of his body coming into hers. He filled her completely. She could barely breathe.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, moving slowly within.

  She answered him with a nod and a kiss as she moved with him in perfect harmony. He braced both hands on the bed on either side of her and made love to her in the firelight until he lost himself in the pleasure and finally gave way to his own release.

  Anne wrapped her arms around him as he collapsed on top of her. She couldn’t seem to hold him close enough or tight enough. Her heart was racing. She hadn’t known it could feel like this. She felt both astounded and awakened. How was this even possible? And what was she going to do?