Authors: Samantha Forest
Chapter Three
The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Christine spent as much time with Owen as possible, and she discovered that she had no desire to hunt for a man to keep her warm. While Owen never made a pass at her, she looked forward to their time together. They walked the halls of the library and got in trouble for their silly behavior. He openly danced with her at parties and spun her around until she was breathless. They talked well into the night by the side of a fire and talked about their dreams.
He stole the rug right out from under, and she had no idea how to react.
At one particular birthday bash, Owen released her to speak to someone, and Calvin immediately grabbed her arm. She yelped as he dragged her into the corner. “Why the bloody hell are you manhandling me?” she growled.
“Care to explain why my cousin has not left yet? People all over town are talking about the two of you. What is going on?”
Astonished, she stared at him. He almost never spoke to her in anger. “Why is it any of your business?”
“After all this time, you owe me an explanation. Why him?”
“I owe you an explanation? Calvin, we are friends. As my friend, I think you would be excited that a single man holds my attention. How many times have you told me that my flitting from man to man in unseemly?”
“Friends?” He dropped her arm and stepped back. “Is that what we are, Christine?”
“What else would we be? What has gotten into you, Calvin? I know that you and Owen have had problems, but he treats me well. He treats me like you treat me. I would think that you would appreciate that.”
Calvin laughed hollowly. “He treats you like I treat you. I’m a bloody fool. Well, I wash my hands of this. You’re an adult, Christine. You will do as you wish.” He turned and walked away, and Christine couldn’t help but feel a ball of anxiety in her chest. What had just happened? Had she lost Calvin?
“Are you all right?”
Startled, she turned to see Owen staring at her in concern. “I’m not sure. Calvin is angry with me. Quite angry, and I’m not sure why.”
“Come.” He held her hand and led her to the empty and open balcony. The fresh air helped cool her, and she stared at the stars. “Why does his anger bother you so much?”
“Calvin is my friend,” she muttered.
“But you are your own person. You flout your independence. If Calvin is holding you back, then why would you keep him around? A true friend would support you.”
In her addled mind, his words rang true. Biting her lower lip, she tried to make sense of the conversation. “He’s upset because I’m spending so much time with you. Perhaps I need to split my time more wisely. He is my friend, and I have neglected him.”
“Christine, I love you.”
She gasped and covered her lips. What was happening?
“I didn’t intend to fall for you, but this past few months have made me a changed man. I know you don’t believe in love or marriage, but surely you realize why you’ve been spending time with me and not Calvin. Surely you understand why we’ve strived so hard to keep things platonic between us. Can’t you see that our relationship is different?”
“Owen.” She took a deep breath. “I do feel something for you. I enjoy spending time with you, and I do miss you when you’re gone. But love…”
“You don’t have to admit that you love me, Christine. I would never force the words on you. Instead, I beg of you to consider a union between us. We could be together. Perhaps Calvin could rest easy when he realizes that my intentions were pure. And I would never hold you back. You would maintain the same independence that you enjoy now.”
Christine blinked. “My God. You’re proposing to me. You’re proposing marriage. I need to sit down.”
Owen reached over and grasped her hands. “I will not let you overthink this. Give me one good reason why this might not work.”
She shook her head. “For one thing, all of my property would be yours. I would lose my independence. The law is very clear on that.”
“Don’t you trust that I would sign it back over to you? Should you pledge to spend the rest of your life with me, I would give you everything. I simply want to wake up each morning with you by my side, and warm your body with mine every night. Don’t you want that?” he pleaded.
She did want that. As much as she claimed to hate commitment, she craved having someone to hold her at night. Owen had taken her breath away from the moment that he got here. Surely that was a sign. And he’d never lied to her. If she agreed to this, she could have it all. “Owen,” she whispered. “Okay.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt ecstatic. She’d just agreed to marry again. He whooped loudly, grabbed her, and spun her around. “Oh, Christine. We will have the most delightful life together. Come, we must tell everyone.”
Everyone would include Calvin. Just the thought of Calvin finding out terrified her. “Wait,” she gasped. “Please, let’s not tell your cousin. I’d like to do this quietly.”
“Fine, but if you won’t admit it to the world, then I ask that we do this quickly. Five days from now.”
“Five days?” her head spun. “That is quick.”
He didn’t seem to notice her hesitation. Instead, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She gasped and waited for the fireworks. His kiss was hot and urgent. “Let’s go home and celebrate.”
Something was missing. She felt almost sick to her stomach as she pushed him away. “Owen, I want to do this right. I can’t be a virgin on my wedding night. I can’t give that to you, but I’d still like it to be special. Please. Let’s wait.”
At first, she saw a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Then it passed. “Of course, my dear. Anything for you. Come. Let’s dance the night away.”
She took his arm and let him walk her back into the crowd, but she couldn’t focus on anything. Part of her couldn’t believe what she’d just done. The other part believed it and began to stress.
Blaming it on excitement, she took a deep breath and tried to enjoy the rest of the night. In five days, she would be married.
Married to Calvin’s cousin.
And as she looked around, her heart sank. Calvin was nowhere to be found.
Chapter Four
Christine pulled the comb through her hair as she looked at her reflection. Tomorrow, she would be married. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d be someone’s wife again, but then, she never dreamed that someone like Owen would sweep her off her feet. He was romantic and charming and adventurous
And part of her wondered if she was about to make a mistake. After all, how much did she really know about Owen? She hadn’t even talked to Calvin about the marriage. He would disapprove. And it wasn’t even the disapproval that she worried about. She knew that he would be disappointed.
Feeling anxious, she put the comb down and took a deep rattled breath. Was she really going to go through with this?
“Christine! Christine! Open up my darling!” She heard the slurred words echo from the open window, and she turned abruptly. Curiously, she stuck her head out and looked down.
Owen, holding an open bottle of whiskey, danced and weaved on her porch. “Oh Christine! I have a craving that only you can satisfy.”
“Are the drunk the night before our wedding?” she teased. He looked up and hiccupped.
“Not drunk,” he boasted. “Just a few celebratory sips! After all, I’m about the wed the notoriously hard-to-pin down Lady Christine. That is an accomplishment!”
Frowning, Christine considered his words. They didn’t sound like a man in love. “You’ve had more than a few sips,” she admonished. “What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to test the merchandise before the big day. After all, everyone else in town has had a taste of you,” he slurred as he opened his arms out wide.
Christine gasped. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t be like that my sweet. I have a hard cock that I desperately need to put in your….”
“That is enough,” she interrupted through clenched teeth. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but I chose to keep our union platonic until after the wedding. I will certainly not bed you when you’re drunk and disgusting. Go home, Owen, before you do something that you regret.”
Just like that, his disposition turned nasty. Smashing the bottle against the wall of her house, he began to pound on the door. “I thought I’d at least get a good fucking out of this, Christine. Open the door!”
“Owen, stop it!” she hissed. “What has gotten into you?”
He pushed from the door in frustration and looked up. “You don’t think I actually love you, do you? No. This was just to get back at Calvin. But when I heard of your reputation, I actually looked forward to this. He’ll never put me out of my home when you’re my bride, and I get to have the most fuckable woman in town.”
Her stomach clenched as she stumbled back from the window. Tears filled her eyes as she put the palm of her hand over her mouth. She’d been a complete fool to think that he actually loved her.
Christine could only thank her very soul that she didn’t sleep with him. He started pounding on the door again, and she knew she couldn’t stay in the house. Without bothering to put a dress over her shift, she threw her cloak on and snuck out the back door.
Calvin’s house was a short stop away through the woods, and she snuck along the path that was well-worn from her constant trips. Relieved to see that some candles were still burning in his home, she knocked on the door. His butler opened it up, and she brushed passed him in a hurry. “Calvin? Calvin?”
“Christine?” He appeared at the door of his study and stared at her. She knew she looked a fright with her hair down and only half dressed, but she didn’t care about that now.
“Owen has gone mad. He’s trying to break into my home,” she said as she flew into his arms.
The butler discreetly disappeared, and Calvin gently led her into the study and shut the door behind them. Only then did he step away from her and regard her with cold eyes. “Christine, you consented to be his wife. What do you expect me to do?”
Her shoulders slumped and she bowed her head. “You know?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Is that supposed to be a joke? The whole town knows. The notoriously single Lady Christine is finally settling down. Now you have cold feet?”
Christine jerked her head up and narrowed her eyes. “It’s not cold feet. Owen is drunk and trying to break into my home. He wanted to consummate our union, and I did not. Now he’s ranting that the only reason he’s marrying me is because of you. I thought…” she swallowed hard. “I thought he loved me. Obviously I was mistaken. And it seems that me coming here was a mistake as well.”
She turned for the door, and Calvin crossed the room in two steps. He put hand on her shoulder and whirled her around. “I warned you to stay away from Owen. Did you think I was doing that out of jealousy?”
“Jealousy?” Christine snorted. “Why on earth would you be jealous?”
“Jesus.” He dropped his arms and stepped back. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” she asked crossly.
He stared at her, and she nearly shuddered at the intensity in his eyes. Had he ever looked at her like that before? “Christine, I’ve loved you my whole life. I’d ask how you could not know, but it’s obvious that you have no idea what love is. How you can confused what Owen feels for you and what I feel for you makes that blatantly obvious.”
Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. Immediately, their history flashed through her mind. As kids, he was always teasing her, but when she married, his demeanor abruptly changed. She teased him mercilessly, and he treated her formally. And when she was widowed, the dynamic didn’t change. He was almost cold towards her. At no point had it even occurred to her that he had feelings for her. “Why would you think that I would know?” she asked softly. “When we were kids, maybe. But you hardly touch me.”
“Christine, I dance with you at every party. I’m always touching you.”
“Sure.” She shook her head. “You touch me within social conventions, but never improperly.”
“Sex is not love,” he snapped. “And why would I want to be another notch in your bed post? To keep our friendship intact, I don’t touch you, but it drives me to the point of insanity to know that other men can have you and I cannot.”
“You never said anything.”
“Why would I? You made it very clear that you would never marry again. That you would never love again. Then the one man that I explicitly tell you to stay away from comes in and sweeps you off your feet. And you are going to marry him?” He shook his head.
“He told me that he loved me,” she said heatedly. “He treated me like I was more than a sex object.”
“I’ve never treated you like a sex object,” Calvin roared. “Never. Not once.”
“Yes, but you’re practically on the opposite end of the spectrum. You’re so cold and callous.”
Suddenly, he pushed her against the wall, and his mouth descended on hers. She could barely take a breath before the heat of his kiss seared through her body and kindled at a fire at her very core. He kissed her until she was limp against the wall, and then he leaned back.
“Do not think for one second that because I keep a cool head in public that I cannot set fire to your body,” he whispered seductively.