Bonds of Matrimony (36 page)

           
The
prospect of proposing marriage to any woman was frightening.
 
But proposing marriage to Chase Fairfax
had him terrified.
 
If he was
honest with myself, he would admit that asking her brother’s blessing was
easier than broaching the subject with the woman herself.

           
As
he had drawn nearer the Fairfax ranch, he had begun focusing on the positive
aspects of marriage with Chase.
 
The idea of sleeping with her naked body every evening was definitely
appealing.
 
Eating meals across the
table from her would be nice.
 
Sparring with her verbally was always arousing.
 
Even the simple act of watching her
dress and brush her hair sounded heavenly.

           
Heavenly?!
 
What in the hell was the matter with him?

           
And
to make matters worse, the blasted woman had rejected him!
 
He had discarded his own principles in
order to keep her safe and solve her dilemma.
 
He had made a noble gesture, and she threw it back in his
face!

           
Webb
couldn’t remember ever having been rejected by a woman.
 
Never once.
 
And although it was insulting, it was also a bit of a
relief.
 
Chase Fairfax
wa
s only a
woman.
 
One of a million in Texas
alone.
 
Granted, making love to her
wa
s incredible, but she’s only one woman.
 

Still, she
wa
s gorgeous.

And not completely annoying
to talk to.
 

And strong and stubborn and
opinionated.

And when she
wa
s angry with him,
she
wa
s even more attractive.

And the sex
wa
s incredible.

But there
were
millions of
other women.
 
It
wasn’t
like Webb
was
in love with
her or anything.
 
He led his horse
into the barn and handed her off to my stablehand.
 
He pushed his hat back on his head and wiped the sweat off his
forehead.

“Dammit.”

CHAPTER 19

           
She
couldn’t sit around uselessly for another moment.
 
Besides, it just so happened that she was extremely hot and
still furious.
 
A very big part of her
hoped that she would run into Colton Webb so that she could give him a piece of
her mind without worrying about her brother finding out what they had been
doing.

           
As
Artemis and Chase approached the pond, her stomach fluttered.
 
It only lasted a moment before she
realized that she was alone.
 

           
“I
should be thanking my lucky stars,” she muttered to herself.
 
“I could come out here alone and find
myself facing Jett Stockton.”

           
Chase
shivered slightly at the thought, in spite of the dead-still heat.
 
It was nearly noon, and the sun was
unbearable.
 
She gazed longingly at
the cool water and slipped out of her trousers, shirt, and underclothes.
 
Without hesitation, she walked into the
water, lowering herself to sit on the sandy bottom.
 
She didn’t trust that swimming wouldn’t pull on her sore
ribs.

           
She
replayed Webb’s marriage proposal for the twenty-ninth time in the past few
days.
 
Since she had had time to
calm down, she did recognize that he cared enough to keep her safe.
 
But that wasn’t enough.
 
And the fact that he asked Marcus for
permission made her livid.

           
Floating
on her back, she considered Colton Webb as a husband.
 
Granted, if she was forced to marry, he was the only man she
would even remotely want to be married to.
 
He was considerate of her reputation and her safety.
 
But he was also pompous and
infuriating.
 
Somehow, that made
him more attractive.

           
Chase
pictured his cocky grin and found herself smiling at the cloudless sky.
 
The man was beautiful; nobody could deny
that.
 
And he was an unbelievably attentive
lover, not that she had any basis for comparison.
 
But in truth, she didn’t want any basis for comparison.
 
She wasn’t in love with him.
 
She simply loved being with him; that’s
all.

           
Her
smile faded slowly as a realization dawned on her.
 
Chase had been shocked by his proposal, and not in a bad
way.
 
And when it was all said and
done, and when he’d explained his reasons, and when he didn’t profess his love
for her, she had felt like crying.
 
She had felt vulnerable.
 
She
had felt rejected.
 
She had
felt…heartbroken.

           
“I
didn’t expect to ever find you here again,” he drawled.

           
Startled,
Chase floundered in her back float and ended up dunking underwater and snorting
water up her nose.
 
She came up
coughing and blowing water out of her nose, a most unattractive and unlady-like
image.

           
Webb
laughed and reached an arm out to steady her.
 
“Well that greeting makes the proposal rejection a bit
easier to take,” he laughed.

           
“So
much for retaining my dignity,” she muttered.

           
“You
did the rejecting, remember?
 
You
aren’t the one who lost her dignity.”

           
She
didn’t know how to respond to him, so she didn’t.
 
With her most recent revelation, she found myself in
unfamiliar territory.
 
She was in
love with the man, but she couldn’t accept his proposal.
 
His love wasn’t only a requirement that
would satisfy her pride, it would also reassure her that he loves all of her,
including the independence that she needed to keep.

           
“No
response?
 
Are you still mad at
me?”

           
“You
shouldn’t have asked my brother’s permission.
 
You should have known better,” she scolded quietly, dipping
lower so that her chin was in the water.
 

           
“Marcus
and I haven’t been friendly in quite a while.
 
I was trying to make things easier on all three of us.”
 
He ran a wet hand through his
curls.
 
“If it makes you feel any
better, I wouldn’t have cared if he had not agreed.
 
In the end, I do what I want…and to hell with someone who
disagrees with me.”

           
“Is
it so hard to imagine, then, that I try to live my life the same way?
 
The only difference is that as a man,
you don’t have people who try to dictate your life on a daily basis.
 
You aren’t constantly disappointing
someone.”

           
“So
you turned me down because I didn’t ask you first?
 
Because I asked your brother’s permission?”

           
“I
turned you down, Webb, because I don’t want to be married,” she lied.
 
And the fact that this declaration was
a lie was startling to her.
 
Not
too long ago, she had sat in her bedroom dreaming of how her life would change
once they moved to America.
 
Chase
never would have imagined that she, herself, would change so much.

           
“I
don’t either,” he responded.
 
He
sounded defensive.

           
“Then
why would you propose?
 
Nevermind,
I remember why.”

           
“But
we don’t have to be married like other people are married.
 
I meant what I said about suiting each
other.”

           
She
smiled a bit, thinking of their last tryst in this same pond.
 
Suited?
 
Indeed.

           
“Are
you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked with a grin.

           
She
answered by moving toward him, and he immediately took her in his arms.
 
He kissed her hard and moved his hands
down her back.
 
Then he abruptly
pulled back and stared into her face.
 
He gently pushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear, kissed her on the
nose, and then began softly teasing her mouth with his own lips and
tongue.
 
When he gently pulled her
body down onto his own lap, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and
groaned.
 
Their bodies grew hotter,
even in the cool water, and their motion pulsed slowly and rhythmically with
the lapping water.
 

They had made love hungrily
before, but never like this.
 
This
time was raw, vulnerable, and emotional.
 
Her tears mingled with the trails of water on her skin, and she hoped
that Colton wouldn’t notice.
 
And
when she climaxed, he climaxed with her, wrapping his arms around her body and
caressing her tongue with his own.
 
And when it was done, they stayed folded in each other’s arms for what
seemed like hours.

“Marry me,” he whispered
against her shoulder.

She pulled back and looked
into his eyes.
 
“Why?” she asked.

“Because of this.
 
We are incredible together.
 
There is no denying that we were made
for each other.”

It was better than his
previous proposal, but it was not enough.
 
Chase was honest enough with herself to admit now that she was in love
with the man.
 
And she refused to
entrust her heart with a man simply because he was a fantastic lover.

She kissed him softly on the
mouth and moved out of his arms.
 
“I
can’t,” she answered quietly.

“You can’t?
 
Christ, Chase, what the hell do you
want from me?!” he exploded.

She moved out of the water
and began dressing hurriedly.
 
“You
can’t give me what I want, Colton.
 
I know you well enough to know that much.”

“I’m not asking again,” he
warned.

“That would probably be
best,” she responded dryly.
 
His
frustration was only angering her.
 
Clearly, Colton Webb was not used to rejection from a woman.
 
She imagined that every other woman
took what little of him they could get and rejoiced in that tiny bit.
 
He most certainly expected her to
respond the same way.
 
Unfortunately for him, she was not one to settle.
 
She untied Artemis from the tree and
moved to mount her.

“
I
think it’s probably best if you don’t come back here.”
 
He narrowed his eyes at her in
fury.
 
“In fact, I want you to stay
out of my way completely.”

“You don’t want to see me
again?” Chase asked.
 

He snorted and dipped his
head back in the water.
 
“Watch
yourself, Chase.
 
I’m not good enough
to marry.
 
A woman who makes love
with a man who’s beneath her is usually considered a common trollop in your
circles.”

She swallowed the thick lump
in her throat.
 
“Go bugger
yourself, Webb.”
 
And with that, she
dug her heels into Artemis and ran from him and his anger.

***

           
“Looks
like I just missed your friend,” a deep voice called from behind him.

           
Webb
had been watching Chase’s dust cloud trail her as she raced off with her
horse.
 
He thought she had called
her Artemis.
 
For a minute or two, he
considered going after her.
 
He had
been hateful to her, and she deserved better.
 
But his pride kept him paralyzed in the water, unable to
act.
 
He, Colton Webb, was in love
with a woman who loathed the idea of becoming his wife.