“So I’m to choose then?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He looked at her then, his face twisted. “Before I do, I want to know exactly what is your choice?”
Chapter Fourteen
“My choice?” Violette’s soft voice was like a balm. “What do you mean my choice?”
“I mean, have you chosen me? Because based on today, I am not sure that you have.” He didn’t intend to sound angry but he was. He’d done wrong here, but he wasn’t the only one who had been hurtful today.
“I choose to have a man by my side who shoulders his responsibility. My father did not. Look where that has led me.” She straightened then.
Ouch. That stung a great deal more than Luke’s fists. “I see.”
“Theo, I want that man to be you. But if I don’t force it now, I may never be able to again. This is the one time a woman has real leverage.” Her hands rested on either side of her cheeks as she spoke.
It was tempting to concede to her. To wrap her in
his arms and promise to be better. But there was something else. “Fair enough. But you could have spoken with me directly. Instead of concocting a plan where my sister informed me we were no longer engaged and she’d be sponsoring you and Daffodil.”
Her hands slid from her face even as her mouth dropped open. “Oh dear,” she whispered. “You’re right. It was awful what I did.” Then she lowered her head her gaze fixed on the floor.
“Violette,” he groaned. “I beg you, don’t cry.”
“I don’t think I have any tears left.” Then she looked up at him and found droplets forming behind her eyes. “I likely shouldn’t have eaten. It only gave me the ability to make more.”
“Of course you should have eaten.” He couldn’t stand it anymore. He crossed the room and gathered her in his arms. She was so soft, warm, and beautifully fitted against his body. His arms wrapped about her, one of his hands coming up to cradle her head. “I’m sorry too.”
She tipped her head back so it rested more fully in his hand and looked up at him. “Where does that leave us?”
He looked down at her, she was so lovely. He knew couldn’t leave her to marry another man. As much as he knew it was time to shoulder his own responsibilities. “We’ll marry. I’ll stay.”
Her eyes grew wide and her mouth parted. “Really?”
But he didn’t answer, instead he captured her lips with his own. At the touch, he knew he was making the right decision. That he could spend a lifetime just exploring her lips.
As he raised his head, he gave her a smile. “Fortunately, I’ve found a woman who I am sure will entertain me through the long English winters.”
She gave a soft laugh. “I don’t blame you for wanting to explore the world. I’ve always wanted to see other places.” Her lips turned down. “It just isn’t the fate of a woman.”
He felt a jolt, like lightening, course through his veins. “You want to travel?”
She gave a little nod. “I don’t want to abandon my family, of course. But I’d like to see a little of the world—”
But he didn’t allow her to finish. His lips captured hers in a hard kiss. The answer had been right in front of him all along. He’d seen flashes of it. The woman under the perfect exterior. And then there were the kisses. More passionate than any he’d ever known. She had a wild heart carefully hidden from the world.
But he’d seen what was underneath. The kiss deepened and lengthened, her fingers curling into the strands of his hair.
Her body clung to his, her tongue matching his every stroke until he finally lifted his head. “Violette,” he ground out, his hands holding her waist. He started to push her gently away, but she stubbornly resisted him. He brushed his lips to hers wanting another taste of her. “We should stop, my love.”
“Stop?” It came out as a question. Her body remained pressed to his, but she tipped her head back. “Why would we stop?”
His mouth curved into a little grin. There was his temptress. “We’ll wait until we’re married.”
Her lips found his again and she kissed him with an abandon that left him aching for more. “You will marry me?”
“Of course,” he murmured between kisses. “I’ll have the bans posted as soon as we return home.”