Sherbrooke Twins (Sherbrooke Brides 8)

“James,” she said, looked down his body, and gulped. “This is a lovely treat, but perhaps your mother might walk in and what would she think? I’m an innocent young girl, and here you are, stark naked, and so very lovely that I’m ready to burst into song. And that male part of yours that I shouldn’t know anything about, is gaining in stature, James. It’s getting rather alarming.”

He cursed, she was right; it seemed when he was angry with her he got harder than the bedpost. Or maybe it was whenever he remarked upon her breasts, he got harder than-He stomped back to his bed and grabbed his dressing gown. He shrugged it on, tied the belt at his waist, and walked back up to her. He took her shoulders in his large hands. “I ripped your gown. I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not. You must be feeling much better. You roared out of that bed ready to hurl me out the window.”

“No, I just wanted to cover you so I wouldn’t have to lie there in my bed and slaver.”

She blinked. “Looking at me would make you slaver, James?

You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“No, dammit, I’m not lying. Now look at you, your right sleeve is hanging off and your gown is still so low it makes me want to howl at the moon.”

“Hmmm, I must ask Devlin if vampires can howl at the sun.”

He gritted his teeth. “Do not speak of Devlin Monroe to me again. Do you understand me, Corrie? Now, I trust you burst in on me to inform me of your decision to marry me?”

“I came to tell you that my aunt and uncle are already planning our wedding, at least they were until I told them I was not going to allow you to sacrifice yourself. I told them I was going to marry someone else, someone who actually wanted me.”

“Do not say his bloody name!”

“All right. He came to visit me this morning. It turns out that Jason tracked him down at his club last night and told him marriage to me would do him in. Can you believe Jason told him I would kill him if he kept his mistresses? Actually kill him, that’s what Jason told him. He also said that since he’d known me from the age of three, he knew what I was capable of. He asked Devlin-oops, I didn’t mean to mention his name-if he were willing to tread the path of faithfulness until he stuck his spoon in the wall. Devlin said he laughed when Jason asked him that. Then he asked me if I would really kill him if he were unfaithful.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him I’d kill him deader than the dinner trout.”

“And what did he say to that?”

“He laughed some more, told me then that there was no gentleman of his acquaintance who could safely marry me, given my stand on fidelity, despite all my money, unless the gentleman was teetering on bankruptcy, and the good Lord knew that such a gentleman would promise anything at all to get what he wanted, including-horror of horrors-fidelity. He laughed again, told me that when it came down to it, even the promise of murder wouldn’t deter a man from promising anything, and then doing what he wanted. That was the way of the world. It’s not right, James, just not right.”

“My father has never broken faith to my mother, nor she to him.”

“I suppose the same is true for Aunt Maybella and Uncle Simon. I don’t think it’s particularly due to Uncle Simon’s fortitude in matters of the flesh. I think it would take too much time away from his leaf studies. What do you think?”

“I can’t believe you’ve gotten me off on this ridiculous tangent. Will you marry me, Corrie?”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I will never marry a man who doesn’t love me.”

“Are you saying that you would marry Devlin if he swore to be faithful to you?”

She appeared thoughtful. He wanted to strangle her.

“You will say no, dammit!”

“All right, no.”

“Well, I swear I won’t be unfaithful.”

She sighed. “I do think Dev-our vampire-was wrong when he said that every man would promise anything I wished in order to get what he wanted. You wouldn’t do that. I know you down to your beautiful feet. You would never lie about something so very important.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“James, listen. You’re an honorable man, too honorable for your own good, as a matter of fact, at least most of the time. The fact is, I don’t want to get married. I’m only in my first practice season. I’ve barely begun to sow my wild oats, barely begun to learn the ins and outs of flirting.