Princess Charming (Legendary Lovers 1)

Ash followed suit, although more reluctantly. “Come now, sweetheart. You need some pleasure in your life. You’ve had so little of it recently.”

Brushing a disheveled tress back from her face, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, so you are only thinking of me?”

“For the most part. Although easing my own ache is also a consideration.”

Seeing the wry glimmer of humor in his eyes, Maura laughed softly. After the stress and turmoil of the past weeks, it was good to be able to share a lighter moment with him.

“I think you are cruel to deny me,” Ash added in a plaintive, clearly teasing tone. “As your betrothed I ought to have some special privileges.”

“Oh, and what privileges might those be?”

“If I could, I would spend the rest of the day exploring your delectable body.”

Maura shook her head in reproach. “You are wicked.”

“What is so wicked about wanting to make love to you? If we were in Scotland, we would be legally wed by now, since we declared ourselves to be husband and wife before witnesses.”

“But we are not in Scotland, nor

are we wed. We are not even betrothed for real. And now that I consider it, just pulling off such a sham will be difficult. No one in your elite circle will believe you actually wish to marry me.”

“Why not?” Ash asked.

“I am a horsebreeder by profession. That disqualifies me to be your marchioness. And I am most definitely not cut out to be your fairy-tale princess.”

“Certainly you are.”

Maura disagreed. “No, my Lord Beaufort. You have long been a prize on the Marriage Mart and the bane of every matchmaker’s aspirations. No doubt the ton will be shocked to hear that you chose me for your bride.”

“It will be no more shocking than anything else I have done. For that matter, no one would be surprised if I eloped with you. My own parents eloped to Scotland many years ago, although there was a little matter of an abduction beforehand.” Ash chuckled. “The bride—my mother—was more than willing, but her papa didn’t approve of the union, so the groom had to force the issue.”

Maura’s eyes widened. “I knew about your parents’ elopement, but not that it was an abduction.”

“It’s true. But my parents were actually fairly tame compared to some of my aunts and uncles. Jack’s mother—my Aunt Clara—caused a great scandal in her time, falling in love with a foreign prince and bearing a child out of wedlock, then living abroad alone. And Quinn and Skye’s parents caused their own scandal. Angelique was a French noblewoman engaged to wed a wealthy count when my Uncle Lionel stole her affections and married her himself. And then there was the Wilde ancestor who had to decamp for America because he killed a rival in a duel. It started a bitter feud between our families that continues to this day.” He smiled a bit. “See, I told you our current generation of Wildes have a legacy to uphold. Our love lives are varied and interesting, to say the least.”

“Apparently so,” Maura observed wryly.

Ash went on as if she hadn’t interrupted. “You may trust me when I say that pretending a betrothal will merely add to the exciting annals of our family history.”

Maura hesitated again, wanting to give him one last opportunity to change his mind. “Beaufort …”

“I asked you to call me Ash.”

“Ash … you don’t have to fight Deering with me. You can still withdraw your offer.”

His own gaze narrowed on her. “Not a chance, love. I am not abandoning you now that I’ve gone to all this trouble to save you from yourself. Besides, I desperately want the challenge. My life was becoming far too dull.”

“Well, then … if you are sure. But I won’t hold you to a betrothal. We will end our engagement at the earliest opportunity. I won’t have it said that I trapped you into marriage.”

“There is that prickly pride again,” Ash said with a taunting smile.

Maura answered him with much more seriousness. “Perhaps it is my pride, but I also don’t wish to act the hypocrite. It has always galled me that my stepmother manipulated my father into marriage because she wanted security and wealth. I refuse to be anything like Priscilla, marrying only for material gain. And I don’t care to marry you, in any case.”

His mouth curved. “I know—I don’t need reminding that you are fiercely independent.”

Maura pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It is not only independence I want,” she said with complete honesty. “Only true love would ever induce me to marry. And from what you have said, you feel the same way. You expect to find a grand passion in marriage, and I gravely doubt that I am your grand passion, any more than I am your ideal princess.”

At his contemplative silence, she searched his face. He clearly had his own doubts as well, she could tell.