Kidnapping His Bride

God, he’d been such an ass. Still was.

“My sister said I should’ve kept my mouth shut.” Cat clamped her lips together, looking miserable. “After a while, I finally took her advice and stopped talking about it. About us. The more I ignored it, the more it felt completely unreal. It still feels unreal, you know? And here I am, standing with you. Looking right at you.”

“It’s real. We’re real,” he said, keeping his voice low for fear he might make her upset. Or worse, make her run. “Very real. So real you told me you didn’t want me any longer and rejected me outright.”

A tiny smile curved her lush lips. “You won’t let me live that down, will you?”

“No.” He smiled faintly in return, enjoying the sparkle that returned to her eyes. “You may think you’re not worthy or whatever it is that you believe, Catalina, but you were quite brave, telling me you didn’t want to marry me after all. All that determination took me by surprise.”

“That had always been my plan, to take you by surprise,” she confessed with an impish smile.

Impressive. “Well, then, your plan worked.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She reached for him, clasping his hand in hers. “I thought you didn’t want to be with me. That us being together was a mistake.”

“You were wrong.” He threaded his fingers through hers right before she let his hand drop, trapping her in his grip.

“It’s hard for me to believe any of this when you say things like that.” She tried to pull her hand from his, but he tugged her forward, bringing her closer to him. “You ignored me for so long. It’s pitiful that I’m admitting this to you, but I’ve been ignored almost my entire life. Annalisa always outshone me. She was the oldest, the one they put all the expectations on, the intelligent one with a head for business. I was the baby, the quiet one, the not-so-smart one, the girl who wanted nothing more than to look pretty and go shopping. The biggest expectation they had for me was marrying well, and I couldn’t even seem to manage that when they thought I should.”

Guilt assuaged him. He’d pushed off marrying her, fearing he wasn’t ready. Then she’d put their marriage off over the last year supposedly because she wasn’t ready. But what had been the real reason? Had she been trying to prove herself to her family? “I don’t like that your family did that to you. It’s pretty unfair, don’t you think?”

She shrugged. “Life is unfair. Besides, families do that. They can’t help themselves. Doesn’t your family have different expectations for everyone? I’m sure what they expect you to do versus what they expect from your older brother are two very different things.”

“You’re right.” And she called herself the not-so-smart one. “They still shouldn’t have made you feel less than others or compared you to your sister.”

“It happens. I’m sure you’re compared to your brothers all the time.” She blew off his statement with a flick of her free hand. “So tell me. What are we going to do today?”

He smiled. “Whatever you want.”

“I’m…I’m not sure what we should do.” The last thing Cat wanted to bring up in front of this man was old family resentments and how she always felt as if she stood in her sister’s shadow. Talk about depressing. If she continued to rattle on like this, eventually Rafe would start thinking less of her too, just like everyone else did.

Worse, he might even become more interested in Annalisa, and that was the very last thing she wanted to happen. Despite her breaking off their engagement, she didn’t want to see Rafe with her sister.

That was just…wrong.

Reassuringly enough, he still held her hand, his long, strong fingers wrapped around hers, their palms pressed close. The entire moment felt downright intimate as they stood together in his quiet, beautiful apartment, the city spread out before them. The sun shone bright and hot through the window, warming their faces. Rafe’s dark hair gleamed, his stubble-covered cheeks tempting her to reach out and clasp his face in her hands, pull him to her. Feel those plush lips close over hers, his big hands gripping her waist, holding her steady as she drowned in his taste. Forgetting everything but him. And her. Imagining the two of them together.

Forever.

Blinking, she stared up at him, hoping he couldn’t read her mind. A few shared, heady kisses and she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about kissing him again. And again and again.

Curiosity got the best of her as she studied him covertly, drinking in his tall, lean and muscular body. What would it be like, to be with him so…intimately? Not that they had a chance now, what with her calling everything off, but how would he react if he found out she was a virgin? Would he think her a silly, scared little girl? Or would he be pleased that she saved herself for him?

Because she had. She’d been with no other man. She wanted only to be with Rafe. Thought it only right considering they were going to be married. Her virginity would’ve been a gift to him.

Now it would be a gift to someone else. She’d let him go. He wasn’t hers any longer.

Tears threatened, and she shook her head, pushing her useless thoughts away. He frowned as he peered down at her. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Fine.” She nodded furiously, her hair brushing against her cheeks. “Really, I am.”

“As long as you say so.” He released his grip on her hand and she felt oddly bereft, which was ridiculous. “So. You never did answer. What would you like to do today? Considering you’re my guest, I think it should be your choice.”