Sliding down against the wall, I wrapped my arms around my knees. Above my head, the clock ticked on and on into eternity. My back ached by the time the door opened and my stepfather appeared in the doorway. He frowned slightly as he caught sight of me on the floor and beckoned.
“Come here for a moment, Lia,” he said.
I entered his office with trepidation. Peregrine sat opposite my stepfather’s desk chair and when I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me, he lifted his gaze and narrowed it. His mouth thinned, but his expression didn’t change. He didn’t have a very expressive face—it was always just fixed in that brooding, smoldering stare beneath lowered brows.
The light caught his eyes through the window and they glowed golden. Like a match lighting up the shadows of his face. I swallowed, cowed, and sat down in the chair beside my stepfather. Putting as much space as I could between Peregrine and I.
“Well, let’s just go over the essentials,” my stepfather said briskly.
“Short and sweet works for me,” Peregrine said, sitting back.
“You’ll marry Peregrine next month, Lia. He needs to get things moving sooner rather than later and your mother and I are going to Italy this fall and we’d like to attend before leaving. So Peregrine has agreed to marry you near the end of September. How does that sound?”
My whole body froze. So soon?
I twisted my hands in my lap and looked up to meet Peregrine’s steady gaze. He had a way of dropping his chin and looking up from beneath his brows. It was intimidating and it made me feel vulnerable. Like he’d already seen me naked and he was entertaining the thought in his head as we sat here. I fought the urge to cover myself even though I was swimming in the thick sweatshirt.
“Um…I…why don’t we wait until spring?” I whispered.
“I’ve waited long enough for the money my grandmother left me,” said Peregrine. “Her one condition was that I marry before it be released.”
“Well,” I said, gathering my courage. “It’s good you’re getting that because I don’t have any money.”
My stepfather scowled. “Mind yourself, Lia. And yes, you have a large dowry that, after your wedding, will belong to Peregrine.”
I stared at him, taken aback. “Where did it come from?”
“Me,” my stepfather said crisply. “Your biological father was never going to cough up a cent so I put aside the money when I married your mother. I’m not a monster, Lia, I wanted you to have a good chance.”
I blushed, feeling stupid. And angry that I felt stupid in front of them. Peregrine sent me another thoroughly indecent, unclothed stare. The corner of his mouth jerked up and it took me a moment to realize he was smiling, but the scar over his jaw inhibited one side of his mouth. That crooked smirk sent a strange sensation down my spine and a shameful tingling rose between my thighs.
“May I speak with your daughter alone, sir?” Peregrine said.
He had a rich voice, like a vibrant shade of gold tinged with burnt huskiness. My stepfather hesitated and rose, circling the desk and moving to the door. He paused and narrowed his gaze at Peregrine.
“Please keep the door ajar,” he said.
Then he was gone, leaving me unsettled. At first I’d assumed his request was to keep anything untoward from happening between Peregrine and I, but then I realized that wasn’t true. My stepfather didn’t trust Peregrine and that scared me. Deeply. The men of the outfit spent a lot of time together and my stepfather knew something about this man he wasn’t saying out loud.
My throat felt thick and dry as I listened to his footfalls echo down the hall. Peregrine cleared his throat and rose, unfurling all six feet, four inches of his body. He smelled like a deep, rich, earthen spice. Like citrus and cardamom and a soft, smoky scent all wrapped into one. Despite myself, the smell warmed the bottom of my stomach.
“Let’s talk about what you get out of this, Lia,” he said.
CHAPTER TWO
PEREGRINE
She struck me as a little frigid, but maybe she was just afraid. I didn’t know much about Rosalia even though we’d grown up in the same circles. She was an introvert who spent most of her time locked in her room with her books or practicing her vocal exercises in the music room. The only reason I’d picked her as my bride was her availability and her family. I knew her brothers and stepfather well and I knew I’d get along with them.
Now that she sat across from me, I was congratulating myself on my choice. She was pretty and she would look good on my arm. Her hair was dark and soft and fell down her back in waves and her eyes were big and framed with thick lashes. Her skin was olive and she had a heart shaped face with a full, dusky pink mouth. When she’d walked in, I’d had trouble keeping my eyes from tracing it.
Wondering what it would feel like wrapped around my thumb.
I shook my head once, mentally telling myself to stop being so horny. She sat, crouched over in the chair, draped in a large, white sweatshirt. I could just make out the lines of her curvy body beneath and I had to force myself to bring my gaze back to her face. Her eyes were wary, but defiant. Like she could fight if she needed to, but she’d rather not.
“Your stepfather said you wanted to accept a place at the Leavewood Academy for the Arts, but he wasn’t willing to fund your education there because you are female,” I said. “I personally don’t care if you want to go and I’ll write the check.”
Her eyes widened and she sat up, a little flush moving up her face.