“I’ll say this for ye. Ye have plenty to display. His lordship will be pleased, if nothing else.”
“I thought it was Gavin I needed to be pleasing to.”
With a sly look, she nodded. “Aye. It is. But the duke will want his due as well.”
She didn’t mean what I thought she meant... surely she didn’t. That would be... I shuddered, unable to find the words to express how absolutely revolted I was by the thought of Gavin’s father’s hands—or fangs—coming anywhere near me.
Fork me.
The miserable woman grabbed my elbow and tugged me out of the room. “Come on, then. They’re waiting.”
In a whirl of skirts, I followed, her grip not giving me much choice. I had no idea where I was or which way to go to return to my room by the time we reached a pair of polished wood French doors.
The doors swung open without being touched, revealing a room bathed in candlelight. Candelabras lined a makeshift aisle, and four figures stood at the other side in a little group. One of them turned as the doors opened.
“Finally.”
I barely registered the duchess’s clipped voice. I was too consumed by the sight of Gavin in profile. My breath caught as he turned his stare on me. The most handsome man I’d ever seen. The first one I’d ever responded to in...thatway. He was dressed in black-tie formalwear, the cut of his tuxedo jacket doing amazing things for his shoulders. But it was the way his eyes burned, a deep molten chocolate so dark they were nearly black, that sent my knees wobbling. Not to be outdone, my knickers dampened in response as well.
“Now that the bride has seen fit to grace us with her presence, shall we get this over and done with?” The duchess offered me an impatient look as she stepped aside to reveal an altar, complete with a silver ceremonial spike I knew all too well.
Oh, fork.
I wasn’t here to plan the wedding. Thiswasthe wedding.
ChapterFive
GAVIN
Ishould have felt bad my little princess didn’t know what she’d truly been brought here for. But I didn’t. The Blackthornes had proven time and again they couldn’t be trusted. This was the only way to ensure the marriage came to pass.
I would not be denied. I would not be made a fool.
The shock on Roslyn’s face sent a jolt of arousal coursing through me, fueling my need to chase her and assert my dominance.
“I... what’s going on?” Bloody hell, I loved the fear in her voice. The way her pulse spiked as understanding settled in even as she asked the question.
“Come to me, princess. Let’s finish this so we can get to the fun part.”
I held out my hand for her, and a strange tremor had me fighting for control as I waited.
Her fingers fisted in her skirt, but she didn’t move.
Anger burned through the arousal.
“Do not make me come over there, petal. Because when I reach you, I will shove you down and make you crawl for wasting my time. I do not think you want to debase yourself like that in front of my parents, but that’s exactly what will happen because I will not let you rise until this ceremony is completed. We’re getting married tonight. It’s your choice to do it standing on your own two feet at my side or on your knees before me.”
Her little intake of breath said it all. I’d won, and she liked it. “Yes, my lord.”
Oh, how fucking perfect.
With each step she took, threads of my control broke. I wanted this over with already, wanted her in my room, submitting to my commands, giving herself over to me. I needed to take her and make her mine in every way.
The ceremony was a blur, a simple formality as we agreed to the words uttered by the council representative. Then we reached the pivotal moment, the joining.
“Hold out your hands,” the councilman said.
I laid mine out first, palm up, and waited for my sweet petal to do the same. She hesitated, her eyes locking on mine.