Miri struggled in Brandt’s arms, not that it did a bit of good. He carried her easily. To her outrage, the guards and servants littering the hallways were quick to avert eyes and hide smiles. How could they find this amusing? He was abducting her, holding her against her will!
Shoving open the door to his suite of rooms, he dropped her to her feet. “I’m not staying here,” she informed him, backing away.
“You can try to leave, but you won’t get far.” He pursued her, his face set in inexorable lines. “Not again. My people won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Don’t blame them. It wasn’t their fault,” fairness compelled her to say. She edged her way clear across the room. Bumping up against the chair by the fireplace, the back of her knees clipped the seat and she sat down hard. Her cheeks turned a shade darker than her suit, but she recovered with impressive speed. Acting as though she’d planned to sit all along, she crossed her legs and smoothed the narrow skirt of her suit over her thighs. “They were ordered to guard Alyssa Sutherland, not Miri Montgomery. I made it clear who I was when I left. Why would they stop me?”
He took up a position in front of the mantel, far too close for comfort. “And because of that, you waltzed right out the front door.”
“More of a stumbling run than a waltz,” she muttered. Stiffening her spine, she fought to regain her focus and deal with the panther she somehow found herself caged with. Years of practice handling awkward situations in the course of performing her royal duties came to her rescue. “Let’s have it, Brandt. What am I doing here?”
He regarded her in thoughtful silence for a brief moment. She’d never seen eyes such a rich ebony, nor so piercing in their intensity. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a perfect punctuation to his stare. “There are any number of issues we need to address. But why don’t we start with a certain wedding ceremony that took place a couple months ago.”
“Oh. That.” She managed to dismiss its importance with a blithe carelessness. And if she took pleasure in the fact that his mouth compressed in annoyance, well, who could blame her? “I don’t suppose you have any idea whether or not we’re really married?”
“No, I don’t.”
She grimaced. He’d managed to out-blithe her and with irritating ease, too. “You haven’t checked?”
“I’m satisfied with the status quo.”
That had her mouth falling open. “You must be joking.”
“Not at all.” He folded his arms across his chest. “As far as I’m concerned we’re married.”
She uncrossed her legs, her heels hitting the floor with a decisive thud. “You can’t possibly believe our marriage is legal. It can’t be.” She ticked off on her fingers. “You married me thinking I was Alyssa Sutherland. Her name was the one used during the ceremony, and on all the paperwork. Any one of those facts must be grounds for an annulment.”
“Quite possibly.” He tilted his head to one side. “What do you suppose would happen if I claim I knew it was you all along?”
She shook her head, alarmed. “That’s impossible. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have!”
“You’re certain of that?”
He’d left her grappling for a response. “If you’d known, you’d have stopped the ceremony. You’d have ordered your men to find Alyssa, just as you did later that night.”
“Actually, it was early the next morning, not that it matters. Now, pay attention, wife.” He leaned forward, crowding her to the point that she inched back in the chair. Lightning flashed, followed by a sharp crack of thunder as the storm closed in. She swallowed convulsively, her pulse fluttering in the hollow of her throat. “Since you’re responsible for me losing my bride, I’ve decided you can replace her. Maybe our wedding ceremony is legal. Maybe it’s not. To be honest, I don’t give a damn either way because I plan to fight the dissolution. So prepare yourself, my sweet. If you want out of this marriage, you have an uphill battle ahead of you.”
She shot to her feet. It helped that she’d found a pair of sky-high heels among the clothes he’d purchased for her. The extra height gave her a feeling of parity, even if an artificial one. “You can’t fool me a second time. I know why you’re doing this.”
“Interesting. And why is that?”
“You’re hoping that marriage to me will give you some of the votes you may have lost when Alyssa married Merrick.” Her accusation had him staring in patent disbelief. “Well, it won’t work. I—”
He held up a hand to halt her tumble of words. “Let me get this straight. I’m using you for votes. You’re saying that with a straight face?”
She gave a decisive nod. “Yes. And it won’t work.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Not only won’t I vote for you, I’m going to actively campaign for Lander.”
He began shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking. “Campaigning for your brother might prove difficult.”
His voice had gone deadly quiet, a warning sign if she’d ever heard one. Not that she’d allow it to intimidate her. Her chin shot up and she steeled herself for the coming confrontation. “And why is that?”
He straightened from his lounging position against the mantel. “Pay attention, wife.” He used the word deliberately as he took a step toward her. “You’re here of your own choice. But it’s my choice when you leave.”
She fell back a pace. This time instead of falling into the chair, she circled behind it, desperate for the barrier it provided. Rain stung the windows and another flash of lightning bled the room of color. Gripping the upholstered chair back, she confronted him. “Choice? You didn’t give me a choice about coming here and you darn well know it. And now you think you can keep me here? Against my will?”
“Yes and yes.”
That took the wind out of her sails. “Has it occurred to you that holding women against their will is becoming a bad habit of yours?”
He pretended to consider. “You know, you could be right. I’ll take your concerns under advisement.”
His levity left her quivering with the need to hit out. “Fair warning, Your Highness. I’m not staying. I came with you today for one reason and one reason only. To—”
“Rub my nose in how you helped Merrick steal my bride?” he offered helpfully.
“Yes. No!” She thrust a hand through her hair, loosening the knot. “Okay, maybe.”
A brief smile came and went. “Admit it, Miri.” His voice took on a more serious tone. “You came with me because you’re furious. And hurt. You want to share the pain.”
“You think I’m that petty?” She glared at him for endless seconds before her face crumpled and she slammed her fist into the upholstered chair back. “Damn you! You’re right. I am that petty. I want you to hurt as much as I’ve been hurt. I want you to suffer for what you did to our relationship. But most of all, I want you to know that I despise you for what you’ve done, for being such an unbelievable bastard.”
He came for her, reaching for her even when she threw up her hands to ward him off. Pulling her into his arms, he simply held her. It didn’t seem to matter how rigidly she stood, he wouldn’t be put off. He smoothed back her hair and the loosened coil unraveled beneath his touch.
“How could I have ever thought this belonged to Alyssa?” he murmured, filling his hands with the weight of it. “Or that it wasn’t you I held in my arms. Maybe I did know on some unconscious level, knew and ignored the signs because desire overrode common sense.”
“You didn’t know it was me.” Could he hear the hurt? Did he even care? “You called me by her name.”
“Of course I did. You were using her name.” His eyes narrowed and her heart skittered in her chest at his sudden look of comprehension. Thunder crashed overhead and echoed off the surrounding mountains. “My God. Were you hoping I’d figure it out? Is that why you’re so offended?”
Yes, yes and yes! How could he be so blind? “You should have realized who I was the moment you kissed me,” she said, horrifying herself by the accusation. Pain ate through her at the memory and her hands fisted around the lapels of his suit jacket. “Is my kiss so common, so ordinary, that you couldn’t tell it from another woman’s?”
“Do you think if it had really been Alyssa I held in my arms that I would have reacted the way I did with you?” he countered. “Lost control the way I did? I may not have been consciously aware it was you I took to my bed, but on some level I knew.”
“How can you say that? In your head, in your heart, you made love to Alyssa, not to me.” It took every particle of restraint to speak the words, instead of howl them every bit as fiercely as the storm lashing at the windows. “You never gave me a single thought.”
“You’re wrong.” His face darkened, filled with all the passion she could have wished. His eyes burned with it. His voice hungered from it. She could practically inhale the scent of it, a blatant need that electrified the very air they breathed. “The woman in my arms, the woman in my bed, the woman who caused me to lose every vestige of control was you. No other. And no other woman could have had the affect on me that you did.”
“I don’t believe you. I won’t.” She struggled to free herself, but he simply held on, refusing to release her. “Let me go!”
“Easy, sweetheart. Take it easy,” he soothed.
She’d already discovered how pointless it was to struggle against him. That didn’t mean she’d yield. She could still fight, with words, if nothing else. “Don’t you dare call me sweetheart,” she bit out. “You have no business keeping me here. No business touching me. No business forcing me to stay with you. You lost that privilege when you decided to marry Alyssa.”
“I disagree. When you took her place, you gave me the right to keep you.” He swept his thumb across her mouth. “To touch you.”
“I never—”
“You did, Miri.” His voice held an implacability she couldn’t miss. “And you’ll stay with me for as long as it takes.”
“As long as what takes?” she demanded unevenly.
He cupped her face, turning it up to his. “For me to convince you that you belong here,” he stunned her by saying. Lightning flickered, throwing his face into a stark relief that underscored his resolve. “You made promises to me and I intend to hold you to them.”
“You must be kidding!”
“Not even a little. I might not have figured out who you were during the ceremony. And I may not have fully sensed the truth afterward. But you were well aware of who you promised to love, honor and cherish.”
“I had to make those promises,” she protested. Did he catch the defensive edge in her voice? Probably. Brandt didn’t miss much. “If I hadn’t repeated the vows, you’d have known I wasn’t Alyssa.”
He shook his head. “Not good enough. I heard your voice. I heard the emotion that permeated every single word. At the time, I thought you were pretending for our guests. But that wasn’t true, was it?”
“I played a part. I was an actress performing a role, no more,” she instantly denied. Who was she trying to convince, herself or Brandt? “I did what I had to in order to give Merrick and Alyssa time to escape. I’d have done anything to stop you, to keep you from stealing the throne from Lander.”
“If that’s true, then why did you stay?”
Naturally, he’d found the one flaw in her argument and nailed her with it. He studied her with an all-too-familiar mask, an inscrutable one that in the past had always filled her with intense frustration. How did he manage to keep his emotions in such an iron grip, when hers leaked from her grasp like a handful of water? He’d become a master at throwing up walls, walls she’d only managed to fully breach once before—on their wedding night.
“You had plenty of time to leave before night fell, yet you didn’t,” he continued when she remained silent. “Why?”
Her chin shot up. No way would she humiliate herself with the truth. “As I said, I stayed to give Merrick as much time as possible to get away.” She offered the lie without a moment’s compunction.
His eyes were jet-black and so direct it was everything she could do not to flinch. “You made love to me, sacrificed your virginity, for the sake of kin and country?” he demanded. “Is that what you’re trying to sell me?”
She opened her mouth to agree, but the words died unuttered. “Okay, I didn’t stay with you to save Verdonia,” she said with a sigh.
To her surprise, he relaxed ever so slightly. “Good answer.”
“Would you have believed me if I’d insisted that it was the real reason?” she asked, curious. “Would you have believed me capable of making love to you as part of Alyssa’s abduction plan?”
“No.” Swift and unequivocal and punctuated by a hard rumble of thunder. “There’s only one reason you’d ever go to bed with a man.”
She fixed her attention on the tie knotted at his throat. It was slightly askew and for some reason that tiny imperfection filled her with a painful longing. She wanted to reach up and straighten that tie, to be entitled to perform such a casual, wifely duty. But she wasn’t. He’d chosen to give another woman that right. “If you already know why I’d sleep with a man, then you don’t need an answer from me.”
“I want to hear you say it anyway.” A quiet urgency reverberated through his statement. “I want to hear you say you’d only give yourself to a man because you loved him.”
She shook her head, unwilling to hand him such a huge portion of her soul. “I didn’t stay because I loved you. I just wanted to say goodbye.” It took every scrap of poise she possessed to look him straight in the eye and make truth from fabrication. “I said everything I needed to that night. I’ve worked through any lingering feelings I might have had for you. Whatever was between us has died a painful death, and I have no interest whatsoever in trying to resurrect it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She ripped loose of his embrace and finally he let her go. No sooner did she gain her freedom, than she found herself longing to be back in his arms again. “Believe what you want, Brandt. It doesn’t change anything. I came here to confront you over what you’ve done and to tell you how despicable I think you are.”
“And that’s the only reason?”
“No.” She’d recovered a modicum of her composure. Tossing back a swathe of hair, she faced him with a determined expression. “I also came with you today in order to find out what you plan to do next.”
“Next?”
“To steal the election from Lander. Fair warning, I won’t let you try anything else that might harm him or my family.”
Anger flashed like lightning. “How are you planning to stop me?”
“Any way I can.”
Where before his smile warmed, this time it chilled. “Then I suggest you stay close and watch carefully.”
“Trust me, I will.”
“Fine. Let’s start here and now.”
Brandt stripped off his suit jacket, and then his tie, and tossed them in the direction of the chair. His shirt followed a moment later. He watched as Miri fought to keep her attention on his face. But she betrayed herself with fleeting looks that swept across his bared chest and arms. They were hungry little glances, filled with the memory of another time and another night. Glances that gave lie to her claims of indifference. Glances that burned as much as if she’d branded him with an actual touch.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked faintly.
“I’m turning in for the night. Why?”
Her head jerked toward the bed and away again. A hint of color bloomed across her cheekbones while memories darkened her eyes to the green of a forest buried in shadow. “In that case, I’ll turn in, too.” She hovered in the center of the room, appearing momentarily helpless. “Where do I…”
He gestured toward the bed. “Right there. Next to me.”
He fought to hide his amusement at the way her mouth opened and closed. And those amazing eyes of hers went so wide he could have drowned in them.
“You must be joking.”
“I told you in the parking garage. I intend to have my wife in my arms when I go to bed.” He crossed to her side and snagged the lapel of her suit, anchoring her in place. Not giving her time to react, he plucked open the first button of her jacket. “Starting now.”
“Stop it, Brandt.” The breath trembled from her lungs and she attempted to refasten the buttons as fast as he unfastened them. “This isn’t funny.”
“I agree.” He won the battle of the buttons and slid the jacket off her shoulders, allowing it to drop to the floor at her feet. “There’s nothing in the least amusing about our relationship to date.”
She slapped at him as he tackled the zip of her skirt, not that it did any good. “I’m not sleeping with you,” she wailed.
“Fair enough. Then you can lie awake in my arms while I sleep.” His hands closed around her waist and he lifted her. Her skirt plummeted down her hips, catching momentarily on the toes of her mile-high heels before both shoes and skirt gave up the fight and dropped to the floor.
“You have no right,” she protested as he set her down.
“I repeat. You gave me that right.” He yanked her silk shell up and over her head.
“We can’t. Our marriage isn’t legal.” The words were muffled, but he caught the gist.
“It is until we’re told otherwise.”
She emerged from beneath the shell, hair tousled, face stormy. “I don’t want to go to bed with you.”
“I got that message.” Loud and clear. “Want or not, like or not, you will join me in that bed.”
He spoke in a voice rare for him, but one that guaranteed instant obedience the few times he used it. She stood before him in scraps of lace and silk, rumpled and ruffled, and still defiance vibrated in every muscle of her body. Tears glistened, most likely from anger, though it could be distress, and he steeled himself to ignore their impact. He didn’t dare show any weakness with her, not until matters were resolved between them.
He approached and she stumbled backward a step before locking her knees in place and holding her ground with clenched fists and a jutting jaw. So strong, so defiant, so painfully defenseless. Reaching past her, he flipped off the light.
“We’re both tired and irritable and this isn’t the best conversation to hold when we’re not at our best,” he spoke into the dark. “I suggest we table it until morning.”
He heard her breath escape in a relieved rush. “I can live with that.”
“Fine. Then I have something for you.”
He crossed to his dresser, moving through the unlit room with complete assurance. Opening the top drawer, he grabbed one of the nightgowns he’d purchased with her in mind. He’d gone a little crazy, buying a full dozen, each softer and more filmy than the one before, some silk and some the finest cotton he could find, but all barely enough material to fill his palm.
“Here, put this on.” He tossed her the first one that came to hand. Even in the dark, the light color of the gown made it visible. It billowed as it floated in her direction, and she snatched it out of midair before retreating deeper into shadow.
He could hear the rustle of clothing as she stripped and struggled not to think about what she was doing or how she looked doing it. That path led to trouble. If he were going to get through the endless hours ahead with his sanity intact, he’d better keep his thoughts on something other than Miri undressing, Miri naked, or Miri undressing and naked.
He’d almost succeeded when a flash of lightning lit the room for a split second, spotlighting his wife and forever burning a picture of her nudity into his heart and mind. The sight sent a kick straight to the gut, robbing him of the ability to breathe.
She stood, tautly erect, arched slightly backward as she lifted the nightgown above her head. Her breasts were full and beautifully rounded, tipped in rose, while a river of ebony hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, just brushing the curves of a perfectly curved backside. Her legs were glorious, toned and shapely, and she’d turned just enough toward him to reveal the thatch of dark curls that stood out in stark relief beneath the unblemished ivory of her belly.
He saw it. He saw it all in that brief instant before the room was plunged into darkness once again. And seeing, he wanted. He wanted to snatch her from where she stood and rip the nightgown from her grasp. More, he wanted to carry her to the bed and brand every lush inch with his possession. Desire raged, the need that screamed through him so intense he thought he’d lose his mind from the overwhelming demand of it. Only one thing held him in place—the expression in her eyes, an expression of utter vulnerability.
“Please,” she whispered into the night.
Her voice echoed that vulnerability with an apprehension so sharp, it cut like a knife. He’d already hurt her, hurt her more than any man had a right to. He wouldn’t add to that pain.
“It’s okay, Miri.” His voice sounded like it was filled with grit, but at least it held steady and gave a semblance of calm. With luck, it wouldn’t frighten her. He deliberately kept his distance, determined to ease her trepidation. “Come to bed.”
“I—I don’t feel well.”
He could read between those lines. “It’s been one of those days,” he told her gently. “You’ll feel better once you’ve had some sleep.”
“I’d rather sleep alone.”
“I’m sure you would. And I wish I could let you.” He closed his eyes for an instant, his hands fisting at his side. “But I’m not that altruistic.”
Lightning cut through the room again, punctuated by a rumble of thunder. She’d finished changing and the staccato flash darted through the fine cotton of her nightgown, showing him all he dared not touch. The strobe of light also sent her flying across the room, but not toward the bed. She slammed into the bathroom and an instant later he heard her retching.
He came after her at a run. “Easy, sweetheart.” Sinking to his knees behind her, he held her hair back from her face. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.”
When she was done, she collapsed against the wall, drawing her knees tight against her chest. Tears leaked from behind her tightly closed eyes, tracking down cheeks bleached bone-white. If he’d thought she’d looked vulnerable before, it was nothing compared to how she looked now.
He settled down beside her and to his relief, she turned to him, huddling in his arms. And then she fell apart. He held her close and waited out the storm. When it had passed, he caught her hand in his and laced their fingers together. There was only one reasonable question to ask.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”