'No,' she answered in a whisper. 'But I do thank you for offering.'
'After the wedding, you and I… what do you mean, no? I'm going to marry you, Alesandra. It's all been decided.'
'No, you aren't going to marry me,' she countered. 'Quit frowning, Colin. You're off the hook. You asked and I turned you down. You can start breathing again.'
'Alesandra…' he began in a warning tone of voice she completely ignored.
'I know exactly what happened downstairs after I left,' she boasted. 'Your father cleverly manipulated you into agreeing to have me. He told you about the gift my father gave him, didn't he?'
Colin smiled. Alesandra was really very astute. 'Yes,' he answered. 'It wasn't a gift, however. It was a loan.'
He moved away from the door and walked toward her. She immediately started backing away.
'It was a loan only in your father's eyes,' she argued.
He shook his head. 'Forget the loan,' he ordered. 'And start making sense. You need to get married, damn it, and I've agreed to become your husband. Why are you being so difficult?'
'Because you don't love me.'
She'd blurted out that truth before she could stop herself. Colin looked astonished. She was so embarrassed now she wished she could open the window and leap out. That ridiculous notion made her want to scream. She really needed to get a better hold on her emotions, she told herself.
'What does love have to do with anything? Do you honestly believe any of the men on your list would love you? Hell, whomever you chose wouldn't even know you well enough to form an opinion…'
She interrupted him. 'No, of course he wouldn't love me. I wouldn't want him to. It was going to be a purely financial arrangement. You, however, have made it perfectly clear you won't touch my funds. You told me you were determined to make it on your own, remember?'
'I remember.'
'And have you changed your mind in the last five minutes?'
'No.'
'There, do you finally understand? Since you have nothing to gain from marrying me, and since you don't love me, which would be the only other reason for marriage, then there really isn't any point to your noble sacrifice.'
Colin leaned on the edge of the desk and stared at her. 'Let me get this straight,' he muttered. 'You actually believed you could buy a husband?'
'Of course,' she cried out in exasperation. 'Women do it all the time.'
'You aren't buying me.'
He sounded furious. She let out a sigh and tried to hold on to her patience. 'I know I'm not buying you,' she agreed. 'And that puts me in a weaker bargaining position. I can't allow that.'
Colin felt like shaking some sense into her. 'We're talking about marriage, not contracts for hire,' he snapped. 'Were you planning to sleep with your husband? What about children, Alesandra?'
He was asking her questions she didn't want to answer. 'Perhaps… in time. Oh, I don't know,' she whispered. 'It doesn't concern you.'
Colin suddenly moved. Before Alesandra had time to guess his intent, he pulled her into his arms.
He held her around her waist with one arm and forced her chin up with his other hand so she would look at him.
He thought he might want to shout at her, but then he saw the tears in her eyes and he forgot all about arguing with her. 'I'm going to be touching you all the time,' he announced in a gruff whisper.
'Why?'
He took exception to the fact that she looked so surprised. 'Call it a benefit,' he drawled out.
He probably would have only given her a chaste kiss to seal his commitment to wed her, but she goaded his temper again when she whispered her denial.
'Yes,' he whispered back just seconds before his mouth descended to hers. The kiss was meant to gain her submission. It was hard, demanding, thorough. He felt her try to pull away with the first touch of his mouth on hers, but he ignored her struggle to get free by tightening his hold on her. He forced her mouth open by applying pressure on her chin with his hand, and then his tongue swept inside to rid her of her resistance.
The kiss wasn't at all gentle. But, Lord, it was hot. Alesandra didn't know if she struggled or not. She was having trouble thinking at all. Colin's mouth was so wonderfully thorough, she never wanted him to stop. Alesandra had never been kissed before and had therefore never experienced passion. She was overwhelmed by it now. Colin was certainly experienced, though. His mouth slanted over hers again and again while his tongue rubbed against hers in intimate love play.
Colin realized he should stop when he heard her sexy little whimper. He growled low in his throat and kissed her again. Damn, he wanted her. His hand brushed against the swell of her breast and the heat and fullness he felt under his hand through the material of her gown made him ache to make love to her.
He forced himself to pull away from her. Alesandra collapsed against him. She didn't realize she had her arms around his waist until he told her to let go.
She was so confused by what had just happened to her, she didn't know what to say or do. She tried to back away from him, but she was trembling so much she could barely get her legs to support her.
He knew he'd rattled her. The grin on his face was extremely telling-arrogant, too.
'That was my first kiss,' she stammered out as an excuse for her sorry condition.
Colin couldn't resist. He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again. 'And that was your second,' he whispered.
'Begging your pardon,' Jenkins called out from the doorway. 'The duchess is most insistent you join her in the dining room.'
Alesandra jerked away from Colin. She acted as though she'd just been scorched by the sun. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. She peeked around Colin to look at the butler. He smiled at her.
'We're coming, Jenkins,' Colin called out. He kept his gaze on Alesandra, smiling over her embarrassment.
She tried to skirt her way around him. He took hold of her hand and wouldn't let go. 'I'll make the announcement during dinner,' he told her as he pulled her through the doorway.
'No,' she countered. 'Colin, your kisses haven't changed anything. I'm not going to marry you and ruin all your carefully laid plans.'
'Alesandra, I always win. Understand me?'
She let out an unladylike snort. He squeezed her hand and started down the steps. She had to run to keep up with him.
'I dislike arrogant, think-they're-always-right men,' she muttered.
'I do too,' he agreed.
'I was referring to you.' Lord, she felt like screaming. 'I'm not marrying you.'
'We'll see.'
He wasn't going to give up. The man was sinfully stubborn. But then so was she, she reminded herself. Her guardian had given her his word she could choose her own husband and Colin's intimidating tactics didn't matter.
Dinner was a nerve-racking affair. Alesandra's stomach was tied in knots and she could barely swallow anything. She should have been hungry, but she wasn't. She kept waiting for Colin to say something, and was praying at the same time that he wouldn't open his mouth.
Jade drew her into conversation. 'I understand the prince regent called on you,' she remarked.
'Yes,' Alesandra answered. 'I wouldn't have allowed him entrance into Colin's home if I'd known he'd cheated Colin's partner out of an inheritance, however.'
Jade smiled. 'His partner is my brother,' she said. She turned to the duchess to explain what they'd been talking about. 'The prince regent was holding my brother's wife's inheritance while the fighting was going on between the families, but once it was all resolved, he decided to keep the gift for himself. It was a sizable sum.'
'You really wouldn't have let the prince regent in?' Caine asked.
