Lady Nicola Howerty has never backed down from a challenge, and she's not about to start now.
Being blackmailed into marriage by an old friend. Hiring a private investigator. Kissing said investigator... Okay, it might be a bit much, but she can han...
Author's Note: This partial scene was the original start to the chapter when Nick has run away from Gabriel after they got married, once the realisation hit them both that this was it... they were married. It's from Gabriel's POV and explains some of how he felt about them getting married (maybe making it a tiny bit more understandable why he left her the next day).
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Gabriel leaned his head against the cool wood of Nick's door. What was he doing? The sensible thing would be to leave. Go to his room and lock the door. But his feet didn't move. He had fought his attraction to Nick for so long, making every effort to ensure he didn't compromise her. But now she was his wife.
His wife.
The circumstances of their marriage didn't seem to matter to his body. It yearned for her. He yearned for her.
"Nick?" he called again. "Open the door please."
No reply. He smiled wryly. It was rather amusing that she had locked herself away. Their flirting was no longer a game, and she'd bolted.
"Nick?"
The sound of the lock clicking made him step away but nothing else happened. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. Nick stood in the middle of the room watching him warily as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. What did she think he was there to do?
He quirked an eyebrow. "You've spent the last few weeks driving me mad with your innuendos and indecent suggestions," he mumbled as he slowly moved towards her. "But when we are actually married, you lock me out of your bedroom?"
"Are you terribly angry?"
He froze. Angry? "No. Why would I be angry?"
She made a sweeping gesture at nothing in particular. "Because we're married. You have avoided it like the plague and now you're married to me!"
In her too-large wedding dress and her large brown eyes staring at him, she looked younger than her twenty years, and he felt like a cad. He sighed. "I am not angry, Nick. In fact, I..."
The memory of her tearful eyes in the church flashed before him. It had broken his heart when he saw it, thinking that she would be so sad to marry him. Being married meant her losing her estate. There were stipulations that could be made in a marriage settlement, but it was too late for that now. He would never force her to give it up, and would quite happily allow her to deal with it as before. But he realised it wasn't the same. He would still technically be the owner.
Unable to meet her vulnerable gaze, he looked away, catching sight of a pile of books in the corner, stacked into the shape of what he assumed was some sort of tower or fort. He wanted this amazing woman so badly. But not so much that he would force her into a life she didn't want.
"We..." His voice was thick, so he cleared his throat. "It's not too late. We could get an annulment. They are hard to come by, but considering the circumstances, I think we'd have a good case."
"What... What do you mean?"
Looking back at her, resolved to do the honourable thing, he steeled himself. "If we do not consummate the marriage, we can have it annulled. You are not yet of age and did not have your brother's approval. The licence was acquired under false pretences. Not to mention the whole being led down the aisle with pistols aimed at us."
She frowned slightly. "So... We could essentially void the whole thing?"
He nodded. "Your estate would remain fully yours."
"Is that what you want to do?"
What he wanted to do wasn't fit for saying out loud. He cleared his throat. "It's the only option in which you retain full ownership of your estate. We didn't even get a chance to write a marriage settlement, so there are no stipulations on what I as a husband can and cannot do with it currently."
"From what I understand, it doesn't matter much anyway," she muttered. "As a married woman, I do not exist and cannot own anything."
"True. But at least with a marriage settlement you could stipulate what happens to the estate in the case of your husband's death and whether your daughters should inherit. Or whatever the case may be."
"I hate it." She kicked at some imaginary dirt on the floor. "It's so unfair. Why should I lose control of my estate simply because I marry?"
He shrugged. There was no easy answer. If it was in his power, he would give her anything she wanted. Whether that was freedom from him or not.
When he said nothing, she sighed. "Fine. You're making sense. We will request an annulment."
He should have been prepared for the stab of disappointment her words caused. And yet it hurt. Immensely.
"Again, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I wish our reinforcements would have arrived in time to stop the wedding."
It was her turn to shrug. "It matters little now."
Her mood was odd but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Was it the frustration of their current state of affairs? Something else?
"I will retire to my room," he said.
"Would you mind helping me with my dress?" She turned her back towards him, showing a long row of tiny buttons. "I've asked for a bath, but I'd rather get out of this hideous thing now."
"No, Nick. If we're to get this annulment, I cannot do that." He chuckled as she looked at him over her shoulder, a mischievous sparkle in her brown eyes. Some things never changed. "You enjoy torturing me, don't you?"
She grinned. "Maybe a little."
It was good to see her smile again. The impish turn of her mouth twitched as she noticed him staring at her mouth. Holy hell. He needed to get out of there before what little resolve he still had melted like snow in summer. With a quick bow, he left and returned to his room. He ought to lock the door and throw the key out the window.
A bath did sound like a good idea, so he sent for one as well. As he sat in a bath of his own some time later, he couldn't help but remember the evening Nick had walked in on him. He groaned as he sank further into the tub. It wasn't massive, but it was a good size bigger than the one he'd had to fold himself into at the inn. This definitely wasn't any wedding night he ever would have envisioned. It was maddening to know Nick was only two doors away. His wife.
He wanted nothing more than to march across the hallway and make her his. In every way that counted. And maybe a few more. Filled with restless energy, he got out of the bath and towelled off. He might as well try to get some sleep, though he doubted his ability to do so with Nick so close, yet out of his reach.
There was a loud yelp from her room and a loud bang. With his heart beating rapidly, he pulled on a pair of trousers, not wasting time to button them, and rushed across the hallway. Bursting into her room he expected to find her fighting off one of Fontaine's men that had been left behind, or something similarly sinister. Nick sat on the floor as he entered, and a quick glance about the room confirmed there was no one else inside.
"Are you all right?" he asked, returning his attention to her. He swallowed. She was wearing nothing but a damp towel, her hair pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head. A few drops of water still clung to the skin around her neck and collarbones.
"I'm fine," she muttered.
Hesitant to touch her, not quite trusting himself, he walked over and helped her to her feet. Her skin was warm under his touch, and the sweet smell of lemons tickled his nose. Forcing himself to let go of her arm, he watched as she rubbed her bottom with one hand, wincing slightly.
"What happened?" he asked.
The blush on her cheeks from the warm bath deepened. "I slipped on the soap."
...
Author's Note: And you know what happened soon after this...
