London Dynasty (The Dynasties #1) - Geneva Lee Page 0,66

like going out there, and I doubted he would settle for a quick conversation at the door. Not after waiting so long.

I swung the door open the rest of the way and stepped to the side to let him in.

He stalked in, trailing water behind him, and stopped to face me. “You haven’t been returning my calls.”

“So, you thought you should come over here and catch pneumonia to get my attention?” I shut the door behind him and settled against it, crossing my arms over my chest. I needed him to understand that things weren’t right between us. We needed distance. I needed time to find Kerrigan. I was already beginning to regret letting him into the house. “Did you plan this with Giles?”

He studied me for a moment before shrugging one waterlogged shoulder. “What if I did?”

“I knew it!” I exploded. They had probably hatched the plan before Tod and Iris left for Surrey. The whole thing had been orchestrated to get Spencer access to me. So much for thinking Giles was on my side. Of course, he wasn’t. He worked for Tod, and Tod wanted Kerrigan to marry Spencer. That was all that mattered. It didn’t matter who got in the way. It didn’t matter who got hurt. All that mattered was this arranged marriage.

“I’m sorry,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.

“For what?” I tried to sound as detached as possible, but my voice quavered, giving me away. “I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do.”

“We were drunk,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let things get that far.”

“And if we hadn’t been drinking? And I wanted to do that, would you let me?”

“I don’t own you, Kerrigan.”

“Are you sure? Isn’t that what this is all about?” I stormed, feeling the hot prickle of tears forming in my eyes. “I’m just a commodity to be sold to a man with the right title and the right family.”

“I don’t think of you that way.” His sincerity was obvious, but that didn’t change the facts of the matter.

“But you agreed to it,” I pointed out.

“I did,” he admitted.

“Why? You could have anyone you wanted.” That was the thing I had never understood since the moment I’d seen his picture.

“The first time I saw you I wanted you.”

“What? When we were five?” I tried to sound glib, but my heart was pounding against my chest like it was trying to get out. Kerrigan and Spencer had known each other before boarding schools and universities sent them on different paths.

“Not when we were kids. The first time I saw you grown-up,” he said softly. “I didn’t even speak to you. It was at the Queen’s garden party last summer. I looked across the lawns and you were laughing.”

My heart began to slow, restricted by a sudden tightness in my chest. The truth was that he hadn’t seen me last summer. He hadn’t wanted me last summer.

It had been her.

“When I realized it was you, I thought finally something good was coming from my fucking family name and this sodding title. I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t ask for any of this. But someone had to do it when father died, and Holden made it quite clear he didn’t want it to be him.” He pushed a hand through his dripping hair, showering the floor with more water droplets.

I wished I could tell him the truth. That Holden believed he was doing the right thing for his brother. But I wouldn’t betray Holden’s confidence. Both of them thought they had sacrificed for the other. There was a beautiful irony in it that was equal parts sad and sweet.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, searching my face for a sign that I would forgive him. “I’ll never put you through something like that again. Just give me another chance.”

I shut my eyes and decided to be as truthful as I could with him. “It scared me.”

“I didn’t mean to make you afraid,” he murmured, hanging his head.

“No, it scared me because I liked it.” I forced the words out of my mouth.

Spencer’s eyes flashed up in surprise, but he didn’t say anything.

“I don’t want to be the thing that comes between the two of you,” I continued. “Of course, I find Holden attractive. You look exactly the same. But I don’t trust him. And I just shared something incredibly intimate with you, so how am I supposed to feel when suddenly I can’t seem to control myself?”

We stared at each other for a moment, neither