“I don’t want to marry you!” she burst out.
“You must be joking,” he snapped derisively.
Her eyes widened in angry apprehension.
“You aren’t entirely irresistible,” she informed him.
“Would you like me to prove you wrong?” It was a threat and his tone dangerous.
“No, not that,” she evaded, knowing exactly what he meant and not stupid enough to deny it. Her eyes moved left to right and back at him. “That was… lovely.”
“Lovely?” His voice was scathing. “You describe last night as lovely?”
“It was good,” she stopped at his narrowed eyes. “Very good.” His arms tightened. “Okay, it was wonderful. All right?” She was losing her composure, he saw she was both frightened and angry and he didn’t care.
“So, explain to me how I’m resistible, would you?” he demanded.
“You have to give me a moment to let me think.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“Fine,” she snapped, “you’re cold –”
“I was hot enough for you last night.”
“I’m not talking about last night!” She stamped her foot in frustration and, at any other time, he would have found that adorable.
Now, he did not.
“Stop interrupting me,” she ordered.
“Go on,” he allowed, his strained patience showing as he spoke through clenched teeth.
“I’ve done this before, this marriage thing and let me tell you it is not all that it’s cracked up to be.”
If he thought he couldn’t get angrier, he was wrong.
“I’m not Webster,” he growled.
“I know that!” she shouted. “I didn’t say you were and you’re interrupting again.”
He snapped his mouth shut and glared at her with glittering eyes.
“I can’t do it again, I can’t. I won’t! It’s too damned hard!” she burst out. “You get mixed up, you lose yourself. I won’t lose myself again, Douglas. I can’t and I won’t.”
He stared at her.
There had been very little in Douglas Ashton’s life that he ever wanted. Most of it he could obtain, the rest of it, a loving mother and father, his sister back from the dead, was unobtainable.
At that moment, he found himself wanting something.
And what he wanted was for Julia to lose herself with him.
He wanted this stubborn, tempestuous Julia Fairfax to disappear and an acquiescent, but still tempestuous, Julia Ashton to take her place. He wanted to brand her with his name and shackle her with his ring.
Did she not understand that was a good thing?
He used a particularly heavy weapon in his arsenal. “And what if you got pregnant last night?”