Page 21 of Awakened On Her Royal Wedding Night
“Thank you,” he said solemnly, but didn’t open the document to read what she’d written. Instead, he lifted his gaze to let it travel over her in a way that was both rueful and admiring. “I like seeing you in my clothing.”
“Why?”
“Why does any man want to put a ring on a woman? To claim her, of course.”
Her heart lurched, but even as she said, “That’s very barbaric,” there was a primitive part of her that responded to his possessiveness.
Did he know? Was that why that air of ironic amusement came over his expression?
“So...um...now that I’ve kept my side of the bargain...” She waved at the pages he held.
“Did you think my acceptance of this was an agreement?” He set the pages on the edge of the desk.
“Seriously?” she huffed. “You can’t expect me to marry a per—a complete stranger!”
“I’ve shared some very personal details with you,” he said with a hint of indignance. “More than I’ve ever offered to anyone. What else would you like to know? I prefer cats to dogs. They’re more self-sufficient. I don’t have a favorite color because I have the type of color blindness that sees red and green as the same shade. I am not close with my family,” he finished facetiously.
She wanted to toss back something equally sarcastic, but she was realizing they actually had shared quite a lot of deeply personal things. It wasn’t enough to base a marriage on, though. Was it?
“I prefer dogs,” she informed him coolly. “For the unconditional love they offer. Which, coincidentally, is what I would look for in a husband.”
He gave a small snort of disappointment. “Love is not a requirement for a successful union. It’s a detriment to getting what you really want and need from life.”
“No, it’s not!” She stared at him, astonished. “Itiswhat everyone needs from life.”
“How?”
“What do you mean,how?”
“You can’t eat it. You can’t breathe it. I have never experienced it yet I am alive, so how can you say it’s a necessity of life?”
“Because—” She faltered, startled by the way he had said that so blithely. He had never experienced love. Never? Really?
“No need for pity,” he said sardonically. “I don’t miss it.”
“You must. Have you really never had anyone love you?” she argued. “It’s companionship and—and—loyalty, and caring—”
“You really do want a dog.”
“Love is offering respect and affection and emotional support to someone you feel great esteem toward,” she insisted hotly. “Have you never felt any of that?”
“Have you?” he challenged. “Are you in love with someone right now?”
“No,” she admitted sullenly. That was why she couldn’t describe it without stammering. She’d been dismissed as a gangly, ugly duckling as a child, then treated as a sex object once she began developing curves. It had been an overnight transformation that she was still trying to reckon with.
“No,” he repeated, as if she had confirmed some crime-proving detail in a cross-examination. “Because those feelings you’re describing do not magically fuse into something bigger than the sum of their parts. If you want to call loyalty and respect and sexual attraction ‘love,’ have at it, but it is not an emotion unto itself. It’s certainly not a necessity to anyone.”
“I’ve never heard anything so cynical in my life.” She could only stare at him, agog. Disappointed. “Did one of your fiancées hurt you? How did you become like this?”
“I grew up,” he said flatly.
She physically recoiled from that. “Possessing a heart is immature?”
“Believing that some imaginary manifestation of a heart must be proffered and accepted before a marital relationship can move forward is immature, yes.”
“Do you even hear what a cold, empty offer this is that you’re making me? You should have left me to die on the beach.” She flung out a hand in that vague direction.
“Is this really an obstacle for you?” Impatience edged into his tone. “You’re worried that marrying me will keep you from drowning in sentiment over some nameless person you haven’t even met yet? If he is out there, why hasn’t he come to save you? What will he offer you when he does? Pretty words? Will they complete you in some way that you are deficient in right now? I see you as a whole person exactly as you are. You don’t need anyone to prop you up emotionally.”
