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She could scarcely contain her frustration. “I don’t understand. Why won’t you let me help you? We could find what we once had. Iknow we could.”
His gaze fastened on hers, the expression cold and clear and absolute. “Because I don’t want this thing you call love. Not from you. Not from anyone. It’s all a lie. And I swear. If you wrap up those lies in pretty declarations of undying love, I’ll send you back to your brother before the words even hit the air. Are we clear about that?”
As clear as the sound of her heart breaking. She shivered and the bells pealed a mournful dirge in response. “Yes, Chaz. We’re clear.”
Chazstood in front of the priest, deaf to the words being spoken. Only one thought filled his head. He shouldn’t have told Shayne the truth.
He could have made his objections clear without being so harsh. Maybe then he wouldn’t have seen the desolation that filled those huge, dark eyes of hers. Or felt the physical blow her pained gasp had caused. Or heard the jarring clash of bells as she’d jerked free of him, walking away with a fragile dignity that nearly unmannedhim.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and fingered the strand he’d stripped from her mask. Honesty was best, under the circumstances. That way she’d know right from the start what to expect from their marriage.
Chaz suddenly realized there’d been an interminably long silence. While he’d been lost in thought, something significant had happened. Something that had caused everyone in the room to turn and glare athim.
“Er... Ido?” he said hopefully.
“Oh, Chaz,” Shayne whispered, tears filling her lush brown eyes, eyes he could lose his soulin.
He sighed. “Damn it, Shayne. What have I done now?”
Rafe slammed his fist against Chaz’s bicep. “Imbécil! She said no to you.”
“She said...? Excuse us for a minute.” He grasped Shayne’s elbow and hustled her off to one side of the room. “What’s going on?”
She bowed her head. “I can’t go through with this. Ican’t allow Rafe to force you to marry me. Iwon’t force you to marry me.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Yes, Ido.” She spared a quick glance at her watch. “There’s still time. Ican help you find someone else. Someone who could—”
“Not a chance,” he interrupted. “We’re doing this here and now.”
“But you said—”
“You were right earlier. You could be pregnant.”
She had trouble meeting his eyes, ablush blooming across her cheeks. “If I am, we can deal with it then.”
“We’ll deal with it now.” He released his breath in a rough sigh and bent his head closer to hers. Her scent threatened to drive him crazy, but he rather no one overhear their conversation. It wouldn’t be fair to Shayne. “Listen to me, sweetheart. Once I realized the consequences of what we’d done, I’d have forced you in front of a priest, whether you and your brother agreed or not.”
“No!” she instantly denied. “When you found out it was me, you were going to leave.”
“Yeah, Iwas. Iadmit it. If your brother hadn’t stopped me, I’d have taken off. But not to find another bride. You have to believe me, Shayne. I’d have come back for you. It was only the shock of discovering who you were and having to deal with your brother again that caused me to react the way I did.”
“You don’t want to marry me, Chaz. Iknow you don’t.”
He leveled her with a single hard look. “Honey, Idon’t want to marry anyone. Ididn’t have any choice before I got here and I sure as hell don’t have any choice now. Neither do you. The minute you tumbled into that bed with me, you sealed your fate.”
He’d said too much. Curiosity dawned in her gaze. “What do you mean you didn’t have any choice before you came?”
“I warned you that I had a few secrets of my own.”
“Rafe knows your secret, doesn’t he? That’s what you two were talking about.”
“I’m guessing he does. Not that that changes anything.” He jerked his head toward the cluster of people waiting for them. “Time to finish what we started.”
“And if I say no again?”
“You won’t. You’re bent on redeeming me, remember?”
