Page 31 of Married to the Icy Duke (Duke Wars #3)

Isaac blinked, thinking this through. His guard slowly dropped, fists falling, but Tristan did not take advantage of it this time.

Instead, Tristan eyed him for a long moment, chest rising and falling.

Both men were bare-chested, sweat sparkling on their skin.

At last, Isaac let his fists drop to his sides.

His hand was throbbing again. Perhaps a sparring session hadn’t been the best idea after all.

“First round over?” Tristan suggested. “Let’s call it a tie and get some water.”

“I wouldn’t mind. I’m parched.”

The two men crossed the room silently to where jugs of water waited and drank deeply.

“Charlotte is a decent sort of woman,” Isaac murmured, after a few moments had gone by. “But the things I have been through made me an unsuitable husband, I’m sure you’ll agree. No woman deserves to be married to me. I don’t want her … I don’t want her weighed down .”

“And you believe she is, do you? Weighed down?”

Isaac sighed. “I can never tell what the wretched woman is thinking, try as I might.”

“That’s unusual. Generally, you can almost read minds. But perhaps this means you have met your match.”

Isaac threw his friend a grateful smile. “You are rather good at looking at the positive side of things, aren’t you, Tristan?”

Tristan gave a beaming smile. “It’s a talent. I suppose if you’re sure about this match, then that’s all there is to it. You can always pack her off to another one of your homes.”

“What, and have her leave Tommy behind? No, I want her to help him. I want her to bring him out of his shell. That means that I need her with him.”

Tristan pursed his lips, considering. “Well, you could send her off to the country with Tommy. The peace and quiet might do him good.”

“It might,” Isaac admitted, “But I want Tommy to stay with me. I need to raise him properly.”

Tristan nodded. “I understand.”

“Besides, I am not sure I can send her anywhere. I promised her freedom, you see.”

“Ah, freedom. The ladies are rather preoccupied with all that, aren’t they?”

Isaac shrugged, pouring himself another glass of water. “I imagine that people are always preoccupied with what they do not have. At any rate, both Charlotte and I have rules for how this marriage of ours will run.”

“Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? It means that you’re prepared. Good for you, old boy, good for you.”

Isaac combed his fingers through his hair, sticking it straight up with sweat, and dug his teeth into his lip with frustration.

“Prepared? I’m nothing of the sort. This marriage was meant to be a convenient thing, and yet it’s growing more inconvenient by the day.

It feels at times that …” he paused, passing a hand over his face.

He was tempted to upend the whole jug of water over his head.

“It feels at times that I am going mad.”

There was a long silence after that. Tristan stood, his face grim and serious, staring into space at nothing in particular. Isaac felt a droplet of sweat rolling down his forehead, tickling his skin.

He did not want to spar anymore today. The exercise hadn’t cleared his head like he had hoped it would. Tristan’s questions, while intended to be helpful, seemed only to have baffled him more, making matters messy in his head.

“The way I see it,” Tristan said suddenly, “you have two choices: Firstly, you can keep your distance until these feelings that you have for Lady Charlotte recede. Believe me, distance will help.”

Isaac snorted. “I am not sure how much distance I can put between myself and the woman I am going to marry.”

Tristan winced, inclining his head. “That’s very true. Well, your only other choice, as far as I can tell, is to bed her.”

There was a brief silence. Isaac thought, for an instant, that he must have misheard. Then he remembered, to his chagrin, that it was Tristan he was talking to.

“Bed her?” he repeated incredulously.

Tristan nodded. “It works like a charm every time. If you cannot get a woman out of your head, if she distracts you and weighs on your mind to the exclusion of all else, you must bed her. Once you’ve bedded her, the feelings will disappear.

I guarantee it. You will have released all the pressure and frustration inside yourself, and all that will remain are distant, cordial feelings toward her, perfect for a life of friendship and a marriage of convenience.

After all, it’s not as though you need an heir. ”

Isaac pursed his lips. “I don’t know, Tristan.”

His friend clapped him on the shoulder. “Trust me. I’ve been in love a hundred times—no, a thousand—and I know exactly what to do to get relief from the symptoms.”

Isaac gave a wry smile. “If you say that you’ve been in love a hundred times, I rather feel that you haven’t been in love at all.”

Tristan chuckled, shaking his head. “Take my advice or don’t, old friend. Either way, I hope you can regain your peace of mind soon.”

Isaac said nothing, thinking over what Tristan had said.

Could it work? Could bedding Charlotte make these feelings go away?

At the very least, I must try to do something . I cannot go on this way. I simply cannot.

Aloud, he said, “One more round?”