Page 29

Briar

I tugged awkwardly at the veil. “Are you sure?—”

“If you ask me one more time, I'm going to start wondering whether it’s actually your choice of groom you’re having second thoughts about,” shot back my future sister-in-law.

I swallowed. The Lady Rotherwick wasn’t frightening—not in an obvious way. But like with every other person I’d ever met, she had this…way about her. She seemed to know precisely what I was worried about, before I even voiced it.

“He loves you,” Lady Rotherwick said smartly, her green floor-length bridesmaid’s gown fitting her to perfection. “He’s an idiot.”

Something must have changed on my face.

“Not because he loves you,” she added hastily. “I'm not good at this sort of thing. Georgiana?”

My friend, gowned immaculately in a matching gown, stepped forward. “What Lilah means to say is that though Markham is a complete dolt?—”

“Dolt, that was the word I was looking for,” cut in Lady Rotherwick with a grin.

“—he has done one thing right,” continued Georgiana, matching her friend’s smile. “He found you.”

“It’s good to have another woman in this family,” said Lady Rotherwick. “I never thought I—Lord above, is that Kineallen? He’s not wearing that waistcoat to this thing, has he?”

Before either I or Georgiana could respond, she rushed out of the room we had been getting ready in and stormed toward another wayward friend.

There was something about the Gambling Dukes. Even though they weren’t related, you could tell. There was something about the eyes. An intelligence. A fierce, angry, determination. A frustration.

It was…maddening. Glorious. Wonderful.

It made me wonder how I hadn’t seen it when I’d left Georgiana at Almack’s and almost immediately run into her friend…

“You’re sure you want to do this?”

I turned to Georgiana, my cheeks burning. “You think I shouldn’t?”

“I didn’t say that,” she shot back with a grin. “But you have to admit—meeting then getting married just a few months later? You are an heiress. You don’t have to?—”

“I know I don’t,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “But I want to.

She didn’t mean any harm. Hell, she probably wanted what was best for me.

From the little Peregrine had said, I got the impression his friends were constantly having to clean up from his messes.

Maybe Georgiana and Lady Rotherwick just saw me as another disaster they were going to have to sort out in the future.

But I was tired of being pushed about, tired of being told what was and what wasn’t good for me. I didn’t need to be advised, or receive consultations, or be delicately informed that marrying Peregrine was a bad idea.

On paper, he was a nightmare.

In bed, he was a dream.

And somewhere in between, he had found me. Seen me. Known me. All of me.

And he hadn’t been fazed by the money, the wealth that dripped from every part of me. No, instead he saw something else worth investing in.

Me.

“I know it’s rushed,” I said, glancing at the looking glass and flushing to see myself in a veil. “But I'm certain. As certain as I’ve ever been in anything in my life, I know I want to marry Peregrine.”

Georgiana sighed. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Then she grinned. “I know a great investment opportunity in Timbuktu which you can send him to investigate, if you get sick of him.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, I don’t think that’s going to be necessary, but thanks.”

Precisely what I had expected from the large ornate chapel I hadn’t even known was in London, I'm not sure. I know that when I arrived outside it, my mouth dropped.

There was an archway of white roses over the door. Lavender was woven into it, gifting its sweet scent to the autumn afternoon. And I could see, just through the slight crack in the open door, lavender plants were in gold pots all the way down the aisle.

“Ready?” asked my coachman.

I took a deep breath, and nodded. “Ready.”

“Who’s walking you down the aisle?” he asked, looking about.

My heart skipped a beat. I knew my parents were there with me, in spirit. “Myself.”

The vows were spoken so swiftly, I could hardly keep track of them.

Fine, that was a lie. But honestly, anyone would have found it hard to concentrate when facing Peregrine, the Duke of Markham in a cravat knot that was so sharp, it could have cut him in half.

When he took his hands in mine and vowed to love me for richer and for poorer, my whole center melted.

We’d already shared so much: delicious lovemaking, theft, devious bargains, arguments, and passionate reconciliations. We’d fallen into bed, fallen out, and at each turn, the absolute knave had kept me guessing.

It was a gamble, marrying this man. But I wouldn’t want to play my cards any other way.

“You may kiss the?—”

Peregrine didn’t wait. His hungry lips had already claimed mine and he devoured me. I melted into his arms, giving him everything—at least, everything I could in a church before all those we know, and quite a few I had never met.

“Peregrine,” I breathed, ending the kiss far sooner than I would wish if we were alone.

There were cheers around us, but I didn’t care about them. I was only interested in him.

Peregrine grinned, his eyes dark. “Just a taste of what’s to come.”

Much as I kind of wished it, we didn’t head straight from the chapel to somewhere quiet where he could give me all the pleasure I wanted. No, we had to be polite. We had to attend our own wedding breakfast.

It wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was rather beautiful. A luxury ship rarely made its way up the Thames at this time of year, after all, and absolutely no expense had been spared, it seemed, in its decoration.

“Anything for you,” Peregrine grinned.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “What, you’re splashing the cash already, now you’re back in with your friends?”

“Fine, anything my friends can do for you,” he corrected with a roguish grin. “But I couldn’t help it. I wanted everything to be perfect for you, Briar. Perfect.”

Markham

Perfect.

There was no better word for Lady Briar Weatherford. The Lady Briar Markham now, of course.

“Perfect?” Briar repeated, her cheeks pinking in that way that always made me ache for her. “I think you’re a little ahead of yourself here. I'm hardly perfect.”

“Perhaps not, but being with you is,” I admitted. It was still strange, to speak so openly, so honestly about how I felt about her.

But I wasn’t an idiot. I’d almost lost her once—twice, if you include the fact I’d stolen from her the very first time I met her.

I wasn’t about to lose that.

“You’re teasing me,” said Briar quietly, her fingers tightening in mine.

Swallowing hard, I tried not to rush into speaking.

This had to be right.

The afternoon was slipping into evening and candles were being lit all over the yacht. Servants moved about seamlessly, our guests chattering happily as the champagne flowed. There was a string quartet playing and braziers keeping us pleasantly warm.

Turns out, money can buy you almost everything.

Almost, but not quite.

I took in Briar’s blue, trusting eyes. The way her hair had been pinned, so elegant, emphasizing the curves of her breasts, the slightness of her waist. The wedding gown was exquisite: I couldn’t understand how undergarments could fit under such a…

Groaning, I bit my bottom lip.

Of course. She wasn’t wearing undergarments.

“Peregrine?” Briar stepped close. “Are you quite well?”

We were nestled in a corner of the ship. In a way, it was almost as though we were alone.

I took a deep breath. “Briar I…I have to tell you something.”

Her eyes widened. “What?—”

“It’s nothing bad,” I said hastily, seeing the panic rise in her chest. “Blast, I meant to say this in a better…Briar, when I met you, I was nothing.”

I expected Briar to smile, to find joy in my words, but still she looked hesitant.

“Well, I guess so. I mean, you’d been booted out of your club?—”

“I don’t mean money—fine, I didn’t have much money either,” I said, hating every word that came from my mouth.

I swallowed, tasting bitter panic. This was all going wrong.

Briar leaned back hesitantly. “Peregrine, I don’t…I don’t understand.”

Taking a deep breath, I knew I had to be as honest as possible. Even if that meant I would be…vulnerable.

Damnit.

“I had lost everything of actual value. My pride, my place in the Gambling Dukes. My family,” I said, my eyes searching out hers. Could Briar see, could she understand? “My self-respect. God, Briar, I was a thief, a liar, I was the worst sort of knave.”

Briar merely stood there, staring at me. God, I wanted her. But before I pleasured her again, she had to know that this marriage, this wedding…it was so much more than it looked on the surface.

And then just a tiny corner of her lip smiled. And my heart melted.

Everything I’d planned, the big speech I’d practiced in the mirror. It was all gone.

“You changed me,” I said simply.

Briar chuckled as she glanced down at her hand—now adorned with my ring. “Peregrine, I didn’t?—”

“Not on purpose, and in ways I don’t think you’ll ever quite know,” I said gently, lifting a hand to cup her cheek. My heart tightened. “In ways I don’t think I’ll ever quite know. But you changed me. Made me a better man—definitely a better friend.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said ruefully as sparklers started to be lit by Briar’s—by our servants, to our guests’ amazement. “I don’t think Lady Rotherwick is a fan of me.”

“She’s got a lot on her mind at the moment. The big wager that approaches—but I don’t want to talk about that,” I said, catching myself. Damn, it was easy to slide back into old habits. “It’s you. I'm so grateful to you, and I adore you. Everything you are?—”

“Even the money?”

“Especially the money,” I teased, then pressed a kiss against her forehead as Briar laughed. “Seriously. I may never be the man you deserve, but I hope?—”

“You’re the man I want,” said Briar softly, leaning into my hand on her cheek. “Peregrine, Duke of Markham, you are a rogue. You still haven’t returned my jade figurine?—”

I swore, hard, under my breath. I hadn’t.

“—but you make me happy. You make me know who I am, I can’t describe it,” said Briar with a laugh, leaning into my side.

God, I could feel her softness, her warmth. It was enough to make me?—

“And I am ready to spend the rest of my life with you, making sure you never steal from me again,” Briar said, her teasing smile far more tempting than she realized.

I grinned. “Now why didn’t we use that for our vows?”

She tapped me lightly on the arm, then glanced out at our guests. “You know precisely why!”

There was such warmth in her words, I almost moaned. “You’re driving me wild, you know.”

“Not my fault,” Briar said with a shrug, but shifted purposefully to rub slightly against me. “Ah, now what is that in your pocket? Not my figurine, is it?”

Damn, this temptress was good. The trouble was, she was playing with someone who had far more cards in the deck. There were at least six places on Briar’s body I knew I could stroke to bring her close to a climax.

Not that I should be touching them in public at our wedding reception, of course…

But it seemed I wasn’t the only one with one thing on their mind. Briar’s eyes darted down to my manhood, thrumming against her hip in my breeches.

When she met my eyes again, I grinned. God, how did I deserve her?

“Do you think they’ll miss us?”

“Let them,” I breathed, my hand snaking around to her buttocks and almost weeping at the deliciousness of their plumpness in my palm. “I ensured the master suite here was ready for us.”

“You gambled that we’d be using it, then?” Briar said, her voice nothing but a husky whisper as she led me toward the door that led to it.

I swallowed. “Oh, I hoped, if I played my cards right.”

“Well, you may just risk it all and win the hand, Peregrine,” said Briar as we slipped into the master suite, the door closing shutting out all noise, all the world.

I swallowed, unable to believe I could be this lucky. “I didn’t just win, Briar Weatherford. I got everything. I got you.”