Tomas

I have no interest in bedding and forgetting you.

I waited, not daring to even breathe as Veronica paused, clearly choosing her next words carefully. If I’d known she would have started a conversation like this, I might have pulled on a robe. A shirt. Hell, even a towel would have been nice.

This was a very intense conversation to have while completely naked and vulnerable.

But what she finally did say was so shocking that no amount of clothes could have sufficiently protected me from it.

“Would you be open to marrying me?”

My jaw dropped to the ground.

“But not for real,” she hastily added. “And I have a feeling I’ll be able to make it worth the trouble.”

This Veronica was full of surprises. How many years had it been since a woman had intrigued me like this? Had I ever been this drawn to someone before? “How do you figure?”

“I know who you are. Who you really are. You’re not just Bennett’s valet—you’re his brother.”

I shrugged. “A chatty maid could have told you as much.”

But Veronica was undeterred. “I also heard that Lucy is Bennett’s daughter…and that she’s sick. Really sick. And you can’t help her by yourself.”

My brain went blank with shock. I stared at her, completely speechless. A few moments passed as she patiently waited for me to pull myself together. Finally, I managed to mutter, “How long have you known all of this?”

For the first time since I’d known her, she looked a little uncomfortable. “Actually…I found out on the second night of the merchants’ gathering at the castle. The night after we first met,” she confessed. She watched me carefully, waiting for my inevitable freak-out.

“You knew practically the entire time we’ve known each other, and you didn’t say anything?” Maybe I should be more irritated that she had done research on my background and hadn’t had the courtesy to even give me a heads-up, but I was more annoyed that she knew so much about me—and I didn’t know the first thing about her.

“I’m sorry. But frankly, that information wasn’t important to me…until now.” I raised my brow, and she tsked under her breath. “You know what I mean. You’ve drawn a tough hand in life, but I think I can help you fix that. I want to position myself as your ace in the hole. If you align yourself with a wealthy—and rather beautiful, if I say so myself—merchant, you stand to gain far more than you could ever fear to lose.”

Pardon me? Did she think I was some sort of charity case? I struggled to keep my face neutral, but I suspected the wrinkle of my brow and the thin set of my lips was giving me away. Veronica, though, didn’t even stutter. She was a woman on a mission. She continued her charm offensive without pausing once.

“Think about it,” she urged.

“And you’ll be doing this out of the kindness of your heart?” I asked, one brow raised.

“Of course, I’ll benefit in my own way. As a merchant, having a direct connection to the royal family will be helpful to the De Vernsey business. But don’t think about it like that. Think about how much you’ll be getting from this deal. My family’s coffers will be open to you. With our immense wealth behind you, your family will have to claim you as one of them. The Crown is weak to one thing, and one thing only: money. And they won’t be able to take a single penny without legitimizing you.”

“One small problem with your plan: I’m not interested in the title.” The thought of Bennett’s face if he ever got a whiff of this conversation was enough to send chills down my spine.

“You might not be for yourself, but what about your daughter? Once you’re officially a royal, Lucy will be safe. There won’t be a single doctor in the kingdom who won’t answer your summons. No medicine in the world you won’t be able to get your hands on.”

Her voice was slowly but surely weaving a spell around me. I found myself thinking about things I had never once allowed myself to dream of before: a life of my own, where I had the power to take care of Lucy without Bennett or our father. A life where I wasn’t a valet, but my own boss.

At the same time she was boxing me in with her beautiful promises, she was physically backing me into a corner as well. She crawled up closer, the dim light of the moon bouncing off the gorgeous curve of her breasts. She batted her big eyes and smiled, and it seemed like she generated a light all her own. Innocent sensuality—a potent mix that I couldn’t resist.

In fact, it was as if she knew exactly how to push each one of my buttons. I watched, my mouth dry, as she tossed her beautiful silk hair over one shoulder, revealing the sexy dip of her collarbone and the smooth line of her bare neck. I was a mouse caught in the glare of a snake.

“Think back to just how good it was a few moments ago, to how we are in bed together. Wasn’t it nice to have someone there to warm your sheets? To know that you have someone in your life who is dedicated to your pleasure, who looks out for you? Someone who really wants you?”

I paused. It was hard to speak past the lump that was growing in my throat. My heart was hammering so loud in my ears I could barely hear over its noisy drumming. “You…want me?”

She cocked her brow, as if she’d never heard a sillier question in her life. “Of course I want you! Our chemistry, it’s—” She waved her hand, as if she couldn’t possibly put in words how phenomenal our chemistry was. “And let me tell you—this kind of connection is rare. And the financial backing I could provide is one in a million. There are very few families in the kingdom that are wealthier than mine.” She raised her hand and gently trailed her fingers down the length of my jaw. Her voice lowered, turned dark and promising. “I know you want it. I can feel how much you want it. It’s written all over your face.”

I pulled back, creating a bit of much-needed distance between us. It was hard to think with Veronica so close, her intoxicating smell and her soft curves turning my every coherent thought blurry at the edges.

It was hard not to question everything she was saying about how well we fit together. Was she just talking about the physical side of things? What about…everything else?

And why did I care? Veronica was right. This was an amazing deal for me. If I played my cards right, I’d be able to win my independence from Bennett and get Lucy the medication she needed to be a regular kid again. Emotions had nothing to do with it. And later on, after Veronica had gotten what she needed from the royal family and I’d established myself—maybe a little shop of my own, perhaps out in the country, away from all these nasty politics—we’d be able to go our separate ways. We could find love somewhere else.

Something went tight in my chest. I felt…odd. Was I upset, actually upset at the thought that Veronica didn’t have real feelings for me? That she only wanted me for my bloodline and a quick lay? It wasn’t as if I had any real feelings for her…right?

Stop, I thought to myself. Don’t go down that road. You don’t have the luxury of worrying about feelings right now.

Lucy and I needed help, that was for sure. But marriage? There was so much unknown about this harebrained scheme of hers. I didn’t know anything about Veronica or her family. Was I really going to put my life and Lucy’s life at the mercy of some rich merchants? And would Bennett even let me? The last time I’d received a marriage offer, he’d nearly lost his mind. Granted, she had been a noble lady with titles and wealth, while Veronica’s family had no such connections to speak of, but Bennett was strange like that. Any mention of me moving up in the world sent him into a rage. Even if this marriage would be good for the royal family during a time when we needed the De Vernseys’ money, I doubted Bennett would ever approve of it.

I opened my mouth, fully intending to reject her kind offer, but the words that came out were different. It was a question.

“Sure, you want me, but do you actually like me?”