Claiming His Bride

Sorrel supposed he’d known, or at least guessed, that she was a virgin. She had briefly dated other young men but been serious about none of them. At the back of her mind she’d been aware she was destined to be Blaize’s bride, and it would have seemed like cheating to give herself to anyone else.

Presumably he’d had no such scruples. She was sure his experience had far outweighed hers.

Four years ago she had accepted that as a fact of life. Why should the thought now arouse an intense resentment? She felt her nails digging into the soft skin of her palms, and carefully relaxed her hands.

If Blaize seemed unable to let go of the past, he wasn’t alone. Since seeing him again she’d found a whole Pandora’s box of conflicting emotions seething in her soul.

But she didn’t want to quarrel—to start flinging accusations, exchanging recriminations. It would get them nowhere and only add fuel to the smouldering ashes of the past.

‘I’m sure making love with you would have been a pleasant experience,’ she said, trying to borrow some of his objectivity. ‘You do everything well, don’t you?’

‘I’ve never claimed perfection.’

‘I guess it just comes naturally to you.’ And that wouldn’t help—sarcasm wasn’t calculated to smooth troubled waters.

‘Obviously not,’ he rejoined harshly. ‘Since you found me wanting.’

‘Not you,’ she said. ‘The…situation. I should never have let things go so far.’ Hope had kept her procrastinating—hope for some sign that like her, Blaize was falling deeper in love every day. That their marriage would be more than a pragmatic personal merger, not very much different from a business one, with the added fillip of sex. But the closest he’d ever come was a careless ‘Love you, hon,’ as he left her after a date. And instead of becoming closer during their engagement, she’d felt they were growing further and further apart.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.