Kat Martin - Rule's Bride

It wasn’t true then.

It was more than accurate now.

Walking toward her, Royal reached out and warmly took her hand. “Welcome to the family.”

Violet looked to Rule for help, clearly hoping he would explain their arrangement, but Rule made no comment. As far as he was concerned, they were married and that was that.

Violet mustered a smile. “Good morning…my lord.”

“He’s a duke,” Rule said, fighting not to grin. “You address him as His Grace.”

“I hope you will address me as Royal,” his brother said smoothly. “We are all family now.”

For the first time since her arrival, Violet seemed flustered. “I am sorry. I am unused to proper English forms of address. Please…I hope you will call me Violet.”

Royal seemed pleased.

“And this is my brother, Reese.” Rule waited as his middle brother made a very formal bow.

“A pleasure to meet you, my—”

“Violet, if you would.”

Reese’s mouth twitched. For a man who never used to smile, he certainly seemed amused. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Violet.”

“You, as well…Reese.”

“I’m sorry my wife isn’t here,” Reese said. “Elizabeth is eager to meet you.”

“As is Lily,” Royal added. “Once you are properly settled, we’ll have supper so we can all get to know each other.” Royal flicked Rule a warning glance. You have a wife now , those golden eyes said. You had better treat her well .

Rule turned to Violet. “There is a ball tomorrow night. It’s being given by the Marchioness of Wyhurst in honor of her daughter, Sabrina. I am expected to attend. I believe my brothers and their wives will also be going. It would give me a chance to introduce you. I would be pleased if you and your cousin would accompany me.”

Violet flashed him a look of entreaty. She didn’t want their marriage known, he could see. And yet she had agreed to give him the next thirty days.

“All right,” she reluctantly agreed.

Royal and Reese both rose, taking their cue to leave. “Then we shall see you at the ball,” Royal said.

The men left the study and the minute the door was closed, Violet turned on Rule. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

“Once we are out in Society, all of London will believe we are truly wed when, thirty days from now, I will be returning to Boston.”

Rule moved closer, so near he caught a whiff of her floral perfume. Violets, he thought, finding the idea charming. “You don’t know that for certain.”

“I do.”

He only shook his head. “No, you don’t,” he said softly. Reaching out, he cupped her face between his hands, bent his head and captured her lips. It was a soft, gentle kiss, meant to coax and not frighten. But when she didn’t resist, he lingered a few seconds more, tasting the corners of her mouth, feeling her bottom lip tremble.

Violet swayed toward him, set her hands on his shoulders, and desire surged through his blood. When her soft lips parted under his, his tongue slipped inside and he bit back a groan of pure pleasure.

Violet trembled and an instant later, broke away.

“That…that was not part of our agreement.”

He cocked a brow, his shaft still hard and pulsing. “Wasn’t it? I don’t believe kissing my wife is a breach of contract.”

“That was…that was…more than a kiss.”

“Violet, love, it was merely a tasting. When the time is right, I will show you what is more than a kiss.”

Her eyes widened. She stood there an instant, then whirled away from him and rushed to the door of the study.

Rule chuckled softly, a feeling of triumph rising inside him.

A single kiss was only the beginning of what he had planned.

Caroline was excited, but Violet dressed for the evening with dread. Tonight she would meet the rest of Rule’s family, as well as his friends. He would introduce her as his wife.

She wasn’t truly his wife and never would be. Their sham of a marriage would be over in a single month. She would return to Boston and marry Jeffrey, just as she had planned.

“You look like your favorite cat just died,” Caroline said as she walked into Violet’s bedroom. “For heaven’s sake, Vi, we are going to a fabulous ball hosted by a marchioness! And we are going in company with a duke, a duchess, a countess and two lords! How can you look so glum?”

“I have to spend the evening pretending to be Rule’s wife, that is how I can look so glum.”

“You are Rule’s wife—at least for a little while longer. You might as well enjoy it.”

Violet closed her eyes, trying to block the image of Rule leaning toward her, his mouth settling softly, possessively over hers. She tried not to remember the rush of sensation, the incredible pleasure that had poured through every part of her body.

“There are definitely advantages to being married to a member of the aristocracy,” Caroline went on.

Violet rolled her eyes. “I am deceiving his family and his friends. I am not really his wife and I don’t ever intend to be.”

“So what? He embarrassed you by not returning to Boston. If you embarrass him by ending the marriage he clearly did not want, he deserves it.”

It was true. Rule had treated her badly. He deserved whatever he got.

“Come on.” Caroline reached out and caught her hand, tugging her forward. “His family is probably downstairs by now.” Rule wanted Violet to meet his brothers’ wives before the ball. Maybe he thought it would be easier if she was surrounded by family when they arrived.

Violet halted before they reached the door. “Do you think this dress is all right? It isn’t cut too low?” It was fashioned of topaz silk with a full, gold-shot overskirt ruched up on the sides. The same gold-shot fabric draped over her bosom, which was low enough to expose a glimpse of her cleavage. She was a married woman, no longer a child, and she had decided to dress accordingly.

“Are you joking? The gown is delicious. I like it even better than my own.” A deep blue velvet that set off Caroline’s pretty blue eyes. “Now let’s go. We have kept them waiting too long already.”

Violet took a shaky breath and followed her cousin out the door. When she reached the top of the stairs, she spotted Rule waiting for her at the bottom. Her breath caught. Dear Lord, it ought to be a sin for a man to look that good. Dressed head to foot in black except for a silver waistcoat, white shirt and cravat, he was the handsomest man she had ever seen. She might have called him beautiful if it weren’t for his solid jaw and the slight indentation in his chin.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes so intense she felt as if he reached out and touched her.

“You are staring at him like a schoolgirl,” Caroline whispered, making Violet blush. “Go on down and join him.”

Violet took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and started down the stairs, thinking how ridiculous it was to let a man’s appearance make her feel light-headed. She was back in control by the time she reached the bottom of the staircase, Caroline a step behind.

“You ladies look lovely,” Rule said, his eyes running over her but never once straying toward Caroline as a lot of men’s did. Her cousin was blonde and lovely and far more the coquette than Violet.

Rule offered an arm to each of them. “Come. I want you to meet my brothers’ wives, Elizabeth and Lily.”

Violet ignored a sweep of nerves. She wouldn’t be Rule’s wife for long, but still she wanted his family to like her. Her heart raced as he led them into his elegant drawing room. The brothers rose at their entrance.

Violet looked past them to the women at their sides. Gowned in sea-green silk, Royal’s wife, Lily, was as blonde and fair as he. Reese’s wife, the Countess of Aldridge, was a petite woman dressed in sapphire-blue with alert gray eyes and her husband’s same black hair.