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Frowning, I take a drink of tea and promptly spit it back in the cup. Coconut oil coats my tongue, along with sticky sweet sugar and an overwhelming taste of peppermint. Quickly, I lean forward to set the cup on the coffee table. “That’s not tea. That’s the sugar scrub I gave Katheryn.”
“Really, you should label these things better.” Mother takes the cup Katheryn holds and calls out, “Archibald, please bring lemonade for our guest.”
“I didn’t know you were planning to expand.” Roman gives me a warm smile. “Is it just sugar scrubs, or do you have a whole line planned?”
“It was going to be a natural spa line.” I shake my head. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen.”
He leans closer, his smoky voice lowered just for me. “Don’t be so ready to give up.”
Of course, that’s when my memory decides to draw up all the other times that smokey voice filled my ear recently as Roman pushed into my body, his honeyed words filling me with stupid ideas.
As if his mind went to the same place, Roman leans back, his arms spreading over the back of the couch. Out of view of the others, his fingers brush the collar of my turtle neck, raising goose bumps all over my body. Now is not the time to pop a boner, though, and I subtly dig my elbow into his side to make him stop.
He ignores me to focus on my mother. “Back to business. When your proposal first came in, I agreed to consider it because I was under the impression my preferences were clear.”
My mother’s lips purse. “I can assure you, Katheryn is fully capable of bearing Alpha children.”
Roman lifts his free hand to brush that aside while his other hand slips beneath the collar of my turtle neck. I try to shift away, but he persists, and when he encounters the nape guard, his finger slips beneath that, too, tracing the Mark still on my neck. “I’m talking about my sexual preferences, Ms. Heardst. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m gay, and that anyone I married would, of course, need to be a man.”
My mother’s eyes narrow as they shift between us, but Roman continues before she can speak. “I was pleasantly surprised that the Heardst family was seeking a union with my family, so I was rather shocked when I ran into Warren at the Wellington Charity Auction, stepping out with someone else.”
My pulse jumps, the nausea I felt earlier being pushed aside by something else.
Katheryn leans forward, all hint of her delicate facade vanishing. “Are you saying you thought you were accepting a proposal from Warren?”
Roman’s finger continues to stroke over his Mark. “Indeed, I did.”
“But he’s an Alpha.” Katheryn points at me accusingly. “He can’t give you heirs the way I can.”
“That is a topic between Warren and me.” Roman’s thumb strokes over my racing pulse. “I’d like to discuss with him?—”
“No,” my mother’s sharp voice cuts him off. “Warren is not available. I am already in discussion with another family who is eager to move forward?—”
The pleasantness melts from Roman’s expression. “Cancel it.”
“You don’t have a say in this matter.” Mother thrusts to her feet. “If you are not interested in Katheryn, then we have nothing left to discuss.”
Roman doesn’t budge from his place beside me. “That’s not your decision to make, and Warren has already given me his response.”
Shocked, I turn to stare at him. When did he ask me to marry him?
Then, his hand moves on my neck, and I realize he’s not talking about marriage. He’s talking about Marking me, and anger simmers through my blood. He spent our entire time in high school proving he’s better than me, and now he’s going to swoop in and take control of my life just because I bear his Mark?
Shoving his hand away, I stand and stare down at him. “I never agreed to marry you, and I sure as hell won’t be bought with some agreement you make with my mother.”
“Warren…”
When he reaches for my hand, I jerk it away. “I can’t believe you! Is there something wrong with your head? Is this you finally winning?”
He stands slowly. “You’re rejecting me?”
“What’s there to reject?” I throw my hands up. “You haven’t even asked me!”
Angry now himself, he steps closer with a low growl. “I did! You said yes!”
His scent grows heavier, curling around me, and I shove against his chest to put space between us, but the man’s solid as a brick and doesn’t budge. “You never asked!”
Reaching up, he hooks a finger in my turtle neck, yanking it down to expose my nape guard. “Then why are you protecting my Mark?”
