Would she mind?
Society showed her she should not. Men took mistresses all the time, even those who treated their wives with utmost courtesy.Marriage was for making legitimate heirs, not pursuing passions.
And it would not be a real marriage, anyway. They were simply two people caught in a rather unfortunate entanglement that required marriage.
But if Ashbrook needs an heir, that would mean?—
Her eyes widened.
That meant that she would have to lie with him. Be his wife in the most biblical sense of the word.
Images of what had transpired not an hour ago flitted across her mind. His chest, warm and hard, as it pressed against her. His arms, like steely bands, wrapped around her frame most possessively.
Selina was already smaller than most other young ladies of her acquaintance, but in his presence, she felt absolutely tiny.
Safe. Cherished.
Heated.
Oh dear.
The man must be the consummate seducer to be able to stir such…thoughts, even in his absence. What else might he be able to stir when they were together, alone, in bed?
She bolted upright as if someone had lit the coverlet on fire.
This would not do. This most definitely, most certainly, mostabsolutelywould not do.
She needed to get away. From beds and tantalizing, dangerous thoughts of Ashbrook and what he might be capable of doing on upholstered furniture.
Judging from that devilish smirk, she had a feeling he knew alotmore than she cared to know.
“You cannot tell me that you are marrying the girl just to spite an old man, Ashbrook.”
Philip was well on his fourth glass, and before dinnertime at that. His grandmother was going to ring a peal over his head—if she managed to notice his indulgence, considering how ecstatic she had been at the prospect of his recently acquired betrothed.
His sister also seemed to be rather well acquainted with Lady Selina, who was supposed to be the enemy of their family. There was only one person who would have staunchly opposed the match—if he had been alive.
“I harbor no animosity toward the Duke of Barlow,” he pointed out. “Even if he did barge into my home to accuse me of ruining his daughter.”
Zachary looked at him pointedly. “I was not talking about her old man. I was talking about yours.”
Philip took a long, leisurely sip of his drink. His father would be rolling over in his grave if he knew that his only son and heir was marrying the daughter of his greatest enemy.
That thought brought a smile to his lips. His sire did not deserve a peaceful rest in eternity—or wherever he ended up in the afterlife.
Zachary heaved a sigh. “You can do whatever you want with your past, old friend. Heaven knows your father deserves to have someone regularly stamp on his grave for generations.”
Philip smiled sardonically at that. It was not a bad idea.
“But you cannot let your resentment for someone dead and gone interfere with a young lady’s future,” Zachary added.
“Since when did you become so wise?”
Zachary glared at him. “Need I remind you that I have a daughter?”
“And I pity the men who would take a particular interest in her when she is older.”
“They would not dare.”
