The Greek's Forgotten Wife (Boarding School #1) (15 page)

Perhaps it was just his confidence, she thought.  Or maybe it was the fact that he was extremely good looking.  Or his broad, fascinating shoulders? 

She wasn’t quite sure.  All she knew was that she couldn’t look away from him.  That compelling quality sliced through the air, making her heart rate pick up and her breath catch in her throat.  It was strange, she thought, but she wanted to push the other guests aside so that she could walk up to this man and simply stare at him. 

And then his eyes caught hers!  That compelling feeling switched off and in its place she felt a startling, shocking surge of electricity, a jolt of raw awareness.  As she stared at the man, as his eyes held hers in a captive assault on her senses, she felt like she was his prisoner.  It actually made her body ache in some scandalous way that she didn’t understand.  And definitely didn’t like!

She tried to look away.  She reached up to touch Evan’s arm, wanting to hide behind him.  But Evan was only a couple of inches taller than she was and the new man’s dangerously compelling eyes told her that he wasn’t going to release her.  Not just yet. 

“Oh my goodness,” her mother hissed. 

Evan’s eyes snapped over to where her mother was looking.  Her fiancée seemed bizarrely excited to see the man and Sierra suddenly had an uneasy feeling about the night.  “Damn!  I didn’t think he’d show up!”

Even Patrick and her father stiffened as the man in question stepped further into the room.

“He needs a drink” her mother eagerly commented, a peculiar, almost frantic quality to her voice that Sierra had never heard before.  A moment later, her mother was gone, off to greet this stranger with the mysteriously dark eyes and jet-black hair, a hard, square jaw that made her want to smooth her hand over the edge and soothe out the indomitable aggression somehow. 

“Do you know him?” Evan snapped.

Those words and, especially the tone, were so startling that it helped break the connection between the stranger’s eyes and her body.  She looked up at her fiancée, startled that he would sound so belligerent.  “No.  I’ve never met him before.  Why do you ask?”

Evan was more than slightly irritated.  “Because you’re staring at him as if he’s your next dessert.  You’re about to be married.  Just remember that,” he snapped and hauled her up against his side one more time, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her waist and hurting her. 

By that point, her mother had gotten the tall man a drink and had brought him over to their circle.  “Everyone, I’m very pleased to introduce you to Harrison Aimsworth, Duke of Selton,” she said with a quiver of excitement in her voice.

She felt Evan stiffen in surprise.  In fact, everyone jerked a bit more upright and Sierra could have laughed at how everyone was so amazed to be in the presence of a duke that they reached for their tie and straightened their shoulders. 

All Sierra wanted to do was hide behind the curtains.  Especially when those midnight blue eyes slashed over to her grey ones and she felt herself shiver with an awareness that she felt right down to her toes.  Her fingers, which had been trying to loosen Evan’s grasp, froze and her whole body heated with the intensity of the man’s gaze on her. 

“This is my daughter, Sierra,” her mother explained.  “And her fiancée, Evan Winters.”

The man greeted Evan first and they spent a moment discussing sports or stocks, she wasn’t sure which since both topics sounded similar.  She watched carefully, her whole body cringing, fearful of the moment when this stranger would turn to her.  She didn’t want to extend her hand, afraid of what his hand would feel like.  She’d already experienced his eyes, she wasn’t sure her body could handle his touch.

And then his attention sliced over to her and it was just as bad as that first gaze had been.  “Ms. Warner,” he greeted her.  “I suppose congratulations are in order,” the stranger said with a voice that seemed to vibrate throughout her entire body.  And then he did it!  The greeting that she’d been fearing from the moment he’d stepped into the house!  Extending his hand, he took her smaller one in his.  “It is a delight to meet you.  Your father speaks very highly of you.”

Sierra shivered as that visceral awareness sparked through her once again.  Her lips felt numb even while the rest of her body felt like it was on fire, starting with her hand which was still in his warm grip. 

“Thank you very much, Your Grace,” she replied.  “It is an honor that you would attend our celebration.”

“When is the wedding?” he asked, his eyes looking into hers and she swore that she saw amusement there.  Or interest?  She wasn’t sure which.  And neither made sense. 

Besides, those blue eyes were making her nervous and…other feelings she couldn’t really define.  “Um…we haven’t set a date yet.  We’re just…”

“It will be this summer,” Evan announced out of the blue, causing her eyes to glance up to his.  Her mouth fell open as she absorbed the impact of his announcement.  A wedding in only a few months?  Was he serious?  “I just put the ring on her finger so we’re working through the details.”  With that, he lifted Sierra’s hand up, showing off her diamond ring.

Sierra felt as if she was on display and the size of her engagement ring denoted some sort of validation of Evan’s virility.  Was this more about measuring up?  Wouldn’t it be more direct to just lay one’s penis out on the dining room table with a measuring tape? 

Sierra silently laughed at the idea and she suspected that Evan would come up lacking in that department against this taller man. 

She didn’t really understand men, having spent more time with animals than humans.  They made more sense, she thought. 

She pulled her hand gently back down to her side and tried to think of something to say to the strange and intimidating man looking down at her.  “We’re delighted you could attend tonight.  Was it difficult to find the house?” she asked, relying on tired conversational topics that were easy because her mind simply couldn’t come up with anything more stimulating at the moment.

Harrison looked down at the beautiful woman and couldn’t believe she was marrying such an ass.  This delicate flower and this brash idiot of a fiancée just didn’t fit.  Why was she marrying a man who could barely handle his liquor? 

“Your mother provided excellent directions.  And the house is lovely.  I’m sure the grounds are excellent as well.”

Sierra’s face brightened.  “Oh, they’re delightful during the springtime,” she smiled, embracing an easy subject.  “Do you ride?”

The man nodded slightly.  “I love horses, although I don’t get out as often as I’d like.”

Her brother chose that moment to burst into their group, ignoring the tension as he wrapped his arm around Sierra.  “That’s pretty much all my sister likes to do.  Ride and take care of the ornery beasts,” he teased.  A moment later, he was gone again, more excited to sneak liquor behind their parent’s back. 

She blushed and glanced up at the enormous man, wondering if there was even a horse in the stables that could hold a man of his size.  While she was a couple of inches shorter than Evan, this man towered over her and she stood up taller, not liking the feeling of being so small, so vulnerable. 

“The roses are my mother’s pride and joy,” she finished lamely. 

“Perhaps when the weather warms up, I’ll come back and be able to enjoy them during the day.”

Sierra was relieved when Patrick stepped in, taking over the conversation.  She stepped back, needing space to regroup.  Never, in all her years of entertaining with her mother, had she had trouble speaking with a guest.  Her mother had taught her well but this man just did something to her, made her mind turn all mushy with crazy thoughts popping into her head.  Crazy and inappropriate thoughts! 

So why was she so flustered by this man’s presence?  Why did she feel like she needed to wipe her palms against her dress?

Sierra excused herself carefully and stepped into the kitchen, relieved to have some time alone.  She stayed out of the way of the catering staff, but the whole time, she leaned against one of the cabinets, trying to get her heartrate back under control.  This was crazy, she told herself!  He was just a man!  Evan was handsome and her father’s features were very well put together.  Even Patrick was a nice looking gentleman!  So what was it about this newcomer that had her so frazzled? 

She peered out into the living room and realized that Evan, her father and Patrick had the man well entertained.  But even as she peered out, he turned his head and caught her gaze.  She felt her pulse leap with the impact of those eyes, startled that he’d known she was looking at him.  Thankfully, the kitchen door swung closed once more, blocking his view and she turned and fled. 

Sierra knew that she couldn’t hide in the kitchen forever.  But she stood in the warmth while the housekeeper, a kind woman named Ruth, supervised the catering staff, directing them all like a military general.  The kitchen was a haven.  Sierra had spent hours in here, doing her homework, chatting with Ruth while the kind housekeeper made dinners and breakfasts or just hiding from the cold indifference of the household.  Her parents were rarely home in the afternoons, so Sierra had taken to just sitting at the scarred, wooden table, talking with Ruth most afternoons when she wasn’t out riding.  Ruth was a generous woman who laughed easily and was a genius at whipping up delicious meals. 

Sierra stood in the warm, brightly lit kitchen for several moments, just until she felt more balanced.  Ruth helped by walking by and patting her arm gently, almost as if the gentle woman knew that Sierra was feeling out of her depth. 

Taking a deep breath, Sierra stepped back out into the main area once again, knowing that she had responsibilities as a hostess.  But that didn’t mean she was going back to Evan’s side.  She’d had enough of him for one night, she thought.  She moved to the other side of the room, greeting guests, asking the wait staff to start watering down Evan’s friends’ drinks so he and his friends wouldn’t become too rowdy and found her own group of friends clustered in the corner.  She huddled there for a while, relieved to have a hiding place as well as a reprieve from Evan.  And that man, she thought even as her eyes skimmed through the room.  She kept an eye on him, knowing where he was at all times.  It was only because he was obviously an important guest and had nothing to do with the way he intimidated her, she told herself firmly. 

As she listened to her friends drone on about some party they’d attended the night before, a party which she’d left early, she couldn’t really understand what was happening to her.  Why should she need a reprieve from the man she was going to marry? 

And because she didn’t have an answer to that question, something else occurred to her.  Why was she actually marrying Evan?  She didn’t love him.  Her father had suggested that the two of them go out on a date.  From there, she just sort of found herself engaged. 

Evan hadn’t even really proposed, she realized.  Just one day, her father had asked if they had considered marriage.  Evan had looked at her and said they’d already talked about it, ignoring Sierra’s startled glance.  The next day, he’d put a ring on her finger.  That had been last week. 

Glancing across the room, she spotted Evan, once again with a fresh drink in his hand and surrounded by his college buddies, laughing too loudly and generally just being obnoxious. 

It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t really like Evan.  They rarely had conversations, just the two of them.  They’d gone out to dinner a couple of times, but mostly they attended social events together.  That didn’t really give them opportunities to talk with each other, discover commonalities and mutual interests. 

How long had she been just floating along, she wondered?  Why had she let things get out of hand without questioning her future?  And why in the world had she gone along with an engagement to a man she didn’t even like? 

It was one thing to not love him, she thought, startled as her mind began to unravel her relationship with Evan.  It was an entirely different issue to be marrying someone she didn’t like!  Goodness, that was a revelation!

She looked around, heard Evan’s loud laughter followed by his friends’ and she thought about a lifetime of this.  Was this what she really wanted?

Sierra stepped away from her friends and grabbed her coat.  Slipping out of the house, she moved around to the side yard where she wouldn’t be seen through the windows of the house as easily.  She was a bit stunned by her latest revelation and needed a moment to…well, to be relieved!  She could breathe more easily all of a sudden and she lifted her head up to the moon, relishing the cool air on her cheeks.  It was cold out here, with snow still on the ground.  But the air felt better than inside.  She hadn’t realized how stifled she felt until she could breathe in the fresh air.  Stifled by both Evan, her mother and father’s expectations for her life and an engagement that made absolutely no sense. 

This was a mistake, she thought.  She couldn’t marry Evan.  She didn’t love him.  Good grief, she didn’t even like him! 

“Aren’t you supposed to be inside being the life of the party?”

Sierra spun around, startled by the deep voice.  All she could see was a hand moving in the shadows as the man in question lifted his drink to his lips.  But she knew who he was!  That man’s presence was too intense for her to mistake him for anyone else. 

“Goodness, you startled me, Your Grace,” she said and pulled her wool coat closer around her body.  She felt good, she thought.  Really good!  She’d break off her engagement to Evan tomorrow and she’d be free!  Free to figure out what she really wanted for her life.