“Believe what you will. Only I know the truth of what lies inside me.” “I’m not certain you do.” Trembling fingertips fluttered along her neck. Her pulse leaped in response, and she sucked in a breath, the hiss loud in the dark. “You cannot stand there and tell me you feel nothing.” Oh, she felt, certainly—too much and the sensation was altogether too enticing. “You cannot convince me you’d be willing to enter a marriage with no tender feelings at all.” She reached out, hoping to placate him, but immediately balled her fingers into a fist. Best not to touch him, not while he was in this mood. “I would not be the first to do so.” Mama, for one, had entered into just such an arrangement. “Nor would I be the last.” “Then you’d be missing the best life has to offer.” “And I’d save myself a great deal of pain when it all came crashing down.” “Some things are worth the pain. They’re most definitely worth the risk.” In the dark, she missed the movement, but the emotion pulsing from him had heightened the rest of her senses. The only warning she received was the whisper of fabric. Before her brain had a chance to process the meaning of that sound, he took her roughly by the shoulders and crushed his lips to hers.