She was running.

Again.

Motherfucker.

Why she kept doing this was blowing my mind. I hadn’t trapped her in the house, nor had I mentioned marriage again since she’d run the first time. With everything going on, I was trying to give her time. I assumed she was skittish and I wanted to allow her a few more days to adjust to the idea of marriage—especially since most women in her situation had a year at least to plan their weddings. We were rushing things, which I was well aware of.

All I wanted was one day of peace, but the only time I actually got that was when I fucked her into submission. She’d gone to sleep with a smile on her face last night. I fought back a triumphant grin at the thought.

“Are you going to say anything to me?” she asked, biting down on her full bottom lip.

Probably not a good idea.

“No.”

“Are you mad at me?” she asked. Now her bottom lip was trembling and I felt like a complete asshole. I stared into the seat ahead of me, remaining silent. “Because I would understand if you were mad, but you should ask the driver where I told him to go before you totally freak out.”

I couldn’t look at her, afraid my anger might make me say something I would regret later. Or I would completely give in and tell her that I wasn’t mad, and that everything was okay. Marrying Scarlett was probably a horrible idea, but she was who I wanted at my side, not some lifeless woman who had been trained to follow my lead. I’d been attracted to her in ways I shouldn’t have, a long time ago.

We were cutting it a little close to get things settled between us before my uncle passed away, and while each day with Scarlett was proving to be more challenging than the last, it didn’t change the fact that she was the one I wanted by my side. There were things she needed to know, but I was too much of a coward to tell her.

I stared at the seat in front of us. “Scarlett, I’m through trying to force you to marry me.”

She startled, her head jerking in my direction. “But you paid my dowry,” she whispered.

I sighed and ran a hand down my face. “If you don’t want to be here, I’m not going to force you. I can’t make you become ready for something you just aren’t. I know that baiting my ex-wife is fun, but we should be planning a wedding, not trying to cause problems for us going forward. You know how important it is to the future of Warington. If you want out, just let me know now.”

She stared out the window into the dark night. Flashes of light covered her face as we passed by light poles. Hurt was written all over her face, but I didn’t have time to soothe ruffled feathers. The future of the country lay firmly on my shoulders, and if she wasn’t ready to be queen, I needed to find someone who was. My mind was made up; Scarlett needed to be the next queen. I didn’t really care if she thought someone else was better fitted for the position, but in the same sense, I didn’t want to make her give up her youth for me—for a kingdom that she wasn’t sure she wanted to rule. I was surprised when the car pulled up to Brixton Falls and not a seedy night club, like I’d expected. Apparently, Scarlett wasn’t running away—or, not running the way I thought she would—this time, at least. I’d just assumed we’d pull in somewhere she could score.

I didn’t like being wrong.

As soon as the car stopped, I flung open the door and walked towards the side entrance of the castle. I needed to get away from all these stupid emotions; of being wrong and how I felt about Scarlett. None of this was going the way that I planned.

“Wait, Carrick.” She scrambled out of the car after me.

“Not now, Scarlett,” I said without looking back, as I stormed into the house.

She ran in front of me and placed her hands on my chest, attempting to stop me. “Damn it, I want answers, and you owe me some. What was that thing with your ex-wife tonight?”

I ignored her and continued walking into the foyer.

“Son of a bitch. I’m not marrying someone that’s going to constantly be pushing me away to talk to their ex. Why are we rushing this?” she demanded. “Royal marriages take time; they don’t just happen overnight. Is it because of her?”

I sighed in exasperation and turned back around.

“It’s a long story, but yes and no.”

“Apparently, we have time now, since you decided to follow me home,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air, frustrated. “Start talking, my Lord.”

I ran a hand down my face and tried to decide where to start. “In Warington, a King must have a queen when they take the throne. You obviously know I’m divorced.”

She nodded and put her hands on her hips. “And she’s such a fucking peach, too. I can’t imagine why.”

I fought back my smile. I really shouldn’t encourage her.

“Don’t get me started on Jade. I don’t want to focus on her right now.” I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts before I continued. “If my uncle was to die before I married you, Jade would be queen because, in the eyes of the church, she’s still my wife. My uncle found a loophole, but in order for it to work, we need to be married. It’s a very convoluted and outdated system, but I know that I don’t want that woman as queen of anything. She was trying to talk me into waiting to marry you because it was too soon. I told her to go fuck herself.” Scarlett stared at me with wide eyes. “You might hate me now for taking away your freedom, but it’s necessary for my country.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t own me. You might have paid for me, but you sure as hell don’t own me.”

I sighed. “I never said I owned you, and I don’t want to. But you will be the queen of this kingdom and you will start acting like it.”

“What if I don’t want to marry you?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, mirroring her stance. “It doesn’t matter, does it? You know you don’t get a choice, and I’m better than someone else you might end up with. Your father won’t allow you to go back to Carleigh. So, you can quit with the disappearing act and acting out because this is happening, whether you like it or not, Princess.”

She glared at me, but she knew I was right. Her father had accepted the dowry and she was completely screwed. The worst part was, he basically let me pick her up in my own timing instead of telling her himself—an incredibly cowardly thing to do.

“What happened to ‘if you don’t want to marry me, you don’t have to’?”

I shrugged. “I lied.”

She poked her finger into my chest. “I’m only going to be your wife in name. Last night was a one-time thing.”

I fought back a grin. “You do realize I’ve fucked you twice now, right? That first night might be a little foggy, but it happened. And it was amazing. You can fight it all you want, but you know you’ll be begging me to fuck you, again and again, Scarlett.”

She watched as I walked towards the stairs, her mouth open in shock. Her eyes burned into my back, but I couldn’t tell if it was because she was pissed off or turned on. I guess I’d find out soon enough when she came up to bed.

Scarlett stared at me from the doorway as I took my tux off, piece by piece. It had taken her a full ten minutes to come upstairs. During that time, most of my anger had fizzled away, since I wasn’t one to hold grudges. I wanted to offer her help unzipping her dress, but with the frosty reception she gave me when she walked into the bedroom, it was probably a bad idea. Her eyes burned as she gazed at my bare chest, and it was enough of a reaction for me to know she was just as affected by whatever was happening between us as I was, but she definitely had the “fuck off” vibe going too. If she wasn’t attracted to me, then I might be worried, but to know her feelings were mutual made me feel a little better about the fact she was pissed.

“Are you even going to talk to me?” I asked as I unbuttoned my pants.

She narrowed her eyes and turned back to the mirror as she tugged off her jewelry. I guess that was my answer.

Everything in her demeanor let me know exactly how upset she was, but it didn’t stop my eyes from following her every movement. I wanted to give her time to cool down, even though it wasn’t in my nature to be patient for anything. We continued getting ready for bed in silence. She huffed in frustration as she tried unsuccessfully to unzip her dress by herself. I wanted to give her the space she wanted, but I hated watching her struggle. When I walked up behind her, she stiffened.

“Let me help,” I murmured softly.

She pulled her hair away from her shoulder and I kissed her there softly before tugging the zipper down slowly. My fingers itched to run over the smooth creamy pale skin of her back as each inch was exposed, but I knew that would just make her even angrier.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

Scarlett was careful to keep herself covered as she went to the closet to change into her short satin nightgown. There was a whole closet full of clothes that I’d bought before I picked her up from the club, and I was thankful that I’d had the foresight to buy the items for her since we hadn’t been able to pick up her belongings yet. I pulled back the covers and sat down on what we’d deemed my side of the bed last night. My cock throbbed at the sight of her bare legs as she scurried across the room. Scarlett was fucking gorgeous. I must have groaned because she turned her stony gaze in my direction.

“It’s not happening tonight, or ever again. You stay on your side, Lord Carrick.”

I flipped off the light and grinned. The girl had spunk.

“Scarlett, I’ve enjoyed the past two evenings, but I’m done chasing you. If you want to resume any of those activities, you’ll have to be the one to make a move.”

“Hell will freeze over first.”

I laughed at that one. “Whatever you say, Princess.”

She huffed into the dark. “You’re a dick, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” I said dryly. “Good night, Scarlett. Try not to get too frustrated over there. I’ll be dreaming of fucking you blind over here. If I go jack off in the middle of the night, know that I’m thinking of you.”

“Son of a bitch.” She threw the covers off her and turned on the lamp. “What the hell? Are you going to do this until I give in?”

“Maybe,” I said, smirking. “Is it bothering you?”

She glared at me over her shoulder. “I’m going to sleep in Ava’s room.”

I sat up. Oh hell no.

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? You can’t just tell me no.”

“You aren’t leaving our bedroom.”

If looks could kill, I would probably be on the floor. “We aren’t married yet. I don’t have to stay in here. You also said I’m a not a prisoner, so I’ll sleep wherever I damn well please.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Lay down, Scarlett. If you get out of this bed, I’m going to spank your ass, but this time, I won’t be fucking you afterwards.”

She gave me defiant stare, but finally turned off the lamp and settled down next to me. She grabbed a pillow from the floor and stuffed it between us, causing me to grin into the dark room.

“Stay on your side. If you touch me, I’m going to scream bloody murder.”

“Yes, Princess.”