Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

S he could taste his anger, his jealousy. The mere thought of her being with another man had let lose the wild beast in Robert. Victoria clung for dear life to the front of his coat as her husband kissed her senseless.

He broke the kiss and growled. "No other man," then captured her lips once more. His tongue delved deep, touching. Claiming. Refusing to let go.

"You are mine. You hear me. Now and forever."

It was all she could do to remain standing upright as he plundered her mouth.

"I'll kill any other man who dares to touch you."

A little voice in the back of her brain was telling Victoria that they had crossed the line from romantic declarations to borderline insanity. But she couldn't hold back.

She broke the kiss. "But if you are dead, there is nothing you can do to stop it."

"I'll rise from the dead and kill them. Then I'll fight them in hell for eternity. You are mine."

Victoria pulled out of Robert's embrace and shook her head. His words were just grandly insane and empty gestures. She held up her hands and pleaded, "You say you can't call a halt to this war, but that means I can't stay. What if their agents come to our home again? If you don't stop, this war will go on. It will never end. And more innocent people will get hurt."

She had to make him see how impossible this situation was; that capitulation was the only answer. The only way to save their lives, their marriage.

"Robert, I shot and killed a man. I took a life. And I know if it ever came before the courts, I could argue it was in self-defense. But I wouldn't have been in that position if you hadn't kept things from me. I can't." She slowly shook her head, struggling to hold back the tears. "I won't live that life. I know you don't love me. That you didn't want this marriage, but this is where we are, here and now. If you can't sacrifice your war for me, then you have to let me go."

Her words cut through his heart like a sharpened blade. She thought he didn't care for her? That he didn't love her. How wrong could she be? She was his everything.

I've never said the words.

He had just assumed that from all those nights they had spent in one another's arms, sharing their bodies, making passionate love, that she'd figure it out. That his wife would have known how he felt.

I adore this woman, and yet I've never told her. How much more of a villain can a man be than to withhold his love from his wife.

She moved once more toward the door, but he again blocked her path. If she left, he knew it would all be over between them. He would never get her back. This was his final chance. One last desperate throw of the dice.

Hot tears pricked at Robert's eyes. His woman, the feisty brilliant girl he'd been compelled to marry…he could have lost her the other night. He could well be planning her funeral rather than standing here fighting with her.

And he was fighting. Fighting for them. For their future.

Robert mustered his courage for one last push for victory. Here and now he had to tell her how he felt. How he had always felt about her. From that first night when they'd fought with one another over the supper table at the ball, he had been hers.

"You are wrong, Victoria. So very wrong." He drew in a shaky breath, fighting to hold onto his composure.

His fingers settled on the edge of Victoria's cloak, and he pulled her to him. "I knew we would marry from the moment I found you creeping about my garden late at night. Only a foolish chit who was in love with me would do such a thing. There could be no other reason for you to have been skulking amongst the parsley and tomatoes."

"I was coming to throw pebbles at your window. It's not my fault you have a stunning selection of herbs and vegetables."

A small smile found its way to his lips. "See. It was impossible for you to stop thinking about me. I already had your heart."

She lowered her gaze, all the while he silently challenged her to deny it. To pretend it had never been the truth. He knew she wouldn't. She couldn't.

You can't say no, because that would make you a liar.

Another step closer and to his relief, their bodies were once more touching. Robert brushed a hand over Victoria's cheek, sighing as his fingers felt the wetness of her tears. Tears he had made her cry.

Damn. He really was a villain.

"I love you, Victoria. I don't want you to leave. Not ever. For better or worse, we are in this mess together. United we might be able to find a way out, but apart, we will fail."

She lay her hand over his. "I love you too. Which means we have to find a way Robert. There is no other option."