Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) (28 page)

him. She looked at Kristen and spoke to her in Spanish.
“My god, he has a temper even worse than Tristan's.
Be careful my friend. Do not poke the devil.” She warned as
she shrank further from Derrick's glowing eyes.
“Don't worry. His bark is indeed worse than his bite.”
Kristen replied in English, for Derrick's benefit. She was
certainly building up a rage of her own at the moment.
Kristen lifted herself from the chair and walked toward
him. If she didn't think he would simply pick her up and cart
her off, she would have stood her ground. But, she was also
confused as to what had happened to them in a few short
hours and wanted to sort it out, despite his barbaric behavior.
Earlier they had been perfectly fine. But, since showing up to
this island, Derrick had been nothing but difficult. So, she
swished past him and stood in the hall, arms crossed
defensively.
Derrick nodded at Chelsea and slammed the door shut,
then rounded on Kristen. She lifted a brow at him, but was
back to that unattached attitude he was beginning to dislike.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly.
“Do you not realize the impropriety of your actions? You
belong to me, you will not be in another man's rooms. Ever.”
“You are hurting me, sir. I suggest you let me go.” She
said coldly.
Derrick realized he was gripping her rather hard and
immediately let go, his face flushing with embarrassment for
hurting her.
“My apologies - “
“And furthermore, I do not belong to you. You are a
seducer of innocents and should be ashamed of yourself. If
nothing else, I should really thank you for taking away any
illusions I may have had about wanting to marry you.” She
spat angrily, tears threatening to spill over.
She stalked past him to the room next to Tristan's and
slammed the door behind her. She would have locked it, but
there weren't any locks on the door. Tristan must have had
them removed when he had brought Chelsea here. But,
Kristen was desperate for some air, so she rushed to the
window. Throwing it open, she inhaled deeply before her
emotions got the best of her. She truly hated for Derrick to see
her cry.
God help her, she wanted to marry Derrick. She didn't
know when she had finally admitted it to herself. She didn't
even know how he had managed it considering she was so
dead set against it after his initial refusal of the marriage
contract. But, there it was. Unfortunately, she was certain he
would cause her nothing but pain. Far too many of their days
together would be spent like today, fighting over nothing and
then seeking solace from each other. She just didn't want a
marriage like that. Her mother had a marriage like that, and
she would be damned if she wanted to spend her life hating
the man she married.
Derrick stood in the hallway grinning like an idiot. He
had been too stunned at her outburst to say anything and
hadn't moved when she had gone off and slammed the
bedroom door. In all of that, only one thing had registered.
She wanted to marry him, but for some reason changed her
mind. Like hell! He stormed into the bedroom and slammed
the door himself.
“Kristen, we're getting married tomorrow before we set
sail and that's final.” He crossed his arms over his chest,
daring her to defy him.
“No, we're not.”
He closed the distance between them and turned her
around to kiss her. He was gentle, even for all the rage they
both felt, but she was stiff and angry. She pulled away from
him and walked away.
“Stop! It won't work this time.” She warned.
“Bloody hell, woman! You want to marry me, so what's
the problem?”
“It doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me!” He shouted.
Kristen rolled her eyes and turned her back on him.
“Don't be ridiculous. Something as trivial as my reasons
couldn't possibly be of importance to you.”
Derrick took a deep breath to steady his patience, and
his frazzled nerves. He had no idea why she kept him at arm's
length when he had done everything he could to prove he
intended to make things permanent with her. He wanted to
shake her again; the girl was positively frustrating. Instead, he
walked up behind her and put his arms around her. She was
tense and tried to pull away, but he held her firmly against him
until she stopped struggling. They stood like that for what
seemed an eternity and finally, she relaxed into him.
Derrick kissed the top of her head, then the side, then
moved his way down to her neck. As he pressed gentle kisses
on the side of her neck, he rubbed her arms until all the
stiffness left her.
“I don't like fighting with you.” He whispered softly.
Kristen didn't respond. She was too caught up in the
emotion of the moment. Derrick turned her around in his arms
and cupped her face with his hands, pulling her in for a long,
slow kiss. Just when she thought she might faint from the
pleasure of it all, he lifted her up in his arms and crossed to
the bed. As he followed her down to the bed, he tucked his
hand under the hem of her dress and slid it all the way up her
leg. Goose flesh tingled her body where he touched her, and
when he reached the top of her legs, his hand danced across
that intimate part of her. She gasped in pleasure and arched
her back, moving her hips in a circular motion, trying
desperately to get his hand where she wanted it.
Derrick's free hand slid behind Kristen's back and deftly
released each of the clasps holding her dress together. He
watched her body tremble as he caressed her womanhood.
Her moan of pleasure excited him and he had to clamp down
his own desire before he simply mounted her with no thought
to her pleasure. Keeping a steady pressure at her hips,
Derrick released the final clasp on her dress and yanked it
down to reveal her glorious breasts. He didn't think he would
ever get tired of them. They were perfect in every way, and as
his mind went there, so did his mouth. He sucked one
exquisite nipple and swirled it around his tongue until it
became a hard nub. Then he moved to the next one and did
the same. She pushed at his shoulders, moaning softly.
Derrick slipped one finger inside of her and felt her wetness
envelop him as he continued his teasing of her breasts.
Kristen was beside herself with heady pleasure. She
didn't want to get to this point, didn't want him to affect her so,
but there he was, driving her wild with need. She clung to him
as his finger wreaked havoc on her system, and sucked in air
as he withdrew his mouth from her breasts and began to blow
on them, the crisp air tightening the buds even further. Just
then, she couldn't think of anything she wanted more
desperately than to feel him inside of her, moving with her,
completing her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and
pulled his head to her for a kiss of her own.
Shocked, Derrick took what she gave him and
channeled his excitement through his fingers, slipping another
inside of her and sliding them in and out at a tempo that
couldn't keep up with his racing heart. This woman was wild
and passionate, and she was absolutely perfect for him. He
pulled back and laughed softly at Kristen's cry of frustration.
“Easy, little one. I'm only going to take my clothes off.”
He watched her writhe in need as he removed his
clothes and tossed them on the floor. He took the time to
remove the rest of her dress and shift, as well. But, as soon as
his body returned to hers, Kristen bucked her hips and raked
her nails down his back. Whatever he had meant to do was
lost in the primal need that unexpectedly erupted within him.
He mounted her and thrusted deeply inside with a force he
couldn't recall ever using. Kristen didn't mind, though. She
seemed to welcome it and grabbed his forearms to hold on
tight. Derrick moved swift and hard, pounding into her. Her
breasts bounced up and down, teasing him further. He
grabbed one and squeezed it gently as he continued to slide
in and out of her. Kristen's breath came out low and raspy,
and then she moaned in pleasure. Derrick pushed harder and
faster the more noise she made.
He felt like his entire world was slipping out of his
control, and for the first time in his life, he didn't seem to mind.
He simply rode the wave and let the sensations come. He
pushed into Kristen, grinding his hips into hers and holding on
for dear life. Her breath quickened and so did his. As she
reached her climax, he thrust deeply inside and rushed over
the edge with her, falling into bliss. He vaguely remembered
grabbing on to her as he fell, but the line between reality and
fantasy was blurred. Derrick fell over on top of her and was
breathing heavily into her neck.
He knew he should move his weight off of her, but he
didn't want to move. He wanted to stay where he was forever,
lost in her grip and the scent of her hair. After giving himself a
few moments more, he started to lift himself up, but Kristen
wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. He looked at
her quizzically.
“Stay.” She said quietly.
He smiled and kissed her tenderly. He remained on his
elbows so he could shift some of his weight off of her, but
stayed where he was.
“Kristen “
“I'll marry you tomorrow.” She interrupted.
He furrowed his brow. She looked like she was on the
verge of tears and he couldn't tell whether it was from
happiness or resignation. That bothered him more than he
cared to admit.
“Why'd you change your mind?” He asked, a little
suspicious.
“Why not?” She replied in her usual drollery.
It irritated him that she was so flippant about it. He
wanted Kristen, but he wanted her willing, not because she
was resigned to it. And, he especially didn't want her with
tears in her eyes for thinking what she was giving up to be
with him. He pushed away from her and swiped his clothes
from the floor. He walked a safe distance away from her and
started dressing.
“Why are you angry?” She asked, confused. “I thought
you wanted to make me your wife.” She was hurt, but she was
trying not to show it. Derrick didn't notice.
“I'm not angry because you agreed, Kristen.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I'm just...it's just that...oh, forget it!” He headed for the
door, but Kristen jumped out of bed with the sheet wrapped
around her and beat him to it. He came up short and just
glared at her.
“We'll have this conversation now, if you please.” She
said and crossed her arms over her chest. “I'll not have you
running off every time we make love.”
To Derrick's credit, he blushed. But, that did nothing to
soothe his anger. He scowled and stalked across the room.
Kristen stayed where she was in case he decided to run
again.
“Well?” She prompted.
“I don't like the way you agreed.” He spat.
“I beg your pardon?”
“No man wants to feel as if he was chosen as a last
resort.”
Kristen grimaced. She had never treated Derrick as a
last resort, quite the opposite, in fact. She had gone to him
first. But, that wasn't what stopped her from marrying him
when he demanded it before.
“I didn't treat you as a last resort, Derrick. If you'll recall,
I came to you first.”
Derrick's cheeks turned red at the reminder. It wasn't
that he had forgotten that, it was just that her actions since
then lead him to believe she didn't want the arranged marriage
either.
"You certainly didn't do anything to convince me that
you wanted to keep the contract, Kristen."
"Would it have made a difference?"
"Perhaps."
"Well, it's not like you gave me a reason to want to
keep the contract. You asked me to be your mistress first. I
assumed you simply wanted use of my body."
“I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if that were the
case.”
“You know, I don't understand you. You stand here and
speak to me as though you want me permanently, but I see
how you are with the maids here. How do you think I should
react to that, knowing on previous occasions they have
warmed your bed? How do you think I feel to hear the rumors
around town that women please you for so long as you are
interested, and then you cast them aside once you are bored
of them? How do you think it makes me feel to have you
propose marriage in your high-handed fashion, but know it is
only temporary until someone new catches your fancy? I can't
honestly trust you, can I?”
Derrick was surprised by her words. He knew he had a
reputation, but he certainly didn't think he was as bad as all
that. He had never made promises to the women of his
acquaintance, in fact, he had made damn sure they
understood the exact nature of the relationship. And, he could
understand her hesitation if she had been told otherwise. But,
he still felt like there was more. Something else was holding
her back from him.
"Kristen - "
“Please don't. I don't want to argue. I've agreed to
marry you, for better or worse, so perhaps this arrangement
will suit us amicably. I require children of you, but beyond that,
you are free to do as you wish. We can get to the specifics of
the contract tomorrow as there are some things you should
know, but there is also quite a bit of money that passes to you
with our marriage.”
“You're the most infuriating person I've ever met! Has it
even crossed your mind that perhaps I don't want my life to
continue the way it was before and perhaps that is part of the
reason I asked you to marry me?” He yelled.
Kristen just stared at him, not sure what to say. She
was certainly curious to know what other reasons he had for
wanting to marry her, but she didn't think he would answer.
And, Derrick was fit to be tied he was so angry. How dare she
suggest that he keep living as he was? Stubborn woman that
she was.
“I need some air.” He said and walked to the door she
was still blocking. “Excuse me.” He said roughly.
Kristen moved to the side, and Derrick slammed out of
the room. She swiped angrily at her tears, cursing herself for
the emotional weakness. She didn't know what was wrong
with her, but she knew if she kept up her fishwife theatrics,
Derrick would grow weary. She couldn't help it. She wasn't
entirely honest with him about not trusting him; she did. And,
she felt certain he would be faithful to her, knowing that