Read Marriage: To Claim His Twins for Free Online

felt so weak, Ruby thought shakily—and not just physically weak, but emotionally and mentally weak as well. In the space of a few short minutes the protective cover she had woven around herself had been ripped from her, exposing her to the full horror ofa weakness she had thought controlled and contained. It should be impossible for her to want Sander, to be aroused by him. Should be.
    Reaction to what had happened was setting in. She felt physically sick, dazed, unable to function properly, torn apart by the conflicting nature of her physical desire and her burning sense of shame and disbelief that she should feel that desire…Wild thoughts jostled through her head. Perhaps she should not merely ask her doctor for a prescription for the birth control pill but for an anti-Sander pill as well—something that would destroy her desire for him? She needed a pill for that? Surely the way he had spoken to her, the way he had treated her, should be enough to ensure that she loathed the thought of him touching her? Surely her pride and the humiliation he had heaped on her should be strong enough to protect her?
    She couldn’t marry him. Not now. Panic filled her.
    â€˜I’ve changed my mind,’ she told him quickly. ‘About…about us getting married.’
    Sander frowned. His immediate response to her statement was a fierce surge of determination to prevent her from changing her mind. For the sake of his sons. Nothing else. And certainly not because of the ache that was still pounding through him.
    â€˜So the future of our sons is not as important to you as you claimed after all?’ he challenged her.
    She was trapped, Ruby acknowledged, trapped in a prison of her own making. All she could do was cling to the fragile hope that somehow she would find the strength to deny the desire he could arouse in her so easily.
    â€˜Of course it is,’ she protested.
    â€˜Then we shall be married, and you will accept my terms and conditions.’
    â€˜And if I refuse?’
    â€˜Then I will move heaven and earth and the stars between them to take my sons from you.’
    He meant what he was saying, Ruby could tell. She had no choice other than to bow her head in acceptance of his demands.
    He had defeated her, Sander knew, but the taste of his triumph did not have the sweetness he had expected.
    â€˜The demands placed on me by my business mean that the sooner the arrangements are completed the better. I shall arrange for the necessary paperwork to be carried out with regard to the prenuptial agreement I shall require you to sign and for our marriage. You must—’
    A sudden bang from upstairs, followed by a sharp cry of pain, had them both turning towards the stairs.
    Anxious for the safety of her sons, Ruby rushed past Sander, hurrying up the stairs to the boys’ room, unaware that Sander was right behind her as she pushed open the door to find Harry on the floor sobbing whilst Freddie stood clutching one of their toy cars.
    â€˜Freddie pushed me,’ Harry told her.
    â€˜No, I didn’t. He was trying to take my car.’
    â€˜Let me have a look,’ Ruby instructed Harry, quickly checking to make sure that no real damage had been done before sitting back on her heels and turning to look at Freddie. But instead of coming to her for comfort Freddie was standing in front of Sander, who had obviously followed her into the room, looking up at him as though seeking his support, and Sander had his hand on Freddie’s arm, as though protecting him.
    The raw intensity of her emotions gripped her by the throat—grief for all that the twins had missed in not having a father, guilt because she was the cause of that, pain because she loved them so much but her love alone could not give them the tools they would need to grow into well balanced men, and fear for her own self-respect.
    His hand resting protectively on the shoulder of his son, Sander looked grimly at Ruby. His