The Panther & the Pyramid (Khamsin Warriors of the Wind) by Bonnie Vanak Page B

we're married."
    "Forget? You know little about the ton , Your Grace, if you think they will forget. They have long memories."
    His gaze narrowed. Once more she felt the coiled menace in this man, as if his polished exterior hid a dark core.
    "No one will dare insult you if you are my wife. I promise you, I shall not tolerate one single affront."
    "They won't insult me. They'll just ignore me," she demurred.
    "They cannot ignore you if you are my duchess, Jillian. Think of it. I'm offering escape from being chained to the insufferable Mr. Augustine." He paused, a slow smile touching his mouth. "Wouldn't you prefer being chained to me? In bed, say, for long hours of delightful pleasure?"
    Erotic heat shot through her. She tried to ignore it. "How do you know he's insufferable?"
    "His mustache. Clearly he spends a great deal of time waxing it. Do you truly wish to become the wife of a man obsessed with his facial hair? His kisses must be as dreadful as the Macassar oil he smears on his hair."
    "I wouldn't know," she murmured.
    "He never kissed you?"
    "He tried. I stopped him. It seemed to me as dreadful as licking beeswax off a staircase."
    His abrupt, deep laugh nearly coaxed a smile from her. Jillian suppressed it. "Why do you wish to marry me? What possible reason could you have?"
    "The most elemental one of all, Jillian. You're a beautiful woman and I want you in my bed."
    A delicate shiver stroked her spine at the determined note in his voice. "S-sex is a feeble basis for marriage."
    "Is it?" He advanced, a gleam in his dark eyes. She shrank back as his fingers found her cheek and stroked it in the barest of touches. Jillian closed her eyes, need shuddering through her. Ah, the power of his caress.
    "I think it's a powerful reason to marry. It's how the duchy continues. I need a son." At this disclosure, her eyes flew open. Graham's level gaze flicked down to her flat abdomen. His large, warm hands settled on her clothed shoulders. She remembered them stroking and caressing, creating delicious heat. "I'm most eager to begin trying for an heir after we marry."
    Warm breath tickled the sensitive back of her ear. He bent his heard toward her, and he whispered, "I'm afraid your options are quite ruined, Lady Jillian. There is no escape but marriage to me."
    She swallowed, hard. Marriage was not the answer. Leaving England was. The duke had ground everything to a halt. Jillian worried her bottom lip. There was still the money hidden in her room. She could still escape. For now she'd pretend, to gain precious time.
    "Very well," she muttered. "I'll marry you."
    The barest smile touched his mouth. Then he dipped his head and kissed her lightly—a brief kiss promising sensual pleasures.
    Yet it was pleasure she'd not experience, for she'd not marry him if she could run first.
    Father might be appeased by Graham the duke instead of Bernard the insufferable, but deep down she had the uneasy feeling that Graham, with his dark intensity and dangerous charm, might prove the far more deadly choice.
     
    Graham managed to rope in his raging emotions as he gripped Jillian's hand and prepared to face her father. Inside his head a voice screamed, are you mad?
    Perhaps he was. Forcing her hand and ensuring his enemy would become his father-in-law sounded completely insane.
    But keep your enemies close, his friend the Khamsin sheikh had once advised. How much closer than by making Stranton a relative?
    Long ago, Graham had vowed never to marry. But this solution meant Jillian would remain under his care and protection when the larger scandal broke. Sexually she pleased him, and the thought of bedding her again swelled his body with pleasure.
    And she could provide him with an heir. Having children would keep her occupied and out of trouble. And his dreaded nightmare would not come true as long as he kept her from the desert. Chances of her ever traveling to Egypt with him were as unlikely as him finding Khufu's lost treasure.
    Graham tucked