His Desirable Debutante Read Online Free Page A

annulment? For us? No one would believe we didn’t consummate the marriage. I’d still be ruined, and you’d become a laughingstock.”
    Brandford turned and grabbed a robe from a wardrobe. Once he was properly covered, he came back and perched next to her on the bed regarding her with a quizzical look. There was something more in his eyes that she didn’t wish to contemplate at this moment. Need? Loneliness? His need was too close to her own for comfort.
    “So what do you suggest we do?” he asked.
    She shrugged, eyeing Brandford. Once again she had landed on an unexpected path and now she’d have to live with the consequences, only this time she wasn’t in it alone. She had a husband now, albeit an unconventional rake of a man, but a partner nonetheless. Could he be trusted with her body, or maybe even…her heart? “I’m not certain, but we’re here together now.”
    Something like relief crossed his face, but was quickly replaced with his customary arrogant mask, which Helene was starting to suspect was exactly that. A mask.
    “Tell, me Brandford, why marry in the first place? I know Lord Ryder believed you wanted to mend bridges with society, but I don’t believe it.”
    “No?” He raised a brow.
    She shook her head. “You would not have chosen me. I was the last maiden who would achieve the goal of repairing your reputation. A dozen other debutantes spring to mind who could’ve helped you more.” She ticked some off on her fingers. “Lady Melissa Matthews, Katherine Rodman-Spencer, Victoria Albright…”
    Pierce visibly shuddered at the last name. “That whey-faced simpering—”
    She cut him off. “We’re getting off topic. Again I ask, why marry me ?”
    A lengthy silence fell, during which Pierce crawled fully onto the bed and relaxed against the headboard, arms anchoring the back of his head. His weight sank the mattress, forcing her closer, near enough to smell the soap from his bath. The silk of his robe clung to damp patches on his chest, draping over every intriguing angle of his masculine body.
    “You didn’t fear me,” he said at last. “Every other virginal miss went running for the safety of her parents at my approach. You stood fearlessly and danced with me.”
    “I hid behind a plant,” she protested. “You pulled me onto the floor—what choice did I have?”
    A shift turned his gaze directly on her face. They sat nearly nose to nose “But you danced, and stayed to argue with me. And, in fact, engaged me in conversation at every ball from that night till our wedding day.”
    “Only to tell you to stay away,” she insisted, but his curled lips and raised brow told her he saw right through her protests. The truth was he fascinated her. Here was a man who didn’t give a fig what society thought of him, and if rumors were true, explored every aspect of his sexuality freely. Something she’d only tried once with disastrous results.
    “But eventually you caved and agreed to the marriage. Why? Did your father force your hand?” he asked.
    Papa had railed at her and pushed her toward the marriage, but as she well knew, he was mostly bluster and little bite. “Not exactly.” She chewed on her lower lip debating how much to tell him.
    “Well, what then? With your beauty and dowry, you would eventually have found a man willing to overlook your reputation, and speaking of which…I think the time has come to enlighten me as to the exact nature of your indiscretion, especially since you claim to hold your maidenhood.”
    Her head shot up to beg him not to probe further, but he sat resolute.
    “So, what happened? Did you fondle a footman? Mix it up with your maid?
    “Stop,” she said, unsure of what the last one even meant.
    But Pierce was on a roll and enjoying himself. “Dildo another deb—“
    “Stop,” she repeated, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. He was truly incorrigible, and that was why she’d agreed to the marriage. When he wasn’t stirring her