I Married a Duke (ePub)

Lexy Brennan leads a good, simple life, and has never been anyone's fool. When a stunningly handsome, obnoxiously arrogant, exceedingly rich stranger sets his sights on her, she's cautiously intrigued.

But then his exploits lead to an encounter with the police, into a throng of waiting reporters… and she learns he is actually Duke Nicolai, distantly royal, and the tabloids have pegged her as his new girlfriend! What begins as a simple misunderstanding quickly snowballs into a plot hatched by Nicolai to win back his aristocratic and poisonously beautiful ex, Lady Delia.

His plan is simple: Marry Lexy. Then, take her on the extravagant honeymoon he had planned for Delia, and reap the rewards of jealousy.

Neither of them expect attraction to spark between them… but when it does, it nearly sends their honeymoon spinning out of control. Now Lexy has a vengeful Delia on her heels, a disapproving mother Duchess, and a budding romance she never wanted in the first place. Can she escape this hare-brained plan unscathed, or does Nicolai have more up his sleeve than he let on?

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He pulled out a briefcase and unlatched it to reveal a folder of papers. "This is the prenuptial agreement. I'll give these to you to read at your leisure. We'll also have to take some time to learn an adequate amount about each other to be able to convince the most important parties that we are appropriately in love."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. I haven't agreed to this yet! And why do we even need a prenup if we'll just get it annulled?"

Kolya's finger stroked the rim of his wine glass. He regarded me for a moment in cool speculation.

"Well," he lowered his eyes almost coyly, then raised them again to mine, "only a marriage that hasn't been consummated can be annulled. Consider it a precaution."

A tingling sensation tickled between my legs and up into my gut. For a strange moment, it felt like I was falling. I began to slowly shake my head in disbelief.

"You are just so completely full of yourself, aren't you?"

"You," he smiled roguishly, "should get used to it. Otherwise no one will believe we're man and wife."

I set my glass down in the door holster and crossed my arms.

"And if you want your ex to believe I've really made you forget all about her, you're going to have to act so well you make ME believe it."

The finger trailing back and forth on the wine glass stopped abruptly.

"You're absolutely right," his voice was low. I felt my face heat up as I watched his eyes drop to my lips. He started to lean in. I quickly propped a hand on his chest and retreated backward, bumping my head awkwardly against the car window.

"Down, boy," I chided. "Save it for the audience."
Kolya seemed taken aback, blinking stupidly at me. Then he laughed and shook his head, as if rejection was as unfamiliar to him as a mermaid springing out of the sea. He tapped the folder on my lap.

"Read this. Think about it. If we do this, we do it right. Once you're certain what you want, contact me, and I'll arrange our next meeting." And with that, I was suddenly on my way back home.