How the Scot Stole the Bride Read online

  How the Scot Stole the Bride

  Matchmaking Madness, Volume 4

  Laura A. Barnes

  Published by Laura A. Barnes, 2021.

  Copyright © 2021 by Laura A. Barnes

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

  First Printing: 2021

  Laura A. Barnes

  www.lauraabarnes.com

  Cover Art by Cheeky Covers

  Editor: Telltail Editing

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Author Laura A. Barnes

  Desire other books to read by Laura A. Barnes

  To: My lovely reviewers

  I place my heart and soul into your hands and hope you love the stories as much as I loved writing them. And you always offer me the kindest words of support with your wonderful reviews. I thank each and every one of you for taking this journey with me. I hope to share many more stories with you.

  Cast of Characters

  Matchmaking Madness ~ How the Scot Stole the Bride

  HERO ~ DUNCAN FORRESTER

  Heroine ~ Selina Pemberton

  Uncle Theo ~ Duke of Colebourne

  Lucas Gray ~ Colebourne’s son

  Susanna Forrester ~ Colebourne’s sister-in-law/Duncan’s mother

  Ramsay Forrester ~ Lady Forrester’s husband/Duncan’s father

  Jacqueline Holbrooke ~ Colebourne’s niece

  Charlotte Holbrooke ~ Colebourne’s niece

  Jasper Sinclair ~ Charlotte’s husband

  Evelyn Holbrooke ~ Colebourne’s niece

  Reese Worthington ~ Evelyn’s husband

  Gemma Holbrooke ~ Colebourne’s niece

  Abigail Cason ~ Colebourne’s ward

  Duke of Norbury ~ Selina Pemberton’s father

  Chapter One

  Selina Pemberton stared at the altar with a wistful expression. If one felt a variety of emotions simultaneously, then she experienced them in full today. While she watched her new friend Gemma Holbrooke marry Lord Ralston this morning, Selina felt such joy for them. However, she also watched the ceremony with bittersweet irony.

  She sat in between her fiancé, Lord Gray, and her future father-in-law, the Duke of Colebourne, during the ceremony. The former was the bride’s cousin and the latter her uncle. Since they were set to wed within a month’s time, it only seemed fitting for Selina to sit with the bride’s family. Her father sat on the other side of Lord Gray.

  A smile tugged at Selina’s lips, remembering Gemma’s enthusiasm when she spoke her vows. The bride hadn’t been able to contain her excitement at becoming Lady Ralston. The groom had chuckled his amusement and gazed at his bride with adoration. When they spoke their wedding vows, love shined from their gazes, and every single lady sighed, wishing for the same. When the couple shared a kiss, groans from the gentleman soon joined the sighs in the chapel.

  One would think Selina, who was about to become a bride herself, barely contained her own excitement for her impending marriage. Well, that was where the bittersweetness came into play with her strung-out emotions. And let’s not forget the irony of the event. No, it was the major feature of the dilemma she had found herself in, one she held no clue how to remove herself from. Her time to call off the betrothal her father committed her to when she was but a babe still in the nursery ticked away.

  A commitment her father reminded her of constantly. A commitment Selina had never wanted and dreaded with each day drawing nearer. A commitment making all parties involved miserable. A commitment uniting two powerful dukedoms into one.

  Selina and Lucas Gray were the only children born into a ducal family. Their marriage would make their family the most powerful and richest in England once they spoke their vows. Any offspring would only build upon their dynasty.

  A chill shivered along Selina’s spine at the thought of Lucas Gray bedding her. She held no attraction toward the marquess. Their relationship wasn’t even on friendly terms. Gray tolerated her at best, and only when his father encouraged him to. In truth, the fault didn’t lie with Gray, but with her. Selina had made it complicated for Gray or any member of his family to find anything likable about her. No, she had tormented his cousins over the years with her shrewish behavior and acted the pampered princess while in his presence. Her behavior of late had only been more vindictive once her father started pressuring Colebourne to set a wedding date.

  Selina had hoped the more obnoxious she acted, the more it would force Gray to break the betrothal. However, he wouldn’t budge in his duty to fulfill his father’s word. No matter how much he wished the same as Selina. He held no love for her. And there was where the rest of the irony came into play. Lucas Gray had already lost his heart to another, the very same lady who stood next to Gemma throughout the wedding ceremony. Abigail Cason.

  While their own wedding drew nearer, one would think Gray and Selina would have watched the ceremony holding hands, anxiously waiting for their own special day. No. Gray kept a distance from Selina and never once glanced her way. His stare had remained focused on Abigail since the ceremony began. And once the ceremony ended, he remained at the young miss’s side during the celebration, abandoning Selina once again. Colebourne tried to mask his son’s boorish behavior with his own courteous attention, but it didn’t help to soothe Selina’s temperament. She was on the verge of acting vindictively and needed to remove herself before she acted on her emotions like she had with her previous behavior.

  At one time, she would have made a catty remark about Abigail’s standing in society to seek her revenge. However, Selina was attempting to right the wrongs of her past. But standing by with a smile pasted on her face while her fiancé devoted his attention to another lady was more than Selina wished to endure. The stares filled with pity she received from the members of Gray’s family and other wedding guests ignited the fuel for revenge. Instead of striking out, Selina bit her tongue and removed herself from the situation, a tactic she learned to save herself from Lucas’s wrath and the coldness of his family.

  So instead of enjoying the wedding brunch, she found herself back in the chapel, contemplating how to find the courage to continue with the journey her father demanded of her. What her true heart desired didn’t matter. Her desires, wants, needs would never find fulfillment. Her dreams must remain fantasies to indulge in whenever life became unbearably lonely. It was a state she’d spent her entire life in and would continue to endure if she married Gray.

  A single tear leaked from her eye, trailing down her cheek to land on her clasped hands. It landed on the finger that soon would hold a wedding ring. Selina choked back a sob at the symbolism.

  “Tears, lass? Picturing your own wedding, are ye?”

  Selina stiffened at the Scottish brogue. There w
as only one Scot who taunted her with his slanderous tongue. At every opportunity, the heathen would seek her out to aggravate. She fooled herself into believing today would be any different. Just because she had formed a friendship with Gemma didn’t mean the rest of Gray’s family felt any differently toward her. Duncan Forrester included.

  She drew a deep breath to slow her pounding heart and lifted her hand to swipe at her damp cheek. Selina wished to avoid him today, but it would appear the universe would once again deny her a favor. She had managed to stay out of his reach since their horrible encounter a few weeks before. The only highlight she gained was Colebourne’s guidance and Lady Forrester’s kindness. Lady Forrester paid her more friendly affections than her own son.

  No. Lady Forrester’s son turned Selina into a frenzied shrew whenever he cornered her. If he wasn’t turning her into a shrew, then he turned her emotions into a quivering mess of unrequited lust. He left her aching to explore the possibilities of where their passion could lead. Not only were they foolish, but her wanton thoughts would only lead Selina toward a scandal, one she could never recover from.

  She supposed, in time, if she acted on her impulses and engaged with Forrester on the passions he tempted her with, they could weather the storm their union would create. The temptation to indulge in the sin beckoned her. However, Forrester was Gray’s cousin. That fact alone made Selina push her urges as deeply as she could into the unknown. She must never act upon them, no matter how much his kisses set her soul on fire.

  She rolled her shoulders back before lifting her gaze. “As a matter of fact, I am. I was picturing Lucas speaking his vows while clutching my hand. I am looking forward to the day, and the emotion overwhelmed me.”

  “Do you still believe the wedding will actually occur?” Forrester arched a brow.

  Selina smiled with confidence. “Colebourne has set a date, and the invitations were delivered this week. What more proof will it take for you to believe it will happen?”

  Duncan snorted. “Do you hold the belief Gray will make you his bride because Colebourne has given his authorization and a few measly invites were delivered? You, my dear, are so gullible.”

  Selina bit the inside of her cheek to keep her temper in check. She refused to rise to his bait. Every time she had in the past, she’d ended up in his arms, and he’d kissed her so thoroughly she walked away dreaming of a different outcome for her life.

  She must resist the temptation, even when her body begged otherwise.

  Selina slipped her gloves back on and rose from the bench, walking toward Forrester. She pretended to brush off a speck of lint from his suit, her hand curving across his shoulder and sliding along his arm. Her hand brushed lightly across his when she leaned in toward him. She inhaled his woodsy scent, her insides sparking to life.

  She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “No, you barbaric Scot, you are the gullible one. I will not only wed Lucas Gray in a few weeks, but I also will become his bride in every way it matters too.”

  “Like hell,” he gritted between his teeth.

  Selina chuckled, pushing Forrester out of her way. “Tsk, tsk. Such language in the lord’s house. But then I should expect this behavior from the likes of you.”

  Selina walked away before he responded. Only she never made it out of the chapel before Forrester came upon her. He turned her around and backed Selina against the door. An unnamed emotion singed her soul from the intensity in his stare. Her confidence in walking away from him dissolved into a quivering mess of desire. Her soul knew he meant to devour her lips before her mind comprehended his intentions. Selina’s body betrayed her with their actions.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck, urging his lips to hers, while her tongue licked her lips in anticipation. She pressed herself closer to him, needing his heat to consume her. Forrester needed no encouragement. He stole the very breath from her soul when his mouth descended onto hers.

  The fiery licks of the forbidden teased her lips apart to invade her mouth with each enflamed stroke of his tongue against hers. Duncan’s kiss was relentless in its quest to brand her as his. He showed Selina no mercy with his onslaught of passionate need. His embrace tightened, pulling Selina closer when she melted against him. At her every moan, he captured the vibration and drew forth her surrender. She hung on the brink of capitulating herself to the pleasure of his kisses when he abruptly pulled away.

  Forrester dropped his arms and stepped back, leaving Selina grasping for something to cling to. Her trembling hand clasped onto the door handle while she fought with her legs not to give out. Their gazes clashed, and she sucked in a gasp. If she thought his gaze was intense before their kiss, it held nothing to the possessive stare gliding over her body.

  His lips snarled into a determined smile, leaving Selina no doubt of his intentions. “As I said before, like hell, Duchess.”

  Chapter Two

  Duncan stalked into his bedroom with the same fury consuming him since he left Selina. Selina with her eyes wide, in shock at him acting like a barbarian at his finest. However, it wasn’t only shock gleaming from her eyes, but the same state of need coursing through his veins.

  As much as she continued to deny their attraction, Selina Pemberton wanted him.

  The pull of her fingers in his hair when he devoured her lips. The pull of her lips when she matched him stroke for stroke. The pull of her moans into his soul. All those signs spoke otherwise. And like always, he’d tried to force her to admit her feelings.

  When would he ever learn to approach her differently? Every time he witnessed her fragile struggle to hold herself together and please everyone around her, he only wanted to strip her bare. He wanted her to acknowledge the mad attraction surrounding them. But most of all, he wanted Selina to make a choice: his cousin Lucas or him.

  Duncan slumped into a chair, bringing the bottle of whiskey to his lips. He drank a long swallow followed by another before lowering the bottle. The dark liquid stained the light fabric of his suit coat when he swiped his lips with his arm. A bitter laugh escaped his lips when he noticed not only the whiskey but the shade of Selina’s lip color. He closed his eyes and slumped his head back against the chair.

  The kiss they’d shared today played out before him. Every kiss they’d shared before then had been a distraction to cover for his cousins’ mischiefs. The kiss today had been for him alone. He couldn’t resist wiping away her smug confidence at securing a wedding date. His kiss was a warning: He would show no mercy in claiming her heart for himself.

  Duncan went to great lengths to leave Selina, and she still invaded his sanity without even trying to. He’d fled from the chapel as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. If he stayed one moment longer with Selina, he couldn’t be held responsible for the scandal that would have surely happened. He’d stormed past his mother and uncle to his cousin Gemma and her new husband, Ralston. He ignored Gemma, not even congratulating her, and demanded a horse to borrow from Ralston. They both looked at him with confusion, but Ralston agreed. He had ridden hard back to London, stormed inside his uncle’s townhome, startling the butler, Goodwin, and made another demand. He wanted a bottle of his uncle’s finest whiskey. Goodwin shook his head and muttered about rude guests, procuring Duncan a bottle before walking away in disgust.

  Duncan rose and stripped off his coat. Instead of throwing it across the room, he laid it gently over the arm of the chair. He divested himself of his vest, cravat, and boots. After undoing a few buttons of his shirt, he sat back down and drew his suit coat over his lap. With every draw from the bottle, he rubbed his fingers across the stain. The more he drank, the darker his thoughts turned. Not only dark, but perhaps a bit mad, too. He swore he felt a sizzle at every stroke over the shade of pink.

  Was he mad to indulge in his fantasies of stealing Selina away from Lucas? He must end this obsession he had for the blonde vixen. His pursuit would only bring scandal to his family, who walked the line of propriety as it was. If word leaked of
his cousins’ indiscretions before they married their husbands, rumors would spread, making it impossible for Jacqueline and Abigail to find grooms. Abigail struggled as it was, due to her standing in society. While his family considered Abigail one of theirs, the fact of the matter was, she was a daughter of an unwed servant. Uncle Theo might have raised her as his niece, but she wasn’t.

  No. Duncan couldn’t risk their reputations for a simple infatuation. No matter how much he desired to make Selina his. He couldn’t hurt his family with another one of his foolish antics. While his own father found humor in his prowess pursuits, his Uncle Theo didn’t deserve to have his plans for his only offspring ruined because Duncan couldn’t control an itch. An itch he had countless offers to scratch. Why he denied himself the pleasure of indulging in those offers was beyond him.

  Duncan laughed again and took another drink. Who did he try to fool? He had always been a sucker for the weak and vulnerable. Many viewed Selina as who she portrayed herself to be. A shrew, dragon, troublemaker. She was anything but. No, she was lonely, desperate for attention, and vulnerable. It was her vulnerability that drew Duncan toward her, pulling him deeper under her spell. To show Selina she was loved was his only purpose.

  She deserved love more than anyone he knew, Duncan included. A loving family surrounded him, he had more friends than he could count, and he shared more bedsheets with women he only wanted to forget. Yet Selina had no one. Even her own father regarded her as a prize for the highest bidder to win. It wasn’t until the last few weeks that his cousin Gemma had befriended her, and his own mother had taken Selina under her wing. In fact, his mother carried on about how wonderful Lady Selina was. The rest of his family still refused to embrace her. They kept her at arm’s length, waiting for her to strike. Yet she hadn’t. She smiled with the grace of a true duchess, displaying her patience through every snide remark. Pride didn’t even begin to describe what he held for her.