Page 72 of His Ruined Duchess

“Good,” Hugh whispered, and then they kissed again. And again and again.

Epilogue

“That was a rather uneventful ceremony,” Hugh remarked, and Selina turned to him in the carriage with a grin, all of her nerves singing a melody that she would float on for ages.

“That is because it was not interrupted. I dare say that if your metric for judging the eventfulness of a wedding is based on the last one you ‘attended’then you shall think them all rather dull.”

Selina smiled with a chuckle as Hugh leaned over in the seat, taking her chin and kissing her passionately. They were married. After a busy month of planning, apologizing to Magnus even more, and smoothing what ruffles she could with her friends and the ton, Hugh and Selina were, in fact, married.

And blissfully happy to boot.

Before his arrival into her life, Selina would have thought a marriage of love completely out of the question for her, and it was very nearly so. Had Hugh not rushed into the church, shewas not sure what the future might have held. She was going to go after him herself, of course, but it was his display that had eased the priest’s tension surrounding marrying them.

He’d seen how genuine Hugh was, and it had “touched his withered, old heart.” His words.

So this morning, she had wed her true love in front of her family and friends—though her dear Ethel was still missing which pained her considerably—in the same church where she had been set to marry Magnus. He was taking the entire thing rather well in fact. He was disappointed that he would still require a wife to help care for Kitty, but he was not crushed or heartbroken.

She could remember the day when they’d spoken about everything, and the well wishes Magnus had left her with.

“I saw the way he looked at you, Selina.” Magnus squeezed her hand. “I know love when I see it by now. After Charlotte and Frederick, Amelia and Richard, and now you, it has become increasingly easy to spot when one of my friends is head over heels in love with someone. I truly wish you only the best. I shall simply require a new partner to join me.”

“Thank you, Magnus.” She embraced him, kissing his cheek. “You are a dear friend, and I only hope that you, too, are able to find love.”

“We shall see.”

Selina made a mental note to herself to enquire with him again in the coming days. She would also reach out to Ethel because the worry surrounding her absence had grown monumentally.

The carriage bumped into a rather large divot in the road, and as the coach jostled, it launched Selina toward Hugh. They laughed together, and he kept her there, holding her in his arms and pressing her to his chest. Time slowed as Selina looked up into her new husband’s eyes. That familiar stirring of desire tingled through her entire body. She wanted him, and they were so close to the estate.

“And just what are you thinking about, dearest?” Hugh cocked a brow as he stared into her eyes, his own already gleaming with mischievous intent.

“Hmm,” Selina hummed against him, lifting herself up so that she could brush her lips over Hugh’s, “that I would very much like to be alone with my husband.”

Hugh cast his glance around the interior of the carriage, smirking when he returned his eyes to hers and took her chin between his fingers.

“Are you not? I do not see anyone else but you, Selina dear.”

Selina chuckled, her insides flaring with heat as Hugh’s expression grew darker and increasingly lustful. His other hand traveled down her side where he held her toward her back, reaching lower and lower until his hand gripped the swell of her arse. He squeezed, eliciting a tiny yelp from her.

“You are terrible. We are in the coach, and there is only a short time before we reach the estate.”

Hugh grinned, but it was all hungry and wanton. “Not short enough.”

Crashing his lips against hers, Hugh claimed her mouth passionately once more, but it was so much more intense than the last kiss. Selina melted into his touch, moaning quietly as the worry of being caught drifted into the background to become a slight buzz of concern. It stood no chance against the boiling arousal that pumped through her as Hugh tangled his tongue with hers.

The state coach they rode in, a special choice for their wedding day, had only a single window in the door, and the privacy it provided was actually quite robust. Selina mentally thanked whoever had designed the vehicle because Hugh proved, yet again, that he was not a patient man when it came to his passions.

And he did have such a fondness for the thrill of potential discovery.

Selina was lost to the unending kisses, the way her new husband caressed her neck and breasts as he roamed his touch over her backside. After a few moments, she was desperate for breath and leaned back. It only served to open her neck up for him, and Hugh lavished her with kisses and playful bites.

“Hugh… oh, my…” Her eyes rolling closed, Selina allowed herself to drape backward, Hugh’s strong hold keeping her from falling.

“Shh, my dear,” he rumbled, his words thrumming against her skin. “I intend to have you falling apart for me at least once before we arrive home, and I shall require yourdiscretion.”

“I am not sure if?—”

But her words were silenced as Hugh pulled her up to his mouth for a kiss, only to spin her around in his lap, bunching up the layers of her dress. Her back pressed to his chest, and Hugh immediately dropped his lips to her throat, and his hands explored her thoroughly. One gripped her breast, freeing her nipple from the fabric of her gown by lifting her breast out of the cloth prison. The other reached around her hip and between her legs, disappearing under the skirt of her dress.

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