Page 83 of The Untamed Duke
The vehemence in his tone was stunning. It took Grace’s breath away. Exhibiting a calm she did not feel, with an inborn dignity she never knew she possessed, she turned very slowly, very carefully. Knees trembling, eyes blinded by scalding hot tears, she sought escape even as her heart pounded with dizzying defeat.
His low curses poisoned the air as the study door closed behind her with a soft click.
Leaning against the wood, Grace waited until her wobbly legs regained their strength, choking back sobs of anguish, still clutching that bit of paper in her hand.He let me go. Even though he loves me, he let me go.
The fierce roar erupting from the room was not surprising, neither was the crack of glass shattering against the wood behind her.
Maybe it was another tumbler or perhaps the heavier bottle he hurled. Grace wasn't sure, but the solid oak door rocked on its very hinges. The punctuation of his rage penetrated her stupor. Glancing at the paper in her hand, every cell and nerve ending within her abruptly awakened. Heart clenching, pulse racing madly, she reached a decision. Fatal perhaps, but a decision nonetheless.
He is mine, and I am his. He needs me.
Grace straightened. Clenched her fist even tighter. With methodical movements, she tore Skye’s ownership paper to shreds. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew the contract they’d both signed and ripped it up in the same fashion. And slowly, ever so slowly, she destroyed the release of Bellmar’s encumbrance. She’d come this far, and Nicholas display of resistance wouldn't stop her. It was time she tamed His Grace.
Nicholas loved her. She knew it. He knew it.
She would make him see by throwing down her gauntlet.
Chapter 33
How blind I am
Heedless of her worth
She is gold
Jewels
Treasure
And I am but a thief
Stealing her breath and she has stolen mine
~Nicholas August Harris March
Ninth Duke of Richeforte
Nicholas did not carethat an expensive silk ascot was being used as a bandage. All he could see was the overwhelming hurt in Grace’s eyes when he threw her love away as if it were worthless. His heart throbbed as painfully as his hand.
He needed another drink, and he would venture down into the cellars himself to fetch a new bottle. He had no fear of encountering Grace. He was positive she’d hurried away as fast as her legs could manage, at this very moment on her way back home. Back to the estate, now free and clear of any debt. Riding the horse he’d given her.
The door swung open, Grace blocking the entrance. She resembled an avenging angel in her pretty, light blue riding habit, all that hair spilling from its proper bun, the sunshine hued tendrils flowing over her shoulders. Burning with amber gold fire, her eyes held his. She clenched the shredded remnants of Skye’s papers and something else. He saw his own handwriting scrawled across a scrap of paper fluttering onto the carpet.
The contract and encumbrance release he’d signed. All of it ripped to shreds.
It was just as well she destroyed it and he would have destroyed the original encumbrance if he had it before him. A written document stating his intention had already been sent to his barristers. The one he’d given her was merely a copy. He wanted her to have everything. The house, the stables, the horses. He should have given it all to her at the very beginning. Before he fell in love with her. Before she fell in love with him.
“I told you to go.” His voice was more subdued, the previous bout of agonizing temper leaching the piss right out of him. “Live your life as you see fit. Now, there is no need for you to marry anyone. There is no contract, nothing binding us together. I forfeited the encumbrance. I sent the original document stating so to my barristers already. Your stables will be rebuilt at my expense and I’ve granted the Queen’s own architect carte blanche. Whatever is necessary for the improvement of the structure, he will see to it. It will be outfitted as grand as any stables in England. That is all I can give you, Grace. There is nothing else.”
In answer, Grace leaned against the door. She reached behind with one hand and deliberately turned the key. Pulled it from the lock and dropped it into the pocket of her riding habit.
“Grace.” His heavy sigh carried all the pain coursing through his body. “What are you doing? This changes nothing.”
Grace advanced until her soft warmth surrounded him. Hands braced against his chest, her fingers splayed across the broad, muscled expanse. Nicholas hoped she could not feel how furiously his heart was beating.
”I’ve no desire for a life without you,” she said with quiet desperation. “If you keep pushing me away, I will only continue coming back.” Her hands moved up, clinging to his shoulders, keeping him from sinking into some deep, dark vortex from which there was no return. She was a lifeline, an anchor he must cut loose. When his jaw tightened, something wild and sweet flared in Grace’s eyes, a spark twisted from honeyed hope. “I don’t care about our arrangement, or that you might change your mind and keep my home. None of that matters as much to me as you do. However you want me is how I will come to you. I love you, Nicholas. I love you.”
"Well, you shouldn't. There's no point to it, is there? You’d do well if you forgot you ever knew me. Don't you understand, Grace? I have kissed you with such deception, you will never have another man's lips on yours without tasting mine. I’ve taken everything from you with no intention of giving anything in return.” He brushed the fringe of hair from her forehead, tucking a long strand of gold silk behind a delicate ear.
