Page 101 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
“And now?”
He looked down at her lips, then into her eyes. “Now, I think I might burn for the rest of my life trying to keep that promise.”
Her breath hitched slightly, and her eyebrows rose.
He dropped her hand like it had burned him. Like he had not just said the most heart-wrenching things to her.
He stepped back. Away.
“I need to find Nathan,” he muttered, changing the topic. “He’s still your brother, despite what he’s done.”
Lily nodded faintly, her voice stuck somewhere deep in her chest. She wasn’t even sure what to say. And she couldn’t stop him from moving to the door.
But then he paused, turning back slightly. His eyes, so dark and unreadable, met hers one last time.
“I’ll send for you when it’s time to discuss what comes next.”
He didn’t wait for her answer before he disappeared through the door.
And Lily could only stand alone in the silence, her pulse racing. Her skin was still warm from his body heat, from the brush of his thumb against her wrist. From the words he didn’t say, from the way his eyes darkened when they lingered on her lips.
She sank into the nearest chair, her heart pounding in her ears.
Magnus may have walked away, but the fire he stirred didn’t die down.
Her body burned with desire for him that had her clenching her legs to keep still. She nit her lip and closed her eyes to steady herself, vowing that one day soon, he’d stop pretending he didn’t want to burn.
CHAPTER 23
Lily found him in the back courtyard, where the soft morning light shone on his broad frame like a bright halo. His coat was already buttoned, his riding gloves fixed as he moved with that usual confidence that made it seem as if the air itself could not slow him down.
“You weren’t going to tell me you were leaving?” she asked from behind him, her voice sharper than she had intended.
Magnus froze mid-step before glancing over his shoulder at her. His dark gaze swept over her from head to toe, stirring heat in her belly. “Good morning to you, too, Duchess.”
The title landed like a cold rock between them, reminding her of their argument the previous night.
She followed him, despite the bite in his tone. “Looks like you wanted to slip away without being caught?”
“Accurate, then,” he said flatly, adjusting his cuffs without looking at her.
Her breath caught at his tone. “I am your wife.”
She wasn’t sure how long she could use that excuse, but she would. Because it seemed she needed to emphasize the fact more.
He turned to her, and she saw the faintest smirk curving his mouth as though she had said something funny. However, the look in his eyes was anything but amused.
“Are you? The wife who agreed to marry me only because every other option was worse?”
Her lashes fluttered. Where had those words come from?
Yet, she refused to flinch.
“And you? The man who set rules before our vows and now hides behind them like a coward? Those rules also forbid you from telling your wife the truth?!”
The muscle in his jaw ticked, and for a moment, she thought she had gone too far.
However, he stepped closer, so close that his coat and the heat of his body blocked the bitter wind.
