Page 44 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
“It won’t.”
“No,” Magnus agreed quietly. “But it’ll make him feel better.”
Lily turned slowly, her eyes meeting his. “I can’t change his mind.”
“I know,” he said in the same quiet tone.
“But do you think I should?”
Magnus didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The silence between them and the look in his eyes said enough.
Suddenly, she hated how comforting his presence was. Hated how soothing it was to have him standing there, understanding her better than Nathan ever could.
How badly she wanted to lean into that comfort, if only for a moment.
Breaking whatever spell had descended over her, she crossed the room, brushing past him. “I need some tea.”
But before she reached the door, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop.
“Lily.”
She blinked once. His touch was light, barely there, but it burned like a brand.
When she looked up, she found that look on his face—the one that reflected the tension between them. The kiss they had refused to mention again.
Magnus held her gaze for a breath—maybe two—and her pulse thundered in her throat.
However, he let her go just as quickly.
“Get your tea,” he said softly. “But stay clear of Bailey. You laugh like hell when you’re amused, and he’ll never survive it.”
She blinked at his words. But when she turned and made for the door, she smiled, just a little.
CHAPTER 11
Magnus left the house before breakfast was cleared. He didn’t bother with excuses, though Nathan mentioned something about staying for tea with Lady Crowhurst and her tedious daughters.
He needed air, not irrelevant conversations with nosy twins.
The air he needed was not the kind he would find in drawing rooms with heavy drapes and heavier expectations. Not in Lily’s shaky breaths when her eyes looked at him like she wasn’t sure whether to hate him or beg him to stay.
He hurried out of the house, the crunch of gravel under his boots his only companion. He moved past the hedgegrows, the weathered fields, walking as fast as possible.
He needed distance from the house, from Nathan, from her.
Especially her.
The sun hung like a punishment above him, glaring down on the estate as if it knew every secret buried in its soil.
It had been a week since Ronald Bailey’s visit, and the heat hadn’t broken in days, reminding him of the tension between him and Lily.
However, as he walked, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
It had been easier when she was just Nathan’s sister. When she was just Cecilia’s friend. But now, she had dimensions. Edges. Every single thing about her did. Her voice, the way she moved like she was always holding something back, and the genuineness of her smile when it wasn’t directed at him.
He had tried to stay detached. God knows he’d tried. But then she had stood in that drawing room, fire in her eyes and desperation thick in her voice, and he knew. The same way he would know when a storm was coming. Inevitable. Unstoppable.
“You deserve more.”
