Page 69 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
Magnus didn’t respond. He wanted to ask what he had done, yet he stood still, staring at the door.
“Not to be a bore,” Edwin added casually, “but you’re already losing your grip, old friend.”
“Meaning?” Magnus turned back to him.
Edwin smiled into his glass. “You told me this was strictly business. That you could keep your hands to yourself.”
Magnus’s jaw tightened. “And?” he prompted, averting his gaze.
“You can’t,” Edwin stated simply, downing his drink.
Magnus wished he could say his friend was wrong but he knew the man was right as he usualy was but he would be damned before he admitted it to the smug man.
When had he grown into this man devoid of self control?Magnus’s eyes flicked to the window, watching the stormoutside. At that moment, there was only one person he wanted to see.
The storm outside had died down, but the one in Lily’s chest raged still.
She sat at the window in her chamber, watching the wind blow through the trees and ruffle the leaves. For a moment, she envied them.
They must feel very much at peace.
Her thoughts wouldn’t give her that luxury. They kept bouncing around in her head, chasing and dredging up memories of the past few days.
From the moment she signed the marriage contract to her argument with her brother.
Marriage to Magnus.
The words sounded strange in her head, and yet they had sunk deep into her like a stone in water, heavy and final.
She didn’t know what Magnus was thinking, how he had come up with such an idea, and how he could agree to do something so irrevocable just for the sake of protecting her.
And that was what confused her the most. Because each time she saw him, she would catch a flicker of something fierce, protective, even possessive, in his eyes.
And then it would vanish, burrowing deep under the mask he always wore when emotions got too close to the surface.
A soft knock sounded at the door, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned around. “Come in.”
The door opened, and she wasn’t surprised to find Summer there.
Her maid looked hesitant, her eyes scanning the room like she expected something to have changed, simply because Lily’s life had.
“My Lady His grace requests your presence in the blue room.,” she announced.
Lily stood up immediately.
Magnus seldom requested a meeting. He either popped out of the blue or… well, threw some stones at her window to get her attention.
Quickly, she smoothed the front of her gown with fingers that felt too restless to belong to her. “Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”
She didn’t wait for Summer’s response before turning to her mirror.
A moment passed, then another, as she wondered what exactly to expect from a man like Magnus. He had kept his distance since they had signed the marriage contract in such cold civility and now he was seeking her presence?
The blue salon was quiet when she entered, the lamps emitting a low light.
She saw him immediately.
