Page 90 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
“You deserve more than?—”
“Than what?” she cut in, rounding on him. “Than a man who wants me?”
Magnus stood up and nodded once. “Than a man who married you when you didn’t want to marry at all.”
She blinked. “That’s not what I said.”
“No,” he said softly, stepping closer, “but it is whatyoufelt. I saw it in your eyes, Lily. I still see it in your eyes.”
“And yet you still want me.”
His mouth tightened. “Wanting isn’t the same as deserving.”
She shook her head. “What nonsense. Desire isn’t shameful, Magnus.”
“It is,” he said, “when it clouds your judgment. When it drives you to madness. When it hurts the very thing you’re trying to protect.”
Lily’s chest ached with something raw and fierce. “Is that what I am to you? A thing you’re trying to protect from… yourself?”
He didn’t answer. The silence was confirmation enough. But when he finally found his voice, he could only utter her name.
“Lily—”
“Don’t,” she interrupted, swallowing hard. “Don’t you dare tell me that you care if you intend on keeping that part of yourself locked away.”
“Better that than opening it and destroying everything in its wake.”
She turned to face him fully. “Why did you marry me, Magnus?”
The words were so quiet, they barely escaped her lips. And yet, they slammed into him with the force of a storm.
She looked up at him, her chin trembling slightly. “Why me? Why marry me and set all these rules?”
He opened his mouth, hoping he would be brave enough to tell her the truth he had once told Cecila. The fear that he might have fallen in love with her.
But then he closed his mouth, because the truth was too messy. Too heavy. Too much.
“I told you,” he replied, eventually. “Because you needed someone. And I could give you the manor?—”
“Liar,” she scoffed. “Tell me the real reason, or don’t. But don’t expect me to keep waiting for someone who won’t let himself want me.”
And then she turned on her heel and stomped to the door. But just before she stepped out into the hallway, she looked over her shoulder and said the one thing that would haunt him long into the night.
“Because I might not wait for too long.”
Then, she disappeared into the shadows.
CHAPTER 21
The days dragged on like a waltz ascribed to the wrong tempo.
Lily had never considered herself a particularly patient woman, but the game she was playing with Magnus tested every ounce of her patience. She had vowed to make him crack. She would seduce him, tempt him, drive him to the edge of reason. And yet, maddeningly, he remained composed, cool, unaffected. Or so he pretended.
By the fourth day of this infuriating dance, she had begun to wonder if her entire plan had been foolish. Or desperate.
Her confidence wavered, and sometimes she wondered if it was better to abide by his rules.
But then came the evening of the charity gala. It was their first public appearance as the Duke and Duchess. And if shewere going down in defeat, then by heaven, she would do so spectacularly.
