Page 38 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
“I love you, Luke,” she repeated, and she meant it more than she had meant anything she had ever said before.
“Then let’s stop this, before it goes too far,” he said. “We must do this the right way.”
She nodded, disappointed but also grateful for Luke’s sensibility and respect. She let herself slide from him until she lay at his side, her head resting on his chest.
“You’re right,” she whispered. “As much as it pains me to say it.”
“I know,” he said, stroking her arm. “Believe me, I would dearly love to get carried away. But my love for you is so much more than that, and I do not dare risk it for one night of passion. We are stronger than that, Alison.”
She tilted her head up and she could just make out his face, smiling down at her.
“You just keep getting better, do you know that, Luke Jones?”
He chuckled.
“I’m glad you think so.”
They lay in silence for a long while, each basking in the other’s presence. Alison felt as though she truly belonged here, wrapped up in his arms, and her eyes drifted closed as she fell into a light and contented sleep. She didn’t dream; she didn’t need to. She was already living her dream.
“Alison,” Luke whispered after a time. She jumped awake, suddenly alert.
“What, what is it?”
“It’s all right,” he said, chuckling again. “But dawn is approaching. We don’t want to be found. This isn’t the right way.”
She sat up, rubbing at her eyes.
“You’re right,” she said. “I shall return to my bed, and when I wake in the morning, Teresa and I shall go see my parents. We’ll persuade them to let us marry.”
She climbed to her feet, pulling stray straw from her hair and looking down at the man she loved. He looked so relaxed, smiling up at her with his hands behind his head. It took all her strength to turn away instead of lying back down beside him.
“Alison, wait,” he said, sitting up. She spun back round to face him.
“What is it?”
“I… what if your parents don’t agree?”
She crouched down and kissed him gently, a parting gift and a reminder that she loved him.
“Well, then we’ll find another way, My Love,” she said.
