Page 84 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
He loved her.
The realization had dawned on him so gradually that when he finally understood what this pain of missing her meant, he no longer had it in him to doubt.
He loved her.
And although she had not said it back again, he read it in her eyes, in her smile, and in the soft way she still held his hand.
He was the luckiest man on earth, and he would never again do anything to compromise that happiness. At least with her. The thought of what Nicholas might have done—that level of betrayal—was enough to chill him to the bone.
“I suppose it is,” he said, turning his fingers and lacing them through hers. “Though I’m relieved to have you back, wife.”
“Well, I’m relieved you saw sense and apologized, husband.” Her small laugh was warm, and her fingers wrapped around his hand, so small and pale. “I thought I would have to live in my father’s house forever.”
“And the idea was unpalatable?”
“It was when I considered precisely what I was missing out on.” She tilted her head. “You know, I used to be content with it.”
“Living in your father’s house?” he asked, mesmerized by the movement of her soft, pink lips.
“Living with my motherandmy father. Aurelia is a dear, and I will miss her.”
“You are close,” he observed.
That had been evident from the beginning when she had volunteered to take her sister’s place.
“Closer than I could have imagined being with anyone.”
The coy glance she gave him implied that no longer was true, and he gave her a mystified smile, because it hardly seemed possible that this wonderful, beautiful woman could hold him in such high regard.
If he had his entire life to make it up to her, it would not be enough time.
“How much did you miss me?” she asked coyly.
“More than you could possibly imagine,” he said immediately. There was no pride to be won here. “More than I ever thought I could miss another person.”
Another person who wasn’t his mother or brother, both of whom he would never see again. That was a different kind of ache.
She smiled as she slid closer, slipping onto his lap and pushing her skirts to one side. Her breath was warm and sweet against his lips, and even without more than a simple touch, he already ached from wanting her.
If it was not wildly impractical, he would take her here. Damn, he desperately wanted to lift her skirts and sink deep inside her, to see her become his. A primal urge to hold her throat until her eyes rolled back in pleasure and she told him that she belonged to him.
His blood thrummed at the thought.
“Kiss me,” she murmured, and he did not wait a moment before obliging her.
Her lips were soft under his, parting on an exhale, and although he had intended to be tender and show her precisely how much she meant to him, his body took control, and he deepened the kiss, one hand sliding possessively to the nape of her neck as he tilted her head and held her in place.
She moaned, clinging to his shoulders, and he reached past her to draw the curtains.
“I love you,” he told her as he kissed up her jaw, finding the delicate skin below her ear and grazing it with his teeth. She shivered. “My wife.”
“Yours,” she whispered.
“When this is over, I will show you precisely how you are mine.”
She shifted her hips, pressing against his arousal, and he growled in frustration that he couldn’t have her now.
“I do not want to wait,” she said, baring her throat to him. “Adam… I do not want to wait.”
