Page 57 of A Duke Changes Everything
The maze walls towered over her, and Mina felt a surge of trepidation when she started inside. The leafy walls that had often been her haven felt ominous now. She trailed her fingers along the leaves, letting the sharp edges of glossy foliage ground her.
“Nicholas,” she called out weakly.
The name on the trunk. The boy who’d been sent away. The man she couldn’t imagine leaving Enderley in a few days’ time.
She called his name again, her voice stronger.
“Mina?”
His reply made her so happy her knees wobbled. But he was too far away, and she had no idea which direction.
“Where are you?” She came to a fork in the maze, a choice of paths, and took the one to the left. “Call out again.”
“Stay where you are, and I’ll come to you.” His voice sounded clearer.
Mina couldn’t make herself stop. She kept striding forward, compelled to reach him. “I’ll find you.”
The rumble of a chuckle carried on the breeze. “Mercy, you are a stubborn woman.”
“I preferdetermined.” Another fork came, and she chose the right path. No logic drove her. Just instinct. And the faint scent of his cologne on the air.
“Shall we start a list of your qualities? I know how you like lists.”
Mina stopped and turned back. His voice came from behind her. She circled back, stretching her legs, striding faster. The teasing tone of his voice soothed her. “Go on then. Make your list.”
“Stubborn,” he started. “Impulsive. Determined. I’ll add that at your request.”
Mina rushed toward the sound of his voice, turned a corner, and slammed into the firm, warm wall of his chest.
“Irresistible,” he whispered against her hair.
Everything she wished to say, all the questions she needed to ask, stalled on her tongue. She didn’t want words. She just needed to hold him. Slipping her hands inside his overcoat, she stroked up the satiny back of his waistcoat, and tucked her cheek against his body.
He grunted and then melted against her. Arms locked tight, he pulled her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head. Mina was grateful he simply held her, saying nothing.
She didn’t want the moment to end. Their heartbeats seemed to synchronize in a comforting rhythm. Then he dipped a hand into the messy bun at her nape. His fingers blazed a trail of sensation extending down her spine, sending ripples of warmth down her legs.
“Mina?” he murmured.
“I don’t want to talk.” No words for now. She needed his heat and nearness, and to offer her own. Just this small bit of comfort and affection. To push away all the rest. She needed to get as close as she could to this version of him that he showed only to her. Lifting her head, she rose on the toes of her boots and kissed the edge of his jaw.
He groaned and bent to capture her mouth. With one hand he pulled her closer. The other dipped down to cup her bottom. All the hesitation of the night before was gone. He was out for plunder. One kiss became another, each fiercer than the last. He slid his tongue inside to taste her deeply. She learned quickly, nibbling his lower lip as he’d nibbled hers. Darting her tongue out to tangle with his.
Her fingers found the buttons of his waistcoat and she slipped two free, then the buttons of his shirt below. She gasped when she touched his bare chest. He was so warm, every hard plane of muscle, every smooth stretch of skin heated her fingertips.
He unfastened her buttons too, starting at the top of her blouse and working his way down until he reached the edge of her chemise. His fingers danced gently over the bare skin of her throat and neck, then lower to cup her breast.
Mina hissed and arched into his palm. “Nicholas.”
He pressed his forehead to hers as he had the night before, then pulled back to look in her eyes. His brow dipped in a frown. “Mina, what’s wrong? You’ve been crying. Tell me why.”
So many questions perched on the tip of her tongue, the heartache of what he’d been through weighing her down, yet she couldn’t speak. The last time she’d mentioned the tower, he’d stormed off in anger.
Yet she knew this—kissing him, holding him—was a mirage. He would go and she would remain at Enderley, and nothing would change their fates. But she wanted as much as she could have of him first.
“Tell me,” he insisted, placing a kiss on her brow. Another at her temple. A heated brush of his lips on the tip of her nose.
“I can’t.”
