Page 92 of A Duke for Stealing
For a moment, Everett considered agreeing. Then his memory flashed back to the ball. To the look of utter terror on Rose’s face as she was being dragged into that darkened room. No. He could not wait a moment more.
“I’m sorry, Rose, but no,” he apologized, “I am afraid I cannot.”
Even as Rose finally looked up at him with a pleading look, Everett shook his head and guided her toward the couch in her sitting room. Her brows rose slightly with surprise as he then got down on his knees before her and took her hands into his.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are safe,” he rasped, rubbing his hands over hers, “But as I said earlier, I need to apologize for putting you in harm’s way.”
Rose cast her eyes down again and shook her head.
“It was not your fault,” she replied. “The blame lies with whoever started these awful rumors.”
Everett felt another flash of anger as he recalled his conversation with Ophelia.
“There is blame to be had there, yes,” Everett agreed, “And you and I will get to that shortly. “For now, though, I need to claim my part in today’s tragedy. I hurt you, Rose, and for that I am deeply,deeplysorry.”
“It was I who misunderstood what our marriage was,” Rose replied.
“No, you did not misunderstand anything,” Everett adamantly replied, his grip on her hands tightening.
Rose finally met his eyes again, her brows drawn in confusion.
Everett pulled in a steadying breath, gathering his courage and his thoughts.
“The day you left, you demanded the truth of me,” he began, “You were brave enough to meet my eye and ask me to speak my feelings, and I-I was a coward that day and lied to you.”
Rose went still before him, save for the subtle shake of her head.
“I lied and said I did not love you,” he went on, taking a shuddering breath, “Because the truth was too terrifying for me to accept. That a man like me could be so infatuated with a single person-well, it seemed impossible after the selfishness of life I had otherwise lived.”
“When my brother died and left me my niblings,” he surged on, “I knew I had to provide as normal a life for them as possible. It was the only reason I accepted that I needed to marry. They needed a mother figure as well as a father figure to look after them after all they’d lost. I had foolishly thought that the season’s diamond was the best choice, but I was wrong. And Rose, you saved me from that. You saved my niblings from that.”
“I love Leah and Diana dearly,” Rose replied, her tone achingly soft.
“I know you do,” Everett quickly assured. “And it was you who showed me that I could love them, too. I must confess that, before we married, I saw only duty when it came to my nieces. The duty to raise them, protect them. However, I had not yet formed a bond of love for them.Youdid that, Rose.Youshowed me that I could do more than that. That I could also cherish and love them as if they were my own.”
“Stop,” Rose begged, attempting to slide her hands from his, “Stop making this so difficult for me. You do not need to create such follies so that I will stay and care for the girls. I told you already that I would not leave them.”
“It is no folly,” he hastily replied, refusing to let go of her hands. “That I did not love you was the folly, for I love you, Rose. I love you for the way you care so deeply for my niblings, and I love you even more for the way you care for me. You saw through my tricks and called me out on them. You demanded better of me because you knew I was more than what I was used to.”
Rose parted her lips as if to speak, but Everett rushed on.
“You did not try to force me from my world, but instead chose to trust me to lead you into mind and Rose, when we went to the Devil’s Masquerade, when we shared what we did, it was as if every single thing I had ever wanted, ever dared not even dreamed for, was withinyou.Just you. Not in the arms of many but a single, impossibly amazing person. Do you not see that there is not a single thing you have left undone?
“You have healed my nieces. You have risen to the stature of Duchess with grace, and you have looked into the very core of my rather dark needs. Instead of finding me too difficult, you simply opened your arms and welcomed them all. You areeverything,Rose.Everything.”
Rose’s chin began to wobble again as her eyes began to water. She tried to look away, but Everett leaned forward and gently pressed his forehead to hers.
“I love you, Rose,” he whispered reverently. “And I will never stop apologizing for what my lie did to your precious heart. You never deserved such pain. Not after everything you have done to bring out the best in me, but in my nieces. They are laughingagain, hugging again, because of you. We love you. So very much.”
A sob broke from Rose’s lips as she leaned heavily against him, and Everett could not hold himself back anymore. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her waist, lowering his head into her lap in a forfeiture of power.
“Forgive me, Rose,” he begged, holding her tightly. “Forgive me.”
Rose could not believe her eyes. The once proud rake who at one time would have never bowed to a woman was now on his knees, his head in her lap, and begging for her forgiveness. Everett had said everything she had ever wanted to hear from him. That he loved her. That he saw her. That he saw that she not only accepted his darker needs, but took joy in being a part of them. Even now, with her heart still teetering between belief and doubt, her body yearned for those deliciously wicked acts they’d once shared.
“I want to believe you,” she confessed.
Unable to hold back from touching him anymore, she delved her fingers into his soft brown hair, stroked the back of his scalp as her other hand moved over his back.
