Page 35 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
Instead, she moved closer to him, inhaling his masculine scent with her eyes closed.
Chapter 18
She is supposed to go home,Alexander reminded himself.The sooner, the better.
Yet, he could not let go of her, not now that he had her in his arms. This was more than just physical intimacy and their arrangement. He listened to the sound of her breathing, although he knew that, just like him, she was not sleeping. She was lost in deep thought.
“Everything seems so much less complicated at night, in the darkness,” he said, not really certain why. Perhaps he was merely talking to himself aloud. But she stirred at the sound of his voice.
“It does,” she replied, her warm breath spilling onto his shoulder. Instinctively, he pulled her closer, wrapping them both with a blanket. She was shivering, although he could not tell whether it was from the cold or something else.
“Usually, people fear the dark,” he mused.
“There are other things to be feared, worse things,” she said. The darkness swallowed her words, but he heard her.
“What do you fear, Anna?” he asked, thoughtful. He wanted to know so he could keep her safe from all harm.
She didn’t respond immediately. He gave her all the time she needed. When she actually spoke, she surprised him with her response.
“I fear losing control over my destiny,” she admitted, her voice trailing off.
“Do you feel like you are not in control?” he urged her to open up.
“Yes,” she confessed in a voice that was now down to a whisper. “My father chose my husband for me. Now, even my dead husband seems to be dictating my destiny. I… I dream of a world where we are not confined by the constraints of status, where we can freely choose our path.”
Alexander was captivated by her honesty, that she was willing to make herself so vulnerable at a moment like this.
“I know what it feels like to have someone… well, in my case something else dictate your destiny,” he revealed, staring at the window and the thin trickles of moonlight that spilled into the room.
“Something” she echoed, confused.
“Yes, something,” he confirmed. “When people meet me, they do not see me but rather my title, the long line of ancestors I have come from. I am not an individual but merely a prolonging of my bloodline, and my title has always been the one thing all my decisions are based on.”
He could feel her lifting her head from his shoulder, so he looked down. Their eyes locked, and despite the dim light, he could see her clearly.
“I never thought of it like that,” she confessed.
He smiled. “People always think me very fortunate. And in a way, I am. But… I’m not free. I suppose no one really is.”
“It is enough to be able to make just a few decisions on your own,” she continued. “That would give you the feeling of liberty.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” He nodded softly. “So, that is your wish? To have freedom?”
“One of many wishes, yes…”
“Tell me another one,” he told her.
“You first,” she replied playfully.
He thought about it for a moment and remembered a simple wish he had been dreaming of for years. “I do have one, but… no… you’ll laugh.”
She lifted her head off his shoulder again and rested it against her hand, staring at him. “I won’t,” she promised. “Tell me.”
He inhaled deeply, pulling the words out of the deepest recesses of his forgotten heart. It was something he had never told anyone, not even Tom. It was too silly to talk about.
“When I was a small boy,” he started, choosing his words, “I had this dog. It was a greyhound by the name of Winston.”
“Winston?” She chuckled.
