Page 163 of Dukes Are Forever
This was the Malloryn she desired.
The one who claimed her mouth without a single hesitation.
The one who stole her breath—her thoughts—with the heated, slick dart of his tongue.
The one who tenderly brushed her cheek with his thumb as he slowly drew back, looking down into her eyes with an expression she couldn't read.
Her Auvry.
"Thank you. Thank you for fixing them."
He rested his forehead against hers, his breath stirring against her swollen lips. "We've come a long way together. Who would have thought?"
"From threatening castration to stolen kisses," she joked.
"From doing everything to avoid going home, to trying to find where in my house my wife is hidden," he said, his mouth softening into a smile.
"Preferably in your bed."
"Preferably," he agreed.
"Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered, biting her lip.
"I have an entire network of spies at my behest. There's nothing I enjoy more than secrets."
You might not enjoy this one.Adele closed her eyes. "I love you."
He drew back sharply, the humor fleeing from his eyes. "Don't tempt fate—"
She put a finger to his lips, shaking her head. It was time to be brave. "I knowwhyyou don't want me to tell you that. You see it as a burden, as one more weight on your shoulders should I fall."
"Adele—"
"You said it yourself," she whispered. "This is our last chance to be together before we confront him. And I cannot help thinking, what if I don't ever get a chance to say it? I love you, and I'm not afraid to say it. I want to say it."
"It's not a burden," he whispered, cupping her face between his hands. "Never that."
And then he kissed her again.
There was a desperation to his actions; not merely hunger or desire, but something almost frantic.
One hand cupped her bottom, dragging her firmly against him until they were chest to chest, groin to groin.
"You're not going to lose me," Adele promised, the moment he let her come up for air. It haunted every line of him, his hands clinging to her as if he was afraid to let her go, even for an instant. "We are going to defeat Balfour and make him wish he'd never happened upon either of us."
"I just wish he was dead." A shudder ran through him as he stroked his thumb longingly down her side. "I've carried that bastard like a noose around my throat for almost seventeen years. I want to live in a world where his ghost no longer haunts me. I want to...." He clearly sought the right words. "I want to tell my wife how much she means to me."
Those words.
They ricocheted through her like an arrow given flight.
"Does she?" Adele's heart hammered. "Does she mean something to you?"
Malloryn stared down at her, his heart splayed wide in his eyes. And she realized he could not say it. Could not force the words past his lips.
"Everything," he said simply.
Just that.
