Page 30 of The Wolf and the Wildflower
“I believe the duchess is merely eager for things to return to how they were.”
“Life changes and we adapt.”
“It is normal to seek comfort and reassurance in the familiar,” she said softly.
The duke reached behind and removed a large knife from somewhere off his body and sliced the bird a few times. “I’ve indulged in a few bites each evening. The duchess seems happy with it.”
“Do you find the notion of explaining yourself to the duchess unpleasant?”
The duke stilled. “Explain what?”
“That you find comfort in the woodlands and in being alone because you have existed so for a long time. That your palate has changed, and it might take years for you to eat such rich cream and sauces again. Perhaps she does not understand it in full because you have not taken the time to explain it to her.”
The duke’s expression was inscrutable as he stared at her for long moments. “You are perceptive, Southby.”
“Does that scare you?”
“I am afraid of nothing,” he said with a touch of arrogance. “Lest a small thing like yourself that barely clears five feet. My thoughts alone can swat you away, Wildflower.”
Wildflower?Jules’s heart shook, and she lowered her head to hide her expression. “Is this to be my new moniker, Your Grace?”
“It suits.”
Do not ask, it is unimportant. “Why does it suit?” she said, ignoring the voice of logic.
“Wildflowers grows in places least expected. They are resilient, determined, some might even say unbreakable, their scent myriad and inexplicable.”
Is that how you see me, Jules silently asked. She took in a breath, feeling absurdly shy. “Very well…Wolfe.”
The way he regarded her almost pushed Jules into squirming. She stilled the reaction and held that unflinching regard, knowing it was very important to not be perceived as easily intimidated or stirred. She had the conviction that if she showed the slightest weakness, he would dismiss her from his thoughts. Somehow Jules knew he valued strength…and she wanted to exist in his awareness.
It was an innate impulse that guided her and not science, yet Jules obeyed that silent drive urging her to match his intensity. His instincts were clearly honed to predatory…and he must never believe her to be prey.
“I should also inform you I am incapable of beingswatted,” she drawled.
The space between them crackled with challenge. Those brilliant eyes skipped over her face as if he searched for depths he was certain remained unsounded. The grimness left his mouth, and he smiled. She felt that small smile way down in her belly, an unanticipated curl of heat that blossomed outward and set her heart to racing.
Five times since entering the woods, he smiled, Jules absurdly thought.
“I’ll ensure I am gentle with you, Wildflower, so you do not break.”
Her heart stuttered hard. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll discover.”
“You do not like explaining yourself to others, do you?”
“I know it to be an existence unsuited to a man of my temperament.”
She made a gesture with her hand. “What temperament is that?”
The eyes looking down into hers were suddenly bored and a little cold. Jules couldn’t help feeling as if she prodded a wounded beast who had no notion it was indeed injured. She held his regard, knowing it was very important that she did not shy away from him or act scared in the face of his grim visage.
How strange this dance between us is.
“The stillness that I’ve lived with seems to have gone,” he murmured. “I liked that stillness.”
“Would you tell me about it?”
