Page 59 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“I didn’t run away from you,” she started to clarify. “I ran away from myself.”
She frowned. “From yourself?” That didn’t make any sense. Still, she wanted to give him a chance to explain as much as he wanted, until everything was crystal clear.
“Yes,” he admitted, leaning forward, closer to her. “I… I know that all of this started off badly. No wonder that Reginald doesn’t trust me.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…”
“I know you are trying to help, but it’s all right,” he assured her. She could tell that he was finding it difficult to choose the right words, but he wanted to share everything with her. She waited patiently as she listened intently. “He has every right to be suspicious of me, of my intentions. And there is also something I haven’t told you…”
“What is it?” she asked, fearing the answer.
“The initial reason that I had to marry so fast was my late father’s will,” he explained. “It stated that I had to get married before I turned thirty and I have two years left to bear an heir.”
“What would happen if you failed to do that?” she inquired, waiting for her mind to process this information.
“I would lose all my wealth, my estate, my properties,” he said matter-of-factly. “All I would have would be my title, but that in itself means little without the accompanying wealth.”
“I see,” she said, nodding. “So, basically, you could have married anyone?”
He nodded. “The will didn’t stipulate. I had no limitations in that respect. I just had to be married, that is all.”
“So… why me?” she wondered. “Why go through all of this when you could have married any lady of the ton? I know there have been many eager contestants for that position.”
“There have?” he asked mischievously.
“You know there have,” she smirked, fighting off a smile.
“Well, I only had eyes for you, Catherine,” he said tenderly. “I still do. I know I went about it the wrong way, very wrong way, but I had to rush, and I didn’t want to make the mistake of marrying anyone else. It had to be you.” He paused for a moment, then he continued. “I know I tend to be unbearable when it comes to the things I want. I… I focus and I don’t stop until what I want becomes mine.”
“But you do know that you almost pushed me away with this?” she asked, shaking her head.
“I know,” he nodded. “That was the price I was willing to pay for the rest of my life, to devote my existence to making amends for it, but with you by my side, instead of someone else I would never be able to love.”
Love.
At first, she wasn’t sure she heard him right. Her mind buzzed with excitement as it processed the word, finally accepting it as real. He did mention it.
“Love?” she echoed.
“Yes,” he smiled without a second of hesitation. “It is love that I feel for you. I have no other way to explain it. It has been drawing me to you so effortlessly, so powerful that I wasn’t able to resist you since the first time I laid my eyes on you.”
A part of her was still afraid of trusting him. Was this all real? Was this the real him, or would he change again? She couldn’t know. She had to take a risk and trust her instincts. That was how she had been leading her life, trusting her heart.
It never steered her wrong. But then again, she had never been in love. Her heart had led a solitary existence up until that point in life. Now, she was wondering if her heart was to be trusted when it came to someone who had already forced her into something she didn’t want then.
She decided to trust her heart, as she always did. If it turned out to be a mistake, it would be a mistake created out of love, not hate. That was the moment when she knew that she had to behis. Neither of them would be escaping what they both felt was their fate, their destiny.
She gazed into his eyes, and she could see a reflection of her own love, of her own longing that yearned to be satiated right then and there. There was no more waiting. She had to give in.
Chapter 30
“I didn’t want to run away last time,” she heard him say, nearing her dangerously. “I was afraid…”
“And now?” she asked, her breathing hitching in her throat.
“Not anymore,” he smiled, taking her hands in his. “Touch me, Cate… I want your hands on me. I want your lips on mine. I’ve been dreaming of nothing else but you…”
She couldn’t bear to listen to him any longer. Desire completely took over any semblance of logic and reason. She crashed her lips against his, demanding everything of him. Her trembling hands pressed against his muscular chest. She felt his hands wrap around her waist, pulling her closer into himself. His body yearned for hers. She knew that feeling well.
