Page 135 of One Fine Duke

She read it over and over, as if in the reading she could conjure him to her side.

She longed to hear him read the words to her.

Damn you, Drew, she whispered. Why are you so far away?

Because she’d pushed him away. She’d fled when she should have stayed and talked things through with him.

She hadn’t given him a chance to explain, to apologize. She’d run away, not because of what he’d done, but because she’d been afraid of how much she loved him.

Afraid that loving him meant losing herself.

A knock sounded on the door of the shed. It would be Crankshaw bringing her a beverage, or telling her it was time for supper. The light was fading. She’d stayed too long.

She dried her eyes. “Enter.”

“Is this shed occupied?”

Deep voice. Dark hair and glowing eyes. Broad shoulders ducking to enter the shed.

Holy Hell, he was handsome.

Mine.All mine. “Drew, what are you doing here? I thought you would be supervising the harvest.”

“I couldn’t stay away any longer, Mina. I tried, but I couldn’t last one more day. I had to see you.”

“Then you can make yourself useful and read this to me.” She handed him the notebook.

His gaze met hers. He began to recite from the notebook without glancing at the writing, drawing nearer with every word, every step. “I love you, Mina Penny, because you hide scarlet dresses in garden sheds and because you have a wicked little pistol hidden in your reticule.”

He was close enough to touch now, filling the shed with his oversized presence and his rich voice. Filling her with longing.

“I love you because if there’s a hidden chamber, you’ll find it,” he continued. “And if there’s a lock, you’ll pick it. I admire how you stay calm while pinioned upon impolite chairs. I’m in awe of the way you decipher codes and brave hailstorms of bullets. You’re kind to Beatrice. You make me laugh. And when I look at London through your eyes, I see that there is magic here, after all.”

She dashed a tear away from her cheek. She knew what came next but she couldn’t wait to hear it. She’d never tire of hearing it.

“I love you, Mina Penny, because you unlocked me and discovered a hidden chamber in my heart. I can never go back to the darkness. And I will never stop loving you.”

“Drew,” she said. “I think I’m going to kiss you now.”

And she did.

After dreaming of this moment for weeks, Mina was finally in Drew’s arms. He meant to savor every second slowly, memorize it for the future, but when her soft lips touched his, all rational thought flew away.

He kissed her with the pent-up longing of a man who’d had a brief taste of paradise, and would sell his very soul for more.

She still loved him. They would find a way to be together.

He wound his arms around her and molded their bodies together. Her curves melting into his angles. Her hands twined in his hair, pressing him closer. She was small in stature, but she kissed fiercely.

When they paused for air, because they couldn’t live on kisses alone, she beamed at him, her smile bright enough to replace the fading sun. “There’s magic in Cornwall, as well,” she said. “I felt it. It’s majestic and powerful. Just like you.”

He wanted to show her just how powerful he was. Lift her into his arms, carry her into the house, over the threshold, and to the nearest bed, but they needed to continue this conversation with words first.

Beds later.

“I would never ask you to give up your dreams,” he said.

“Sometimes dreams require a bit of modification, just like timepieces. There’s more than one kind of spy. Uncle Malcolm visited me and he agreed to train me. I’ll be happy behind the scenes, cracking codes and inventing more ethical weaponry. I have no taste for bloodletting.”

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