Page 17 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Her body was hers again. No, not hers.

It was his!

Shrinking away from the unexpected sensations, she stepped back. “I’ll just…grab a shower.”

And then she spun around, turning on her heel and rushing to the bedroom again.

Vaguely, she noticed several other doors on each side of the hall. Were there bedrooms behind each of these doors? Good grief! And this was only half the house! There were five doors on each side of the hallway with a lot of space between each door! At the end of the hallway, there was a set of double doors. Was that Edward’s room?

She rushed through the still-open door of the pretty, lemon-colored room and pushed the door closed, leaning against it as she fought to get her breathing back under control. Her frantic reaction wasn’t because of her race down the hallway. Instinctively, she knew that she was out of breath because of that heated look from Edward.

“Darn it!” she gasped, pushing away from the door and stomping into the bathroom. It was another sunny room with skylights that made the most of the early morning sunshine. She flipped on the overhead shower, then stripped off the satin night shirt.

After a quick shower, she stepped out and dried off, then left the steaming bathroom. This time, there wasn’t a new outfit neatly folded on her bed, but she looked over at the various bags that had mysteriously appeared in the bedroom. Walking over, she peered inside at the options. This time, she chose a blousy, cotton shirt and another pair of soft leggings. Thankfully, there was also a nursing bra. This one wasn’t nearly as ugly as the ones she’d bought from the discount store. But it still wasn’t particularly appealing. Not nearly as pretty as the lacy pieces she used to wear.

She pulled the thing on with a small sigh, then dressed in the new clothes. There was also a bit of makeup, but the shades weren’t right, so she just used the powder and mascara, feeling better.

There wasn’t much she could do with her hair, so she grabbed the hair band and pulled it into yet another messy bun. Until she was back home and had access to her styling tools, she wouldn’t…!

Abrupt grief tore through her as she remembered there were no more styling tools. Everything she owned was burned to ashes.

“Darn it!” she muttered, then turned away from her reflection in the mirror. “Decision day!” she announced as she walked out of the bathroom. Slipping into her comfy old sneakers, she lifted her chin and forced herself to go downstairs to Edward.

Edward kept glancing up at the balcony, waiting for another peek at Macie. First thing in the morning, she’d looked…tousled. There was no other word to describe her beauty. Those long, dark locks had been mussed, wisps flying up around her head and neck. The satin night shirt hadn’t hidden much from his view either. Especially not when those newly enlarged breasts tightened so the nipples pressed against the shiny material.

He'd always thought that skimpy, lacy negligees were the epitome of sexual enticement. He had to revise that opinion now. Satin was clearly a better option!

Before he could brace himself for another appearance, Macie was coming down the stairs. This time, her hair was wet, which was still sexy, and she wore a billowing shirt with leggings that showed off her trim legs and adorable ass.

Another opinion blasted to hell. He’d always loved a woman in a pair of jeans. But now he was revising his preference to leggings. There wasn’t anything better than a woman’s legs and ass showcased by the tight spandex.

“Good morning,” she ventured, her tone and the lowered lashes indicating that she felt shy.

“Good morning,” he replied, trying to stop his eyes from moving over her. Again. “Did you sleep well?”

She thought about it for a moment, those green eyes lighting with that familiar sparkle. “Yes,” she finally replied. “I slept extremely well.” She glanced at Kyle. “He didn’t wake up last night?”

“He did. But I had him in my bedroom so I fed him a bottle.” He stood up with Kyle in his arms, snuggling the tiny boy against his shoulder. “I know that you said something about needing to nurse him, but you were so exhausted last night, you barely even made it to bed. So I made the decision to take care of him instead of waking you.” He glances down at her breasts, then back to her eyes. “I hope that’s okay.”

She smiled and he noticed that the dark circles were nearly gone from underneath her eyes.

“That was truly kind of you.”

“You look better. Are you hungry?”

“Very.” She grinned. “Are you going to make me another grilled cheese sandwich?”

He chuckled, enjoying her teasing. “Not a chance. I asked my housekeeper to come in, even though it’s Sunday.” He lifted a hand, stopping the objection. “I know you said that you didn’t want the villagers to gossip, but Ms. Kealy is very discreet. She’s worked for my family longer than I’ve been alive. We can trust her. I promise.”

He watched as Macie nervously fisted her hands at her sides, then slowly extended her fingers again. Edward hadn’t realized how tense he’d been until she nodded her approval.

“Fine.Thank you.”

“Good,” he replied. “How about some French toast for breakfast?” he offered. “I don’t know what Ms. Healy puts in her batter, but it’s seriously the best I’ve ever had.”

Edward led Macie into the kitchen and introduced her to his housekeeper. “It’s a huge pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kealy. I’ve heard a great deal about you. Apparently, you have magical powers with French toast.”

“Oh pish!” the elderly woman exclaimed, blushing as she gave Edward a sidelong glance. “His Grace is just stuffing things a bit.”

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