Page 127 of A Bride for the Duke of Sin

She regarded him with skepticism. “And now you do?”

“I have you to thank for that.” Ethan smiled at her. “You told me to spend time with you, and initially, I just wanted to humor you. I thought that perhaps if I charmed you enough, you would let me into your bed. But Phoebe, the more time I spent with you, the more attracted I grew to not only your body buteverythingelse about you.”

He gazed deeply into her eyes and finally,finallysaid the words she had been waiting to hear from him.

“I love you, Phoebe Barkley Audley—wholly and irrevocably—and I would love no one but you until the last breath has left my lungs and I am returned to dust.”

Until death do us part.

Tears, hot and unbidden, spilled from her lashes, running down her cheeks as she pressed her hand to her mouth.

Alarmed, Ethan rushed over to her and enveloped her in his arms, surrounding her with his strength and the familiar scent that was undeniablyhis.

“Oh God, please do not cry,” he implored her. “I cannot bear it when you cry.”

“Say it again,” she told him, her voice muffled by his chest. “Say that you love me.”

“I love you, Phoebe,” he murmured hoarsely into her hair. “I love you. I love you.I love you.”

With every word that left his lips, she felt her heart soar higher and higher. Never before had she felt such happiness. Her heart, her entire being, seemed to fill with so much joy that it seemed as if she was floating.

“Ethan?”

She felt him press a tender kiss to the crown of her head. “Yes, my Duchess?”

“I lied to you, too.”

She felt him stiffen.

“You did?”

She nodded in his arms. “I told you I did not love youyet. That I could be content with the pleasure we shared—I lied about that.”

He had been honest with her. It was now her turn to come clean.

“I already fell in love with you during the time we spent together,” she admitted. “Only, I was afraid that you would never feel the same way about me. I was afraid that if I loved you and you did not, I would only grow bitter and resentful, and I did not want that. So, I lied—to you and myself.”

He laughed softly. “What a pair of liars we both are!”

“I was so foolish back then,” she sighed. “I never thought a Wolf would tame me.”

“More likeyoutamed this Wolf,” he murmured huskily.

So this is how it feels to love and be loved.

There was no feeling quite like it in the entire world. She felt as if she was grounded and floating at the same time. Like she would burst from all the joy she was feeling. And yet, Ethan still kept her together.

And beyond all that, there was that persistent ache that made her want to just bury herself in him.

“Are you… still going to eat me for breakfast?” she asked him meekly.

She felt his fingers digging into her flesh slightly. Heard him stifling the groan that rumbled in his chest.

Felt the hardness that was now pressed against her belly as his arms tightened around her.

“Breakfast, lunch, dinner,andteatime,” he growled in her ear. “I am so hungry for you that if I spoke to you about it, I would frighten you with my appetite.”

“Then that is just as well, for I want you, too,” she told him softly.

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