Page 69 of A Duke for Hire

Hugo reached out, stopping her.

“I am not asking about what it was like for her. I am asking about you.”

Seraphina swallowed her last bite with effort and worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

“It was awful in many ways. There were times when she mourned so over her situation that she could not leave bed or the bottle for days, so I would need to take care of her even as she spoke the most unkind words. Then there were other instances when she was always alert about what I was doing; overlyworried that I was not taking my lessons seriously enough even though I was trying my best.”

She let out a weak laugh that held no humor.

“I grew quite familiar with the sting of her slap. Or her ruler. Or her feet, if she thought I was not walking properly. Sometimes she would grow so frustrated with my dancing that she’d kick my feet out from under me, then slap my face if I complained of the pain.”

Hugo put his plate down, no longer interested in food. His childhood had been worse, yes, but the thought of her enduring any similar treatment caused that enraged beast to awaken in him.

“Seraphina, I need you to know that you will have no fear of that here,” he vowed. “Or anywhere, any longer. If anyone ever dares touch you like that again—your mother included—they will not live long enough to even attempt a false apology.”

He spoke his words so roughly he expected Seraphina to look at him in fear, but instead, her eyes shone with gratitude.

“The idea of that will take some getting used to,” she whispered, a ghost of a smile flittering across her lips. “Especially after the way you reacted to me the other night.”

Hugo winced, guilt pouring through him as he thought of that moment of fear and rage.

“Did I hurt you?” He asked hoarsely.

Seraphina shook her head quickly.

“No. However the quickness of your change in mood scared me a little. It reminded me of my mother.”

Hugo swallowed hard. “I assure you that I will remember that and work to not do so again.”

He rose to his knees and moved closer to her. Moving slowly, so as to not scare her, he grazed the back of his knuckles over her cheek.

“I do not wish to scare you. Others, perhaps. But not you. You who have been so brave to stand against me and say what is in your heart and on your mind.”

To his relief, Seraphina’s posture softened, and she rested her cheek in his hand. Wanting to touch her more, he brought his other hand up to her right side, and began stroking the delicate pink flesh there with his thumb. A low hum of a sigh escaped Seraphina’s lips as he did this, and he felt his body stir with arousal as she slowly closed her eyes.

“I do not wish to scare you either,” she whispered after a time, slowly raising her long lashes to look at him. “I will be more mindful of your scars. I promise.”

Hugo felt his heartbeat stutter as her soft voice spoke the pact. She was tryingsohard to be good for him, to understand him and his boundaries.

“You are such a good little lamb,” he murmured, shifting closer.

Seraphina let out a happy hum as she smiled in the palms of his hands.

“Why do you call me that?” She asked. “Lambs are sweet and innocent, yet you say you admire me for my fire. How can I be both?”

Hugo chuckled, pulling her more into his lap as the stars above them began to glitter.

“Perhaps it is because you are both,” he mused, stroking his fingers over her cheeks, her neck, over hair, “A little wolf in a little lamb’s clothing. Is that what you are?”

Seraphina’s eyes, glazed with relaxation and pleasure, gazed up at him as she nestled into his hold.

“Whatever I am, I am yours now,” she murmured, reaching through the widened part in his shirt to stroke the hair of his muscled chest. Even the small touch was too much pleasure for him, and he knew he needed more.

Hugo let out a strangled moan of need as he dipped his head and kissed her. He had meant to be soft, but the moment hetasted her again sweet, pillowy lips, his entire body ignited with arousal. His muscles tightened, as did his hold on her, and instead of seducing her into a kiss, he demanded it from her.

Pleasure coursed through Seraphina’s veins as Hugo’s possessive kiss claimed her, and she squirmed in his lap to get closer as his tongue delved into her mouth. She accepted it greedily, suckling and lapping at the contact she realized she had missed, and sank her fingers into his muscled chest. Hugo let out a groan as he felt her tiny claws, but he made no move to stop her.

Instead, he pushed one arm out to swipe the plates, cups, and cutlery from the blanket, and then laid her down atop it. Seraphina let her head fall back as his kisses moved from her lips to her neck, leaving a delicious shiver everywhere he touched until he reached her breasts.

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