Page 74 of A Duke for Hire

Seraphina nodded.

“Very well then, let us go.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Oh my,” Seraphina gasped.

Hugo looked toward her, and could not help but smile as he took in the expression of awe on her face. Her eyes were roaming around the little cove, taking in everything. Was she truly finding it as wonderful as he did?

“What do you think?” He asked.

“I think it’s even more beautiful than the meadow,” she said, her eyes still taking in the space. “Hugo- this isamazing.”

Hugo once more felt that strange, slightly uncomfortable flutter in his chest. What was happening to him? This lightness in his body- this sense of strange pride at making her smile like that. A smile that spoke of wonder and awe in what he was showing her.

He rubbed his chest as if it could dissolve that strange feeling, and forced his eyes away from her to look around the small pieceof heaven he’d once found at the bottom of a gulley. Because of the slope they grew on, the trees had grown almost sideways, creating a leaf-covered covered archway, hiding the space from most eyes and animals unless they found the hidden entrance.

Beneath the curved boughs of the trees was a rock face that gushed forth a waterfall. It was not very large, perhaps only twice Hugo’s height, and below it was a deep pool that eventually tapered off into a small stream that trickled downhill.

Dense, wild raspberry bushes, full of ripe berries and little white flowers spotted the small hills that framed the space, as did dog rose bushes that were now bursting with their white and pink flowers.

“This was…a place of safety for me,” he explained, extending his hands to her.

Seraphina’s eyes dipped down to his, appreciation shining there. She let go of her reins and leaned down toward him, letting him pull her from the saddle. A sigh of contentment left her lips as he brought her down, so close that their chests brushed.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said softly, her smile pure. “It is absolutely amazing. How did you find it?”

With one hand still holding hers, he reached for the basket on his saddle, and walked her toward the water. He was wary of telling her too much. Hugo was starting to trust her, a realization that comforted and concerned him at once. But he was worried about the sudden flashes of memory. The nightmares. Thosemoments when he lost the present and became entangled in the past when he spoke too many details.

“My father like to drink,” he said carefully. “To excess. Especially when hunting. He would force me to come along with him on his trips.”

“I do not know much about guns, but I assume they don’t mix well with a liquor fueled man,” Seraphina noted.

Hugo gave a dry chuckle.

“You assume correctly. One day he wounded a deer but was too drunk to chase it, so he sent me. I followed its tracks here, and found this beautiful place. It is perfectly hidden. You have to know how to look for it to find it. Ever since then, when he took me on his hunting trips, I would find reasons to separate from him and spend my time here.”

Seraphina kept a calm, even expression as she unfolded the blanket and laid it on the ground.

“Did anything else happen on these hunting trips?” She asked, her tone careful.

Immediately Hugo wanted to stop talking, but she was being so kind, so gentle, that he felt anything but giving her what she so sweetly was asking for would be an unjust punishment.

“Nothing that didn’t happen at the house,” he replied, busying himself with unloading the basket. “Or the house in London. Or in his offices. It really didn’t matter where we were. Our deal was that I withstood whatever he did to me.”

Seraphina gently laid her hands over his own, stopping him from unpacking the basket, and slid into his lap, straddling him. He couldn’t keep the sigh of comfort from slipping from his lips as he felt her warm body pressed to him, and slid his hands to her waist.

Carefully, she untied the strings of his shirt, and with gentle fingertips, parted the covering until she could slide it down each of his shoulders. Hugo’s body went rigid as the warm night air whispered over the cigar burn scars that clustered over his left shoulder.

“Seraphina,” he said, his tone full of warning.

“Shhh, my mighty wolf,” she answered soothingly, looking up at him with calm longing.

A huff of a laugh escaped his chest. “Mighty wolf?”

“Mhmm.” She murmured, leaning forward.

“If I am the little lamb you protect, then you must be the mighty wolf that keeps me safe.”

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