Page 110 of Wedded to the Duke of Seduction

“When you gave me your heart, I pushed you away,” Leo continued, his voice rough with emotion. “I told myself it was because I couldn’t give you what you needed. But the truth is, I was terrified of losing you.”

“Leo—”

“Please, let me finish.” His fingers tightened around hers. “After Felicity and William, I convinced myself that love was a weakness, that caring too deeply meant inevitable pain. So I built walls, kept everyone at a distance. But you—” His voice broke slightly. “You slipped past every defense without even trying.”

Marina felt tears gather in her eyes as Leo reached up to cup her cheek.

“When I couldn’t find you tonight,” he whispered, “when I thought I might have lost you forever, I realized what a fool I’ve been. The pain I feared was nothing compared to the agony of imagining a life without you in it.”

A tear slipped down Marina’s cheek. Leo caught it with his thumb, his touch infinitely tender.

“I love you, Marina,” he said, the words emerging with the force of long suppression. “I love your strength, your stubbornness, your brilliant mind. I love the way you challenge me, the way you see through my pretenses. I love the passion you bring to everything—your writing, your friendships, the way you care for those around you.”

Marina’s heart swelled almost painfully in her chest. “You’ve never said those words before.”

“Because I was afraid to admit how much power you hold over me.” Leo brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. “But I’m done being afraid. I want a real marriage with you. Not a convenient arrangement, not a business transaction, but a true partnership. If you’ll still have me.”

Marina searched his face, seeing the vulnerability he had hidden for so long, the man beneath the title, beneath the carefully cultivated control. “You hurt me,” she said quietly. “When you pushed me away?—”

“I know.” Remorse shadowed his features. “And I will spend every day making that up to you, if you’ll let me. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes. My instinct is still to retreat when I feel too much. But I promise to fight that instinct. To choose you, every day, even when it terrifies me.”

Marina reached out, threading her fingers through his hair. “I was so angry with you. So hurt.”

“You had every right to be,” Leo acknowledged. “I behaved horribly.”

“You did,” she agreed, a reluctant smile touching her lips. “Though I understand better now, after seeing Felicity, why you feared history repeating itself.”

Leo turned his face into her palm, pressing another kiss there. “Can you forgive me? Can we start again?”

Marina studied him for a long moment. The man kneeling before her was not the distant duke who had first confronted her about her stories nor the reluctant husband who had offered protection without emotional attachment. This was Leo stripped of all pretense, offering his heart with the same courage he had shown rushing into the theater to save her.

“I don’t want to start again,” she said finally.

Pain flashed across Leo’s face before she continued, her hand cupping his jaw.

“I want to continue from where we were before fear drove us apart,” Marina clarified. “I fell in love with you, Leo. Not with some perfect version of you but with the complicated, stubborn, passionate man you truly are. That hasn’t changed, despite everything.”

Hope dawned in Leo’s eyes. “You still love me? After I rejected you?”

“Love isn’t something that can be turned on and off like a lamp,” Marina replied, her voice softening. “Yes, I still love you. I might have been wiser not to, but my heart has never been obedient to my head.”

Leo rose in one fluid motion, drawing Marina to her feet with him. His hands cradled her face as if she were something infinitely precious. “Say it again,” he whispered.

Marina’s lips curved into a smile as she wound her arms around his neck. “I love you, Leo Rencourt. God help me, but I do.”

“And I love you, Marina Rencourt.” Leo’s voice dropped to a reverent murmur, his forehead resting against hers. “My brilliant, infuriating, magnificent wife.”

For a moment, they stood together in the early morning light, the truth of their feelings finally spoken aloud between them. Then Leo’s lips found hers in a kiss that began as gentle benediction and quickly transformed into something far more urgent.

Marina melted against him, all the longing and hurt of their separation dissolving in the heat that sparked between them. Leo’s hands slid down her back, pulling her closer until there was no space left between their bodies.

“I’ve missed you,” he breathed against her mouth. “Every night without you felt endless.”

“Then don’t spend another without me,” Marina replied, her fingers working at the buttons of his shirt.

Leo caught her hands, bringing them to his lips. “Are you certain? After everything that’s happened tonight?—”

“I’ve never been more certain of anything,” Marina interrupted, her eyes meeting his with unmistakable desire. “Make love to me, Leo. Remind me that we’re both alive, that we’ve found our way back to each other despite everything.”

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