Page 33 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

I hope he is upset. I hope he is furious. I hope... I hope... dammit, I hope this leads to another fight because at least then he will speak to me.

It wasn’t that Diana enjoyed fighting with Magnus. Frustratingly, it was only when they argued that they spoke at all. He avoided her otherwise, such that she had not seen him since the previous evening after he had fled the garden and left her sitting in the mud.

She had spent hours that afternoon and night trying to fathom what her husband wanted from her. And what she wanted from him in return. This was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, and he had been at pains to ensure that nothing was expected from her as would be a normal marriage. All well and good, barring the simple fact that twice now they had kissed in the heat of passion, and twice now he had fled immediately after.

Was he embarrassed? Was he ashamed? Or was he simply not as attracted to Diana as she was to him – even if she wished it to not be the case.Oh, how much easier this would be if I did not covet the feel of his lips and the touch of his skin as I do.

It was the morning following the incident in the garden that Diana sat down and, with a huge smile on her face, wrote the letter to her mother and cousin. She told herself it was a simple act of rebellion to teach the duke a lesson. But deep down, she wanted it to bring him to anger. She wanted the confrontation. She wanted him to take her in the heat of passion and finish what they had twice now started...

She wrote the letter quickly and then sealed it. Smiling happily to herself, she pushed back her chair and rose from the table, turning about to leave the room, only to leap into the air in fright because Magnus was standing in the doorway watching her.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” he asked.

“N -- no,” she said, composing herself and then standing tall as if in challenge. “You simply startled me.”

“I did not mean to.”

“Yes, well, perhaps you should not lurk in doorways as you are.”

“I’ll try and remember that.” He was smiling coyly to himself as if amused. Typically, this only annoyed Diana further.

“If you do not mind...” She put her head down to walk past him.

“What’s this?” He blocked her passing and indicated the letter in her hand.

“Nothing,” she said a little too quickly, hiding the letter behind her back.

He snorted. “That’s clearly a lie.”

Diana’s eyes flashed in anger and a fire lit inside of her. “It is none of your business, is what it is. You have made it perfectly clear that the only thing you care about are your nieces, and this has nothing to do with them. So, if you do not mind...” Again, she tried to walk past him and again he blocked her.

It was easy for him to do, too. He was so much bigger than her. So much stronger. He was a mountain, and she was but a molehill, totally at his mercy such that he could have snatched the letter from her hand if he so chose to. The power he had over her... it did not frighten her, for she did not think he was violent in any way. Rather, it elicited excitement inside of her and again she wondered if perhaps she should push and test him as she had yesterday.

“You are angry with me,” he said simply.

She scoffed. “And you are not as big of a fool as I thought.”

She had expected that to do it. In fact, she braced for his visceral reaction. Shockingly, the duke smiled in amusement, his dark green eyes matching the smile as he looked down at her.

“I think I owe you an apology.”

She jolted. “Wh -- what?”

“An apology,” he repeated. “For yesterday. How I behaved. And...” He sucked through his teeth. “And how I left you.”

“In the mud, you mean,” she said sharply.

“Yes, that. Admittedly, that was wrong of me. Damn despicable, truth be told. You are my wife, and you did not deserve to be treated that way. For that, I am sorry.”

Diana did not know what to say. Surely, the shock written across her face was indication enough of how unexpected this apology was. It added even more confusion to the situation, furthering that gap which existed between herself, her husband, and her understanding of their relationship.

Her first instinct was to accept the apology, but she curbed that instinct because she also reasoned that a simple apology was nowhere near enough. Was this short sighted of Diana? Most likely. Did she care? Not one little bit.

“And you expect what from me, exactly? Should I be gracious that you saw it in yourself to apologize finally? That a full day later, after having left me in the mud – after having acted as if I was the one who was responsible, mind you. Should I get on my knees and thank you for your kindness? Is that what you wish, oh master?”

Magnus leaned back as if struck. “I... I am only trying to apologize. I wronged you. You did not deserve it and...” He hesitated, somehow sensing that whatever he said would not be enough. “I am sorry.”

“I heard you the first time.”

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