Page 52 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

Her eyes flicked to his lips. “You can start by telling me how pretty I look. I know I do not, but a lady still appreciates hearing it.”

“You look ravishing,” he said, his voice a deep growl. “I ate but an hour ago and yet I find myself hungry again.”

“Hungry? Whatever for?”

His eyes flashed that hunger, and he leaned in to kiss her --

“It fits!” a voice cried from down the hallway, followed by loud footsteps. “It fits!”

“Mine too!” another joined in.

A second later and the two girls were back in the room, having hastily squeezed themselves into their gowns. They were not laced up correctly. And both wore them over their shifts. But the dresses did indeed fit them, albeit with a little bit of creativity required to squeeze them in.

“And don’t you both look a treat,” Diana said, gushing appropriately.

“Young women indeed,” Magnus agreed with a smile that looked genuine. “I can’t believe how old you both look.”

“Really!” Josephine beamed and held her arms out to show off the dress.

“Your father would be so proud,” Magnus said.

That single sentiment hit Diana in ways she had not imagined. She felt it in her chest. In her throat. In her eyes, which brimmed with tears. She looked at Magnus, the tears now beginning to stream gently, to see him smiling at his two nieces with what could only be described as love.

He was not a monster. He was certainly not cold or callous or mean. He was a man who had suffered so much and was desperate to make amends for mistakes that were not even his own. Everything he did was for these two girls, for his brother also, for everyone other than himself. And as Diana watched him admire his nieces, she began to feel something deep inside which was alien to her, but she recognized instantly.

As strange as it was to think, although she supposed it was the most normal sensation in the world, Diana was beginning to fall in love with her husband.And I couldn’t be happier for it.

ChapterNineteen

Magnus woke covered in a cold sweat that he could feel seeping through the sheets. His body ran hot, shaking uncontrollably, and his chest hurt from how ragged his breathing was.

Blast! Not again...

It was a nightmare that had woken him. His second one this week. As was always the case, he could not remember them fully, a fact that he was glad for. But he couldfeelthem, buried deep inside his subconscious, the fear that they provoked like a specter perched upon his shoulder, watching him always, refusing to leave him so he might never feel truly safe.

He hated that he was plagued by these nightmares. That even now, a man of thirty and three, there were times still when he worried going to bed as if he could sense the nights they would come for him. Worse too that there was nothing he could do to stop them.

Lying on his back, staring at the dark ceiling, he shifted uncomfortably, unable to settle himself back down. His heart still raced. His breathing still raged. And there was something else... a feeling on the back of his neck... that sense that he was not alone --

A creak from across the room had him sitting up suddenly.

The room was too dark to properly make out, but he noticed immediately that his door was open and through the shadows, behind his dresser, he saw movement.

“Hello...?” he said with hesitation, for a moment wondering if he was still trapped in his nightmare. “Who goes there? Show yourself!”

His eyes adjusted to the darkness just in time so see a body skulk from behind the dresser and into the room. The moment he saw who it was, he sagged in his bed, caught between relief and anger, while unsure how exactly he should react.

“Diana,” he sighed. “What on earth are you doing in here?”

“I am so sorry,” she said quickly, standing back and nearer the dresser. “I did not mean it. I...” She was shaking, no doubt expecting anger. “I was awake, and I heard... I heard noises coming from your room. I was worried.”

“Noises?”

“You were talking to yourself,” she said warily. “You sounded...” She paused again and through the darkness he could see just how worried she was. “You sounded afraid. I did not hear what you said,” she said quickly. “Only that something was wrong.”

Magnus winced, embarrassment flooding him. He could only imagine what he had said during his nightmare, knowing full well it was nothing he wanted repeated back to him. Knowing also it was nothing he wished for his wife to hear.

“I’ll go,” Diana said, and started to leave.

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