Page 78 of A Bride for the Wicked Duke

The duke caught her hand this time, holding it firm as he met her fiery gaze. He was not angered by her actions. If anything, she saw a hint of amusement behind his eyes. “Not the reaction I was expecting.”

“Unhand me!” she tried to pull her arm free.

“Not until you hear what I have to say.”

“I do not care!”That was a lie, but dammit if she was not angry.

“Be furious with me,” he continued, holding her hand back from hitting him. “Hate me, if you wish. I will not try and change your mind. But just know that I did not come here to ruin your life or upset you.”

“Which you have done anyway!”

“I came here because I have been a fool,” he spoke over her. “I was wrong, Lady Hawkins. About everything. When you came to me the last time –”

“I do not want to hear it!”

“—I was scared,” he said. “Terrified because I knew how I felt. I just did not know what it meant, when you told me that you loved me.”

“A mistake!” She tried to pull her arm free, knowing it was pointless, starting to calm now while trying to hold onto her rage.

“No,” he said. “The mistake was my own.” He grabbed her other arm, forcing her to still and look at him. “I love you, Lady Hawkins. That is why I have come here – why I stopped this wedding. I know I do not deserve your love. And I understand if you do not wish to give it. But I could not live with myself if I did not tell you the truth. You deserve to know.”

“I deserve!” she cried, struggling under his firm grip. “What I deserve it not to have my emotions played with! To not have my wedding ruined! What I deserve is… is… is…”

She felt her anger fading as she held the duke’s pleading gaze. She felt her resolve weakening. Despite the timing. Despite all he had put her through and more. Despite everything! Her feelings for him had not changed, nor would they ever. She loved him as she had yesterday, as she had last week, as she had for longer than she even knew. She loved him…and he loves me. Is that not what matters most?

She bared her teeth at him, a final effort to show her anger. He smirked as he matched her glower. She stepped into him, raising her chin, widening her eyes, daring him to push her further. He looked down at her, holding her close, his grip on her wrists loosening, the fight gone from her just as it was rising in him. And he would fight too. He had fought. That was why he had come. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. Because he loved her.

In the back of her mind, a small part thought to deny him. To make him beg. To do to him what he did to her. But that was a flickering thought, and Aurelia gave it little credence.

They held one another’s stares. The room around them shrunk and vanished. Silence descended on them, not awkward or tense, but knowing because in that moment they understood completely what this meant. Finally, they were being honest with each other. No more games. No more lies. Truths only.

And with that, the duke rested a hand under her chin, brought her face close, and kissed her on the lips. And Aurelia, not knowing how much she needed it until it was upon her, kissed him right back.

His hands found the side of her face and held her. Her hands were on his waist, grabbing him so she might never let him go. They kissed with passion. They kissed with fiery intensity. They kissed with love. Words were beyond them now, as actions were what were needed. And their actions said it all.

That kiss… not their first. It was, however, the beginning. As they stood in that small room at the back of the church, as they kissed as if their lives depended on it, both seemed to understand the true importance of what this kiss meant. Love given. Love accepted. And most of all, a chance provided at a happily ever after.

If that isn’t worth kissing for, I don’t know what is.

Epilogue

Aurelia was beaming. A smile so wide and so bright that her cheeks were beginning to hurt. But she could not force it down, nor did she want to. When one was as happy as she was, why try and fight it?Let the world see my joy, even if the consequences are likely to be a very sore face tomorrow and a few smart comments made by my husband because of it.

She still could not believe that she got to call him that.My husband… it was like a dream from which she could not wake. One she did not wish to wake from, because when the dream was this good, reality simply had no chance to compare. Married now for less than an hour and already her future was looking to be as bright as could ever have been hoped for.

“How long do you think it is until I can ask everyone to leave?” Gerald whispered from beside her.

She looked at him with surprise. “What?”

“It is our home,” he said. “And it is not as if they are expected to sleep here. What do we think? Another hour? Maybe two at most?”

“Why would you want them to leave? Are you not having fun?”

“Oh, do not get me wrong…” Gerald took her hand and gave it a wet kiss. In his eyes, she saw the love her bore for her, a look that had not faded in the two weeks since he had told her how he felt, and a look she suspected might never leave. “I am enjoying myself greatly. A most splendid day.”

“Yet you wish for it to end.”

“I did not say that.”

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