Page 92 of Unraveled By the Duke
No, she would not betray me to Lavinia. She would not hand over the picture for Lavinia to destroy, for that is surely what Lavinia would do. I cannot and will not believe it!
Wakefulness purged any remnants of sleep from her body as efficiently as a dip in an ice-cold pond.
“Take me to Alvey Hall if you please,” she requested, biting her lip, lost in thought about what she ought to do next.
The driver was looking behind him at something and did not move. His head tracked the passage of something that overtook them and then stopped just in front.
“I said, take me to Alvey Hall!” Celia demanded crossly.
“Begging your pardon, Your Grace, but this fellow has blocked us. Here! What are you playing at? I’ve got a duchess in here that needs to be somewhere.”
Celia stepped out of the carriage to see what the holdup was.
“And I’ve got a duke and a dowager duchess in here, mate!” said the carriage driver that she had been blithely unaware of.
The carriage door opened, and Alexander sprang out. He landed cat-like and strode towards Celia, who shrank back into the carriage. He got in and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Cheverton,” he ordered the driver.
“Excuse me, guv, but I’m employed by the Duchess in there, not you.”
“We both answer to the same mistress then,” Alexander said with a wolfish grin, “for she is my wife. I am the Duke of Cheverton, and I am not accustomed to repeating myself.”
The driver stammered, and the carriage rocked as he took his seat on the box at the front.
Celia hardened herself against the romance of her husband’s sweeping entrance. She steeled herself against the gleam in his eyes and the sculpted beauty of his face. A harsh beauty, like a snow-capped mountain beneath an azure sky. Stark but captivating.
“I did not wish to go to Cheverton, Your Grace,” she bit out.
“I wish for us to go home.”
“It is not my home, as you have been at pains to point out.”
“I have been a fool. It has been highlighted most painfully by my stepmother. A blind fool.”
Celia looked at him, searching his face for honesty or sarcasm. “You have, but I would be interested to know in what particular way you feel you have been foolish.”
“For ever taking the risk of losing you. Fate brought us together, and I denied it because I thought my feelings for you rendered me weak and vulnerable. But I know now that they do not.”
Celia’s heart hammered, and she swallowed, looking away at the streets passing by. She schooled her features to calm, not wanting to give away too much. Not wanting to acknowledge this was the culmination of her heart’s desire.
It is too much. I must take a leap of faith, take him at face value. But once I do, I am the one completely exposed. Can I? Dare I?
“Celia, look at me.”
Before she could stop herself, Celia had turned to face him. Such was the natural command in his words that her body obeyed before her mind registered the action.
She flushed, staring into his eyes and losing herself. He traced the curve of her cheek with one finger, ending at her lips.
She pursed them against his touch, kissing his fingertips, feeling the firm touch against her mouth.
She reached up and took his hand in her own, pressing his fingers to her mouth. His other hand wound through her hair, pulling her face close to his. Then, there was no barrier between them. They kissed.
Celia was alive with desire, molten with pleasure. She melted into Alexander’s embrace, resting against his hard chest, nestling in the steely embrace of his arms. They surrounded her, holding her tightly against him.
She reveled in his body, the strength that was undeniable and unyielding. His hands roamed over her, making her feel naked.
That thought made her moan against the passion of his kisses, made her whisper his name fervently.
