Page 92 of A Duke's Unwanted Bride
“I love seeing you come alive like this.” Warner pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It is like sitting next to the sun; your joy is a glow to bask in.”
“Have you always been so poetic?” Adele teased, snuggling against his chest, her eyes taking in his sun-kissed skin. “Or is it simply that Paris brings out the romantic in you?”
“You bring out the romantic in me.” His eyes were full of a deep hunger and even deeper love that sent shivers down her spine.
Adele’s cheeks coloured at his look, and she rested a hand against his chest. His heart thumped against her. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of him, revelling in the warmth of his body.
“And what else do I bring out in you?” Her eyes were full of mischief as they found his.
“I think you know the answer to that.” His voice was a low growl.
“Perhaps I wish for you to show me.” She grinned at him, even as her heart sped in her chest.How can he still undo me so easily?
“Are you trying to tempt me, Adele?” He arched an eyebrow at her.
She pursed her lip thoughtfully. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not it is working.”
Warner’s answering kiss was all the answer Adele needed. Fire flooded her, the feel of his lips against hers driving all the breath from her body. His kiss was gentle but urgent. His lips claiming hers, his fingers dancing along their skin.
Too soon, he drew back, eyes dancing in the noon sun. Adele’s heart beat a thunderous rhythm in her chest, and it was all she could do not to kiss Warner again.
“I see your love of dangerous games has not abated,” Warner teased, his fingertip gently caressing the side of Adele’s neck.
“How could it when you play such games so well?” Adele replied breathlessly. “Though I would say you too are playing a rather dangerous game, my love.”
A tiny shiver ran through Warner’s body at her words, his grin broadening. The smile was unguarded and honest, and it made her heart sing.How did I ever think him cold?
“I love it when you call me that.” Warner murmured, catching one of her hands in his and pressing it to his lips. “I do not think I will ever tire of it.”
“That is good because I have no intention of ever stopping it.” Adele kissed Warner’s cheek. “Especially when you look at me that way.”
“And what way would that be, my heart?” He canted his head towards her.
His words made Adele’s heart twist and flit around her chest like a bird trying to escape a room. “Like you can never get enough of me. Like you would choose me over even Aphrodite.”
“Why would I ever choose anyone else?” His eyes were serious as he looked at her. “You are the woman who reminded me what it was to be alive. You are the woman who holds my heart, and I would have it no other way.”
“You really are quite poetic when the mood suits you,” she teased.
“Perhaps I am simply a young lover in Paris. Or maybe it is simply that at long last, I have a muse.” His eyes glittered.
“I never thought I would be anyone’s muse.”
“And I did not think I would be anyone’s husband,” he teased.
“And do you regret it?”
“Not for a moment.” Warner’s gaze was full of fierceness. “I may not have planned for this, but I am glad that it happened. I love being a husband and everything that it entails. I love our little family.”
“It is not going to be little for much longer.” Adele swallowed, her heart twisting in her chest as her cheeks coloured.
“What do you mean?” Warner frowned and then jerked backwards, upsetting the boat so much that he earned some disapproving words from their French boatman. “Wait, are you?”
Adele nodded, her hand resting on her belly. “I am.”
