Page 56 of Taming a Beastly Duke
“Please forgive me, Adelaide,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “I am ashamed that I ever believed that you were capable of harming me. Edwin’s lies poisoned more than my body, but that will never be a viable excuse. I do not deserve your forgiveness, yet I cannot help but pray for it.”
Adelaide did not realize tears were falling until Marcus wiped them from her cheeks as his large hands cupped her face. The anguish in his expression now was one of being the cause of her sadness. He kissed the trail the tears left, choking on his own emotion.
“Adelaide, darling, I am so very sorry,” he said. “Your love was so pure, and I allowed sickness to claim my senses. I am truly sorry.”
Something broke in Adelaide. She covered one of his large hands with both of hers, meeting his gaze with all the hurt, fear, and love she felt at that moment on display.
“I found Charlotte’s journal,” she said, her voice cracking. “I figured out what was happening, but I was too late to stop them.”
Marcus looked at her with wide eyes.
“What do you mean?” he asked, putting an arm around her.
She told him everything she read in Charlotte’s journal, including the letter to Lord Thomas. She also told him about the notes she received.
“Oh, my darling,” he said. “I wish you had told me sooner.”
Adelaide shook her head.
“I did not wish to add to your ailment,” she said. “I have, however, been fearful of losing you. I was certain I would, as I sat in that cell, either to the poison or to your mistrust. I was so frightened, Marcus…” she said, trailing off as fresh tears began.
Marcus pulled her against his chest, his heart beating strong beneath her cheek. His fingers tangled in her freshly washed hair, but she watched the combs fall to the floor with disinterest.
“Our night in the library broke all my defenses,” he said. “Believing you betrayed me hurt worse than all the poison in all of England. Yet what hurt worse was learning that I had wrongfully accused you. I was sure you would leave and never wish to see me again. I was sure I would never get the chance to tell you that I love you, and that I never want to live a day without you.”
Adelaide looked up at Marcus just as he kissed her with the same passion with which he spoke of his love for her. She returned the kiss with the fevered passion of a woman who was overflowing with love and gratitude at having her duke alive and well, and now wholly hers.
The desperate hunger was immediately evident in their kisses. Days of separation and agony burned away the remaining shadows of doubt and fear. His kiss held the same tender worship from their night in the library, thoughnow it was untainted by the secrets or lies that had surrounded them since they first met.
“I love you, Adelaide,” Marcus said as he began to remove her fresh dress.
Adelaide, now confident, adeptly removed his shirt and breeches, casting them aside with an almost expert flare.
“Then prove it,” she said with a sly smile as her corset fell to the floor.
As the last light faded from the windows, they found healing in the arms of one another. Their passion built into something beautiful and pure, rivaling that of their first coupling. Each touch was free from worry about illness, death, or concealed conspiracies. Each word of love was now untamed and sure, speaking of a beautiful future for both of them. To Adelaide, it was even better than their first time, as if they had been granted the opportunity to redo that experience, just as they had been granted a second chance at Marcus’s life.
Later, Marcus wrapped them both in the fresh sheets of his bed. He smiled warmly at her as he brushed her mussed hair out of her eyes.
“I truly love you, Addie,” he said, kissing her nose as she giggled at the nickname.
“And I love you, my dear,” she said, nestling into his arms.
Marcus sighed, holding her close.
“To think that I could even consider having a wife and building a family,” he said.
Adelaide nodded before his meaning occurred to her.
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to will her heart to settle.
Marcus shrugged, a smile threatening to break the calm expression he maintained.
“Well, I cannot produce heirs on my own,” he said, idly tracing patterns on her exposed skin. “Besides, I would not dream of it. Not when I could have you as my wife.”
Adelaide laughed, shivering at the possessive tenderness as the spoke of marriage and a family.
“Rather bold of you to assume that I would be your wife,” she said, laughing again with pure delight. There was no need for him to ask the question; she would become his wife with more gladness than she could express if she had the rest of her life to do so.
