Page 75 of Bound By the Duke

But before she could say more, his lips curved, his smile faint but cutting. “And what other goals remain on this mysterious list of yours, wife? Duties you have yet to… perform?”

The insinuation set her blood on fire. Heat spread through her body. She blinked rapidly, and her throat went dry.

All of a sudden, she was unable to meet his eyes.

He was teasing her. He was unraveling her.

“Percival…” she whispered, mortified, aroused,undone.

But he only smirked before changing the subject, as if he hadn’t just set her entire body ablaze.

“I want to be closer to Lottie, too,” he admitted suddenly. “I do not know how, but I want to.”

Aurelia softened. Her heart melted all over again. She knew that admission must not have been easy to make.

Looking up at him, her lips trembled with a smile she could not contain.

“Then we will work it out,” she whispered. “Together.”

CHAPTER 23

The gardens were drenched in silver.

After the dance, Aurelia and Percival stepped outside for some fresh air.

The moonlight was perfection. Roses were in full bloom, and fountains babbled. The air was cool, scented with jasmine and damp earth, and it made her feel like the world belonged only to them.

Aurelia walked slowly, her slippers crunching the gravel. Beside her, Percival walked in silence, his tall form cutting through the silver light like shadow itself.

He is my husband. Yet he feels like more than that. More dangerous. More consuming.

At times, Percival seemed a force rather than a man—immovable, a mountain that could crush her with a glance. Buttonight… tonight there was something else. Something softer beneath the steel.

Protectiveness. Assurance.

And that made her lips twitch into a faint smile.

God help me, I like this. I like being here with him.

Silence lingered between them as they walked. She was the one who had suggested a stroll through the garden. And now there was nothing but quiet. She longed to shatter it, to laugh, to say something funny, but her tongue felt heavy, her mind full of words too small.

Before she could try, his voice broke the stillness. “Are you cold?”

The concern in his voice startled her.

She glanced up at him, her heart thumping hard. His blue eyes were fixed on her, sharper than moonlight, studying her as if she were the only thing in the garden.

Her lips curved. “No,” she whispered.

Yet his gaze lingered. It narrowed slightly, catching the way her fingers rubbed nervously against her palm.

She turned away too quickly, pretending to admire a fountain that glittered magically in the moonlight. Her skin warmed at his perusal.

He notices too much. He always notices.

They continued walking. He did not press her with more questions, which only thickened the silence. Desperate for sound, Aurelia forced one out.

“The duchess I met earlier,” she said softly, “the one in the pale green gown. She seemed so charming. She told me that black looked so daring on me. She was so beautiful.”