Page 10 of Her Duke to Seduce: Lady Be Wicked (Wayward Dukes’ Alliance #20)

Nine

F elicity woke up snuggled in Aiden’s arms. Her head rested on his warm chest and her arms and legs were curled around him as if he were the best pillow she had ever had. She sighed and leaned even farther against him. The night before—it had been far more wonderful than she could ever have imagined. The way he had made her feel… She sighed again. That was why so many women fell into a man’s arms. If being with him could make her forget everything…

She had agreed to his demands and declarations. It had given her what she wanted. She was completely and thoroughly ruined. No other man would want her now. But he did. He said he would not let her go. That the night would not end the way she had thought. Would he still believe that now? Could she convince him that she was not worth keeping?

Aiden woke and tightened his embrace, holding her firmly against his warm chest. “Good morning, darling,” he said in a sleep roughened tone.

She didn’t say a word. Felicity stared up at him and swallowed hard. It was then it hit her. In their short time she had fallen for him. Perhaps a small part of her had remembered the boy he had been and that was why she had been drawn to him. She may never know. But since that first night in the garden, she had wanted him. That was why she had felt the need to run immediately. She had recognized the danger he presented to her heart. If she stayed, then she would succumb to her feelings for him. She could not allow that because it went against all of her fears.

“Are you having regrets now?” he asked.

Was she? Felicity thought about that and shook her head. She could not regret what had happened last night. It was a memory she would cherish her entire life. “How could I possibly regret being with you?” she asked him.

“Because it changes everything,” he said.

Did he truly believe that? “I don’t think it has changed anything.” Not really. Not in any fundamental way. She thought she had wanted to seduce him so she would be ruined, and she supposed she was now. But that wasn’t why she had wanted to give herself to him. She had wanted him to take her innocence because he was the only man she could give it to. Because he held her heart.

“How can you say that?” he asked. “I told you what would happen if I joined you in this bed.” He frowned. “You know what I expect.”

“Do I?” She raised a brow. She would have tried to pull free of his arms but that would be futile. He was not going to let her go. At least not yet. She knew why. He feared she would flee and wanted to keep her safely in his arms. She smiled to herself. Felicity liked being in his arms. Why would she leave them? “Perhaps you should explain it to me. Use small words as if I were a child. I wouldn’t want there to be misunderstandings.”

Felicity knew she was goading him but could not help herself. She knew what she wanted. She prayed he wanted the same thing. There was no way she could make any declarations of her own without knowing his true intentions. If he loved her… that would change everything. Not what had happened between them in the bed. That had been an outcome she could use to her advantage if things soured between them. But love? It was the one thing that would convince her they had a future.

He cursed under his breath but then he spoke. “We are going to marry.”

“Are we?” she said. “I do not recall you asking me if that is something I wanted or even just plain asking me to be your wife. Why would I want to be your marchioness? What benefits me in that situation.” Still, she goaded him.

“Are you truly going to be difficult?” he asked her. The muscles in his jaw ticked and she almost laughed. It was so entertaining to needle him. It would be wonderful to have that privilege for the rest of their lives. But only if she had his heart the way he held hers. Otherwise, it would be a nightmare.

“And do you think ordering me is the way to gain my acquiescence?” she said in a calm tone. This had to go the way she wanted. It just had to.

Aiden exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around her waist as if he feared she might disappear into thin air. “You have been nothing but difficult from the moment I met you,” he said, his voice edged with exasperation. “But I do not mind the challenge, Felicity.”

Felicity tilted her head back to meet his gaze, her expression impish. “Then I should hate to disappoint you by becoming agreeable now.” Oh, how she adored this man. How could she have ever believed she could live her life without him? How silly of her to think such a foolish thought.

His lips twitched, but his eyes held something deeper—something that sent a shiver down her spine. “I do not require your agreement, darling. I told you last night what this would mean. You are mine.”

Something gleamed in his eyes—warning her that she could only push him so far, but still she dared much. She had to. This was far too important for there to be any doubts. She raised a brow. “That is rather presumptuous of you.”

Aiden sighed and brushed his knuckles over her cheek, his gaze searching hers. He stared at her for several heartbeats before he finally said, “You wish to torment me, don’t you?”

She smiled then, a slow, deliberate smile. “I do. I find pride in doing so, in fact.”

He groaned and rolled her beneath him in one smooth movement, caging her in with the weight of his body. Her breath caught as she stared up at him, the air between them growing charged once more. “Shall I remind you what happens when you challenge me?”

Felicity’s lips parted, her heart hammering in her chest. Her entire body thrummed with a need she had never felt before their night together. His wicked tongue and equally devastating touch had undone her. She wanted to feel his mouth on hers and him sliding into her with the intent to unravel her completely. She had a new reason to taunt him. To gain his attention in much more pleasurable ways. She trailed a finger down his spine and said in a sultry tone, “Perhaps you should.”

Aiden dipped his head, his lips grazing the sensitive skin at the base of her throat before trailing lower. She arched against him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, but he caught her wrists and pinned them above her head, his breath warm against her ear. “Marry me,” he murmured.

She went still, her chest rising and falling beneath his. “That is hardly a proper proposal.” She almost whimpered when he had stopped kissing her, touching her. She wanted to beg for him to kiss her again. To remind her what she was fighting for this very moment. But she had to remain strong. This thing between them meant everything to her. She needed him to tell her he loved her. It was the only way she could agree to be his wife.

Aiden sighed, releasing her hands but not moving away. “You know why I must marry you, Felicity. You have left me no choice.”

Something in her chest tightened. “No choice?” That was no declaration of love. It was one of necessity and that was not enough for her. She cared not if he had ruined her in the eyes of society. She only wanted one admission from him. Only one that mattered. “Then there is no choice at all. I will not marry you if that is the reason you intend to marry me.”

He exhaled sharply. “You expect me to walk away after last night? To allow you to return to your aunt as though nothing has happened?” He shook his head. “I told you before, I do not share. And I certainly will not allow you to go back to London only to be paraded before some halfwit lord who does not deserve you.”

A strange emotion curled in her chest—something akin to hope. Surely that meant he felt more for her than obligation. “And if I had not been ruined? If last night had never happened?”

His jaw clenched. “You were mine before last night, Felicity. You were mine the moment you looked at me in that damned garden and dared me to want you.” His voice dropped lower. “Do you truly believe I would have let you go?”

Her heart pounded. That sounded like he felt much for her. Something deeper, affectionate, and yes, a little possessive. She could work with all of that if he truly loved her. She had to know the answer to that. She needed him to tel her what he truly felt for her. It was the only way she could agree to anything. Surely, he would understand that. “And what of love?” she whispered.

Aiden stiffened, his expression unreadable. He didn’t say a word. He stared at her as if he had suddenly lost the ability to form words and she had said something so foreign he could not fathom why she had asked it. Was love so untenable to him? Felicity swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You speak of possession, of obligation. But what of love, Aiden? Do you?—”

Before she could finish the thought, he kissed her. It was not the searing, desperate kiss of the night before. This kiss was deliberate, reverent, as though he were carving something permanent between them. She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer—as if she had always belonged there. Of course, she had belonged there. He was the only man for her. The one she loved with a kind of desperation she could no longer ignore.

When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against hers, his breath uneven. “You ask me what of love,” he said hoarsely. “And I find I cannot answer.”

Felicity’s stomach twisted. Did that mean he did not love her? Her heart sank at the thought. How could he have been so wrong?

He lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Not because I do not feel it—but because I do not know when it began. I do not know if it was in that garden, or when you knocked me senseless at Winston Manor, or when I first saw you in my childhood.” His voice deepened. “All I know is that I cannot imagine a life without you in it.”

Her breath caught. Those sweet words stilled her very soul. She had thought she would never hear them, and she would have to leave him behind. Thank heavens he loved her. She could not imagine living without him, and now, she did not have to.

“So no, Felicity, I will not ask you to marry me.” His fingers curled possessively around her waist. “I will demand it.”

She blinked up at him. Her lips twitched at his words. “You do not believe in softer methods, do you? You could have coaxed me around, instead you are being rather brutish. Do you not think asking more prudent?”

His lips quirked. “Not where you are concerned. I will take no chances with you.”

Felicity shook her head, laughter bubbling in her chest. She had fought for so long—for her freedom, for her future. She had run, schemed, and tried to deny the truth staring her in the face. But now, she saw it clearly. Aiden had never been the cage she feared. He was the wings she had never dared dream of. She threaded her fingers through his hair, tilting her lips to his. “Very well, Lord Redding.” Her voice was a whisper of silk. “I accept your demand. I will marry you.” She cupped his cheek in her hand and stared up at the man she loved beyond all reason. She had found her home. This was where she belonged. Always. “You know my aunt will be quite distraught to have not arranged this and equally upset to have missed our wedding.”

“I do not care,” he said, then chuckled. “Somehow, I think she will survive the upset. As will my father. Though I expect he will just be content that I have found my other half.”

“Then all that is left is the wedding itself.” She frowned remembering her earlier thoughts when they had arrived at the inn. “How is it we are in Scotland? I thought we were going to Wales.”

His kiss was all the answer he gave her, and she found it was all she needed. It didn’t matter that he had tricked her, and surely, he had. She had not wanted to truly go to Wales anyway. And for the first time in her life, Felicity Hathaway was exactly where she belonged—in Aiden’s arms. There was no other place she wished to be, and all her fears were in the past. She had found love, and for her, it was the answer to everything.