Page 18 of Married to the Cruel Duke (Dukes of Power #1)

CHAPTER 18

R ebecca spun to see William standing in the doorway and felt herself pale.

“Wh- what is it?” she asked, hoping to keep her voice even and wincing when she heard how badly she failed.

“Is something wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”

“Of course not!” she shook her head with so much force it made her neck ache. “Why would you think that?”

“You have been avoiding me. I assume there is a reason.”

She looked away, chewing her lip. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

William shot her a look. “We both know that isn’t true.”

“I haven’t! I’ve just been busy with preparations for the party.”

“I already know the vast majority of them were done days ago. All that should be left are some finishing touches.” he sighed running a hand through his hair. “Look, whatever it is, you know you can tell me. If I did something to upset you, all you need to do is tell me what I did and I will be sure never to make the mistake again.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But there is something wrong.”

She didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to say a word. He knew already.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Tears well in her eyes. “You wouldn’t ask me that if you knew what was going on.”

“I can promise you I will.”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that.”

“Then tell me. I know it can’t be easy, but I’m asking you to take a chance on me and trust me.”

That was the thing that broke her.

Rebecca reached out a trembling hand.

Without hesitating, William took it, holding it firmly in his own. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m listening.”

Rebecca took a deep breath then spoke. “The other day, when we sent out the invitations, something happened.”

“I figured as much. That was the day you started acting different.”

She nodded before she continued. “While you were out, my father came to see me.”

“Did he lay his hands on you?” William said, his hands curling into fists.

“What?” she gasped at the question, eyes wide.”

“I will thrash him myself,” he growled turning to storm from the room.

“Wait!” she called, voice high. “Where are you going?”

He paused, turning to face her. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I need to comfort you right now. I can go confront him when we’re done talking.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, shaking her head. “What are you saying?”

“He hit you. I know you said you fell that day, but I don’t think that’s the whole story is it?”

Rebecca hesitated.

“It’s all right. You don’t need to tell me anything else if you don’t want to. I know everything I need to know. As soon as we’re done here I’ll go talk to him and make sure he knows he can never lay a finger on you again.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“I won’t let him hit you again, especially not in your own home.”

“No,” she shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. He didn’t lay a finger on me.”

“But then why did you say you fell?”

She sighed. “He didn’t hit me, but did have quite a bit to say. After he left, I sank to the floor because I was upset and I needed an excuse for why I was down there, so I said I fell.”

“What kind of things?”

“First he tried to say that I was lying to you. That I had told you all kinds of lies so I could ensnare you. Then he started to say once you realized that, you would leave me high and dry.”

“I would never do something like that. I care about you and I want you to be happy.”

“I know, and that’s what I told him. I told him you were a good man and you would never do something like that to me. Then he said that it didn’t matter what was true. All he had to do was spread rumors that you mistreated for him to ruin you. He said unless I told you I lied about them before and told you that you should support him that he would ruin you. I didn’t want to let that happen, but I didn’t know what to do.”

When she finally got the last of her words out, Rebecca broke down, tears streaming down her face, trembling from the stress of it all.

William didn’t hesitate. He darted forward, capturing her in his arms and pulling her to his chest.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. He just held her as she cried, letting out everything she had kept trapped inside for the past few days.

Once she had calmed down, he spoke. “He can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let that happen.”

“That’s sweet of you to say, but I don’t know what we can do to stop him.”

William frowned. “Rebecca, you’re a duchess now. You outrank him. When I say he can’t hurt you any more, that isn’t only because of me. It's because of your own power too.”

“But if he says all those things, if he spreads all those rumors, it could hurt your reputation.”

William chuckled. “He’s welcome to try, but he’s hardly the first to say anything against me. I’ve managed just fine up until this point. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But who knows what he could say? Or who he could say it to?” Rebecca said, chewing her lip.

“Look at me,” he took her face into his hands. Her breath caught in her throat. “His hold over you is over. He will never hurt you again,” William assured her. “Not only because I won’t let him, but also because you have the power to stop him.”

“I do?”

“Yes, I know it might not feel like it, and I’m not saying you have to use it yet if you don’t feel ready, but you out rank him. You can tell him he has to leave you alone and there’s nothing he can do about it.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Then I can do it for you until you feel ready, and if you never feel ready, that’s fine too. I’ll happily defend you forever if I have to.”

“That’s- I-” for a moment, Rebecca struggled to find the words to thank him, but when she realized there were none, that there was nothing she could possibly say to express just how much that had meant to her to hear, she took action.

Without a second thought, Rebecca darted forward. She didn’t give herself a moment to think, talk herself out of it or worry about the consequences.

Heart pounding, she pressed her lips to his in a small sweet kiss.

It couldn’t have lasted more than a second. The same moment. She made contact, Rebecca’s courage failed her and she pulled back, apologies already blooming on her lips.

She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to face him as she stammered. “Please forgive me for that. I shouldn’t have been so forward.”

“Why?” he asked in a carefully even voice.

“Why what?”

“Why are you apologizing? Do you regret it?”

“That isn’t the point!”

“It seems to me that in this moment, that is very much the point, so please answer the question.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then why are you sorry?”

“Because I’m sure that you do.”

“And how can you be so sure of such a thing?”

“Because you have to. You can’t- you can’t have wanted that.”

“And you are the expert in what I want, are you?”

She frowned, feeling a fresh round of tears beginning to build behind her eyes. “I don’t understand?” she whispered.

How had she done it? How had she messed things up so badly so fast? This wasn’t how she had wanted it to go.

Then, to her surprise, William reached out, pulling one of her hands away from her face. “Why don’t you ask me what I think?”

She hesitated. Rebecca was no fool. She knew a trap when she saw one. It was hard not to given how she was raised, but this wasn’t her father.

This was William.

And surely by now, he has earned a little trust.

“Rebecca took a shaky breath and forced herself to find her voice. “What did you think of the- of what I did?” she asked, looking away.

“I think that it was wonderful, and I sincerely hope you would consider doing it again.”

Her eyes shot to him, wide with shock. “Do you really mean that?”

“Have you known me to lie toyou before?”

“I- I- no you haven’t but that would mean that you…” she trailed off.

“I care about you, Rebecca. More than that, I can feel myself falling for you. I would like to take this as a sign you feel the same way.”

“Yes,” she nodded, finally daring to meet his eyes.

What she saw there made her breath catch in her chest.

She had never been faced with such unadulterated admiration and acceptance. Her words stuck inside her mouth.

“Do you believe me now?”

She could barley manage a nod.

He smiled. “Then if you are willing, I would like to kiss you once more.”

“I- I think I would like that too.”

He smiled, then his hand was on her cheek.

Rebecca’s eyes drifted shut, leaning into his touch.

Then she felt him shift. Her eyes fluttered open and her heart pounded in her chest.

He was so close. She could feel the warmth of his chest, the touch of his breath. All she could see when she opened her eyes were his own deep blue eyes staring back at her.

He moved very slowly, giving her plenty of time to move or pull away should she so chose, but Rebecca had no intention of doing anything of the sort.

Then, it happens.

William closes the distance between them.

His lips are soft against hers. They moved slowly, gently almost as though he still expected Rebecca to pull away at any moment.

In an effort to encourage him, her hands hesitantly came to wrap around his shoulders. She sighed, savoring the growing closeness between them.

After a few moments, William pulled back, a hesitant smile on his face. “Good?” he asked.

Her lips curved into a tentative smile. “Heavenly.”