Page 13 of The Cursed Duke (Wayward Dukes' Alliance #19)

August 7, 1815

Hannah hummed to herself as she moved through the townhouse in search of her husband. It was early, yet, just a bit past eight in the morning. The skirting of her riding habit swirled about her legs as she moved, but her head was firmly in the proverbial clouds as her thoughts ran away with her.

It had been a few days since Giles had introduced her to a darker form of carnal play, and what was more, she was craving a repeat of that even now. As heat fired in her cheeks, she made her way to the second level. Things between her and him had been unexpectedly glorious, and she could only attribute it to that particular coupling, for something had been shared, and she couldn’t quite put her finger upon it other than they’d connected on a deeper level than before.

Since then, he had been attentive and attuned to her every whim. He read to her from books of poetry as well as prose, and sometimes, he read her interesting bits from the newspapers. She, in turn, read him poetry, and some nights she would share her newest sketches with him. In fact, he had emboldened her to do drawings she wouldn’t have thought of, which led her to do a few of him, and some of them depicted him naked and one of him quite aroused and erect.

That sketch had then led to a delicious, wicked session with her husband where he’d once more surprised her with what her body could do before she finally blacked out after being sent into bliss. No one had ever opened her eyes to things like that before, and she appreciated that the most from him. In fact, she was coming to like him more than she should as a husband. And as a man, he held dark secrets, things he hadn’t yet told her, she was sure, but there was plenty of time for her to learn them.

Should she have been afraid of him for the sins he’d already owned up to and shared? Perhaps, but then, she was a believer that everyone had a past, and that everyone wouldn’t be a sterling hero with only good intentions harbored in his heart. Beyond that, knowing that he had darkness in his soul made her shiver in a good way, and it enhanced the power he held over her, yet it also made his possession and protection that more poignant.

Perhaps being a wife wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, especially with him underfoot most times, and to be fair, he rarely went to his club these days. No doubt that would change once the newness of their union wore off, and she would find other things to occupy her time as well. It was inevitable, for they couldn’t always spend days and nights in bed. Would one of their wild couplings result in a babe? Only time would tell, but it was lovely to think about.

Finally, she tracked him to his study, where he was embroiled in writing a letter.

“Ah, there you are.” Just seeing him, getting a whiff of his shaving soap, sent flutters through her lower belly. As always, his big presence seemed to fill the small space and encompass her into that force.

Giles glanced up, and his expression softened with a rare smile. “Are you going out?”

She nodded. “I thought to ride this morning. Would you like to join me?” It had stopped raining earlier, and the streets were wet and the ground at Hyde Park would undoubtedly prove muddy, but the need to be on a horse was strong.

“Of course I will join you.” He set his pen back in its holder then put the lid on the inkwell. “It is something I look forward to.”

“Lovely.” The duke and horses. Was there anything better?

He stood up from his desk. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

She frowned. “How am I looking at you?”

“As if you alternately want to do wicked things to me and you’re trying to puzzle something out.” He closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek with one hand. “Care to share?”

“Um…” Heat slapped at her cheeks. “I… Honestly, I wondered if two people could couple while on horseback.” Dear heavens, what would he think of her?

“Ah.” A dark flush rose up his neck into his cheeks. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. “Well, I’m game if you are.”

The man would surely lead her far past temptation. “We shall see, but perhaps not while we’re in London.” There were too many prying eyes and people hungry for gossip.

He nodded. “Then I’d be happy to whisk you away to my country property posthaste. We could have a few months together alone.”

Hannah’s eyebrows lifted. “That sounds lovely.”

“Truly?” An odd light of almost hope lit his dark eyes. “My mother lives at Steppingford Hall.”

“I wish to meet her.” She rested a palm on his chest. “And I look forward to seeing your properties.” Happiness bubbled through her chest. “Three months to do nothing, even if it’s expected of me, to be away from my family and their demands and gossiping, to walk through the countryside picking flowers and sketching all day without a bonnet or gloves, to watch you walk around nude…” An unexpected sigh escaped her throat. “Heaven, I think.”

Another grin curved his sensual lips. “Will you do the same?”

“Hardly, but perhaps in a shift.”

He nodded. “Then I shall make arrangements with my staff here and write to the staff there. My mother’s mind is failing, so I rather doubt she’ll prove troublesome. She gardens more than anything else these days.”

“Then that is something I shall look forward to talking about with her… as well as introducing myself to your horses.”

“You are quite a brick of a woman, Hannah, and I am constantly surprised by you.” There was nothing except honesty in his expression.

Heat intensified in her cheeks. “Come, Steppingford. I want to get in our ride before it rains again.” Though his compliment warmed her whole body. At times, he was quite adorable. “I shall meet you in the entry hall, for I need to retrieve my bonnet and gloves.”

He slipped an arm about her waist. “Then we should go now else I’ll have you bent over my desk with your skirts over your head.”

Need twisted down her spine. “Let’s ride first then we shall have a large breakfast with loads of tea and coffee, and then you can have your wicked way with me. Afterward, you can tell me another dark tale from your past.”

“I would like that.” Shadows filled his eyes but vanished with his next blink. “Shall we take your new horse?”

She couldn’t help the surprise that went through her. “You will let me ride her? Without a breaking in period?” They moved out of the study and went toward the entry hall.

“I don’t see why not. You are a fantastic horsewoman, and the mare has already been side saddle trained. No doubt she’s as anxious to get out as you are with her.”

“Thank you!” Hannah couldn’t help but give him a wide smile. “I can hardly wait!”

Hyde Park

The ride over to the park was accomplished without incident. Familiarizing herself with the new mare required a bit of patience, but once the horse realized that Hannah was firm with the reins as well as commands, they rubbed along just fine.

Turning her head, Hannah drew her horse closer to her husband’s. “Steppingford, I dare you to race me around the perimeter of the park.” Why not, since there weren’t many people on the bridle paths due to the impending weather and the early hour of the morning.

He chuckled, and that combined with his top hat that sat at a rakish angle over his left eye had a wave of awareness for him rippling over her. “What do I get if I win?”

“Me?” Her heart felt all too light, and that puzzled her.

“Ha. I shall have you in any event. What else?”

She wracked her brain to offer something he couldn’t refuse. And her cheeks burned with the idea. “I will let you instruct me in how to suck your member off and pleasure you that way.” It was something he’d not requested of her or even demanded, but she was willing to try. Goodness, but her mother would die a thousand deaths if she ever discovered what her daughter was doing with the duke behind closed doors.

His eyes darkened and his gloved hands tightened on the reins. “Done.”

“Excellent.” She would worry about exactly how to accomplish said act later. “Go!” With the tsk of her tongue and a bit of a heel into her mount’s side, she set her mare in motion.

“Cheater!” His call came from two head lengths behind her.

The race began, and seconds later, both she and Giles were flying down the bridle path. Oh, it was so exhilarating! Perhaps she was well matched to this man. He’d never made her feel less than, downtrodden, and he didn’t beat or demean her. Though he was a powerful man with demanding needs, none of them had made her feel uncomfortable or unsafe. In many ways, she was much like some of the expensive pieces he’d collected from his travels over the years that lay scattered over their home, but there were times when she’d caught a certain look in his eyes that made her pulse accelerate and hope to bloom that there might eventually be something more between them.

And that was what she lived for.

Because she was much into her thoughts, as they went about a corner, Giles took it fast, but his hunter handled it well. Mud was flung up from the pounding hooves. Her thoroughbred did well enough, but when a man unexpectedly jumped onto the path, presumably to make her stop, the horse grew skittish.

“Settle,” she urged to the equine, but the inevitable happened anyway.

Her mare slid in the mud on the path, and then came to a sudden halt. Since Hannah hadn’t been fully concentrating on the ride, she was pitched from the saddle with a scream of fear, for never had she been unseated like that before.

“Giles!”

Seconds later, the odd feeling of being weightless assailed her, and oddly it was much how the duke made her feel while doing wicked things to her. Then she fell to earth, but smacked the back of her head against a tree at the side of the path. Immediate pain made itself known from the point of impact, but before she could right herself or even cry out for her husband, overwhelming darkness swallowed her.

When she came to—and she didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious—Giles was in the process of pummeling the stuffing out of the unfortunate man who’d came into her path in front of her horse. In fact, he had the man prone and was kneeling on top of him.

“You miserable piece of rubbish! If my wife expires from your fucking reckless behavior, I will kill you myself.” Punch, punch. “Dear God, please keep her safe.”

How lovely was he? “Giles.” Was that floaty sound her voice? Why couldn’t she summon more strength? When he didn’t appear to have heard her, and delivered another punch to the man’s face, she lifted a hand and let it fall back to the muddy ground. Everything seemed far heavier and more of an effort. “Giles.”

This time, her husband heard her say his name. His expression of shock and hope nearly broke her heart. “Damnation.” Immediately, he left off with pummeling the man in order to come back along the path. When he reached her side, he dropped to his knees, and immediately scooped up one of her hands as concern lined his face, aging him. Where those tears on his cheeks? It was difficult to tell with her vision a bit blurry, and it hurt to turn her head that way.

“Giles?”

“I’m here, sweeting. I won’t be anywhere else.”

The coolness of the mud beneath her seeped through her habit. The scent of it infiltrated her nostrils. Her head ached, but as she continued to stare up at him with that slight blurriness, she slowly smiled, for now everything made sense. “Can I tell you a secret, Giles?” Why did she keep repeating his name? Other than it was fun and sounded posh?

What a ninny I am, even as a married woman.

He leaned closer. “Yes, anything.”

She held tight to his fingers. “I think I love you.” Was it the bump on her head that prompted the admission? Then she frowned as she thought about it. No, she was sure. Since that kiss at the engagement ball, perhaps even before that when she’d invented him from her imagination, she’d been in love with the idea of him. No, it was him. Only him. Always him. “Yes, I am falling in love with you,” she said as confirmation to herself.

When she expected him to hem and haw and deny it, his expression crumpled. He bowed over her body. For a few moments, he rested his forehead to her chest and sobbed as if his soul were hurting him. And where had his hat gone? She rather missed seeing him with it.

“Giles?” Confused and hurting, Hannah lifted her other hand and ran her gloved fingers through his hair, leaving mud in the tresses. “Are you well?”

“No. Yes.” The words were muffled. “The irony is I don’t think I’ve been well for years.” When he raised his head, he held her gaze. “In fact, I haven’t felt well until the day I laid eyes on you at our engagement ball.”

“What?”

He nodded. “Oh, I was livid with you and your family for the gall of it, but when I saw you, peered into your eyes, listened to you speak, knew your motivation, kissed your lips that first time, claimed your body…” A half-sob interrupted his words until he’d gotten himself in hand. “I felt as if I was finally where I was supposed to be.”

“What does that mean?” Did she even dare to hope?

His fingers tightened on hers. “You make me feel like I’m home, as if I can stop searching for a safe harbor.”

The ache in her head was temporarily forgotten as her heart squeezed and her pulse accelerated in joy. “Oh, Giles. What a lovely sentiment.”

“Yes, I’d like to hope so as well.” He nodded, and surprise reflected in his eyes. “And what’s more, I think I love you too.”

“I…” Hannah stared at him from her prone position on the muddy path with the horses grazing in the grass not far away as a feeling of lightness came over her. Had she heard him correctly? Though she tried to sit up, but dizziness assailed her and kept her lying down. Instead, she put her hand about his nape and drew him downward. “You do?”

“Yes. It’s a wonderment, as if my heart has grown, burst through the chains I’d put around it after that first time, because it now wants to beat for you.” His grin was soft around the edges this time in a way that it had never been before. “It wants to love again. I want to love again. Can you forgive me?”

Excitement buzzed at the base of her spine while a hoard of butterflies erupted in her belly. “Forgive you for what?” The conversation was quite confusing with the fuzziness in her head.

He blew out a breath. “For not being kinder, gentler, a more appreciative bridegroom.”

“Do stop.” She snorted, and when that intensified the ache in her head, she put her free hand to her brow. “You were that in your own way, but I adore the man you are becoming. You are who I needed to draw me out and force me to discover who I am… I’m still doing it, I think, and I can’t wait to realize who we are together.”

For long moments, the duke stared down at her, and he finally nodded. “Now what?”

Could he not see it was obvious? “Kiss me.”

The dear man did so immediately. The tenderness of it, with all the heat and power of him behind it, made her head spin. Or perhaps it was the knock on the head. Before she could truly become lost in the kiss, he pulled away.

“Let’s get you home. There are people coming toward us.”

“How embarrassing, but I’m too dizzy to stand or even ride.”

When he grinned, tickles went through her belly. “I will take care of you.”

“Don’t you always?” she asked in a barely audible whisper.

“Wench,” he said with much affection in his voice. Then he gained his feet and scooped her into his arms as if she weighed not much more than a feather. It was a lovely feeling, and being in his arms in any capacity was amazing. “I’ll call for a physician once we’re home.” Then he put her on his saddle and easily mounted behind her. Once his arms were around her holding her safe, he addressed the onlookers. “The duchess has taken a spill from her horse, so I am taking her and will tend to her in privacy.”

A shiver of need went down her spine. He was just so delicious, and within his protection, she knew that nothing would harm her. Even still, as he took the reins of her wandering horse, she glanced at the man he’d punched. He walked in the opposite direction of them and never looked back. Then she sighed, for Giles slowly guided the horses back up the bridle path. Despite the pain in her head, Hannah curled into his shoulder and chest, clinging to him with his arms on either side of her.

“I did imagine this , though.”

“What’s that?” When he glanced down at her and met her gaze, the feelings he’d uttered aloud were reflected in those brown depths.

She smiled and felt a bit floaty again. “I imagined a hero, larger than life, who did fall madly in love with me then rode off with me on a white horse into the sunset.”

“Ah, sweeting.” The duke shook his head with a faint grin curving his lips. “Well, you had it mostly correct.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My horse is black instead of white, and it’s nearly nine in the morning instead of sunset. However, the rest is spot on.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, and her heart squeezed. “Perhaps you should write romance stories along with your sketches. You’ve got quite the imagination.”

She smiled. “Of course you would say that. You’re tip over tail.”

“Indeed I am.” And his grin didn’t fade. “I’m so damned surprised by that.”

So was she. For them both.