Page 48 of Trapped with the Beastly Duke

Rose looked thoughtful. “Perhaps you could simply yell. You do have quite a commanding voice.”

“And if it does not work?” Alexander cocked his head.

“Then I fear you must risk your handsome face.” Rose smiled.

“You think I have a handsome face?” Alexander asked.

Rose blushed but held his gaze. “Perhaps.”

They fell silent after that.

She thinks I am handsome?

Alexander felt something warm stir in his chest. He rolled his neck and shoulders, shifting from kneeling to instead sitting beside the bed.

“You do not have to remain on the floor. It cannot be comfortable,” Rose murmured.

“You wish me to leave?” Alexander asked, feeling a small stab of sadness.

This should not surprise me.

“No.” Rose sounded surprised. “I do not wish you to leave. I would like you to stay, unless you do not wish to.”

“I will stay.” Alexander nodded.

“Thank you.” She sighed. “But you do not have to remain on the floor.”

“Where should I go, then?” Alexander felt his heart begin to beat faster.

Rose flushed deeply. “You are welcome to join me on the bed. We are married, after all.”

Alexander hesitated. He looked at the bed and then at the woman before him.

“I promise, I shall not hit you again.” Rose smiled, though there was an emotion in her eyes that Alexander couldn’t quite place. “I daresay the bed is more comfortable than cold stone.”

“Well, now that I know that you shall not harm me, I shall do as you ask.” Alexander stood up, stretching his stiff muscles.

Rose shifted, making room for him to sit beside her.

For a moment, he hesitated.

I should just leave.

Yet, as he looked into her face, he found he did not want to. Instead, he breathed deeply and sat beside her.

It is only one night.It won’t change anything.

Chapter Seventeen

Into The Small Hours

Rose forced herself not to laugh at Alexander as he sat on the bed. He was stiff as a board, and even though he was sitting, he still seemed too large for the space.

He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “And what exactly do you find so amusing?” he asked.

Rose smiled, just managing to suppress her laugh. “It is just that you look as though you are sitting on a bramble bush and fearing the thorns. I promise you, it is only a bed.”

Even as she said the words, she realized that it was her bed. And that there was a man perched on the end of it, looking as though he might burst with discomfort.