Page 39 of Wedded to the Duke of Seduction (Dukes of Passion #3)
CHAPTER 39
M arina pressed her forehead against the cool windowpane, watching dawn break over the gardens of Berkeley Square.
She hadn’t attempted to sleep; her mind was too crowded with the night’s events to permit rest. Instead, she had bathed, changed into a fresh nightgown, and wrapped herself in a silk dressing gown that Betty had unpacked from her things.
The warm water had washed away the physical evidence of her ordeal—Felicity’s bruising grip on her arm, the grime of the abandoned theater—but nothing could cleanse the memory of William’s pistol pressed against her back or the wild hatred in Felicity’s eyes.
Yet those weren’t the images that kept sleep at bay. It was Leo’s face when he’d stepped from the shadows—the raw fear giving way to relief, the tenderness in his touch when he’d assured himself she was unharmed. For those brief moments, the distance he’d placed between them had vanished, revealing the man who had shared her bed and her laughter before fear had driven him away.
A soft knock at her chamber door broke her reverie.
“Enter,” she called, expecting Betty with a breakfast tray.
The door opened, and Leo stood on the threshold. He had changed from his rumpled evening clothes into a fresh shirt and breeches, but exhaustion lined his face, a testimony to the night’s ordeal and the long conversation with his brother that had followed.
“May I come in?” he asked, his voice roughened by fatigue.
Marina nodded, tightening the sash of her dressing gown as she turned fully from the window. “Of course.”
Leo entered, closing the door quietly behind him. For a moment, he simply looked at her, his gaze traveling over her as if memorizing every detail.
“You should be resting,” Marina said, breaking the silence that stretched between them.
“As should you.” The hint of a smile touched his lips. “Yet here we both are.”
Marina moved to the small sitting area near the fireplace, gesturing to the chair opposite hers. “William?”
“Asleep,” Leo replied, taking the offered seat. “Finally. It took three glasses of brandy and the promise that I wouldn’t disappear while he slept.”
“And Felicity?”
“Sedated and under guard. Dr. Fielding has arranged for a private carriage to transport her to Dover tomorrow where associates of mine will ensure she boards a ship to France.” Leo’s expression hardened. “She’ll be closely monitored. If she ever attempts to return to England, she’ll face imprisonment.”
Marina nodded, relief washing through her. “Good.”
Another silence fell, more charged than the first. Marina waited, sensing Leo had come with purpose, not merely to inform her of these arrangements.
“I owe you an apology,” he said finally, his eyes meeting hers directly. “No, more than that—an explanation.”
Marina’s pulse quickened, but she kept her voice steady. “You don’t need to explain anything tonight, Leo. We’re both exhausted. It can wait until?—”
“It can’t wait,” he interrupted, leaning forward. “I nearly lost you tonight because of my cowardice. I won’t waste another moment in fear.”
The intensity in his voice stilled any further objection. Marina settled back in her chair, waiting.
Leo rose, suddenly restless, and paced to the window where she had been standing moments before. “Do you know why I spent a decade searching for William?”
The question seemed tangential, but Marina sensed it was central to whatever he needed to say. “To clear your name. To find your brother.”
“Yes, but it was more than that.” Leo turned to face her, his profile outlined against the dawn light. “I needed to understand why. Why Felicity chose him over me. Why my brother betrayed me. The questions consumed me, becoming an obsession I couldn’t escape.”
“And did you find your answers tonight?” Marina asked softly.
“Not entirely,” Leo admitted. “But I realized something far more important. I’ve been letting those questions define my life, rule my choices.” He moved toward her, dropping to one knee beside her chair. “Including my choices about us.”
Marina’s breath caught as he took her hands in his, his touch gentle yet urgent.
“When you gave me your heart, I pushed you away,” Leo continued, his voice rough with emotion. “I told myself it was because I couldn’t give you what you needed. But the truth is, I was terrified of losing you.”
“Leo—”
“Please, let me finish.” His fingers tightened around hers. “After Felicity and William, I convinced myself that love was a weakness, that caring too deeply meant inevitable pain. So I built walls, kept everyone at a distance. But you—” His voice broke slightly. “You slipped past every defense without even trying.”
Marina felt tears gather in her eyes as Leo reached up to cup her cheek.
“When I couldn’t find you tonight,” he whispered, “when I thought I might have lost you forever, I realized what a fool I’ve been. The pain I feared was nothing compared to the agony of imagining a life without you in it.”
A tear slipped down Marina’s cheek. Leo caught it with his thumb, his touch infinitely tender.
“I love you, Marina,” he said, the words emerging with the force of long suppression. “I love your strength, your stubbornness, your brilliant mind. I love the way you challenge me, the way you see through my pretenses. I love the passion you bring to everything—your writing, your friendships, the way you care for those around you.”
Marina’s heart swelled almost painfully in her chest. “You’ve never said those words before.”
“Because I was afraid to admit how much power you hold over me.” Leo brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. “But I’m done being afraid. I want a real marriage with you. Not a convenient arrangement, not a business transaction, but a true partnership. If you’ll still have me.”
Marina searched his face, seeing the vulnerability he had hidden for so long, the man beneath the title, beneath the carefully cultivated control. “You hurt me,” she said quietly. “When you pushed me away?—”
“I know.” Remorse shadowed his features. “And I will spend every day making that up to you, if you’ll let me. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes. My instinct is still to retreat when I feel too much. But I promise to fight that instinct. To choose you, every day, even when it terrifies me.”
Marina reached out, threading her fingers through his hair. “I was so angry with you. So hurt.”
“You had every right to be,” Leo acknowledged. “I behaved horribly.”
“You did,” she agreed, a reluctant smile touching her lips. “Though I understand better now, after seeing Felicity, why you feared history repeating itself.”
Leo turned his face into her palm, pressing another kiss there. “Can you forgive me? Can we start again?”
Marina studied him for a long moment. The man kneeling before her was not the distant duke who had first confronted her about her stories nor the reluctant husband who had offered protection without emotional attachment. This was Leo stripped of all pretense, offering his heart with the same courage he had shown rushing into the theater to save her.
“I don’t want to start again,” she said finally.
Pain flashed across Leo’s face before she continued, her hand cupping his jaw.
“I want to continue from where we were before fear drove us apart,” Marina clarified. “I fell in love with you, Leo. Not with some perfect version of you but with the complicated, stubborn, passionate man you truly are. That hasn’t changed, despite everything.”
Hope dawned in Leo’s eyes. “You still love me? After I rejected you?”
“Love isn’t something that can be turned on and off like a lamp,” Marina replied, her voice softening. “Yes, I still love you. I might have been wiser not to, but my heart has never been obedient to my head.”
Leo rose in one fluid motion, drawing Marina to her feet with him. His hands cradled her face as if she were something infinitely precious. “Say it again,” he whispered.
Marina’s lips curved into a smile as she wound her arms around his neck. “I love you, Leo Rencourt. God help me, but I do.”
“And I love you, Marina Rencourt.” Leo’s voice dropped to a reverent murmur, his forehead resting against hers. “My brilliant, infuriating, magnificent wife.”
For a moment, they stood together in the early morning light, the truth of their feelings finally spoken aloud between them. Then Leo’s lips found hers in a kiss that began as gentle benediction and quickly transformed into something far more urgent.
Marina melted against him, all the longing and hurt of their separation dissolving in the heat that sparked between them. Leo’s hands slid down her back, pulling her closer until there was no space left between their bodies.
“I’ve missed you,” he breathed against her mouth. “Every night without you felt endless.”
“Then don’t spend another without me,” Marina replied, her fingers working at the buttons of his shirt.
Leo caught her hands, bringing them to his lips. “Are you certain? After everything that’s happened tonight?—”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything,” Marina interrupted, her eyes meeting his with unmistakable desire. “Make love to me, Leo. Remind me that we’re both alive, that we’ve found our way back to each other despite everything.”
Leo needed no further encouragement. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, laying her down with exquisite care upon the cool sheets. Leo joined Marina on the bed, his weight supported on his arms as he gazed down at her. The morning light filtering through the curtains cast a golden glow over her features, highlighting the love in her eyes.
Leo knelt beside Marina on the bed, his gaze filled with a mixture of tenderness and desire as he looked down at her. His fingers traced the delicate curve of her cheek, his touch reverent, as if reassuring himself she was truly safe in his arms.
“I almost lost you tonight,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. “When I couldn’t find you, when I thought?—”
Marina pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing his fears. “I’m here now. We’re both here.”
His hand slid down to cradle her neck, his thumb brushing over her racing pulse. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his head until his lips met hers in a kiss that started gently but quickly blazed into something deeper. Marina’s arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer as she parted her lips beneath his.
Leo’s kiss became more urgent, his body settling carefully over hers as his hands explored. His fingers worked at the ribbons of her nightgown, each touch purposeful yet unhurried. When the silk parted, revealing her skin to the golden morning light, his breath caught.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, trailing kisses along her collarbone. “My brave, beautiful Marina.”
She tugged at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against hers. Leo helped her, pulling the garment over his head and casting it aside. Marina’s hands spread across his chest, feeling the strong beat of his heart beneath her palms.
“I need you,” she whispered, her eyes holding his. “All of you.”
Leo’s hand slid beneath her nightgown, caressing her thigh with gentle pressure. Marina arched into his touch, her body responding instantly as his hand moved higher, discovering the heat at her center.
“Leo,” she gasped, head falling back against the pillows.
His lips found the sensitive spot beneath her ear then traveled lower to the pulse point at her throat. Every kiss was a declaration, every touch a promise that went beyond words. With careful movements, he eased her nightgown up and over her head, leaving her bare beneath him.
Marina’s fingers worked at the fastening of his trousers, her movements growing more urgent. Leo stilled her hands, bringing them to his lips.
“Slowly,” he murmured against her fingertips. “We have all the time in the world now.”
He kissed each finger before returning to capture her mouth again. His hands explored the familiar landscape of her body with renewed appreciation —the curve of her breast, the dip of her waist, the flare of her hip. Each touch drew a soft sound from Marina’s lips, each caress building the tension between them.
When he finally shed his remaining clothes, their bodies came together skin to skin, the sensation drawing a gasp from them both. Leo’s weight pressed her gently into the mattress as his hands continued their reverent exploration.
“I love you,” he whispered against her skin, the words punctuating each kiss as he moved lower. “Every part of you.”
Marina’s fingers tangled in his hair as his mouth found the sensitive peak of her breast. Her back arched, offering herself to him completely as pleasure coursed through her body.
“Please,” she whispered, her voice breaking with need. Her legs parted in invitation as Leo settled between them.
His eyes locked with hers, dark with desire but clear with emotion. “You are my heart,” he said, his voice thick with feeling. “My soul. My everything.”
Marina reached up to touch his face, tears gathering in her eyes at the raw honesty in his words. “And you are mine,” she answered. “Always.”
Leo stroked the satiny skin of her thigh then dragged a finger over her folds. He carefully parted them and circled her pearl, his touch light and teasing. When she was sufficiently wet, he sank himself into her.
It was gentle. Different. Love guided their movement.
Marina let out a blissful sigh as his cock pulsed inside her. She surrendered herself to the exquisite pleasure of him, gliding in and out of her slick tunnel. It wasn’t hurried. She swayed her hips against his, their bodies kissing and parting over and over. When she came, it was an explosion of pleasure starting at her toes and rising through her thighs and ending in her core.
Leo gave two more long thrusts, and his release was a hot flood inside of her.
When their breathing calmed, Leo drew her to him. “I’ll never let you go.”
Marina nestled against Leo’s chest, her skin still tingling from his touch as his promise wrapped around her like a shield against all future harm. In the quiet aftermath of their passion, she felt the last pieces of doubt dissolve, replaced by a certainty that transcended words or vows.
This was what she had never found with Henry, what she had scarcely believed existed outside her stories. Not just desire, but a bone-deep belonging that made the world beyond their bed seem distant and inconsequential.