A Duke in Time (The Widow Rules #1) - Janna MacGregor Page 0,126
that breathless voice that turned his insides into jelly.
“Don’t you ever dare leave me again,” he growled softly, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her soft skin. “I want to be beside you, a part of you. Understand?”
She nodded.
Still holding her hand to his lips, he cupped her cheek with his other hand. “I always wondered why I was put on this earth. Now I know. It’s to love you.” He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Completely.” He pressed another to her forehead, then trailed his lips lightly to her temple.
He filled his lungs with her scent, knowing he’d never tire of it. He’d never tire of her.
“Every day that I can show you how much I care, I will call it a success,” he said softly against her skin. He cupped her head with his hands. “I’m happy your past is behind you. I understand your feeling of relief. I feel it too. I’ve shed the horrid memories of my family because of you. I’m giving you my heart, my love, and everything I possess.”
Katherine came out of the sensual fog she was lost in. “I have nothing to give you. I sold my company to Beth and gave my money to Beth and Constance. It was the only way I could think of to keep Skeats from ruining the contract.” Her eyes searched his. “I’m worth nothing. No wealth, no home, and no dowry. I spent it all.” She sighed softly.
“I beg to differ,” he said. “If you give me nothing, then I’ll consider myself the richest man in the kingdom.” He wanted to rejoice when she combed her fingers through his hair, the touch tender and loving. “Nothing is very important. I myself am very fond of the word nothing.”
She had tears in her eyes. “You silly man. Why?”
Her love for him made her face glow and, immediately, he was caught in her warmth. “It’s a powerful word. For instance, nothing will ever keep me from you. Nothing will keep us apart. Nothing will keep me from giving you my heart. Nothing will keep me from showing you my deepest abiding love every day. Nothing will keep me from making love to you. Nothing will keep me from begging you to marry me every hour until we say, ‘I do.’”
“Enough.” At the same time, she was laughing and crying. “Enough,” she repeated, then eventually turned serious. “My turn.”
“Anything, my love.”
“I’m sure you’re angry. Do you understand why I had to do this?”
The hurt and uncertainty in her eyes told him how he answered would define their lives from this day forward. With a deliberate ease, he took both her hands in his. “I’ll be honest. I was worried, Kat. I haven’t slept or eaten in days. Though I didn’t like it, you were trying to shield me from scandal by leaving. How could I be angry for you loving me and trying to protect me?”
“Did you get the pillow?” She nodded slowly, but her eyes didn’t mask her vulnerability.
He pulled it out of his pocket. “It kept me from drowning in despair and has never left my side since you left. It reminds me of all the wonderful things you are. A woman”—he brushed a thumb across her cheek—“who loves fiercely. She possesses a deep affection for her family, her friends”—he dipped his head until he caught her gaze—“and me.” He wiped a stray tear from her face.
“I fought for myself and cleared my name.” She bit her lip. “But underneath it all, I’m still a bastard.”
“I don’t care. I love you.” He cupped her cheeks, not allowing her to look away. “Like me, you couldn’t help the circumstances of your birth. But unlike me, you were loved, Kat. I know how valuable that is. It’s everything. It makes life worthwhile. You make life worthwhile. Share your life and all your days with me. I promise I’ll fill them with love.”
She let out a tremulous sigh, then nodded slightly. “So you’ll still marry me?”
“Never doubt that.” For the first time since she left, all was right with the world. “You’ll come home with me?”
She nodded.
He pressed his lips against hers. Everything around them disappeared except this kiss and embrace. When she moaned against his mouth, he kissed her deeper as their hunger for each other threatened to consume them. Such was the beauty of them together. When she whimpered slightly, he gave her no quarter. Under no circumstances would this woman