She made a small sound of disagreement in the back of her throat, but he shook his head, meeting her gaze again.
“I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for what happened,” he said hoarsely. “But I want to try, to move past it, to move forward. And I believe, with you by my side, I’ll be able to.”
With her by his side…
“You are home to me, Lissy. After three-and-forty years, I finally feel as though I’ve come home. Because of you.”
“So, what does that mean, Ash?” She searched his gaze, and not even the quickly darkening night could hide the emotion swimming in his shadowed gaze. She needed him to say it, she needed to hear the words.
“I love you.”
He leaned back and coasted his knuckles up and down her neck. She shivered.
“I cannot express the depths of my penitence for causing you to think that I need an excuse to marry you. The last thing I need is an excusetomarry you, which is why I have been trying to come up with excuse after excusenotto marry you. And not one of those reasons had anything to do with you and had everything to do with issues I struggle with, with my past that weighs me down.”
She nuzzled into his hand, forcing him to cradle her face. She let out a happy sigh, as did her glowing heart. Because after all of those notes? How could she not believe the truth in those words?
“You said it yourself: I have been fighting this, what is between us. One does not fight for or against something if one is indifferent.”
He cupped her face in his hands, and her eyes flitted shut at the feel of his warm, strong, certain finger. His lips coasted over hers as he spoke. “What I feel for you is not indifferent. It is not soft. It is not tame. It is raw and unrestrained and painful in its ferocity.”
A soft growl rumbled from him. “God, and these measly words, they are a pitiful, inadequate attempt at explaining what I feel for you. No number of words on parchment would ever do it justice. Because what I feel for you? The love filling every part of me that is purely for you? That love is as vast and endless as the heavens above us and burns just as brilliantly as the stars that reside within it. I am helpless against it. Helpless against you.”
Oh, this blasted silver-tongued man. She was nothing but a puddle in his hands.
“I want the best for you, Lissy, and that will never be me. But if your choice is me? Then I will acquiesce and let myself be the selfish bastard I have been struggling to keep at bay, thanking my bloody stars the fates have finally decided to shine down on me.”
His thumb brushed softly over her bottom lip. “I love you, Felicity. And I want to spend the rest of my days with you. With you as my wife. Loving you.” His hands drifted down her neck, coasting down the sides of her breasts, and she sucked in a breath. “Worshiping you,” he said, settling his hands just above her hips and drawing her tight against him. His lips drifted over hers. “Will you marry me, Lady Felicity Jennings?”
She melted into him. “It’s about bloody time.”
His chuckled, breath puffed against her skin as he skimmed his lips over her cheek. “I take it that is a yes?”
“Yes, Duke.”
He grinned against her lips and brushed his nose gently back and forth against hers. “My duchess,” he murmured.
She hummed softly. “Finally, that word feels right.”
41
Felicity
FelicitysteppedawayfromAsh, but he immediately reached for her hand, his fingers entwining with hers. She loved that he couldn’t seem to let go of her. With her free hand, she waved toward the blankets, basket, and wine.
“So, what, may I ask, is all this for?”
His lips tilted up, his sheepish expression clear even in the dimming dusk light. “I may have gotten a touch ahead of myself. I had planned for us to enjoy the sunset, wine-in-hand—”
He glanced over the Devonford lands, now nothing but varying shades of gray with peeps of orange. His lips turned down.
“I have missed my chance for that. But to follow was to be a candlelight repast—which includes lemon pies, I might add—beneath the stars…all the while apologizing profusely for being the biggest of fools.”
A smile threatened, and she gnawed on her lip. He was adorably disappointed. As though a sunset proposal of marriage was somehow lackluster compared to a glass of wine. A gentle snort escaped her, and his gaze shot to hers, fondness and tenderness evident on his softening features.
How you do these little breathy snorts when you’re amused.
Her heart smiled.
