“Do you wish me to pinch you, so you’ll know this is real?”
“Yes, please.”
She lightly pinched his arm. “Did you feel that?”
“With all my heart.” He took her hand and placed it on his chest. The warmth from her body merged from her palm into his chest. Sighing, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensations of desire running wild through him.
“You are still a little feverish,” she said as she moved her fingers in small circles on his skin.
“Yes, a little.” He met her stare again. “But having you here with me now is what I need. Your touch heals me quicker than any kind of medicine.”
After a second look at her, it suddenly hit him she was on the verge of tears, and deep inside he felt something was wrong. Yet he dared not ask. He didn’t want to hear anything bad right now. He just wanted to hold her and imagine that everything was perfect in the world. He wanted them to be in the paradise he’d created in his dreams.
“Felix, you shouldn’t say such things.” Her voice broke and she took a deep breath. “There is no way I could replace a doctor or medicine.”
“There you are wrong.” He pulled him to the bed and sat because his legs were losing strength once more. He continued to hold her hand against his chest. “The one thing that could make me a whole man again—acompleteman—is for you to tell me you love me. You know I love you, my darling. Now I need to hear it from your lips.”
Tears filled her eyes quickly, and his heart sank. No! He would not believe she didn’t return his feelings. They had shared too much. She must have the same emotions bouncing around inside of her as he did. He just knew it!
Taking her head in his hands, he brought his mouth to hers, stopping her from saying anything right now. If his words couldn’t convince her of his love and devotion, then his kiss would.
At first her body stiffened, but within seconds, she relaxed as a sigh escaped her throat. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She clung to him as if she didn’t want to let go. He certainly didn’t want her to.
The kiss was everything he dreamed it would be, even during his hallucinations. Her lips responded perfectly with his demanding ones, and the little gasps and sighs from her throat let him know she felt the passion between them. He now prayed she’d feel his love, and that she would accept it.
He broke the kiss only to trail his lips down her throat. A soft moan rattled through her as she tilted back her head. He thought he’d heard her whisper his name lovingly. The desirous stirrings inside of him started wanting more of this most passionate woman. Taking a deep breath, he laid his head in the crook of her neck and sighed. “Katrina, I love you so much.”
What sounded like a tight sob came from Katrina’s throat and she pushed him away and struggled to stand.
“What’s wrong, my love?” He reached for her, but she scrambled off the bed and stood. Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head.
“Felix, you will never know how it pleases me to hear you say that, but I cannot... cannot...” She breathed deeply. “This love between us can never be.”
He sat on the edge of the bed again only because he worried he didn’t have enough strength in his legs to stand. “I don’t understand.”
Her face expressed indecision as she wrung her hands against her middle. “There is no doubt that I have fallen in love with you Felix, but we cannot be together.”
“That makes no sense, my darling Katrina. If we love each other, our feelings are all that matters.”
“But it’s not all that matters. Don’t you see?”
She walked closer to him and reached for his hand, which he gave gladly.
“Felix, after you had been hit with that poisonous dart, you said some things that made me start thinking about our future.”
He chuckled lightly. “My darling, I was hallucinating. That’s one of the things this poison will do to a person.”
“Then tell me truthfully. Are you the Duke of Rosewood?”
He hesitated, not because he didn’t want to tell her, but because he was still unsure that going to live in England would make him happy. “Yes, I’m a duke. The day we met in Mr. Jamison’s office, I’d received a letter from my grandmother informing me of my father’s death. She wants me to come back to England and accept my responsibilities. I was going to have one last adventure before returning.”
She squeezed his hand. “You had said something like that in your mumblings.”
“But it’s all right, my love. I want you to go with me as my wife.”
“That is not possible.” More tears filled her eyes and slid down her face. “I discovered something that I really didn’t know. My father explained to me why he had abandoned me and my mother. Apparently, my mother...” Her voice cracked. “Wasn’t very faithful to him, and he didn’t know if I was his daughter. Because my mother...” she took a quick breath, “sells her favors. She has shamed me greatly. If I marry you, Felix, I will bring that shame upon you. I cannot do that to a duke. You deserve better. Your family deserves better.”
He was speechless for a few moments, trying to absorb what she’d just told him. Her mother was a strumpet? His gut twisted, not from the lingering effects from the poison, but for Katrina’s agony. How terrible! How could her mother have done that? But what was worse was that Katrina felt she had to take the blame. That wasn’t right.
