Page 83 of Winning Her Duke

He shouldn’t be pressing for more from her. At least not until he’d made sense of these new feelings. He only knew that he didn’t feel the least bit lonely with her in his arms.

*

Almost a week after she’d arrived at Elmhurst, Gia was pleased with Godspell’s progress. But it was not all she was pleased about. She loved being home. The house was large, but comfortable. And she enjoyed strolling through the fields of oats or the path through the woods.

Owen had arrived a few days ago to assist her in training Godspell. And Godspell had a good shot at winning, according to her groom.

But it was her nights spent with Jeremy that brought her the most joy.

Jeremy seemed pleased to spend the days with her as they had in the past, talking of horses and Godspell’s training. But their nights… there was no talk of horses.

In fact, there was not much talk at all as he taught her all the ways a man could satisfy a woman. She wanted to ask if this was normal, this constant desire, but she didn’t want to pressure him into sparing her feelings. She did not need promises of a future together, though more than a few times, Gia had wondered what it might be like to have this for the rest of her days.

In the morning, she opened her eyes to find Jeremy already awake and watching her.

“What are you doing?” she asked while trying to hide her face. She felt thoroughly rumpled from their activities the night before.

“Waiting for you to wake so we can go eat. I’m rather famished after you made me do all the work last night.”

“It is too early in the morning for jokes, Your Grace.”

He chuckled, the sound deeper than usual in the mornings.

“The fact that you woke earlier than me clearly proves that I exerted more energy than you.”

She loved teasing him and watching him burst into a fit of laughter. She’d felt a certain power as she’d made love to him the night before riding astride him as she would in the saddle of a horse, but earning his laughter held a different kind of power.

She had the ability to push away all the sadness and pain of his past and make him happy, if only for a few moments before he shrugged that weight back onto his broad shoulders.

As she had the night before, she rolled on top of him and settled herself on his length, earning a hiss of delight.

“You know very well I enjoy a morning ride, Your Grace.”

He closed his eyes and tucked his hands behind his head, ceding control to her.

“I am a lucky man, indeed, for I know well how hard and fast you prefer to ride in the mornings.”

She bent to kiss his lips. And when he opened his eyes and turned that molten blue gaze on her, she knew it was she that was lucky.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hale hadn’t had a moment to concern himself about being in the country. While the sunlight filled the sky, he spent his time with Gia in the field with the horses. And when it set, he spent every waking hour in bed with her.

He couldn’t get enough of her.

Even when they spent the necessary time in the dining room eating, or in the drawing room with Julian, he enjoyed being with her. He hadn’t laughed so much in all his life.

The things he was most afraid of—marriage—were no longer scary. And each day he fell for her a little bit more.

He expected there would be a moment when he would be jerked from her spell, but for the moment he only wanted to fall deeper.

“I think he’s ready,” Gia said as he sipped his claret over dinner. Julian had chosen to stay in his room to pack for their departure the next day, so he had Gia to himself.

“Pardon?” Hale said.

“Your horse. Godspell. Remember the reason why we’ve come to Surrey?”

The reason he’d come to Surrey was to be with her. But she was correct. There was another reason as well.