Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

Ian peeked up from lifting another stone while completing the wall at Stonehurst.

Charlotte was sprawled on a blanket under the large elm tree in the field, nibbling on strawberries and reading.

It was almost July now, and the wall was nearly rebuilt. He wished, secretly, that he never had to stop. Especially since Charlotte had recently spent her mornings with him during his work.

Everything would change in time. But maybe because he was selfish, he wanted to remain like this, forever. Her easy smiles, her warm laugh, the way she teased him. Something had changed within Ian and for the first time in his life, he felt unburdened.

“You are anything but subtle, duke,” she said, flipping another page.

He chuckled, setting down the rock and then striding up to her, instantly hardening at the sight of his wife looking like a strawberry tart good enough to eat.

When she didn’t look up, he dropped to his knees and cupped her face in his rough hands. “You’ve a spot of juice there.” He licked it off as she closed her eyes and sighed.

“If you would like a strawberry, I can give you one. You don’t have to lick it off my face. ”

“Wouldn’t want you to be all sticky.”

She laughed, pulling away from his hands and rolling over to gaze up at him. Ian crawled over her, taking one hand into his and pinning it above her head. Charlotte closed her eyes and squealed in delight.

“Where’s my strawberry?” he asked, nearly growling.

She reached with her free hand and plucked one from the bowl, reaching up and stuffing it into his mouth with another giggle. “You look like a stuffed roast now.”

He dipped down, having finished half the berry, and pressed it against her lips. Her eyes locked with his, and she bit from her side slowly until their lips met in the middle, sweet, bright strawberry juice clinging to their lips.

“Oh, I’ve made a mess now.” Ian bowed down to kiss the spot along the edge of her bodice.

Charlotte arched her back from the blanket and sighed. She reached behind him and dug her fingers into his shoulders, sweat beading across his skin.

“Right here, Honeybee?”

“Yes,” she whispered, breathless. “Here. Now.”

He undid his falls and shoved up her skirts, pressed his cock against her quim, and drove into her with a grunt, the urgency consuming him. There beneath the late June sun, there in the middle of Stonehurst’s park, there with his duchess.

Charlotte cursed beneath her breath, scratching her nails into his back, urging him on, driving him to the brink of madness. Marking him as hers.

“Look at me while I’m inside of you,” he said. “Look how good you take my cock. We’re perfect, you and I.”

“Now,” she cried, “please, I wish to…”

He arched a brow, understanding. He rolled to his back, taking her along with him as she sat on top and rode out her pleasure.

It was damn heaven, watching her move over him, her eyes closed and the flush of her cheeks brightening as she found her pleasure, shaking around him.

“Lottie, I need… ”

She bent down and kissed him, rocking her hips still. “I wish for you to spend in me, Ian. We’ve begun again, have we not? Make me yours.”

A jolt of pleasure shot from his balls, chasing up his spine at her command as he spent inside her, and she collapsed onto his chest, kissing one another slowly as they both caught their breath.

She raked her hands through his hair and dropped a kiss on his bare chest, right where, until recently, he thought his heart was missing. But it was there, his pulse beating beneath her touch as if a perfect reminder of what a better man Charlotte had made him.

He rolled them over, slowly withdrew, and cleaned himself and Charlotte up with a napkin from the picnic basket before tucking himself back into his falls.

All the while, she gazed up at him, a beautiful smile on her face.

“Duchess,” he whispered. “You’re damn perfect.”

“That language is very unbecoming of a duke.”

He shook his head and laughed. “You are… I love you, Charlotte.” Ian leaned one arm over her middle, caging her in as he cupped her face in his free hand. “I love you, and I don’t tell you nearly enough.”

“I won’t complain if you keep telling me.”

“I love you,” he whispered again, claiming her mouth with his. “I love you even if you did trick me into marriage. What a happy?—”

She stiffened beneath his touch and moved her head to the side, pulling away from his kiss.

“What?”

“I love you,” he repeated.

“Do you honestly believe, after everything, that I tricked you into marriage?”

He had been teasing, but now as the panic gripped his chest, he struggled to speak, sitting on his arse as she pulled away and jumped to her feet.

“Tell me. And so help you, Ian, be honest.”

“What do you want me to say? What have I said wrong? I love you, Charlotte.”

She scoffed, her tendrils of honey hair escaping her plait .

“I have told you the truth, and for a time, I tricked myself into believing I wasn’t worthy of your love. I waited, heartbroken. But heartbreak grew to hatred. And then you returned and demanded to be a part of my life as if you wished for me to be your wife. Yes, I am your wife in title, but I refuse to give you my heart if you cannot love me for me and not believe the truth. It’s not enough for me. You cannot love me in pieces.”

“Charlotte, please, you don’t need to run off…”

She spun around and glared at him, holding up her finger at him. “Oh no, I am not running off. I am leaving. Leaving you and Stonehurst, leaving because I have given you my heart again, and all you’ve shown me is that you’re capable of breaking it. You have shown me that I deserve more, and I won’t stay quiet again.” She mounted her horse, throwing off his touch. “Don’t touch me.”

“Lottie!” he yelled after her.

But she raced off across the park, leaving him alone.