Page 100 of Anything But a Duke

Josephine

Diana had urged Aidan to invite his sister to their wedding, but Josephine had not come. Now he understood why.

He’d once thought his tendency to refuse the help of others was smart. A means of protecting himself. Now he saw the selfishness in it and the folly.

“What is it?” Diana asked as she approached and noticed the note in his hands.

“My sister. She’s the one who spoke to Lockwood.”

“That was very kind of her.” She stepped closer and rested her hand over his. “I’d like to meet her. It sounds like we owe her our gratitude. Do you think perhaps we should invite her to visit?”

“Yes, let’s do that.” All the old hurts had faded with time. He still mourned Sarah and wondered about his mother, but all the old resentments seemed anemic now. His happiness with Diana was the belonging he’d always sought. Still, he’d spent years searching for his family. Now that he knew he had a sister, he wanted to welcome her into his life.

Diana’s love was as boundless as her imagination. He needed to follow her example.

He hooked her arm around his and began to lead her toward the door, but she pulled him back.

“I thought we had time before dinner to...”

Aidan chuckled and turned to pull her into his arms. “Do we still have time?”

“I want us to make the time.”

“Mrs. Iverson,” he said as he pressed the study door closed and nestled her back against it, “you’re the cleverest woman I’ve ever known.”

“So you married me for my mind?”

He bent and reached for the hem of her gown, tugging the fabric higher and pressing kisses against her hip, her waist, her breast as he slid the skirt up to her waist. “That was one consideration, certainly.”

“What were the others?” Diana nipped at his bottom lip.

He groaned when she began to kiss him in earnest, stroking him with her tongue.

When he lifted his head, he told her, “You are kind, driven, and quite skilled at using an umbrella as a weapon whilst screeching like a banshee at brutish men in back alleys.”

“That was a battle cry,” she insisted as she worked the buttons of his shirt free and slipped her hand inside to feel the warm, muscled ridges of his chest. “Like an Amazon.”

“I stand corrected, love. Forgive me.” He nuzzled her cheek and then trailed openmouthed kisses down her neck.

“You’re forgiven.”

He stilled, lifted his head, and cupped her face between his hands. “Thank you, Diana.”

“I told you that debt is forgiven.”

“Not just for that night in Belgravia, but last night, and this one, and every bit of bliss you’ve given me since we met.”

Diana bit her lip, and tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you for being as stubborn as I am.”

He laughed. Then she chuckled too. They were pressed so closely together that he wasn’t sure if the reverberation of joy in his chest was her laughter or his.

When her hands dipped low to the edge of his trousers, he let out a little hiss of pleasure.

“You know, love,” he whispered, “I rather liked your Amazon cry.” He cupped her breast and stroked his thumb against her through the fabric. “I wonder if I could draw one out of you again.”

“I do hope you’ll try,” she said as she lifted off her heels to kiss him.

He smiled against her mouth. He would take any reason to be close to her, any chance to make love to her. Diana and her love were a gift that he was grateful for every day.

Nothing he’d achieved, nothing he’d ever earned, mattered as much as moments like this.

She was the one thing he could not do without.