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“That you should. The rest of your days will be with me. You might as well come to terms with that now.”

Her dark brown irises locked on his. “The rest of my days are yours.”

“And mine yours.”

It’s all he needed to be happy.

With quite a bit of effort and an unfortunate amount of pain, they managed to get him out of his garments. He fell back heavily, his injured forearm resting on the pillows she’d propped up for him, and watched lazily as she prepared herself for bed.

“Enjoying the show?” She threw over her shoulder at him.

“I do have a particular fondness for watching you undress for me.” To his disappointment, she slipped into an oversized lawn shirt. Though he couldn’t complain too much. “My clothes suit you.” He’d left her some shirts, hoping she’d sleep in them. He’d been hoping for a lot of things. He could barely believe he might be getting them.

She grinned at him as she pulled the bedding back. “Wear them better than you, I’d say.”

“I’d have to agree.”

She settled on her side, propping up on an elbow. “Is this going to be all right?” She lifted the neckcloth he hadn’t realized she’d brought with her. “Do you want⁠—”

He reached for the dangling cloth, slowly easing it from her hand. “I trust you, Theodora. I know I’m safe with you.” He dropped the fabric to the floor. “We won’t be needing that any longer.”

A mischievous smile broke free on her face. “I wouldn’t go that far, Duke. We might not need it for the same reasons.” She leaned forward and brushed a kiss to his lips. “But we will most definitely still be in need of it.”

He grinned into their kiss. “Of course, how could I have failed to think of that?”

“I am the more sensible of the two of us.”

That was how he knew there wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t figure out, any hurdle they couldn’t climb and conquer. With her determination and her brilliance, they’d always find a solution.

And he was the lucky bastard who got to be by her side while they did it.

50

Rafe

A soft knock echoed through Rafe’s study, and he looked up. And instantly smiled. “Duchess.”

She shook her head at him. “Not yet, Your Grace.”

She made her way over to him, and as soon as she got close enough, he used his good arm to pull her down to him on the couch. “Close enough,” he murmured against her smiling lips. God, how he loved her. He deepened the kiss, and his hand slid up to wrap around her plait and hold her tight.

He wasn’t going to stop reveling in the fact that she was his forever. She chose to be his forever. He’d struggled with her not wanting to marry him until that fact finally registered in his mind.

What she was giving him was even better than marriage.

She was choosing him. Not his title. Not his money. And not because she was forced to under the legal bounds of marriage. That knowledge filled the deep recesses inside him that had lain barren for so long. And when his father’s voice became loud, when his insecurities rose to the forefront, her voice rang louder.

Theo let out a soft, frustrated growl and pulled away, the both of them panting. “You cannot kiss me like that when we can do nothing about it.”

“We could try⁠—”

Her eyebrow arching cut him off.

“What! I would lie perfectly still. You’d do all the work. I think my arm and leg would be fine that way.”

“As lovely as that sounds,” she said dryly. “The answer is no. When your thigh gets even the slightest bit jostled, you wince in pain.” She leaned forward, lips grazing his ear. “You are not ready for the ride I’d take you on, Duke.”

He shivered. Damn his bloody injuries.