Chapter 27 Duke
DUKE
After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen, washing all the dishes and putting away the leftovers. Olivia had been downright pissed about it, insisting that she should be the one to clean since I’d done the cooking, but I refused.
I was enjoying the brief glimpse of what domestic life would’ve looked like with her.
It wasn’t flashy or over-the-top, but rather simple.
She enjoyed reading books and going for walks in the pasture.
And at night, as I was informed only moments ago, she enjoyed soaking in a bathtub when her schedule allowed.
Walking down the hall, I pushed open the door to Olivia’s bedroom. I followed the scent of rich amber and vanilla into the bathroom, finding her already neck deep in bubbles with a glass of wine sitting on the standing tray near her head. Her hair was up, piled into a messy bun.
I was immediately taken back to the night I’d watched her through the cracked door. When she’d dropped the towel and given me my first glimpse of her.
My cock hardened at the memory. Especially knowing she was naked beneath all those bubbles right this very moment.
“Kitchen’s clean,” I said, resting my shoulder against the doorframe. “Even wiped down the counters for you.”
Olivia grabbed her wine, taking a hearty sip. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.”
“I wanted to.”
“Well… Thank you,” she said. She gestured toward the water. “Care to join me?”
“Honey, I don’t think—”
She rolled her eyes. “This tub is massive, Duke. Get your ass in here before I drag you in.”
“I’d quite like to see you try,” I said.
I pushed off the frame and started toward her, reaching behind my neck and pulling my t-shirt off. It hit the floor with a soft thud, followed quickly by my sweats and briefs.
She sucked in a breath as her gaze dipped down my body. It was a strange sort of confidence. One I wasn’t used to.
I’d always been a bigger guy, which hadn’t bothered me until much later in life. Sports and the gym kept me lean enough, but I was never going to be the man to have washboard abs and blatant muscle definition.
Last night, Olivia had taken those fears and squashed them beneath her red-bottomed stilettos.
“Scoot up,” I said, stepping into the tub.
Water sloshed over the side as I settled in behind her. She leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder as my arms found her waist. Classical renditions of pop songs played softly in the background.
It was peaceful.
She was peaceful.
“I like these moments alone with you,” I quietly confessed. “They feel special.”
Olivia was silent for a moment before nodding. “They’re my favorite. It’s like we’re the only two people in the world.”
I pressed a kiss to her temple, savoring the heat along her skin. There was so much I could say, but what good would it do? I was terrified of breaking us out of this bubble we’d found ourselves in. It felt safe here.
Even if all we were doing was slowly breaking our own hearts.
“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?” I asked.
She hummed, taking a sip of her wine. “Who’s going?”
“As much as I love the girls, they’re staying home this time,” I said.
“I’ve been to so many places. London, Paris, Milan.” She listed each one, ticking them off her fingers. “And they’re extraordinary, don’t get me wrong—”
“But?” I couldn’t help but run my fingers across the expanse of her stomach and up to her breasts. Soon, I wouldn’t be able to do this whenever I wanted, so I needed to take full advantage of it while I could.
“But, other than this tub in this cottage right now,” she said, smiling. “I’d most like to go back to that cabin John rented for us.”
“The one from graduation?”
She nodded. “It felt simpler back then. I still had my whole life ahead of me. No kids or ex-partners or careers. It was just you, me, Lukas, and John for one full weekend.” Her words trailed off.
“I don’t even know if it still exists, but in a perfect world, I imagine it does and that’s where I’d like to go. ”
“There’s an easy way to find out. You could go there any time you wanted,” I said, bringing my hands up to her shoulders. The muscles beneath my fingers were tight. I rubbed them gently, enjoying the way she melted into my touch.
“It wouldn’t be the same without you.” I waited for her to say more, to add in Lukas at the very least.
It wouldn’t be the same without me.
“Maybe we can make that dream come true sometime,” I murmured, kissing the spot beneath her ear.
“Really?”
“I think—I hope—you know by now that there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you, honey.”
We let the weight of my words settle between us like an anchor sinking to the bottom of the sea, understanding there were so many meanings to them.
Olivia’s chest shuddered as she let out a quiet sob. She quickly covered her face with her hands as I held her tighter to my chest. “Hey,” I crooned, nuzzling her neck. “Don’t cry, baby. Please don’t cry.” When she didn’t stop, my own voice broke. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s not you,” she whispered. “I just hate that I’ve gotten us into this mess and have no way of getting us out. No matter what decision I make, I’m going to hurt someone.”
I didn’t speak for a moment, giving her the space to feel the grief and rage of our situation. “You could stay,” I offered quietly.
“I can’t—”
“Give me a good reason why you can’t.”
Olivia turned toward me. The grief-stricken expression on her face was nearly my undoing.
“Because of my job. I have an obligation to my family to carry on the legacy at Hartstrings. It’s got our family name, for Christ's sake.” She laughed, but it was laced with resentment.
“And Lukas has said time and time again he has no interest in taking over, so that leaves me to be the one to carry the brunt of the work. I have no one to tag me out of this mess, and so I have to see it through.”
“Even though you’re miserable?”
“I’m not—”
Olivia tried to pull away, but I cupped her face and forced her to stare at me.
“Honey, look at you. Don’t even try to deny it.
The thought of going back to a career where you’re overworked and underappreciated is killing you.
And the fucked up truth is that John died before he could understand the toll it’s taken on you. ”
I watched the fight leave her eyes as she crumbled into my arms.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Olivia. But I want you to know that you have your family’s support. You have my support.”
I pulled her into my chest, surprised she was even willing to go. We laid like that until the water was cold and the wine was gone. Neither of us spoke. At this point, words would only cause more harm than good.
Standing up, I helped her out of the tub. She reached for the towel, but I shook my head. “Let me do this.”
She didn’t argue, letting me run the soft fabric over her skin until she was dry. And then I picked her up, carrying her bridal style to the bed. She slipped wordlessly under the sheets, watching me as I followed in after.
Olivia reached out, carefully tracing the lines of my face. Whether it was to commit to memory or just in reverence, I didn’t care. As she reached my lips, I kissed the pad of each finger before reaching for her other hand to do the same.
“Will you hold me?” she asked, looking up at me through thick black lashes.
“Always.”
I opened my arms in response, welcoming her. It was amazing how perfectly her body fit against mine. Like we were two halves of a whole. Meant to be. Written in the stars. All the lovey-dovey bullshit I hadn’t believed in in years.
We fell asleep like that: safe, warm, and content.
And when she woke me up in the middle of the night, kissing my neck and stroking me to life, I welcomed that, too.
Returning her soft touches with ones of my own.
We murmured things we shouldn’t have. The gently whispered, “I’m yours,” echoed on each other’s lips, signaling something bigger than either of us had anticipated when we ran into one another at the grocery store.
I claimed her body as much as I claimed her heart, and she’d done the same to me.
It wasn’t just sex this time. No, this was different.
It was a promise. A commitment to love and cherish not only the other’s mind, but body as well. It was two souls coming together, binding themselves to one another in a way that time, distance, and obligation could never break apart.
It was also, unfortunately, a lie.