Chapter Twenty-Six
Hugo’s heart pounded to the point of pain. So much happiness flooded through his body, he wasn’t sure how to contain it. How could one person feel such exhilaration without shouting it to the world?
He wrenched his lips from hers with a ragged breath. “Marry me,” he ground out.
She blinked up at him, eyes still dazed. “What?”
Perhaps that had been a little too abrupt. He cupped her beautiful face in his hands, his heart overflowing. “Marry me.”
A hesitant smile spread over her kiss-swollen lips. “You wish to marry me?”
“More than I’ve ever wanted anything. And that is saying a lot. I’m quite a greedy glutton.”
Her soft, husky laugh made things tighten low in his belly. It would be a miracle if he was able to walk out of this library.
“Well, that I can believe easily enough. The gluttony, that is,” she said with a teasing glint in her eye. “You do seem the greedy sort.”
“Only where you are concerned,” he chuckled.
God, he loved this woman. Though, he hadn’t told her yet. Not in so many words. “I really am an unforgivable dolt.”
“True,” she said, startling another laugh out of him. “Though only the dolt part. On occasion, perhaps,” she continued. “Certainly not the unforgivable part. For I forgave you long ago. I’m not even confident when.” She frowned slightly, her eyes going distant with her thoughts.
“I will strive every day to be worthy of that forgiveness,” Hugo said quietly, his heart aching at the hurt he’d done her so many months ago. “Though you are far more charitable than I. I’m not certain I will ever forgive myself.”
“Hmm.” She reached up to caress his cheek. “You are far harsher on yourself than you ever are on others. You should be kinder to the man I love.”
Her admission rocked him to his foundations. “You love me?”
She nodded. “A truly staggering amount. It’s a bit embarrassing, really.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I was just about to confess my own embarrassingly staggering amount of love for you.”
“Hmm,” she murmured again with a sly smile. “Yet I said it first.”
“I was unaware we were in competition.”
“Aren’t we always?”
“I suppose we are.” He flashed her a delighted grin. “I suppose I shall just have to say it better then.”
“I don’t see how—”
“I love you,” he said, pressing an ardent kiss to her lips. “I have loved you since the moment you nearly struck me with that ribbon in the hat shop.” He trailed his lips over her temple, her cheeks, and then down the column of her neck. “I have loved you from the very first letter you sent.”
His hands skimmed up her sides, barely brushing the flesh beneath.
A fine tremor ran through her, and he smiled against the soft skin beneath her ear.
“I have loved every word you’ve written, every word you’ve spoken.
The teasing ones, the angry ones, the mocking ones.
” He punctuated each example with another kiss along her neck and collarbone until she was gripping his arms to keep herself upright.
“The passionate ones,” he nearly growled in her ear.
A quiet gasp escaped her throat, and he kissed her again, his mouth moving over hers with a fervor that was almost frantic. He could not get enough of her. He did not think he’d ever get enough of her.
“I love you so much it nearly overwhelms me. It is… uncontainable. Exhilarating. And terrifying. And if it ever stops, I am very afraid I might cease to exist altogether.”
He pulled back so he could look into her eyes. Eyes that were suspiciously bright, though the smile she gave him nearly stole his breath.
She dragged in a jagged breath, exhaling with a sharp laugh. “Very well. You win.”
Hugo chuckled and pulled her into an embrace. He loved the feel of her in his arms. He’d hold her all day if she’d let him. “And what is my prize then?” he asked.
She tilted her head back, her cheeks flushing pink. “I do not consider it much of a prize. But if you truly want me, then…I shall marry you.”
*
Adaline’s heart thundered in her chest. Had she really just agreed to marry him? This didn’t feel real. Even with her lips still swollen from his kisses, her skin still tingling from his touch, it felt like a dream. And she was terrified she’d wake.
“You have made me the happiest man alive, my love,” he said, caressing her cheek.
She raised a brow. “Are you certain of that? We do have a tendency to argue. Over everything.”
“Ah, but we both enjoy that,” he said, waving that away.
“And if we stop enjoying it?”
He shrugged. “We shall find other, more enjoyable, ways to pass our time.” He leaned in closer, his lips hovering near her ear. “Perhaps there are a few ideas in those books you love to read.”
She gasped and slapped at his arm. “That was of the utmost secrecy, my lord, never to be uttered aloud.”
“My apologies,” he said with a chuckle. “Though the idea itself has merit, you must admit.”
“I suppose,” she teased. “Though perhaps we should check your sketchbook instead.”
Hugo beamed at her. “We can do both, dearest. And shall.” His smile faded into an impatient grimace. “As soon as the vicar gives us his blessing.”
Her brow furrowed, some of her happiness waning. “A vicar might be the only one who will give us his blessing,” she said. “Our families will likely not.”
Hugo rubbed her upper arms, pulling her to him for a quick kiss on her forehead. “We shall make them. I will not let anyone stand in our way.”
“Oh?” She raised her brows. “You cannot simply bully your way past their prejudices.”
“Can I not?” He raised his own brows. “I can be rather stubborn, as I am sure you well know by now. And charming as well, as I am certain you know.”
Adaline rolled her eyes, drawing a chuckle from Hugo.
He gave her arms a gentle squeeze. “We will convince them. Our families both desire us to wed. We are both from good households—”
“You are the son of a duke.”
“A second son,” he reminded her. “And your father might not have been titled, but he was a very well-respected member of Parliament. As your brother is set to be when he is elected to your father’s seat. He has been assured by the landholders in his borough of the position, has he not?”
“Yes, but…”
Hugo smiled. “Well then. My family should have no objections to you based upon your bloodlines.”
“No. But they shall object to me all the same, will they not?”
Hugo frowned, unable to refute her. “It is true they fear that you had set your sights on Edward and then decided upon me when he was unavailable.”
She shook her head, vehemently. “But that simply isn’t true. I hadn’t heard a word of any supposed proposal until I returned to town days after the conversation occurred. And I would not have accepted even if I had been consulted.”
Ha! That confirmed his suspicions about her supposed reaction. She hadn’t known anything about her brother’s actions. “I know, dearest,” he said, trying to soothe her. “My family will accept the truth eventually.”
She sighed. “Even if they do, mine will certainly object to you,” she continued.
“My brother would rather see you bleeding on the end of his rapier than wed to me. He feels you purposely humiliated him. And…he is not wrong,” she said, glancing up at him.
“Though he bears a large amount of blame for exacerbating the situation.”
Hugo let out a sigh and pulled her back into his arms. “I know. But they will get used to the idea. If we can not only forgive each other but fall in love, surely they can put aside their grudges.”
Adaline laughed quietly. “You have more faith in them than I, my lord.”
“Hugo.” He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her face up to meet his gaze. “I would like to hear my name on your lips. Adaline.” He kissed her and then whispered, “Millie.”
Adaline shivered in his arms, her entire body coursing with warmth and desire.
“I love you, Hugo.” She reached up on her tiptoes to brush a soft, barely-there kiss to his lips. “My Mayhem,” she added, her voice hardly more than a whisper.
He crushed her to him, and she clung to him desperately, their lips moving feverishly together.
When they finally broke apart, she was ready to burn down the world if it stood in their way.
Hugo took a deep, shuddering breath and then squared his shoulders. “Come, love. Let us go face our dragons.”