He pulled her close, so close she was pressed against him. She had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact and with a rumble of irritation, he muttered, “This won’t do.”
And then he was bending down, his arms catching her about the waist before he straightened so her feet dangled off the ground and their gazes were level.
“There,” he said, more than a hint of smug satisfaction in his voice. “That’s better.”
“I…This…” She couldn’t finish that thought for all the gold in the kingdom. She was so close she could feel his breath on her wet skin, his body so hard against hers and his arms so tight, she felt safer than she ever had.
Like nothing and no one could ever harm her here in his arms.
No one but him.The thought made her want to weep again, but he stopped her. “No, love,” he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers. “No, don’t cry. What you overheard…what I said to my grandfather, that was only because…” His laugh was filled with disbelief. “I said that because I didn’t want him to know.”
“Know what?” she asked.
“That I love you.”
The words wrapped around her, warmed her straight through. But some little part of her was still waiting to wake up. For him to laugh and tell her he was only joking.
This hope was far too dangerous to trust.
“I hadn’t told you yet,” he continued. “So I didn’t want the first time I said those words to be in the midst of an argument with my grandfather.”
The way he explained was so reasonable. So…sensical. She wet her lips, noting with a flare of heat the way his gaze dipped and a hungry expression stole across his features.
“So you really…you really mean it?”
His gaze flicked back up to hers and she was lost in those bright blue eyes—so familiar and so new and so very dear.
“I have never been more sure of anything than the way I feel about you,” he said. His grip tightened. “I love you madly, Jane. And I didn’t want to pressure you. I thought I could marry you and slowly, gradually make you fall in love with me, but—”
She cut him off with another kiss. This one was wet with her tears, but he didn’t seem to care as he kissed her back.
He lifted a hand to cup her cheek when he drew back, his gaze still searching, so eager and filled with hope it made her heart full to bursting. “Jane, does this mean…”
“I love you too, Luke,” she said, the words bursting out with a rush of joy that had her smiling like a fool as he kissed her.
But he was smiling too and soon they were laughing as they held each other tight and kissed through the tears and laughter.
“It’ll be a real marriage then,” he said when he eventually set her on her feet. His voice sounded filled with awe, and her chest constricted with gratitude for this gift she’d been given.
“A real marriage,” she confirmed as she slid her hand into his.
Thunder rumbled in the distance as if joining in on their conversation. “Sounds like the storm’s moving on,” he said.
“I suppose we should head back,” she sighed.
His eyes glinted with laughter and mischief as he took in her disheveled gown and hair. “I’m well aware of your skills in sneaking out, my love, but tell me…”
He paused and she felt her skin tingle and her blood hum with that “my love” endearment.
He leaned down. “How are you at sneaking in?”
A giggle escaped, so high and light, and so filled with joy, she barely recognized the sound. “I suppose we’re about to find out.”
He opened the door, and while the thunder and lightning had passed, it continued to rain. “I don’t want you falling ill, Jane. Perhaps we ought to wait—”
“If you think a little rain worries me, you don’t know me at all,” she teased.
He laughed and caught her by the waist when she went to dive out into the cold. “Not so fast,” he said. “I can at least try and spare these poor slippers.”
