Page 139 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

Silence settled over the balcony.

Jane stared at the duke. “What...what is going on?”

His attention shifted immediately. He crossed the remaining distance between them. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m all right.”

He examined her face carefully. Only after seeming satisfied did some of the tension leave his shoulders.

Jane searched his eyes. “Were you serious?”

He knew exactly what she meant. He hesitated. Then nodded. “Yes.”

Her heart pounded. “You called me your fiancée.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

He looked away briefly. “I cannot leave you to Zachary.”

“Hector...”

“Our families are forever connected.” He spoke carefully. “Evan and Colin will need protection. So will your mother. It is simpler if we marry.”

Jane’s heart sank. “Simpler.”

His gaze returned to hers. “Convenience is part of it.”

She swallowed. “Only part?”

A long silence. “But?” she whispered.

He took one slow step closer. “But...I have not stopped thinking about you since the night we met. I think of you every morning. Every evening. I look for you in every ballroom. I remember every kiss. I remember wanting another.”

He lifted one gloved hand. His fingertips brushed gently along her cheek. “I’ve tried convincing myself that distance would be kinder. I failed.”

His thumb lingered against her skin. “I want you, Jane. I admire your courage. admire your heart. And I have fallen hopelessly in love with the woman who refuses to surrender.”

Tears blurred her vision. She reached for him first. Their lips met softly. Then neither seemed capable of restraint.

He drew her closer, one hand settling carefully against her waist as she rose onto her toes to deepen the kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth, plumbing the depths of her very soul. It was warm. Tender. Full of everything neither of them had dared say until now.

A gasp sounded behind them. “My goodness...”

They sprang apart. Lady Wynten stood frozen in the doorway. Her eyes moved rapidly from Jane to the duke and back again.

Jane’s face burned. “Mama, I?—”

Hector stepped forward. “Lady Wynten.” He bowed respectfully. “I owe you an explanation.”

Jane’s mother stared at him, blinking rapidly. Jane felt a rush of guilt that she had put her mother in this position. She had been through so much already.

“I have asked Lady Jane to marry me.”

Lady Wynten looked immediately to her daughter. Hope filled her expression. Jane met Hector’s eyes. There was no hesitation now.

She smiled. “I accepted.”