He returned the sentiment, and by the time they tumbled into his bed, they were both panting heavily. Clothes were discarded and thrown haphazardly about the room, so that by the time he finally sank into her wet heat, he shuddered at the sheer pleasure of being joined with her once more. His thrusts were deep and urgent, pushing them both to the brink of their resistance, until finally the dam burst and the waves of ecstasy crashed over them, more brilliant than anything Hunter had ever experienced before.
He rolled onto his back; his entire body feeling as though it was weightless. As he eventually came back to his senses, he turned onto his side and cupped Persephone’s soft cheek in the palm of his hand. “Run away with me.”
She laughed, her blue eyes sparkling with merriment as they lit on him. “You make it sound as though we are Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers who are forced to be apart.”
While Hunter hadn’t meant to blurt out his feelings for her so awkwardly, he found that once the words began, they refused to stop. “I went to the king and told him that I intended to marry you, but he refused to give me his blessing.” He shook his head. “But I don’t need his approval. If you but say the word we will get in my carriage and go to Gretna right now, this very minute.”
She stared at him a moment, and then climbed out of bed. As she drew on her robe, she frowned, “And you’re surprised that he would decline your request?” She set her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Hunter, in case you’ve forgotten, you’re a duke. I’m nothing more than your mistress, the common, bastard daughter of a harlot.”
He blew out a breath and drew on his trousers and then joined her. He held her face in his hands and made her look at him. “You are not common. You claim that I saved you from Lord Gregory, but the truth is you rescued me from a life without love, because I love you, Persephone Welton. Do you hear me? I love you.”
When she retained that stubborn expression, he wanted to shake her, to make her believe that he was sincere, but she merely sighed and said, “You are confusing lust for love. What we have isn’t real—”
“The hell it’s not!” he growled, but then he froze. “Unless…” He didn’t want to imagine that she didn’t feel the same, especially when Charlotte had claimed otherwise, but he had to hear it from her lips. “Do you not love me?”
“Of course I do,” she whispered. “But perhaps not in the way you might hope.”
He spun away from her and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what he should do next. But then, if what she said was true, what else was there to say?
“I think it’s best if I go pack my things.”
She quietly shut the door behind her, but it might as well have been slammed for all the finality it proclaimed.
***
Sephy couldn’t breathe. As she forced herself to push away from the duke’s bedchamber door, she brushed the silent tears away and entered the sanctity of her room where her heart could break in private. She had lied to Hunter, but what other choice did she have? Certain men might be lucky enough to marry their mistresses, but not the illegitimate sons of kings.
She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her valise and began to open drawers and shove things inside of it blindly. She didn’t even know what she was packing, only that she had to leave. She couldn’t stay here with Hunter any longer under the guise that what she felt wasn’t this all-consuming ache of devotion. She would never love anyone else with as much passion and commitment as she felt toward him, but neither could she reveal the truth. She couldn’t live with the guilt if he lost everything because of her. He deserved to be happy with someone he could be proud to have on his arm.
She dressed in a simple peach muslin and threw a cloak over her shoulders and tied a bonnet around her head. There was but one place that she could even think about going, and that was to Lady Virsage. The countess was her only true friend and hopefully, she could figure out a way to help her gain that small cottage in the country that she’d dreamed about.
She walked out the door without a word, although her expression was surely filled with dismay. She walked down the steps with her heart lodged in her throat and hailed down a hackney.
She climbed inside without looking back.
When she arrived at Charlotte’s house, she was shown into the front parlor. She removed her cloak and bonnet, but as Charlotte walked in, she burst into fresh tears.
“Oh, dear. What’s happened now?” Her friend urged her to the settee and smoothed her hair away from her face.
When Sephy told her what had happened with Hunter, the lady frowned. “Then why aren’t you on your way to Scotland?” she asked.
Sephy blinked. “I couldn’t possibly disgrace him like that! If he goes against the king he’ll lose everything!”
“So you lied and broke his heart instead?” Charlotte countered.
She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I had no choice, or else he wouldn’t let me go.”
The countess patted her arm. “You’re upset and not thinking clearly. Frankly, I’m rather furious at your mother for treating you this way. She isn’t the woman I used to know.” She looked away. “I’ll see that a room is prepared for you. After a strong cup of tea, and perhaps a shot of brandy, followed by a good night’s
