“I’m sorry.” And he was. He was sorry for the lot of them.
“I don’t expect you to condone my choices. I would hope that you could understand them.”
Teddy understood that he would defy to world to love Juliette. Yes, he understood.
“As it is, the dukedom is safe from rancor. You’ve been running it for years, everyone knows it. The creditors, the tenants, the bankers—they are already far more comfortable with you than they have ever been with me. Juliette will be a wonderful duchess.”
“She needs to know the truth.”
“Nay, Teddy.”
“She is stronger than you know. She deserves the truth, I won’t lie to her.”
Derek looked at him for a long time. “I shall miss you, little brother. More than words can say.”
Teddy didn’t understand a lot of things. It made no sense to him how Derek could have those kinds of feelings for another man; in truth, it went against so much that he believed in, the order that sustained his life. But beyond all that, Derek was his brother. He drove him mad more often than not, but he loved him.
The first step was the hardest. After that, each succeeding footfall that brought him closer to his brother became easier, more urgent. When at last he could reach him, he palmed his shoulder. And then he embraced him, likely for the first time since they were boys. And he remembered what it had been like then, when Derek had been the one he turned to when he was frightened or unsure. Derek who taught him to climb trees and then cleaned his knees when he fell. Derek who held him when he cried after their father’s funeral.
In reality, it had also been Derek who taught him how to keep accounts, how to tell if a man was lying to you in business, how to act like a duke. And when he learned those lessons, it was then that his brother let go.
Losing him was like losing a father all over again.
* * *
She’d always known her brother wasn’t like other men.
It never bothered Juliette; she just never understood why it meant that she must take care of everything all the time. Take care of everyone.
At least she’d had help with the funeral. Laying her brother “to rest” would have been much more difficult if it hadn’t been for Teddy. And now, all was said and done—Mother was living in the far west wing, Peter and Derek were adventuring in parts unknown with new identities and piles and piles of pounds.
And she had Teddy.
He never faltered, not once. And she hoped she offered him the same measure of comfort. She waited for him to come to bed, staring into the fire blazing in their bedroom as if they ever needed help keeping it warm.
“Good evening, your grace.” He surprised her from behind the sofa, placing his sure hands on her shoulders. She tilted her head back for a kiss and as usual, the passion overtook them.
In what seemed only heartbeats of time, she was straddling his lap, the fire warming her back while he stoked the flames inside her. Suddenly, he stilled her hips with his hands and looked up at her. His eyes were darkened with passion, but something else alit them as well.
He brushed the hair from her shoulder to her back and gently placed his hand over her heart. “I fell, Juliette. I can’t tell you exactly when it happened. I should have told you sooner…”
“Now is fine, Teddy. Tell me now.” Now, while we’re naked and you are inside me.
“I love you. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t.”
She placed her hand over his heart, awed by the power of its beat. “I love you, too. I love the way you control everything so meticulously except your passion for me. I love the way you make me feel important, but never overwhelmed. And I love that when I do this…” She moved her hips and his hands squeezed her tightly, reflexively. “When I do that, you can barely control yourself.”
“I can control myself.”
She did it again.
He groaned.
Juliette giggled.
“Alright wife, you’ve had your fun. I’m a duke now and I have certain responsibilities.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. This is very important.” He lowered his hands to her bottom. “I need an heir. Urgently. We must work on it day and night until we get one. No theatrics.”
“Well then, my lord, let’s just dispense with the awkward deed and hope for the best.”
The End
About the Author
Gwen Hayes lives in the Pacific Northwest with her real life hero, their four children, and the pets that own them. She writes books for teen readers about love, angst, and saving the world. Her debut novel, FALLING UNDER, will be released in March of 2011 by NAL.
For more information about Gwen, please visit her website at www.gwenhayes.com.
Gwen Hayes, Second Son of a Duke
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