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Chapter 78
"I apologize if I have offended you in any way, Uncle Carl. You must know I haven't the slightest intention of doing so."
Standing in his own bedchamber, Ashton chose his words with great care. In the heat of the moment, he managed to persuade his uncle to settle their dispute in the nearest place that provided privacy, that happened to be his bedchamber.
He knew that his spontaneous reaction must have shocked the hell out of his uncle. All his life, he had been totally obedient to this man, and now for the first time, he had openly defied him in front of another peer. He couldn't tell if Selene had told his uncle about his alleged affair, he could only speculate.
Remaining silent, his uncle was staring out the window. Ashton proceeded with his explanation.
"That woman was entirely blameless. She had just fallen victim to an assault. In my opinion, she didn't deserv
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Sitting on the edge of her bed, Ava stared out the window absentmindedly. It was late at night, but the candles on the sideboard were still burning bright. Ever since her last encounter with him this evening, her entire mood turned into sheer melancholia. Of all the trouble she was facing now, she knew that it was not the threat that overwhelmed her or the insults that broke her heart. It was the farewell.By chance a series of incidents got their paths crossed over and over again. Now it seemed like fate kept throwing him into her gravity, but she knew that one day, he would completely disappear from her life. She always knew. Right from the start. They lived in different world. And really, no matter how attracted she was to him, she never had any expectations for a further entanglement. She had no interest in starting an affair. She had no wish to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors. And so was he. No matter how obsessed he was with her, he never suggeste
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Twisting frantically beneath him, she clawed at his hands, digging her fingernails into his wrists, but his grip was too strong to wriggle out of. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing escaped her constricted throat. Her lungs started to ache as his grip tightened, leaving her with no air. The edge of her vision went dark. In nearly surreal moment, she thought dimly that this was her final destiny. Then suddenly the weight upon her body and the tightness in her throat was gone.Ashton arrived on the scene of the incident not a moment too soon. Had he come a minute later, the man would very likely have finished her. Grabbing the villain's collar from behind, he pulled the man off with a brutal force. He struck the man a quick, sharp blow on the face, sending him sprawling across the ground. He could just have killed the man, piercing him with his sword from behind, but he needed the man alive to know something, or precisely to confirm something. He straddle
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He could feel her body tense in shock and resistance. For a fleeting instant, he thought she would start back in revulsion, but a second later, her hand slid to his uninjured shoulder and her fingers curled against his flesh. The strip made no sound as it dropped to the ground.His powerful thrust forced her head to tip back. With a gentle insistence, he urged her to part her lips. Holding the back of her neck with one hand, he kissed her with desperation that both startling and frightening. He never felt a stronger need, an irresistible urge to have something then and there, as if he was going to die and her lips were the only remedy.He kissed her out of the blue, it knocked the wind out of her. When his lips met hers, however, she could not for a moment tear herself apart. It was hot and sweet, strong and delicate, and fierce and tender at the same time, it was more than all she had ever known. It was like being caught by a spell, she was
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That comment gave her a sudden stab of pain. She took a hurtful lungs of breath, wishing that emotion didn't find a way into her face. Polly regarded her warily, then asked,"Have you given yourself to him?"Ava reacted instantly as if she was just stung by a bee."No! I told you we just kissed.""Good. Next time never let him take advantage of you again."A moment of awkward silence dragged on several seconds. After some time, without quite looking at Polly, she murmured uneasily,"I still have to return to him to bind his wound,"She hesitated,"Or, will you do it for me?""Jesus, no!!!"Polly spurned abruptly, her mouth twisted into a grimace."All right, then. I must return to him now. I've made him wait too long."She turned away from her friend. Polly bored her gaze into her back, grumbled in annoyance."I can't believ
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To tell the truth, at the moment she was afraid that he was cornering her into a situation from which she could not escape. Coming with him to his place was like entering a lion's den. Under his protection, she might be safe from the rest of the world, but who was going to save her from him?"I can just leave this town on my own, that's what your fiancée asked of me. I don't have to leave with you."She suggested, and he responded with an irritated frown."You're saying that you want to travel on the street on your own? For Christsakes, a man has just tried to kill you and now he is somewhere out there, waiting for another chance to attack. Don't you understand you're in great danger?""But I don't think it's a good idea. Think about it, if we both suddenly disappear at the same time, people will know instantly, or at least suspect, that we're leaving together. Can you imagine what would they think of us? It would bring
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An hour later, they were arrived at Waterside Inn. He helped her mounting from the hackney and held her by the arm along the way, as though to keep her from running. She and Polly wore a cloak and a big shawl around their neck, covering almost all of their faces and hair. They cast down their eyes and tugged the hem of the shawl until it covered their mouth while heading to the concierge. From the way the concierge got on his feet quickly and approached him, Ava knew instantly that the staff recognized him. It was difficult to stay unnoticed with his unusual hair color. She was certain that his ripped, blood-stained waistcoat didn't escape the staff's notice, however the man wisely kept his gaze averted from the sight of the duke's disheveled appearance, and greeted him properly.Ava heard him muttering about bumping into some burglars on his journey and she could hear a little, although he said it in a low voice, he stated in an unmistakable tone to the staff t
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A not so distant clash and clang echoed in the air as though answering her question and before long, a small cottage came into sight, along with two men fighting with swords in the front yard. Bursting with relief and emotion, she stopped and cried out his name."Magnus!"The two men stopped at once and turned toward her. Her heart nearly stopped at the very sight of him. God, it's been a long time. She felt her chest squeeze in tightening ache.He didn't change much. He looked just like the last time she left him in the barn. He looked so ruggedly handsome, and suddenly it felt like they just laughed and kissed and walked together not so long ago."Magnus."A sob escaped her voice as tears constricted her throat. Heat sprang to her eyes and spilled over her face. She removed her hat and tossed it to the ground."Ava?"He whispered her name and flung his sword, runn
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A few hours later in the evening, Ashton tipped his head back, peering up the white, classical facade of Waterside Inn. He felt like a miserable fool, standing on the edge of the street for almost half an hour only to see the light in her window. He caught a movement beneath the white sheer curtains. The slender figure ceased to move, and the next second, the window pushed open. Her face appeared in the window frame."Hey,"She called, peering down at him. She darted a look around, then her gaze drifted back to him."What are you doing out there at this hour?""Just checking around."He replied shortly, looking up at her.She looked hesitated, but then she asked again, making a gesture with her hand."Do you want to go upstairs?""No, I'm just about to leave."He looked away, staring idly at the empty street."Wait."She said unexpectedly
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