The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

Both men were taken to the nearby infirmary while total chaos broke out around them. Servants and villagers rushed back and forth with heavy buckets, frantically trying to extinguish the flames consuming the rest house.

August and Samir stood by the waiting carriages as the injured were loaded inside to be transported for care.

”Your Highness, you did not sustain any injuries, did you?” Samir asked, scanning the Prince for burns or cuts.

”No, I am unharmed. What about you?”

”I am fine as well, Your Highness.”

Before another word could be spoken, a sharp crack echoed through the air, followed by frantic shouting.

”The building is going to collapse! Step back, everyone!”

August and Samir turned just as the two-storey rest house crumbled to the ground in a cloud of ash and embers. The fire had consumed the timber so completely that nothing could prevent its collapse.

”Your Highness, what do you think?” Samir asked, his gaze dark with concern. ”The blast originated in the kitchen, but could someone have been targeting you?”

He surveyed their surroundings carefully, but heard only the desperate cries of the survivors and the frantic commotion of people helping one another to safety.

”This needs to be investigated,” August stated, watching the embers dance in the smoke. ”Though I doubt anyone would dare attempt such a thing. I am not even in the fight for the throne.”

”That changes nothing, Prince August. The nobles can be utterly ruthless when it suits them,” Samir warned. He gestured toward an arriving carriage, and the two men climbed inside, leaving the chaotic scene behind.

”Where shall we head now, Your Highness?” Samir inquired, settling onto the cushioned seat. ”To the infirmary to check on Xenia and her brothers?”

”No. Take us to another place where I can rest and think,” August replied.

Samir slid open the small wooden panel behind them and passed the instruction to the coachman before leaning back into his seat.

August rested his head against the cushioned leather and closed his eyes, his mind working through the evening’s events.

’The attack could very well have been aimed at me, he contemplated in the dark silence of the carriage. The fire originated directly in the kitchen. Setting the charge there ensured maximum destruction while keeping the perpetrators entirely hidden from suspicion.’

”Your Highness, will you return tomorrow?” Samir asked, breaking the silence.

”I cannot. Such a tragedy happened. Tomorrow we will get the proper report of the incident,” August answered, keeping his eyes shut.

~~~~~

At the grand dinner table, an uneasy silence hung over the adults, broken only by the sharp, quiet bickering of Duke Rodney and Lady Meghan’s daughters. The two girls seemed capable of turning even the smallest passing dish into a fierce debate.

”Girls, do you wish to be disciplined?” Lady Meghan reprimanded them. ”We have honored guests present. Show some proper decorum.”

”We do not mind in the least, Lady Meghan,” Damian interjected smoothly, aiming to defuse the tension in the room. ”Children naturally bring life to a quiet table. It reminds me of my own youth, my cousins and I could rarely be silenced, no matter how sternly we were scolded.”

”Indeed, youth carries its own spirit,” Duke Aaron Silverleaf added, a faint smile gracing his features. ”I am nearly into my forties now, yet those lively, untamed years remain something I recall with great fondness.”

Exchanging triumphant glances across the silver platters, the two sisters shared a secret smile, their earlier squabble instantly forgotten.

Once they finished dinner, everyone retired to their chambers for the night.

”Eilika, what were you like as a child?” Damian asked, watching her as she stood before the mirror, unfastening her jewelry.

”What do you mean?” She set down her pearl earrings on the wooden vanity and focused her attention on the delicate gold bracelets encircling her wrists.

”I was just wondering... were you always so quiet?”

”You spoke as though you had great fun with your cousins at dinner,” she remarked, meeting his gaze through the reflection. ”Yet Mother always mentioned that you were the quiet child among them.”

”Yes, though I had my moments,” Damian replied with a quiet smile, settling back against the pillows. ”Sylvian and I shared such a close bond that we would practically pull the Crown Prince’s leg at every opportunity.”

”I was taught strict etiquette and proper decorum from the moment I could walk,” Eilika murmured, rising from the vanity chair. ”And as you know, my relationship with my stepsister was never particularly warm.”

”Did you not have distant cousins to spend time with?” Damian asked curiously.

”I do, but we were never close,” Eilika answered, stepping away from the mirror.

”Oh.” Damian turned his head, his eyes following her every movement. She extinguished the lamps, plunging the chamber into a soft, ambient glow, before slipping beneath the duvet beside him.

Without hesitation, Damian shifted closer, wrapping a firm hand around her waist and pulling her into the center of the bed. Eilika gasped softly at the sudden movement, her breath catching in her throat.

”Eilika,” he whispered into the quiet night, his arms wrapping securely around her back as he pulled her against him.

”Hmm?”

”I was suddenly thinking I want a daughter,” Damian said.

She looked up at him, her eyes widening in surprise.

”I mean it,” he stated softly. ”Though in the end, it is in God’s hands. But I know whatever child we have will be loved by everyone.”

”Do you really want me to have your child? In the past, you have been—”

”Scared,” he finished for her. ”I admit that, Eilika. I still carry that fear. But with you, I know I can overcome it.” A faint, self-deprecating smile touched his lips. ”Though we have not even been properly intimate yet, and here I am, already speaking of having a child with you.”

Eilika smiled softly, her heart swelling as she leaned up to press a tender kiss to his cheek.

She left her palm resting against his jawline, feeling the warm pulse beneath his skin as their eyes met in the dim light.

Damian leaned down, lightly kissing the tip of her nose before his lips found hers in a gentle, deliberate press.

Eilika shifted beneath him, straightening against the soft mattress as he slowly hovered over her, his weight a comforting presence.

What began as a soft touch deepened into a breath-stealing kiss, as if the rest of the world had dissolved around them.

Damian’s hand cradled the back of her head, his fingers threading through her hair while his other hand traced a slow path up from her thigh to her waist, pulling her closer against him.

His palm rested against her chest, feeling the wild flutter of her heart beneath his touch.

Damian’s fingers shifted across her skin, finding her breast and gently shaping it through the fabric.

A soft moan escaped her lips directly against his.

They parted just long enough to draw a long breath, the heat between them surging before their mouths crashed together once more.

When her lips parted, his tongue swept past them, meeting hers in a fiery rhythm that left them both breathless.

Reaching beneath her head, Damian unthreaded the ties of his nightshirt with practiced ease. He broke the kiss and sat up, pulling the garment over his head and tossing it aside.

Eilika’s chest heaved as she took in the sight of him, the broad expanse of his chest framing the sculpted ridges of his abdomen in the faint light of the bedchamber.

Damian sat up, bringing Eilika up with him until she was sitting in front of him. He gently pressed her hands against his bare chest, a small hiss escaping his lips at the sudden chill of her skin.

”Why are your hands so cold?” he murmured against her ear. He lightly nipped her earlobe, drawing a low gasp from her lips.

While his mouth lingered at her neck and ear, his hands traced the back of her nightdress, expertly untying the ribbons that held it closed.

”Damian, I thought you would be tired tonight,” she murmured. ”And mind you, we are in someone else’s house.” Pushing gently against his chest, she met his intense blue eyes.

”So? Does that mean we cannot indulge ourselves?” His nose nuzzled against her cheek, tracing the faint scar there with soft, reassuring kisses before his hands pushed the straps of her dress down past her shoulders.

The cool air hit her bare skin, raising a shiver across her arms, but she stayed close to his warmth, her eyes fixed on his.

”You are beautiful. Inside and out,” Damian whispered, planting a tender kiss on her bare shoulder before pulling her up into his lap.

She shifted to straddle him, her knees resting against the soft mattress as her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.

Soft moans escaped her lips as he showered warm kisses along her collarbone, trailing them slowly up the line of her neck to her jawline.

His hot breath brushed against her sensitive skin, sending a shiver straight through her.