Naomi swayed on her feet. Monsale is not marrying Euphemia. Monsale is not…oh dear lord.
Monsale slipped an arm around her waist and drew her into his embrace. Naomi met his gaze through a sheen of tears. “I’m sorry I was a stubborn ass. I held out thinking you would come to your senses. That you would understand why I didn’t want to be on that list. But I miscalculated, and then it was all too late. I thought I had lost you.”
He brushed a tender kiss on her lips. “I should never have asked Kitty to put the list together. There is, and always has been just one woman I wanted by my side. And that’s you Naomi.”
“Are you sure? You’ve kept me at arm’s length for so long that I truly began to doubt it. You were and will always be my first choice in life. But it has to be the same for you.”
“I’ve been a coward when it comes to love. With everything else in my life, I’ve always had control. I held back because I was afraid to trust someone with my heart. But if the way you have behaved over the past few days has taught me anything, it’s that you are the only woman I know I can love.”
She kissed him back. “You know I hate you for putting us through all this?”
A gentle nod was his reply.
His lips captured hers with a second kiss. He pulled her hard against him as he deepened the kiss and plundered her mouth. She surrendered, yielding everything he demanded of her. Allowing him to finally claim what had always been his—her love.
For the longest time, they stood kissing and holding one another. The rest of the world didn’t exist. It was only them.
When Monsale finally released Naomi’s lips, he lay her head against his chest, brushing his hand over her wind-swept hair. “I hurt you and for that, I shall always be sorry. I love you, Naomi.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. Finally. All those long years waiting. Praying. Hoping. Hearing him say the words seemed almost surreal.
“Now what happens? You still need to marry, and you only have five days,” she said.
He kissed the top of her head. “That’s why I am here now. To talk to you. To confess all my sins.”
Over the years he had held on to the promise of finding his duchess and never having to reveal all the details of his sordid, dark past. But this was Naomi, and if he was serious about creating a loving marriage, he was going to have to tell her everything. As much as was possible.
“Come and sit with me, we need to talk,” he said.
Picking up the roses, he handed them to Naomi. “These are for you. The best blooms from the hothouse. Grown here in Kent.”
“They are stunning,” she said.
He hated himself for having put that look of pained confusion on her face. For what his stubborn, determined heart had done to Naomi. It had refused to love.
I don’t deserve you. But I will spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy.
Picking up his sword, Monsale guided Naomi to a small inlet, further away from the shore. It was out of the chilly wind and private. They sat on the dry sand, with Naomi still clutching the precious roses in her hands.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked.
“I want to tell you a little more about the man that I am. There are things I have done in the past for which I am deeply ashamed. And also, there are some things which you have to accept I can never tell you. If you did know about them, your life wouldn’t be safe.”
She brushed her fingers over one of the pale pink petals. “I know you and your father were privateers.”
He huffed. “You have no idea how much I wish that was the extent of things. Yes, we did have letters of mark from the British government which permitted us to conduct acts of war against England’s enemies, but we went well beyond those agreements. We were pirates. I was running pirate ships out of Cable Bay, Bermuda by the time I was eleven. I am still wanted by both the Americans and the French for piracy and crimes on the high sea. And that is only a fraction of the wicked deeds I have done in my life.”
There I have finally said it. I am more than just a rogue.
Lifting her head, she turned and met his gaze. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you should know before you agree to bind yourself to me. The rumors about me which you no doubt have heard over the years are more than likely true.”
“But Harry was involved in much of those things, wasn’t he?”
Monsale chuckled. “Your brother hasn’t a clue as to half the things I have done. He never really got his hands dirty. Whereas I have been up to my elbows in filth.”
She shifted, setting the roses aside, and taking his hand. “You want me to know about the life you have led. Yes, that is something I need to know. What is more important for me, however, are your plans for the future. I want to know what sort of man the father of my children will be, and if you intend to change your ways. That is of course if you have it in mind to offer me marriage.”
