Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 271

Chapter 271 Recklessness

Cassian stared at her.

“Cecilia actually taught you that?”

Elowen nodded honestly.

Cassian sighed. He had clearly hired the wrong instructor.

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Finished

Fortunately his brother had once given him a copy of The Art of Intimacy, and when he flipped through it earlier he noticed several passages about how to please a woman.

And for someone with a memory as sharp as his, that was more than enough.

“All right,” Elowen said, her tone softening as she caught Cassian’s wrist and drew it down. Her voice turned sweet and coaxing. “Don’t be upset. Let’s go eat, all right? I’m starving, and if I don’t eat soon I might faint right at the table.”

Cassian, still distracted, gave a quiet, absentminded agreement.

During dinner his thoughts never really returned to the meal in front of him.

Elowen noticed, and for a moment she considered asking what had him so preoccupied. In the end she let it go, deciding that she was far too hungry and far too pleased to be eating to waste time chasing after his thoughts.

Later that night, once they had washed and changed, they settled into bed.

Clothing loosened and slipped away, and before long Cassian began asking in a low voice now and then, checking and adjusting as he went, wondering whether here felt right, whether that way was better, whether she liked it like this.

Only then did Elowen realize what had been occupying his mind all through dinner.

By the time it dawned on her, it was far too late.

She lay beneath him with her eyes slightly unfocused.

Reluctantly, she had to admit something.

Cassian truly had a natural gift for this.

He had clearly thought everything through ahead of time, and what he had planned worked

exactly the way he expected.

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19:47 Tue, May 12 d.

Chapter 271 Recklessnes

Finished:

The next morning, pale light filtered through the carved lattice of the window, spilling a soft brightness across the chamber.

Cassian woke before he opened his eyes and reached out by habit toward the space beside him.

Beneath the blankets his palm found warmth, soft and familiar, unmistakably alive. The quiet shape and heat of her settled something deep inside him.

A faint smile touched his mouth without his noticing. He turned closer, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to Elowen’s smooth cheek.

Her breathing remained slow and even, still lost in sleep.

Cassian lowered his head again and brushed a slow, deliberate kiss against the corner of her lips.

That finally stirred her awake.

Still groggy, she pushed lightly at his solid chest. “Heavy…”

Cassian braced himself slightly, easing his weight off her without moving away. “So. Was it comfortable?”

That question snapped the rest of her sleep right out of her.

Her face went crimson. “Yes.”

Cassian lifted a brow. “Just a little?”

Elowen answered honestly, her voice small. “A long while.”

Cassian’s low laugh rumbled out. “How long is a long while?”

Elowen’s voice grew even softer. “Just… a long, long time.”

Too embarrassed to endure it, she yanked the blanket up and covered her head, her muffled voice pleading from underneath. “Cassian, please stop asking. It’s humiliating.”

Cassian’s heart softened. He accepted it easily. “All right. I won’t ask.”

His hand started moving lower anyway, his voice coaxing. “But… something else?”

Elowen went rigid, and still couldn’t resist.

The bedframe shook for a long time before it finally stilled.

Afterward, Elowen lay limp, draped over Cassian’s sweat–damp chest, staring blankly at the

19:47 Tue, May 12 d

Chapter 271 Recklessness

blurred embroidery of the canopy as if she’d forgotten how to think.

Finished

Cassian brushed damp hair back from her cheek, his voice low and rough. “What are you thinking about?”

Elowen came back to herself, heat rising again in her face. “I was thinking… the sunset at Dawnfall Ridge is really beautiful.”

Cassian let out a lazy, questioning sound. “You’ve seen it?”

Elowen nodded lightly. A strand of her hair brushed against his skin, leaving a faint tickle behind.

“That day I went with aunt and Yvonne to Dawnfall Ridge,” she said. “We stumbled on it by accident.”

She looked up at him. “Do you want to go with me?”

Cassian studied her flushed face. His fingers traced her skin lightly. “We’ll go. But this afternoon.”

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