Married To A Duke

Beautiful Broken, Mess

Amelie

I hobbled into the house, the cool wooden floor soothing to my sore soles. But the pain was muted for the moment as I was achingly focused on the fact that soon I will meet my best friend but the house was quite and had almost empty feeling to it, except…

I heard the faint strains of music coming from somewhere. I was half hoping for Lily and her sweet voice and her soft smiles. But there was no one. I ventured further and made my way to the stairs, may be my best friend was busy with her husband. After all finally they were happy as they both had what they wanted. My best friend got her prince charming, a dangerous one but for her he was the prince and the king wrapped in one and Gabriel Wolfe has what he had always desired and obsessed over.

By the time I reached the first floor my breathing was coming in gasps and I had to rest against a wall to gather much needed strength to reach them. I followed the music and as I neared, my ears perked up. My heart beat rapidly with the increase in tempo of the keys. Someone was playing a piano. And the music was beautiful, almost heart breaking, and has a magnetic pull to it.

The slightly ajar door beckoned me and I pushed the door open. And there he sat. The man who will help me, hopefully. My eyes skated around the empty room, the only piece of furniture that dominated it was the larger than life piano and the man playing it. I wondered where Summer was, but the sudden change in the rhythm had me looking back at him.

From where I was standing I could only see his back and a little bit of his profile. Even his back gave away how powerful and strong he was. I rested my shoulder against the door frame, for a moment almost forgetting the ache in my body and how black dots danced in front of my eyes as I lost myself in the music. I couldn't bring myself to disturb him.

I don’t know how much time passed, minutes or may be hours, but finally the music stopped. I wanted to clap for the performance except my arms felt like they were weighed down by tons and on the other hand I doubted he knew that he had an audience. As if hearing my thoughts, his words had me jerking up. “I prefer to know beforehand if I’d be playing for an audience.” His voice settled deep inside me, warm like honey and soothing like feathers.

My lips almost tilted up in a smile, when someone else spoke from behind me. Thick, grumbled words skated down the length of my spine, stiffening me. “What are you doing here? And, who the f**k are you?”

I turned around to see a man almost a foot taller than me. I had to crane my neck backwards to look at his face. “I— I…” His eyes dropped, taking in my condition from head to toe, and I watched as his brows furrowed, making me to take a step back from the man who resembled a small building. Summer called Mac, her husband’s bodyguard, a hulk. I wonder if this man was elder and bigger hulk.

“What’s happening?”

I turned back around at the question. And my fuzzy mind, drank up the man standing in front of me, just a few feet away. He looked as I remembered him. Dangerous. Dark. And so handsome. I blinked, no, he was my best friend’s husband. It seems my brain had finally stopped functioning after everything I had went through in the past couple of days. But my eyes stared at him as he came towards me. Almost prowling. Summer always compared her Gabe to a wolf but I wondered if she missed the elegance he sparkles with. He didn’t look like he should be in the wild like Summer had described, he looked more like a royal king.

His white shirt was half unbuttoned, cuffs folded up to the elbow, showing corded forearms with veins visible to the eyes. Wide shoulders, muscled biceps that even the shirt couldn’t hide, leading to a tapered waist. And then there were those blue eyes, I marvelled that how I hadn’t ever noticed that those eyes were so bright and luminescent. I wanted to crawl in those deep blues and disappear from this hurtful world. Hmm... Fanciful thoughts, I have truly lost my mind to think like that. It filled me with shame to ogle my best friend's husband. I shook my head to get rid of such thoughts as I stepped forward. “Gabriel…” I said.

His blue stared back at me and I faltered, it almost felt like he didn’t know me. But a second later, his hands were coming toward me, I squinted, wondering what he was doing. I realised a little too late that I was losing consciousness when his arms closed around me saving me from hitting the floor, I murmured the words that were most important before I lost the grip on reality, “I need help.”

“I can see that, lass…” I thought I heard him say that.

Raphael

I knew the moment someone disturbed my solitude. And I also knew that that someone was not one of my men. What had me continuing to play was the fact that Zurich wouldn't allow anyone to enter without a solid reason or if he knew the person.

But when I finished my piece and stood up to face the intruder I wasn't prepared for what I saw. A woman. A beautiful broken, mess. My eyes took her in from her mussed hair to her red rimmed eyes to her swollen lip. And there was no chance in hell that I could've missed her blôôdy arm and blood stained dress that wasn’t meant for wearing anymore, ruined and torn as it was.

I tapped her cheek softly. “Hey… lass, wake up…” She looked familiar but I couldn't place her. “Do you know her?” I asked Jesse, only for him to shake his head. Looking at him no one would guess that he was even a little bit concerned about the woman, now lying in my arms unconsciously, but I knew better. I picked her up to settle her in one of the rooms, she needed medical attention. Maybe after that we could find out who she was. She had called me Gabriel, and asked for help which I guess didn't need to be said in the first place. But she had specifically came for Gabriel to help her.

“Oh, here she is..” I stopped by Jesse’s side as Zurich came upstairs. I arched a brow and he explained. “I was looking for her, I didn't know she has come here.”

Striding toward the nearest bedroom, I asked, “So you know who she is?”

He looked at me and said, “You don’t?” I didn't answer as I pushed open a door and walked inside the spare bedroom. “She is Amelie. Summer’s best friend.”

I carefully laid her down on the bed and watched as her lips moved and eye lids flickered in agitation. “Call the doctor.”

“Of course.” Z replied, a pause then he asked, “Should I call Gabriel or Summer too?”

“No. I’ll do that later. Let them be for the time.” I answered as I sat down on the bed beside her. My fingers itched to softly caress her hair back from her sweaty forehead. My eyes raked over her unconscious form and something twisted in me to see her so hurt and so broken. “Jesse, get me a first aid kit.”

“Your grace, are you not going to wait for the doctor?” He asked, unlike every other men that has served my brother until now, Jesse has been with me since forever and as much as I tried to tell him to leave this habit of calling me by that sobriquet when not in London, he wouldn’t listen.

I looked at him and replied, “Can’t you see, Jesse, she’s a blôôdy mess.”

“If you are so inclined, let me do it.”

“No.” I lowered my voice, that brooked no argument as I said, “And not another word now.” He gave me a resigned nod and then with a bow he backed out of the bedroom, leaving me alone with her.

To Be Continued...