Page 55 of A Virgin for the Ruthless Duke

Richard sat on the balcony, staring sightlessly into the darkness outside, nursing a glass of whiskey as he tried to bring his aroused, unsatisfied body under control.

He could still feel her lips on his, roving, sweet and sinful. He could still hear her cries as she writhed in his arms while he pleasured her.

She was in his blood. He was addicted to her, drunk on her scent and body. He wanted her, and his body was reacting like an alcoholic who was trying to quit his favorite drink. It wasn’t going well.

Damn.

He really had set himself up for trouble the moment he had insisted on repaying his debt to her.

Even though he sat here alone, his mind was still stuck on the last moment when he had her in his arms as he pleasured her.

No matter how he thought of it, he would be a great fool if he believed that he could just leave Selina and allow her to marry someone else. He was going to go insane. What he felt for her was dangerous and unhinged, for sure, but he was not selfless enough to let her go and allow her to marry another man. She was his, and with every encounter, she became even more engraved in his memory so that she was all he thought about.

“Well, I would not say I’m not surprised to see you here.” Eli’s voice came from behind him.

Richard raised his head and could make out his friend’s tall figure in the darkness that blanketed the balcony.

“It is quite late for you to sit by yourself in the dark. I guess it is safe to say that all is not well?”

Eli came to stand beside him.

“What is the matter?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice. “I have never known you to sacrifice your sleep for no reason.”

“Perhaps I should be asking you that as well? What are you doing here at this hour?” Richard asked back. “Perhaps you would be interested in some whiskey?” He picked up the bottle from where it sat at his feet.

“Please,” Eli said.

Richard poured him a glass.

“I have been having problems sleeping for some time now. The physician says it’s insomnia and prescribed some horrible-tasting concoctions. Took it once, then never again. A night of looking through the boring ledgers in my study does the job as well as any sleeping draught,” Eli explained, chuckling.

“So why are you awake now?” Richard asked dryly. “Disturbing my quiet time.”

“It did not work today—I have been a bit restless,” Eli said with a sigh. “Besides, you need someone to shake up that stuffy personality of yours, even though I believe someone else is doing a better job at it than me,” he finished in a suggestive tone.

“Who might that be, if I might ask?” Richard asked, a note of defensiveness in his voice.

“I’m sure you know who I speak of,” Eli said with a mischievous smile. “But for the sake of clarity, I believe she is Lady Selina, the sister of the Duke of Westall.”

“Why would you come to that conclusion? We are just friends, nothing more.”

“Perhaps you might have better luck lying to someone else, but not me. You forget, Seymour, that I have known you since we were in leading strings. I can read you as easily as a book. So I know that you are very attached to her, and she is way more than a friend to you.

“Friends, in my experience, do not stare at each other hungrily, do not follow each other with their eyes, and do not turn green with jealousy when they see each other with someone else. The passion that burns between you two is so palpable that I have been tempted to request that the two of you share a bedchamber.

“It is just the issue of the lady’s reputation that stops me. She is unraveling you, Seymour, and I must confess that it gladdens my heart to see this.”

Eli chuckled, before knocking back his whiskey in one swallow.

“I admit I do feel something for the lady,” Richard decided to admit even if he was leaving out the entire truth of the matter. Eli would never let him hear the end of it if he were to know the severity of what he felt for Selina. “But it is just lust, which I will get rid of post haste.”

“But this is not just desire now, is it? I would wager it is more than that. You are in love with her, Seymour. Just admit it,” Eli pressed.

“Love?” Richard sputtered. “You know I do not believe in such sentimentality, Mulford.”

Lies.His subconscious scolded.

He knew very well he was maddeningly in love with Selina.

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