Page 37 of The Duke and the Accidental Bride

The Duke shut his eyes and groaned in a way that had her skin breaking out into goosebumps. Then he ran a hand through his hair and spoke without looking at her.

“I want the truth from you. Do you want me to take you to bed.”

“Wh -- what?”

“Answer me truthfully,” he growled angrily. “It is not a question I am used to asking and I won’t do so again.”

“I--” Her eyes flicked over his naked body. Her mind flashed to his hulking frame pining her down, his lips latching onto her neck, her heart racing at his touch. “I... I... I do not want that,” she stammered.

“So be it.”

Suddenly, he rose from the bathtub.

Isabella gasped at the sight. Her first inclination was to turn around and look away, but she froze to the spot, unable to control her legs... not to mention her eyes!

They swept over the Duke’s naked body. Down his bulging chest, past his muscular torso, and to his thick member which swung freely between his legs without a care. She stared at it in rapture, felt her tongue lick her lips, became aware of how she gaped at it as if she was a starving pauper being offered a meal for the first time in days.

Is it too late to take back what I said?

“We have a problem,” the Duke began as he climbed from the bathtub. “One that I am having difficulty seeing a way around.”

She could not speak. Her tongue felt swollen. Her heart blocked her throat as it tried to escape. Desperate to pull her eyes from him, they refused to budge, staring freely as he crossed the room.

“As husband and wife, we are expected to lay together,” he continued, speaking casually as if he wasn’t completely nude. “But you have made it clear that you do not wish such a thing. Do I have that right?”

“Ye -- yes,” she said for reasons she could not comprehend. “That is right.”

“Despite what you might think about me, I am not one to take a woman who does not wish to be taken.” He reached her, stopping a foot away. His eyes then searched her, working over her body slowly, and she could very well sense what was on his mind. “But I do have my limits.”

“I... I do not know what you... I --”

“Know this,” he cut her off. “So long as you do not wish it, I will not take you to my bed. I promise.” It was as if saying the words caused him pain. “In fact, until you tell me otherwise, I promise not to lay a hand on you.”

That had her snapping back into the moment. “Re -- really?”

“But for this to work, I require that you...” He sucked through his teeth, eyes straying down her body. His hand moved by his side as if he meant to grab a hold of her, but he kept it stilled. “That you do what you can not to antagonize me. You have seen what happens when you make me angry, and something tells me that you will not like what might happen if the next time I am unable to...” He took a deep breath. “Control myself.”

“I thought that you said it was my choice,” she shot back.

“It is,” he assured her. “I would never force myself on you, and I hope you know that.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “But if you do anger me, and then you do allow me to… to…” He grimaced. “It is best that we do not let such things happen. For both of our sakes.”

She knew only too well to what he was referring. Her husband was a monster of unrestrained anger and if he was given his way he would do unspeakable things to her. She had seen it in his eyes!

Yet, the Duke stood naked before her. His muscular body dripping wet. His member throbbing between his legs, growing before her eyes in ways that she had heard about. It made her own inhibitions seem incredibly frail. And it made her convictions that all she felt for the Duke was fear finally be seen for what they were. False.

A shudder ran through her body again, and she very nearly said something that she knew she would regret.

Although something tells me that I would not regret it as much as I think...

“Is that understood?” the Duke asked.

“It is,” she said with as much resolve as was possible, tearing her eyes from his body and looking over his shoulder. “Now, if there is nothing else...?”

The Duke almost looked upset. Taken aback as if he expected her to retort or argue... as if he wanted her to. And Isabella, with thoughts of the Duke’s warning ringing in her ears, her blood growing warmer by the second with thoughts of what he just might do, could not stop herself from acting.

“In fact, I do not care if there is. I am leaving.” She turned to walk away.

“Wait --” His hand snatched her arm and her body went stiff.

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