Page 32 of Bound to a Wicked Duke

“Oh,” he panted aloud, taking a long look around his dark, empty bedroom. “Oh God, that was intense.”

But it had been a dream. Just a dream. None of it was real. There was no Madeleine in his bed, no sounds of her whimpering pleasure, no delicious taste in his mouth. He was utterly alone.

Sighing, Percy arose from his bed, cleaned himself up, removed the sheets, and splashed cold water on his face from the pitcher on his washstand.I should not have allowed myself to go so far with her.His fear of the curse haunted him.As long as it is merely lust between us, she will be safe from the curse. If I sense myself having feelings for her, I will distance myself from her.In truth, Percy was not certain that the other side of the world would be far enough away for him to forget her. Having her in his arms had felt like the fulfillment of something much deeper inside himself.

Shaking his head, he growled in frustration. She had not left his mind since their encounter at the ball. He had spent the rest of the evening watching her dance with other noblemen as was expected at such social functions, but each one had dutifully returned her to his side. No man would try to seduce her in front of him, but she was drawing such attention with her beauty that it was only a matter of time before they started calling upon her in droves. Without an engagement to claim her officially as his woman, their fear of him would only go so far to keep them away.

At least it will keep her father from marrying her off to the likes of Herbert Mowbray. He is a decent enough bloke aside from the drinking and gambling, but he is not meant for her. He is not strong enough to endure her fire, let alone possess the ability to set her ablaze.His mind once again turned to the heat of her body against his mouth.God, I burn for her even now!

Donning his clothes, he stormed out of his bedchamber.

“Your Grace?” his valet inquired from the next room.

“My apologies, Jacobs. Go back to bed. I will not need you until the morning.”

“As you wish, Your Grace.” Jacobs disappeared from view in acceptance of his employer’s orders.

Percy continued on to the stables to saddle his horse. A groggy stableman came out of the loft, hay clinging to his hair. “May I be of assistance, Your Grace?”

Percy smiled, shaking his head. He could not move within his household without someone hearing him and wishing to be of service. “All is well, Gregor. I simply wish to go for a night ride. Return to your rest. I will saddle my own horse.”

Gregor was used to his employers’ strange riding habits so nodded and returned to his pallet in the hay. The stableman had his own room with a bed, but he preferred to sleep nearer the horses to ensure their safety. Gregor had been with the familysince before Percy’s grandmother had died. He had watched over Percy’s mother until her death, and now, he did the same for her son.

The family story was that Gregor had once been of the traveling people and had left his people to serve Percy’s grandmother. Percy’s grandmother had been highly respected among her people, revered as a queen or prophetess would be. Gregor had taken it upon himself to be her guard, and he had served her and the generations that followed faithfully without complaint. Having Gregor nearby made Percy feel closer to his grandmother and mother.

Percy saddled his favorite black horse, stepped into the saddle, and took off into the night. He allowed the wind and the darkness to cleanse his mind and body of its cares. Moonlight streamed down in beautiful beams, dappling the darkness with dim glimmers of light.

Despite his best efforts to forget the woman on his mind, he found himself riding up to the back gate of the Gillett townhouse where he and Madeleine had shared their first kiss. He gazed up at the darkened house feeling foolish. He had felt the need to reassure himself that she was well and that their activities at the ball had not brought her to ruin.

Enough,he silently growled to himself.You are behaving like a desperate fool. Where is your control? If her family knew of what we had done, her father and brother would have already challenged me to a duel. She is well. Now forget her.Spurringhis horse forward, he attempted to put as much distance between himself and the alluring Madeleine Gillett as he could.

Madeleine sat in the drawing room of the Gillett townhouse and silently prayed for mercy. The young unwed gentlemen of the English ton had been paying call to her door from nearly the moment that she had awoke.

“What has overcome the young bloods of England?” Cecil complained after the last of their guests had finally departed. He stretched, rising from his chair where he had served as chaperone for the last several hours. “Do they not comprehend that you are already being courted by the Duke of Greyhall?”

“Men want what they cannot have,” their sister Emily reminded him. “She is more alluring to them because she is out of their reach.”

Cecil shook his head. “I hope that it is not like this at our annual dinner party in a fortnight.”

“It probably will be,” Emily predicted.

Cecil’s frown deepened at the thought. “One would think that they would be more afraid of Percy than that.”

“They are afraid of him,” Madeleine informed him. “I have seen it in their eyes when they look at him. They respect him but fear him.”

“Perhaps I should make them fear me,” Cecil offered. “It might help.”

“You underestimate the vigor of an untethered man,” Emily remarked, giving Madeleine a sympathetic look. “I am afraid that it will be this way until Percy proposes marriage.”

Cecil made a strange noise in his throat, coughed, then turned away from the girls to look outside of the window. “Do you think that he will propose?” he asked, his voice sounding oddly strained.

Madeleine did not know how to answer the question without giving away her secret deception. “I do not believe that he will propose any time soon. Such things are to be considered carefully. There is no rush.”

Percy nodded, turning back to study her face. “If he did ask, what would you say?”

Madeleine’s heart raced in her chest. Her brows rose in surprise before she could stop them. “I do not know,” she answered breathlessly.

“Do you not love him?”

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