Page 23 of A Duchess to Reclaim

Deciding he needed to see what sort of changes had been going on in his own house, Dominic left his office and went to go investigate. At first he noted nothing. The halls and most rooms appearing the same. But as he stepped into the foyer; his brows flew up in surprise.

“What in heaven’s name?” He muttered, slowly circling around the vast room.How did I not notice this last night?Because his rage and arousal had clouded his vision, that’s why. By the time he’d left the carriage and Amelia with her scintillating new appearance; his arousal had intertwined with his rage and had left him in a most frustrating state.

Several large, artfully carved marble statues now stood in the foyer; all of which depicted the beautiful form of the naked human body. None debaucherous or crude, but instead in elegant, slightly sensual poses. And the eyes. The stone eyes conveyed so much it caused something to stir within him. There was longing. Ache. A need to be understood.

He walked slowly around each one, wondering how the delegates that had visited his house while he was gone had felt about them. He noticed the windows next. Large, delicate and transparent light purple curtains had been hung upon the open portals; creating a strange yet somehow fitting contract between them and the dark grey stone walls.

He walked into the parlor next and found more of the same. The space was by no means cluttered and had still had that bare, organized look he liked so much. But some of the black chairs and couches had been replaced with the purple couches in the same shade as the curtains in the foyer and adjoining halls; bringing light into the otherwise dark rooms.

On and on he went through the house, finding similar changes in the library, the ballroom, and second parlor. His dark fixtures had all remained, but now they were stained with a splash of that purple light.

Just as he was about to leave the second parlor and head back to his office, he heard a racket of noise from outside the terrace doors, followed by Amelia’s voice. Not taking a moment to think, Dominic opened the doors and stepped outside. He was confronted by the sight of a large, bare, octagonal structure that no doubt stretched from the second parlor’s terrace to the one that led off the library.

Several men were pounding away at the tall beams of the structure, following Amelia’s instructions as if they were law. Dominic noticed the look of hunger in their eyes as they took glimpses of her; as if even an angry shout sated some desire in him.

The edges of his vision grew red as he focused his gaze on his wife, and strode toward her. She was out of that scintillating black dress from the night before, but the light purple one she wore now still showed off the spectacular curves and assets of her feature. Her dark brown hair was down, curling and brushing against her lower back as a gentle breeze flowed through it.

“And what in God’s name is this monstrosity?” He demanded, walking right up to her.

Her honey-brown eyes turned from the workers to him, and she looked him up and down with amusement; only serving to further frustrate him.

“It is not a monstrosity,” she sweetly. “It is an aviary.”

He flexed his jaw.

“A what?”

“It is a giant birdcage.”

“I know what an aviary is, Amelia,” he growled back, “What I don’t know is why you’re building such a thing.”

Amelia let loose a sigh, as if unfazed by the hardness in his voice.

“I have grown a fondness for birds. Lady Violet Walldrake brings her macaw with her when she and her husband come to do business and it is the most colorful, wonderful thing. So I decided I shall have my own.”

He waved a hand around the large structure.

“All this for one bird?” He barked.

She laughed.Laughedat him.

“Oh goodness no,” she replied, turning her eyes back to the structure forming around them. “I shall have a dozen at least. Several different sorts of macaws. Perhaps some African Greys. And it must be large for I have no intention of clipping their wings.”

“You’ve gone insane,” he stated, shaking his head. “I thought leaving you to your devices would sprout some sort of shopping addiction or perhaps turn you into a hermit. But this is by far more outrageous.”

“What is insane about a wild, beautiful thing given the space to spread their wings, My Lord?” She asked, batting her long lashes at him.

“You are provoking me,” he warned.

“And what are you going to do about it? She asked haughtily, “Leave me again?”

As if his body had a will of its own, Dominic’s arms shot out before Amelia had a chance to determine what was happening, hauled her close, and kissed her.

* * *

The world blurred as Dominic’s lips came crashing down possessively on hers; startling her. His one arm drew tight around her lower back as the other fisted in her hair; preventing any chance she had of pushing him away. Not that she could anyway. His sculpted lips were hot and demanding, forcing her own apart so he could lay claim with his teeth; his tongue. For a moment, all her fury and loneliness came to a sudden stop, and she felt nothing but the heavy mantle of arousal spread down through her entire body.

Heat burst through her, consuming her in a liquid fire as as Dominic’s teeth captured her bottom lip and bit down. It was only when the pain burst through her lips that she truly realized what had happened. Embarrassment and anger colored her cheeks as her eyes flew open, and balled her hands into fists to attempted to push them between her and Dominic.

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