Page 62 of A Widow for the Beastly Duke

Emma arched an eyebrow. “And what condition might that be, Your Grace?”

The Duke tilted his head slightly and said matter-of-factly, “You’re distressed.”

Emma almost let out a hysterical laugh. Even if she was, how was it any concern of his?

“My aunt has suffered an unpleasant encounter. I should go to her.”

“Is there something I might do to assist?”

Emma shook her head, her irritation flaring at his persistence. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone?

“You can leave me to my thoughts, Your Grace.”

“And if I refuse?” There was something different in his voice now—a rough edge that sent a shiver down her spine, one that made her hackles rise.

“Then you prove yourself as inconsiderate as your reputation suggests,” she retorted, standing up abruptly.

The Duke stepped closer, his tall, imposing frame blocking her path. “Is that what you believe of me? That I am the beast they claim me to be?”

“I believe you are a man who takes what he wants with little regard for others’ feelings,” Emma snapped, her frayed emotions getting the better of her.

Butshewas not the one in the wrong here. What right did he have to ask her these things after the line he’d drawn so blatantly in the ballroom earlier? Now, her wits were back, and she saw that it was indeed wise to keep that line in place.

“And what of your feelings, Emma?” The sound of her name on his lips was like a caress, dangerous and thrilling. “Do you imagine I’ve given them no thought?”

“I imagine you think of them precisely when they serve your purposes,” she replied, hating the tremor in her voice. “Such as when you choose to ignore me at a ball but follow me into gardens uninvited. This is far more dangerous than being seen with me in the ballroom, need I remind you.”

His jaw tightened. “You think I ignored you? That I am ashamed of being seen with you?”

Emma clenched her jaw, but she said nothing. What was there to say, anyway?

The Duke laughed. “You foolhardy woman,” he said.

Emma’s temper flared, but he pushed on without giving her the chance to yell at him for the insult.

“Have you not stopped to think that perhaps it was I who was sparing you the injustice of having to be associated with me? I am theBeastof Westmere, after all. Your reputation would be in shambles if you were seen with me.”

Emma huffed. “Then you should have stayed away completely, Your Grace.” Her tone was sharp as glass. “You should have ignored me till the end. Why come to me, then? Does that not defeat the logic of you ignoring me in the first place?”

At once, the Duke’s expression darkened, as though a storm cloud passed over his face.

“I suppose you’re right. I should have stayed away since I’d decided to.” He bared his teeth then. “But how could I, when every man in that ballroom watched you enter and kept watching you long moments after? How could I ignore you, when I have spent the evening keeping myself away from you lest I prove incapable of letting you go again?”

“I… I don’t understand you,” Emma whispered, her pulse thundering in her throat.

Why was he doing this to her? It felt as though he were playing with her just the same way his friend was toying with her aunt’s feelings.

Although,hewas most at fault here, seeing as he deliberately did things to mislead her whilst Lord Knightley fell back to his rakish proclivities.

“Nor I you,” he growled, taking another step closer. “You claim indifference, yet your eyes seek mine across crowded rooms. You speak of distance yet return to my home week after week. Tell me, My Lady, what game are we playing?”

“No game,” she breathed, acutely aware of his proximity and the heat radiating from his body. “I come for Tristan’s sake alone.”

“Liar,” Victor murmured, raising a hand to brush a loose tendril of hair from her cheek.

Emma’s anger flared then, almost too suddenly, hot and defensive. “Do not speak as though you know me,” she snapped, her eyes flashing in the moonlight.

Victor’s lips curled into a silkily seductive grin that made her heart pound against her ribs. He moved closer, crowding her personal space until she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

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