Page 56 of Duke of Pride

“Charming,” Stephen repeated, as if the word offended him personally.

“Yes. And he laughs at my jokes,” she added nonchalantly.

Stephen got up, the threat clear in his eyes. One wrong word and she would have to face the consequences.

Victoria once more picked up the gauntlet and looked up at him. “If he were to propose, I might?—”

The reaction was feral, deprived of all pretenses of civility. He crossed the space between them in an instant. One hand rested on the back of the bench just behind her shoulder, making him loom over her. His scent filled her, all spice and something more than all the aromas in the greenhouse. His look pinned her in place, and she whimpered at the sight.

She knew. Tonight, he would ruin her. And she would let him.

His other hand went into her hair, his fingers tugging, making her arch her neck to meet him. His blue eyes dropped to her lips, and then he descended upon her. He claimed her mouth, his lips tasting her before he demanded entry. His hand slid from her hair to cup her jaw, his thumb grazing her cheek.

Her hands followed their own path up his waist, his torso, caressing the skin his half-opened shirt revealed. Heat erupted under her fingers, and a roar rumbled in his chest. The kiss became sloppy, unrefined, deeper, all tongues and teeth.

Victoria thought she would pass out when he broke the kiss. He still held her, still so close, his lips just grazing hers as he breathed heavily.

“You will not marry him.”

She smirked, victorious and unrepentant. Satisfaction surged through her. Hewasjealous.

“I don’t see why not,” she challenged.

“Do not test me, Victoria.”

“I am not.” She tilted her head in his hand. “You asked me who I find agreeable. Well, I find Edwin?—”

She never finished that sentence. Whatever thread of restraint he had been clinging to snapped at that moment. He bit her, he tasted her, his mouth slanted over hers, raw precision, lips firm, claiming. He licked her upper lip, trapping it between his. His hand curled around her throat, gentle yet firm. A reminder that he was in control. Victoria’s toes curled, and she arched even more against him.

He broke the kiss and looked at her, flushed and her lips swollen. With his eyes still pinned on hers, he nipped her lower lip, then soothed it with his tongue. That familiar, overwhelming heat rose inside her, making her core throb.

He licked her lips gently, while his hand slipped from her throat down her shoulder, pushing her dressing gown off, her chemise next. The treacherous fabrics obeyed him until her upper half was bare to him.

He looked down, licking his lips now. One more glance at her bewildered eyes, blinking slowly, his teeth raking his lower lip. His knuckles grazed her nipple.

“Ah!” Her back arched.

“Tell me, Victoria,” he growled near her ear. “Tell me you will do as I say.”

Victoria let her head fall back, her lips parting. But no sound came out. He bit her earlobe while his finger rolled her sensitive peak. Every stroke, every nip was a claim, a punishment for daring to consider another man.

“You will not marryhim. Say it!”

Still, she refused to promise him what he demanded. Was it because he demanded? Or was it because every time she refused to concede, he dared to do more?

A warning roar tore from his throat, and he went down on his knees before her. His eyes leveled with hers, and Victoria felt a shiver run down her spine.

His fingers curled into the hem of her skirt.Slowly, always studying her, he pulled her skirt up, till he could nestle between her thighs. She felt so shamelessly exposed, his hardness so evident that her body came alight. He released her eyes, and his head dipped lower. His hot breath on her sensitive nipple burned through the seams that were barely keeping it together.

“Don’t make me make you regret it, Victoria.”

There was no world in which she could ever regret this. She was so mistaken.

CHAPTER16

The Edge of the Garden

“Say it, Victoria!”

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