Page 19 of A Duke, a Virgin and a Baby
The door fell open seconds later and the young maid walked in, a bewildered and fearful expression on her face.
“You called… Your Grace?” she asked slowly, as though she could not believe the duke knew her name, much less called for her.
“I did. Take the child and look after him for a while.”
Still, in mild shock, Ellen did as she was asked, gently taking Nicholas from the duchess’ arms.
To his wife, Julian prompted.
“Come with me.”
But because it seemed that Anna was quite intent on fighting against him, she folded her arms and shook her head.
“No. I do not know what it is you want from me, but you cannot simply demand that I do what you want. Now, you are the one being rude.”
Julian glanced at the maid who took it as her cue to leave, before he sighed tiredly.
“Why must you be so difficult?”
“What an ironic question to – what on earth – ah!” Anna screamed as he hoisted her up and set her over his shoulder as if he were lifting a simple bag of flour. “What are you doing? Put me down this instant!”
“If you do not want to fall and break your neck, I suggest you cease this pointless flailing and screeching,” he told her as he left her room, pausing by the butler’s side to instruct him, “Tellthe cook to prepare something for the duchess to eat. Not the leftovers from dinner – something else. She is in need of fresh food.”
The butler seemed to think nothing of the duchess’ current posture, nodding and walking away to do as the duke had asked.
When they arrived at the dining hall, he closed the door before lowering her down to her feet. Immediately after she had regained her balance, she whirled around to face him angrily.
“How dare you –”
“Sit, duchess.”
“Stop telling me what to do, you –”
“Sit down, duchess.” He told her again, stepping closer.
Anna kept her eyes on him, then huffed in relent, doing as he had asked. Once she was settled at the table, he pulled out the chair next to hers and sat down as well.
“I realize that you are doing a lot for the child’s sake. And it was unfair to demand so much from you, considering that you are blameless in this situation. I do appreciate your hard work, however, you cannot ignore your well-being for the sake of that child. No one will think it noble of you to sacrifice yourself. Caring for yourself is also your responsibility, one that youcannot afford to compromise on.” He told her, his expression and tone stern.
The closeness between them was heavily distracting. Anna couldn’t help but notice how they consistently seem drawn to each other whenever they were in the same room. It terrified her much it reminded her of the night they had met and how she wished to know what might have happened, had they not been found.
Anna seemed surprised by his words, but that did not last long, because she soon regained some of the fire in her eyes, causing his frustration to flare up as well.
“If you cared so much, you could have expressed as much vocally. You are so quick to speak and act like some brute –”
“There is no satisfying you, is there? Why is it so hard to simply take what I am offering?” Julian grunted, reaching out to hold her by the chin, ensuring that she could look nowhere else than his eyes.
His touch sent sparks roaming through her veins, making her gasp and try to pull away.
“Perhaps if you were a little nicer –”
“God, you are the most infuriating woman I have ever met,” he muttered under his breath.
And then he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss.
CHAPTER SIX
The sudden press of Julian’s lips against Anna’s brought with it a shock that ripped through Anna, stealing the air from her lungs and momentarily freezing the indignant retort on her tongue.
