Page 53 of A Duke But No Gentleman
He seized the front of her bodice and tore it open.Imogene fought him in earnest.She used both of her fists to strike him on the face, neck, and shoulder, but he quickly subdued her by pinning her arms above her head.He roared in pain when she managed to get one hand free.She could scratch him, but she jabbed her fingers into his right eye.
“Why, Imogene, Tristan never told me what a little tigress you are in bed,” he said, through clenched teeth.“I adore rough fucking.”
He slapped her hard enough to rattle her teeth.Her cheek burned.
“Norgrave, I beg you…” Her eyes filled with tears as she realized that she did not have the strength to stop him.With each passing second, her limbs grew weaker as she struggled to push him away.
“Already eager for my touch,” he taunted, kissing her exposed breasts.
He used the weight and length of his body to secure her to the bed.One hand pinned her arms over her head while the other hand—her stomach roiled as her mind interpreted the sounds of him unbuttoning his breeches.Her legs were partially exposed during her fight to wriggle away from him.Norgrave took advantage by roughly kneading her bare thigh.
“You have lovely legs.I can’t wait to mark all of your white skin with my teeth,” he murmured, biting the soft swell of her breast.
Imogene tried to scream, but only managed a pathetic yelp.The weight of his body was squeezing the air out of her lungs.She could only take shallow breaths.The touch of his fingers between her legs energized her struggles.Tears streamed down her cheeks as she silently tried to cope with the violence being committed to her body.
A part of her understood that she meant nothing to Norgrave.She was an unwilling pawn to be used, broken, and discarded.The person he was trying to hurt was Tristan, and she mentally wailed at the injustice of it all.
“You have nothing to prove, my lord.”Her mouth trembled.“Remember?You said yourself that Tristan no longer cares what happens to me.”
Norgrave’s hand between her legs stilled.He stared down into her tearstained face, looking as lost as she felt.“This isn’t about him.This is about us.Our future together.In spite of your tarnish, I could do worse for a wife.I predict your father will pay me handsomely for marrying his reckless daughter, especially when I tell him that there is a possibility that you are carrying my child.”
“He will never grant you his blessing—not when I tell him everything!”
“You sound like a petulant child.”He pressed his fingers into her body to remind her who held the power.“Your father is a man of the world.He will want to avoid any scandal.After all, think of your younger sister’s future.Why should her marriage prospects be ruined because of you?”
Imogene turned her face away, and sobbed.
He leaned down and tenderly kissed her cheek.“Don’t fret, my dear.I can make you feel pleasure.In time, you will be eager for my touch.”
Unable to conceal her disgust, Imogene raised her head and vomited.Some of it splashed on his coat and shirt.Appalled, Norgrave released her and scrambled backward off the bed.He did not bother covering himself.The sight of his rigid manhood spurred her to move.She crawled off the bed and landed hard on her knees.She gritted her teeth against the pain and struggled to stand.
“Oh, you can’t escape me so easily,” Norgrave said, sounding grimly amused.
Imogene reached for a shard of the broken wineglass just as he turned her over onto her back.Blindly, she struck out at him.The sharp edge of the glass cut him near the corner of his left eye and down his cheek.
With a roar, he knocked the piece of glass from her hand.“Look what you’ve done.You will pay for this!”
Heedless of the blood running down his face, Norgrave’s fingers found her neck and squeezed until she saw tiny bursts of light.She tried to pry his unyielding fingers away as she gasped for air, but her gloves slipped.Her vision began to dim.
“Don’t faint on me,” he said, his sneering face inches from hers.Drops of blood struck her face like hot rain.“We are just getting started and I don’t want you to miss a minute of it.”
Chapter Sixteen
A trickle of unease went through Tristan when he discovered the front door unlocked.One of the servants could have been careless, but he dismissed the idea.His thoughts shifted back to Imogene’s message.
You have not given me much notice.
I will slip out of the house when it is safe to do so.
I will try not to be late.Imogene
There was nothing alarming in her message except for one important fact.Imogene was responding to a message Tristan had not sent her.She had left the safety of her family to seek him out, and if this was one of Norgrave’s pranks, he vowed to seek retribution for the man’s mischief.
“Imogene?”
She didn’t respond.Someone had lit the lamps in the front hall.Tristan walked to the table where he noticed her reticule.On top was the key he had given her.He picked up the key and frowned.She had no inkling of the true meaning behind his gesture.It was a sign of trust.The old house belonged to him, and by giving her the key, he was granting her access to a part of himself.She had been free to explore the treasures within, and to his surprise she had unlocked hidden doors within his mind and heart that he had not been aware existed.
He was not a careless fellow, and had not handed out keys to every female who had caught his eye.There was only one other person who had a key, and that was his closest friend.
