Page 8 of A Duchess Bound
If she had wanted, she could have reached out and touched him. Heat pulsed in her core, accompanied by a wave of embarrassment. How could she even contemplate that the man was attractive when he was behaving like this? She ought to be utterly repulsed by him, but she found herself unable to summon that much disdain for the man.
“You are,” Dorothy said, gathering her courage. “Utterly?—”
Without warning, he seized her wrist and pulled her behind a bush. A gasp tore from her.
“How dare?—”
Before she could finish the question, he had pulled her flush against himself and placed a firm hand over her mouth. His chest pressed hard against her own, and Dorothy’s mouth grew dry.
She could have bitten him or fought to free her wrist from his grasp. She could have even thrown her head back and screamed. A proper lady certainly would have donesomething. Instead, all her indignation and ferocity seemed to vanish at once.
He pressed his forehead against her own, the warmth sending a shudder through her. “I think you might be fond of rakes,” he murmured roughly.
She tried to shake her head, but he pressed his fingers into the side of her jaw and held her in place. His grip was firm but not painful.
It was not entirely unpleasant either.
Dorothy stared at him with wide eyes. His own gaze was dark with lust. The realization struck her like lightning. It had been a long time since any man had looked at her with such obvious desire, and her mind raced to make sense of the situation.
It was as though she was caught in the clutches of an incubus, unable to muster even the feeblest of defenses for herself. They should not be alone in the garden. He should not betouchingher. Worse, she should not be relaxing into his touch, but shewas.
He caressed her cheekbone with his thumb. “What do you think, my lady?” His Grace asked. “You accused me of taking advantage of young ladies, but you are not young. Do you also not realize there are consequences to your actions?”
That place between Dorothy’s thighs began to ache, all her unfulfilled desires emerging at once. It was the privacy of the garden, she reasoned. Everyone knew what might occur between a rake and a lady in a place where no one was about.
She could not let herself be seduced by him, but she understood with sudden clarity why young ladies were so taken with rakes. Everything inside her was coiled tightly and hotly, and she imagined His Grace dipping his hand—the one still clasped around her wrist—beneath her skirts and touching her in that secret place.
A woman’s laughter cut through the air, and Dorothy’s breath caught in her chest. There was someone else in the gardens.
His Grace leaned forward, his lips pressing just barely against her ear. “Quiet,” he whispered. “We do not want to be caught.”
Of course, they did not wish to be caught! Icy dread filled Dorothy’s veins. To be caught with a rake would be an unparalleled scandal! Worse, she would be forced to wed this terrible man. She shivered, fighting down the impulse to flee.
“But did you see Lady Elmsworth?” The woman’s voice drifted into Dorothy’s ears.
“She appears quite well.”
Another voice, another lady whom Dorothy did not recognize.
“Yes, and so soon after the death of her husband! It is unseemly!”
“Well, there is no love lost between them. How could there be? Lord Elmsworth was a lecher, and everyone knew it.”
“True…”
The voices grew fainter, at last disappearing entirely. Dorothy let her muscles relax.
“Good girl,” His Grace said, his breath warm against her neck.
Girl! As though she were a child!
He lowered his hand and tilted his head. Dorothy’s heart was beating so loudly that she heard its echo reverberating inside her skull. She had discerned his intentions, and his nose brushed against hers?—
Dorothy had so much time to turn away or refuse him?—
But she did nothing. His lips pressed against hers, and the scent of him filled her senses. He smelled like orange blossoms and lavender, and his mouth was warm and gentle. Her fingers curled, and longing overcame her.
She could stroke his hair or put her hand at the back of his neck and draw him closer to her. Dorothy moaned into his mouth, her body coming alive, and then?—
