Page 33 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
“No pretense here,” he shook his head smoothly. “This is how things could be between us if you let them.”
“Will you ever stop trying to woo me?” She cracked open an eye, and to her surprise—her tone had been brittle—he tipped his head back and laughed.
“This is basic compassion, Alice. Not wooing.” His tone dropped, his voice turning gravelly. “If I was wooing you, believe me, you’d know.”
She shivered, telling herself it was from the cold, not the dark promise in his voice.
Now that she’d had his mouth on hers, she couldn’t ever undo that knowledge. Her fingers trembled, and she curled them into fists on her lap. They wouldnotbecome lovers just because no one else had ever kissed her like that.
“You seemed to get on well with Helena,” he added as he gazed out the carriage window now. “Be kind to her, even if not for my sake—she is like a little sister to me and still an innocent.”
“She holds you in quite some admiration,” Alice remarked.
“So I should hope. I have been her brother’s friend almost since before she was born.” He paused, looking at her. “You may not feel up to the task, but youarea Duchess. Doors will open to you, if you ask them to. And you could help her a lot.”
“Me? Even withthis?” She pointed at her leg, then winced and leaned down to massage the muscle. It had cramped with all the use, and quite possibly in response to her frustration, too.
“Even withthat,” he said and caught her ankle. “Here, let me.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but his thumbs dug right into where she needed them the most, and instead, she let out a small moan of relief.
For an instant, his hands stilled.
“Is that all right?” he asked, voice low again.
Her pride demanded she remove her leg from his vicinity and wait for the physician to return and massage it.
Temptation demanded she accept this relief when he offered it.
“I…” She sucked in another breath as he resumed his caresses. Very well; she would allow this just one time. Just tonight. They had seemed to extend a small truce to one another. “But this does not mean you are forgiven.”
“Of course not.” He ran his fingers tenderly along the mangled flesh of her inner ankle, and she bit her lip, trying to keep herself from responding. “After all, you hate me, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He traced her muscle, squeezing and pushing gently against her flesh, finding the stiffness, the knots, and massaging them away.
When the physician did this act, gruff and professional, she was able to experience it with indifference. The relief certainly was welcome, but nothing else—she certainly never felt this tingling sensation travel through her body athistouch. She never felt hot and flushed all over from the gentle scrape of his fingers against the soft skin of her inner thigh.
He made her forget how to breathe.
She placed her hand between her teeth and bit down.
The Duke exhaled noisily. “You don’t need to hold back with me, Alice.”
“Why do you insist on using my first name?”
“Because you are my wife.”
“You don’t even like me.”
He pressed small circles against a knot, slowly unwinding it, easing the tension there. “I like you now.”
“Because you have your hands on me?” She tried to snort, but the words came out a little shaky. She still couldn’t believe she was allowing him this freedom.
He squeezed her foot gently. “Because you trust me enough to let me do this.”
“I don’t trust you at all,” she countered, biting her lower lip.
