Page 56 of A Feud with the Duke

But it is not that simple. A pariah drags their family down with them into that status. And Harold’s name would be tainted. Even if the man professed not to care, the achievements and honor of the name would burn. Forevermore the Redwoods would be the family of the scarlet duchess. We must obey society’s rules.

With a sigh, Alice turned to go back into her room. At that moment, a shaft of golden light appeared at the far end of the hall, as the door of Harold’s room opened. She saw him, framed in that light, also barefoot, wearing breeches and an unlaced shirt. His hair was damp and raked back from his forehead. Alice jumped at his sudden appearance and the dust sheet she wore to cover her nudity, slipped.

It fell to the floor with a bare audible sigh. For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Alice simply stood there. One hand held the door, the other rested against the frame. Her body was fully exposed. It could only have been a second before she first, clapped one arm across her breasts, the other covering her loins, and second, thought to close the door. Slam the door.

At least I didn’t scream. Or yelp. By Heaven but he has seen the entirety of me. There are no secrets between us now.

She stood with her back to the door, breathing as though she had just run up three flights of stairs to reach it. She could feel her own heart rampaging in her chest and tried to take deep, calming breaths. The problem was that a thrill such as she had never experienced before was coursing through her. It came from the knowledge of being exposed completely to a man. To that man. The feel of her own hands pressed to her most sensitive and intimate areas was arousing, though she had sought to do no more than cover herself.

The image of Harold being caught in a similar situation rose in her mind and she almost whimpered at the excitement such a thought brought.

Except I cannot truly picture him naked as I have no frame of reference. I know what Michelangelo’s David looks like but is that a typical male? Harold looks like he would be as athletic as David. And as graceful.

She did not hear the footsteps approaching her door but did scream, or at least yelp, when she heard the soft knock. Alice whirled, stepping back from the door. She grabbed for the dust sheet but it had caught in the door when she had slammed it. She ran for the bed, grabbed for the sheets, and swathed herself in them. As she did, the door opened and Harold stepped into the room.

He was naked. Alice was kneeling on the bed, sheets around her shoulders and wrapped around the front, held together by two hands as though they were a dressing gown. Her mouth fell open and she could not stop her eyes moving from his handsome face down to his lean body, taking in every inch of his masculinity.

“I thought that I should not hold the power of having seen you unclothed,” Harold said with a slight smile. “So, I give you the same power over me.”

“It is the first time I’m seeing a naked man that is not stone or paint,” Alice whispered. “You make David seem a slovenly lout.”

“David?” Harold asked.

“Michelangelo’s masterpiece?” Alice replied, raising an eyebrow.

Harold’s smile broadened and a look of relief came across his face. “Ah, for one moment there I thought…”

“Do not finish that thought,” Alice replied.

Her eyes were still gorging on his body.

I hope that is never a sight that becomes commonplace to me.

“Well, I suppose there is no reason for me to be modest any longer,” she said.

Rising to her feet on the bed, she opened the bed sheets and shrugged them off her shoulders. Her face was a bright scarlet and her breathing came in sharper and sharper gasps as Harold walked, deliberately towards her. Upon reaching the bed he put his hands to her hips, touching her as reverently as though she was made of porcelain.

“I wish I was made of stone at this moment. I will not break, nor allow you to. It would destroy any future we would hope for,” Harold said sincerely.

“I know. I would not allow you to break either,” Alice replied.

Harold took a deep, shuddering breath, then leaned close and kissed her stomach. Alice put her hands to his head, letting her fingers run through his damp hair. His mouth moved against her skin and she felt the warm wetness of his tongue. Then he was stepping away, hands remaining on her hips, then only his fingertips. The last touch was feather-like as he brushed the fingers of his right hand across the spot that he had kissed. The proximity of that touch to her most intimate area made her breathless.

He left her with a smile and the sight of his toned, muscled physique as he walked away. The door closed behind him and Alice collapsed to the bed, stretching her arms and legs out and closing her eyes tight. She tried to hold the image of him as vividly as she could as well as the feel of his lips on her. Her hands touched the wetness that he had left behind where he had licked her skin.

There was no sound of footsteps going back along the hallway after the door closed. Alice could almost sense Harold standing on the other side of the door, perhaps with hands pressed to the wood, wishing to break it down, but holding himself in check. Part of her urged him to rip the door from its hinges, to give in to his animal desire. Finally, she heard him returning to his room. Straining, she just about heard the quiet click of a door closing and knew he was gone.

I did not tell him about the person who was listening at my door. I will not. I think he has quite the difficulty controlling himself when roused in anger. That will surely provoke him. It does not matter for now.

CHAPTER35

“Harris! A word!” Harold barked.

He knew that his anger that morning was partly driven by worry that he had overstepped the mark the previous evening. Though he and Alice had been intimate, they had held back from the ultimate consummation. The idea that having accidentally glimpsed her naked body, he should allow her the same privilege, had seemed a good one in the moment. But after, he recognized it as an impulse driven by his lust and his desire to further their physical relationship.

Even as he had stood before her, desire pulsing through his veins, the thought had come to him that his animal side was seeking to sabotage what his reason had decided should be.

She had the right to be outraged. To demand I leave the room and to have locked the door behind me. But she did not. She revealed herself to me fully, ensuring that any part of her I did not clearly see in that first accidental glimpse was fully revealed.

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