Page 16 of The Duke's Pet

“That you’re a virgin.” His eyebrows pulled lower still.

She glanced away, heat prickling her cheeks.

“Well?”

“I have never been with a man, Sir.” She clenched her jaw, hating that she had to tell him this... a complete stranger. It was personal information.

“So pray tell me what were you doing at her establishment?”

“I’d just arrived, hungry, poor, and in need of work.” She glanced at the table; there was an expensive-looking pen sitting beside a silver inkwell of exquisite design.

He crooked his finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. “And working in a whorehouse was all you could think to do?” His voice was gruff.

“I’m not proud to say that yes, it seemed like my only option.” She braced herself, scraping the very last of her pride together to hold his gaze. “The only way to survive.”

He was quiet for a moment as he studied her face. “I will know if you are lying.”

“About being poor or a virgin?”

“I can tell by your slight frame and your overly big dress that you have fallen on hard times. Times when you have gone without a meal at the end of the day.” He unbuckled the collar. “To deduce whether or not you’re a virgin will require closer examination.”

She didn’t know what he meant, but continued to hold his eye contact.

He chuckled, his lips stretching into a smile. “I can see you have fight in you; this will be fun, little kitten.” He nodded at her hair. “Hold it up.”

She made no move to do as he’d instructed.

“Now!” he barked, his breath huffing over her face.

She squeaked, and scooped up her newly coiled locks, exposing her neck and her slim-chained necklace.

He held up the collar, his gaze on hers as if judging her reaction.

“What do you mean to do with that?”

“Can’t you guess?”

“Surely you don’t want me to wear it; it’s for an animal, a dog.”

“Or a kitten.”

“I’m not a kitten.”

He leaned close again, drawing the collar toward her. “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, you are my new little kitten.”

“No.” She stepped away. This was crazy. He was crazy.

“You think you can disobey me, when I have purchased you.” He followed her, backing her up against the window.

She stared around his arm at the door. She should make a run for it. Get out of this madhouse and take her chances.

“Shh,” he whispered. “This part will not hurt, I promise.”

“So what part will?” A rush of energy filled her bloodstream. Fight or flight.

“I have no doubt, now that I can see the defiance in your eyes, that you will soon find out.” He slipped the collar round her neck, then fastened the buckle. His big fingers brushed against her flesh, sending a tingle of sensation up and over her scalp. She beat it away. This duke was getting odder by the second.

“I wish to have a pet to care for,” he said. “You will be that pet.”

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