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She had thought that he would be incensed at having been shot down in front of their friends, but he only grinned all the more and held her closer.

She saw the Duke of Ashton regard their brief interaction with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile, before Evie smiled up at him. The moment she did so, all of his attention was focused on her.

“Well, we must be off then,” she told Phoebe cheerfully. “That is before Ethan decides that we, too, have overstayed our welcome.”

“See how welcome your husband would find me if I dropped by Ashton Estate for more than two hours,” Ethan laughingly replied, to which Evie turned a slight shade of pink.

Daniel, however, merely regarded his friend with a cold look. “That,” he enunciated, “is called overstaying your welcome.”

When she finally had to wave them both goodbye, Phoebe felt a strange sort of emptiness.

And the slight thrill of anticipation.

No, no, no! There is definitely no anticipation going on at all!

It certainly did not help when Ethan drew her into his arms, his freshly shaven cheek brushing against hers as he whispered in her ear, “Do not take too long getting changed, Duchess. I shall be expecting you in my rooms. Do not be late.”

Phoebe pursed her lips, even as her breath caught in her throat. “No.”

It was just a single word. One that held a great deal of meaning, nonetheless.

He drew back from her, looking a little confused. “No?”

She nodded emphatically. “I should think that my dear husband, in possession of all his faculties, understands the wordno.”

“Why not?”

“There is no need to consummate the marriage withme,” she replied. “You can do… whatever it is you want to do with all the other ladies you seduce regularly.”

Ethan looked visibly incensed that she would even suggest such a thing. “Why the hell would I want to do that on our wedding day?”

Phoebe blinked up at him. “Is that not what you usually do?”

“This is most assuredly myfirstmarriage, and I intend to make it legal,” he growled. “And that is something thatyoushould want, too, considering that you will only be able to obtain true freedom asmyDuchess and not as a spinster or a pariah of Society, as you initially planned.”

Freedom. That one effervescent hope that she had kept in her heart all these years.

How could he promise it to her so casually, when she had wanted it so badly?

He turned her in his arms until her back was pressed against his front. Despite the layers of fabric between them, she could feel the heat of his body seeping into her skin, feel his hardness against her back. His lips began a dangerous trail down her neck to her shoulder.

“Think of everything you would be able to have as my Duchess, Phoebe,” he murmured against her heated skin. “The gowns and the jewels. Society at your feet, catering to your every whim. You could throw out that bastard Dexford and nobody would bat an eye…”

Phoebe did not care much for gowns and jewels, but the ability to get rid of unwanted visitors as much as she pleased?

Oh so tempting.

“… and I can give you pleasure beyond your wildest fantasies,” he continued, his hands wandering from her waist to her chest. “I could show you things that you never dreamed of…”

Indeed… he could show her all that andmore.

Much more than she had ever dreamed of…

But at what cost?

Ethan could feel her melting in his arms. Could feel her surrender whispering against his fingertips. Her desire was as palpable as the hardness straining against his breeches…

Which was why it was so jarring when she let out that all-frustrating word.