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Naturally, even the bed linens had been changed to suit the rest of the room, so instead of the oppressive black she had woken up to on her first morning in the estate, she stared up at a canopy of icy blue embroidered with silvery flowers.

However, even that most gentle color could not give Evie the peace of mind that she sought. Nor could it lull her to a dreamless slumber so that she might forget—at least for the night—that she was now married to Daniel.

Or that she, as his wife, was now entitled to certain privileges.

He should have been right here with her. In her rooms. In herbed.

She bit her lower lip, a warmth rising to her cheeks as she recalled how he had kissed her just that morning. It almost felt as if she was standing too close to a fire, but strangely enough, the warmth did not frighten her.

Instead, it pooled low in her belly, reminding her of the way his hands had held her, his fingers digging into her flesh as she pressed herself to his hardness…

Evie groaned and rolled over, squeezing her eyes shut in misery andfrustration. Brides should be excited about their wedding nights. Her own grandmother had not been so forthcoming with the knowledge, fearing that Evie would succumb to hysterics before the ceremony could be completed.

“You will find out for yourself,” her grandmama had told her hastily, looking rather uncomfortable. “Your husband will guide you through it. I am quite certain, however, that he willnotfumble his way through it like an untried youth.”

Indeed, her grandmother must have expected too much of her new grandson-in-law, for not only was he not properly educating Evie on this most important aspect of a relationship between a husband and wife, but he was also actively avoiding it!

This cannot go on.I shall have to make him see reason!

Evie stood up and grabbed her robe, her feet whispering against the soft rug underfoot. The distance between the rooms she occupied and the tower was not small, and once more, she inwardly berated Daniel for being so difficult.

If she had to marry him, then shewouldbecome his wife in every sense of the word.

CHAPTER 22

Evie…

Her name echoed over and over in his head, like a mantra that he could not get rid of.

Daniel had never found a woman he couldnotresist until Lady Evelyn Fitzroy-Stanton came into his life and upended the order he fought so hard to maintain.

She was like a fire in his blood, a dancing flame that lit all desire within him. Ever since she had moved into Ashton Hall, he had existed in a state of agony. Indeed, to want her as fiercely as he did and yet keep his hands off her was a particularly exquisite torment that showed no signs of abating anytime soon.

He tossed back the glass of brandy that he had been nursing and turned towards the dying embers in the fireplace, his eyes narrowing slightly when he recalled how Eviehatedfire.

And hehatedhow she had been so fearful of it.

The feeling of holding her frail, shivering figure in his arms as the fireworks exploded overhead was something he could not wash away from his memory anytime soon.

Suddenly, he heard a soft knock, and the door to his rooms in the tower creaked open. He turned around, his breath catching in his throat when he beheld his young wife,his Duchess,peering into the room, dressed in nothing more than a diaphanous robe and a nightgown that left little else to the imagination.

As if the inability to stop thinking about her is not enough.She has to come into my room wearing only that.

He was caught between wanting to thank Madame Dumosse for crafting such a masterpiece andneverusing her services in the future.

“What are you doing here, Duchess?” he asked softly. “Should you not be in bed at this hour?”

The wordbedconjured up images of naked limbs—his and hers—entwined on the silken sheets. Of her soft moans filling the air as he drove into her sweet, wet heat…

He shook his head and inwardly berated himself, but it was too late. His cock had already noticed her presence, and now it had become hard with want.

Thankfully, he had only been in the process of changing out of his clothes and he still had his breeches on. One look between his legs, though, and Evie would be left with no doubt of his yearning for her.

“Well, I see you are not yet asleep either, so I wished to have a talk with you,” she informed him.

He could feel his blood thrumming,singingwith the keen desire to draw her into his arms. To drag her underneath him and devour her. Possess every delectable inch of her until there was no question as to who she belonged to.

“It is barely the first day of our marriage, and already you are breaking my rules, Duchess,” he growled, stalking towards her, eyeing her like a wolf would eye his prey.