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He watched as Evie shivered slightly and smiled to himself. But then, she gave a little shake of her head and looked straight at him, her eyes narrowing.

“You have set your own rules, so I wish to impose some of my own as well,” she declared with a haughty tilt of her chin.

How could a woman who barely reached his shoulder and was practically half his weight stand up to him, when lesser men had quailed? If anything, it only served to whet his appetite even more.

He smiled at her as he stalked towards her. “Well, what did you have in mind?”

He could be lenient, he decided. After all, he had no desire to make this an unhappy marriage for her, even if he could not fulfillallof his husbandly duties. Evie would have everything she wanted out of this union—the glory of becoming the Duchess of Ashton, the endless wealth at her disposal… She could commission a yacht to sail on the Thames the very next day and he would not even bat an eye.

Just not himself.

If he succumbed, then there would be no going back. For either of them.

She looked up at him and licked her lips, causing him to groan inwardly at the sight. Here he was, trying his damnedest to rein in his lust, and she was methodically dismantling it with every second she spent in his room.

“We have to spend time with each other!” she exclaimed, the exasperation clear in her voice. “Wecannotbe one of those couples who despise each other!”

He stepped closer to her, and to her credit, she did not waver, did not step back. She held her ground, which told him that she was quite serious about this.

“Last time I remembered, youdodespise me, Duchess,” he reminded her with a bitter laugh. “You always have.”

“No, I donot.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, I certainly found you annoying—make no mistake about that. I still do, mind you.”

His breath hitched in her throat at the sound of her laughter, the brightness of her smile. Who the hell needed a candle when she could light up a whole room with her smile alone?

“Go back to your room, Duchess,” he warned her darkly.

He had no business thinking about her like that. Not when she was in his room and he was fighting every desire to keep her.

But then, she peered over his shoulder, at hisbedof all things. He saw her beautiful eyes widen as they took in the dark sheets on the massive four-poster bed.

“What are those?” she choked out, pointing at the silken ribbons that dangled lazily from each post.

Nothing you should be asking about.

“Do you really want to know?” he snapped at her.

Can she not see that she should not be here?

At the merest hint of his displeasure, men scurried away from him in fear. Why was Evie, so much smaller than him, practically impervious to any of that?

“Well, I asked you, did I not?” She sniffed, thoroughly incensed by the tone he used with her.

Unlike him, she had grown up pampered, having never known hardship all her life except for the fire that nearly claimed her life more than half a decade ago at Blackthorn Estate. Colin and Lady Wellington had indulged her in every aspect, hoping to erase any lingering trauma that might have resulted from that fateful night.

But perhaps what Evie truly needed was someone to be brutally honest with her. Someone who could show her that the world was not all sunshine and rainbows and that not all people were good.

Not even the ones she thought she knew best.

Daniel walked over to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Those four ribbons at the post can be used to tie you up—one for each limb so that you will be spread out before me without any hope of escape.”

He heard the soft gasp that left her and smiled to himself.

That’s it, my sweet. I am not the romantic gentleman you imagined me to be. I am a creature of depravity, and you would do well to stay the hell away from me.

“That other one,” he continued in the same low, silky voice. “I could use that to blindfold you so that you will be completely at my mercy as I take you over and over and over again…”

Her breaths now came out quick and shallow, her eyes wide as she stared at the bed before her. He had dropped all pretense now. He had shown her his darker side—the one that no one dared to speak of.