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He clenched his hands into fists as his mind conjured images of her with another man. And then he reminded himself that punching a hole through the glass was ill-advised.

Nor was being alone with the sole object of his vexation for the past few days. But he supposed he was beyond sanity and logic at this point.

She was, indeed, like a little cat—playful, mischievous, and boldly, unapologetically sensual. And now she had sunk her claws into him deep. There was no way he could pry her away without giving his blood.

“What is the matter with you?” she demanded, her bright eyes flashing.

What was the matter with him? Did she really have to ask that question?

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Careful, little cat. You have provoked me one too many times.”

She simply rolled her eyes at him, but Hudson was fighting for his very wits when she crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up her breasts against the lace-hemmed neckline. Her dresscould be considered quite appropriate for any other woman. Onher, it looked absolutelysinful.

He frowned. She shouldnotbe going out in such garb.

“How exactly did I provoke you, Your Grace?” she asked.

He pressed his lips together. “By saying you belong to someone else.”

There. That flash in her eyes.

She could never belong toanyone. Lady Scarlett Clarke was her own woman, and woe to the man who thought he could handle her.

“By telling the truth, you mean.”

Hudson stiffened. Her voice had gone quiet. Firm. Resigned.

He closed his eyes and turned away. He thought he could bear anything in this world, but seeing Scarlett resigning herself to a fate she did not want, could not want…

It felt like carving out a vital piece of his soul.

“You know I am right, Your Grace,” she told him softly. “This ball is nothing more than an opportunity for my mama to find mea suitable match. Someone who will hopefully not resent me for the rumors that have begun swirling about us.”

Let them swirl, he wanted to say. Let the whole world know that he had ruined her. That he had left his mark on her.

“What now?” His voice had come out harsh. Guttural. As if he had to dig it out from the darkest depths of his being.

Her smile was sad, wistful. She was so young, and yet she looked like an old woman who looked back on her life and found her existence wanting still.

“It is what is expected of me,” she murmured, bitterness tingeing her voice despite her smile. “Mama will find someone for me, there is no doubt about that. It is just that?—”

“Just what?”

Her cheeks colored, her eyes darting shyly to the side. Hudson could not help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

This was something new, even for her, and he lapped it up like a man who had been wandering the desert for weeks.

“It’s nothing,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Just a silly list, really.”

He stepped closer to her and closed his eyes as her fragrance hit him like a punch to the gut. He would never be able to sleep soundly again… but to hell with sleep.

“A list of what, little cat?”

She looked up at him, desire and frustration warring in her sapphire eyes. She licked her lips, and he nearly groaned. The things this woman did to him, and she did not even need to try.

“There are… things I want to try,” she murmured. “Before… before it’s all too late.”

Before she was coerced into a marriage she did not want, with a man she would have to endure for the rest of her life.