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He held her as she quaked and trembled in his arms, her breath coming out in pants and gasps as he allowed her to ride out her release. He had never been inclined to call a woman beautiful, but Lady Scarlett Clarke in the throes of passion was quite easily the most beautiful thing he had ever seen—and he had seen so many in his lifetime.

“Hudson, that was…”

He brushed away a stray curl and pressed a soft kiss to her sweat-slicked forehead. “I know, little cat. We need not speak of it.”

She furrowed her brow in what he now recognized as the start of resistance, and he nearly laughed. Of course, she would put up a token protest at least. She would not be the woman he so admired if she did not.

He stiffened.Admired?

The word very rarely applied to anyone. To think of her in those terms was not only foolish, but it was alsodangerous.

To want only one woman might be a passing phase. Toadmireher beyond the carnal act was a different thing entirely.

It was the end of his libertine era. The doom of his roguish ways. Not that he cared much about his reputation in the first place, but he did care abouthers.

He would not have her besmirched by his desires, even if she responded to them so passionately.

“Hudson, I think you?—”

He silenced her with a kiss, one that he made sure felt as patronizing as possible. Scarlett was not going to like it. She might evenloathehim for it, but it was much, much better to deal with her anger than her…affection?

He felt himself go cold just thinking about it.

She could not want him. Must not want him.

Or he would destroy her, whether he wanted to or not.

“There,” he said with a cold smile. “You will do well to remember whose name you just moaned right now when we head back inside.”

If she had reacted with rage, he would have understood. If she had slapped him, he might have even felt relieved for it.

But she simply gasped. In shock.

And she was not the only one to do so.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Preposterous! Absolutely unacceptable!”

Scarlett cringed as the Dowager Duchess railed at her son right there in the garden. Her cheeks felt like fire in her embarrassment at being caught, but even that would have been so much better than her mother’s silence.

Mama, I am so sorry.

She wanted to run to her mother. To beg her forgiveness for having hurt her. Again.

But Hudson held her close, keeping her by his side as he looked at everything and everyone impassively.

How could he be so nonchalant about it? They had been spotted. Seen. There was no way they could possibly explain everything away.

And it’s not like Her Grace would be willing to accept any explanation at this point.

“You must marry him.” Her mother’s voice cut through the Dowager Duchess’s one-sided argument with her son. “You have no other choice.”

Scarlett felt ill. “Mama, no. I?—”

Her mama simply held up a hand as if she was tired of hearing her explanations.

From behind her, Scarlett could feel Hudson stiffening. Hopefully, he would not lash out at her mother for demanding that he take responsibility for her ruination.