Page 104

His eyes flashed at her, his hand moving to her lower back, pulling her so close that it was almost indecent.

“I would put you in a cage if I could,” he snarled, “so that no other man could ever touch you again.”

“Try and see what I shall do in return.”

“Do not pretend you cannot see them looking at you. With that dress, everyone can see your figure, running their eyes over you like you are theirs for the taking.”

Alicia leaned in, her rage rising with every breath.

How dare he accuse me of this when I have simply been standing with my friends?

She moved her lips to his ear. “Just think, my Duke. As you have not yet claimed me, how will they ever know who I belong to?”

He growled and turned to face her. They spun in the center of the dance floor, their lips inches apart as Alicia glared furiously at him.

He ground his hips against hers, and she felt his hard length through her gown. They were attracting attention, couples turning to stare, and Seth’s eyes were dark and glittering as his fingers curled around hers.

“We are leaving.”

As soon as Alicia was in the carriage, Seth pinned her to the bench, using his body to hold her in place.

She gasped as he wrenched off his mask, threw it to the side, and then tugged the white feathers from around her eyes.

“Are youtryingto enrage me?” he asked, his hands gripping her hips, preventing her from moving.

“You are the one who has enraged me,” she retorted. “I have done nothing, and yet you accuse me of everything!”

Seth scoffed, maddening jealousy consuming him.

“Every eye in the room was on you tonight,” he thundered.

“And what about you? You tell me that you do not wish to leave my side, and yet you spend the evening speaking with your friends.”

Seth’s stomach lurched at the memory of Michael’s behavior. The truth of what he had witnessed ate at him, the beliefs he had always held about his friend fighting for dominance with what he had seen tonight.

Could Michael have hurt Gordon? Could he really have lied for all these years?

“I was making small talk,” he insisted.

“And so was I, or is it one rule for me and another for you,Your Grace?” Alicia hissed.

“Stop it,” he said, crushing her against the seat. “Say my name.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No.”

Seth surged forward, capturing her lips in a desperate kiss, pouring all the pain and worry of the night, the hurt at his friend’s potential betrayal.

Alicia moaned, her arms coming around his body as he lay above her, pressing her down into the cushions.

As her mouth opened for him, he pushed his tongue inside, her sweet taste driving him wild as he mapped her body with his hands.

“I believe this is the best gown you have worn, Duchess.”

She pulled back from him, her expression still angry as her fingers pushed into his hair, tugging at the strands until he winced. “I thought you did not care for the sight of myfigurein it.”

“I care for it very much,” he said, kissing down her neck and over her breasts. “It is everyone else who doesn’t have permission to look at you.”

His hand was straying now as he pushed against the folds of her dress, the feathers brushing against his fingers as he thrust his hand beneath the layers.