Page 48 of Bound By the Duke

Aurelia remained where he had left her, kissed, shaken, and burning from the inside out. Her breathing had turned shallow, and her lips tingled from the taste of him.

She felt dizzy, as if his kiss had knocked her senses off kilter. Perhaps it had. Because something had broken loose inside her, something wild and shameless. Something she could no longer pretend to control.

A part of her had waited breathlessly for him to finally touch her the way he had looked at her for days now. And when he finally had, his kiss had tasted like ruin.

Aurelia pressed her palm flat against her chest, feeling her heart slam against her ribs. Every inch of her still pulsed from his touch, especially her lips. Her nether lips…

She squeezed her thighs together again, helpless against the way her body ached for more. Her core throbbed, hot and wet with want.

And she hated it.

Percival seemed resolved not to touch her again. Not to fall again. Yet the way his tongue had plunged into her mouth with no hesitation proved that he would come back.

And God helped her; she wanted it. She wanted all of it. No matter how dangerous he was. No matter how much he wanted to push her.

The door he had walked through remained closed. She stared at it.

How far had he gone? Was he pacing some corridor now with clenched fists? Or was he alone in a dark room, cursing her name as he remembered how she had melted against him?

She had asked only for an hour per day for Lottie. She had just wanted him to see things from her perspective.

But tonight had led to something far more dangerous. Something that made her realize it wasn’t going to end just like that.

It was inevitable, and she was ready for it all.

CHAPTER 15

It had been days since the kiss, and the manor seemed to have grown colder. Or maybe it wasn’t the manor. Maybe it was the distance Percival had put between them. Like armor. She so rarely saw him that he almost felt invisible.

And though part of her burned with frustration, another part refused to let his coldness get to her. If the Duke of Whitmore wished to maintain his silence, she would not spend hours pacing like a restless beast.

She was a duchess, and it was time she started acting like one.

That morning, Aurelia sought out the housekeeper and demanded to be introduced to the staff.

Mrs. Withers raised her brows at the request. “Most ladies would be content to let me handle such matters,” she said, folding her arms delicately.

Aurelia smiled softly. “And most ladies, I imagine, are not me. I would like to get to know the people who keep this house alive. Surely they deserve to be seen.”

The woman’s mouth opened, but then closed. She studied Aurelia for a long moment. Eventually, her gray eyes softened a little.

“You are determined,” she murmured, a faint smile curving her lips. “Very well. Come, then. Let me introduce you.”

Together, the women walked across the long corridors. She introduced her to the footmen, the maids, including Linda, who would serve as her Lady’s maid, and the kitchen staff. They all were startled and delighted that their new mistress cared enough to ask for their names and remark on the polished banisters and the scent of baking bread.

Aurelia listened to their concerns with patience, offering little words of encouragement that made their eyes light up.

“You have a way with them,” Mrs. Withers said as they left the kitchens.

“I only speak to them as I would wish to be spoken to,” Aurelia replied. “It costs nothing to be kind.”

“It is… not what I expected, Your Grace. I find myself pleased.”

Although Aurelia’s response was simply a smile, the words had warmed her more than she cared to admit.

By afternoon, she was wandering through the servants’ quarters with the lovely woman when raised voices reached them.

Two maids stood facing each other in the narrow hall. They seemed to be in a heated dispute, one clutching a pile of linens to her chest while the other pointed an accusatory finger.