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A s Seth stepped into the crowded room, his friends slunk to their respective corners.

Now that they had collected him, it seemed they were content to let him do as he pleased.

He was eager to find his bride, having been reprimanded for neglecting her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

He nodded to a few of the guests, his irritation rising as he looked around the room.

Has she grown tired of the wedding breakfast already? Should she not be playing hostess?

The irony of his anger at the situation was not lost on him. It seemed Alicia had acted exactly as he had—abandoning their guests for a moment of solitude.

As he considered going to find her and dragging her out of wherever she was hiding, she appeared at the door to the gardens, flanked by her two friends.

They were whispering together like schoolgirls, and Seth’s fists clenched as her gaze met his. Her spine straightened, chin rising to the air before she walked past him toward a group of guests by the long table in the center.

The nerve of the woman.

He followed her, conscious of many eyes on them, and gently took her arm. “Where were you?” he asked.

Alicia fixed him with a cold look.

“I was with Lady Bridget and Miss Hill in the gardens,” she stated matter-of-factly. She pursed her lips as she ran her eyes over him. “Did you miss me, Your Grace? I wonder how you noticed my absence, considering you have been gone for a great length of time yourself.”

Seth clenched his jaw. “I was attending to some business,” he muttered.

Several curious glances were cast their way. This was not how newlyweds usually behaved; Alicia’s stance was positively hostile.

“Oh yes? And what ‘business’ were you taking care of?”

Seth grimaced at her tone, trying to think up a reasonable answer to her question, but she did not give him the chance.

She scoffed scornfully. “If you will excuse me, Your Grace. I really should see to our guests. One of us should consider them, after all.”

She stalked away, leaving him tongue-tied, his mouth hanging open like a fool.

My new Duchess is proving to be more trouble than I had bargained for. Beautiful trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

“Enjoy your wedding night, my friend,” Michael said as he staggered down the path.

Seth stood at the carriage door, ensuring that his friend got home safely.

Michael had finished a bottle of brandy by himself and was struggling to remain upright.

Seth thought he might have to catch him, but Lucas appeared at his side and wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.

After some scuffling, cursing, and a great deal of laughter, Michael was safely tucked in his carriage, and Seth slapped the side as the final guest left.

He waved to Lucas and Isaac, who were traveling back together, and watched them fade into the darkness, listening to the horse’s hooves until he was left alone, standing in the moonlight.

Glancing up at the lit windows on the first floor, his eyes found Alicia’s bedchamber, where a candle flickered on the windowsill.

He froze as he spotted a silhouette on the window seat, her head bowed, looking as if she were reading a book.

What must she think of me after my behavior today? Perhaps she is relieved that I have confirmed all of her worst fears.

He wandered back to the house, listening to the quiet and allowing himself a moment of rest.

The wedding had been more exhausting than he had anticipated, and Alicia had done the brunt of the work with the guests.

Apart from a brief wander in the gardens, where she had walked around the flowerbeds with her friends, she had barely paused for breath.

Isaac was correct—she smiled a great deal. But it never seemed to reach her eyes. Seth had watched her most of the afternoon, noting the distance between her and her father.

His wife’s relationship with her sister was clearly excellent and filled with affection, but whenever the Earl approached her, it was either to give her an order or introduce her to a guest.

By the end of the evening, Seth had begun to find him… galling.

The Earl didn’t appear to be interested in anything to do with his daughter except what she could do for him. Considering how intelligent and accomplished she was, his attitude was surprising.

The guilt that had lingered ever since Lucas’s comment in the study had grown in Seth’s gut, churning like a worm until it writhed at every word spoken.

He had no interest in consummating his marriage tonight, nor spending any time with his wife, given the confusing feelings she stirred within him. But the worm would not rest. It somersaulted and twisted inside him, reminding him of his obligations as a husband, if nothing else.

I should say goodnight to her. It is the least I can do.

Still, his feet felt heavy as he made his way inside, the crunch of gravel giving way to the sharp tap of marble beneath his shoes.

His cravat was tight around his neck, his waistcoat suffocating, and he could stand it no longer.

Spotting the butler in the hallway, he summoned him and instructed him to remove his coat. No doubt his valet would be scandalized by his actions, but Seth could not breathe.

As the butler pulled the tight garment off his shoulders, Seth heaved a sigh and tugged at his cravat, loosening it and leaving the linen hanging about his neck, falling over his chest.

He made his way slowly upstairs, the glow of the candles at intervals along the corridor casting a hazy glow over the dark green walls.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped, turning on his heel and looking down at the entrance hall.

He loved Radcliffe Manor. For a long time, it had been so synonymous with memories of his father that he had struggled to feel at ease, but now he had made his mark on it.

The thought of Alicia living here was jarring. What might she do to the place? Would it no longer feel like his own?

Glancing down the corridor, he caught a glimpse of the light beneath Alicia’s door and made his way quietly to it, ensuring that his shoes could not be heard on the plush carpet beneath his feet.

He stood in front of the door for a few minutes, listening to the sounds within.

Is she asleep? It has been a long day. I should leave her be…

He was being a coward.

Alicia had been awake minutes ago, but he wanted to go to his room and avoid her for as long as possible.

The idea that his wife sat beyond this door, which was adjacent to his room, was still an alien concept to him.

Everything about the day had been a blur, a strange whirlwind of ideas, feelings, and ruthless desire that had shocked him more than anything.

It would be better if I did not see her.

The creak of a floorboard in the room suggested that Alicia had risen from the window seat. No doubt she had heard him, and it would be even more unwise to stand there and not make himself known.

Reluctantly, he shook off the desperate desire to go to bed and knocked, listening as little footsteps sounded on the other side before the door swung open.

His breath caught in his throat. Alicia was in her nightgown—a simple cotton slip—evidently having expected a maid.

Her cheeks flushed beautifully when she looked up at him, evidently amazed that he would take the time to call on her tonight.

She stepped back, grabbing a robe from the chair beside the door and pulling it on. She stared at him, and he met her gaze, uncertain what to say or do.

The silence stretched on for so long that Seth began to feel embarrassed.

A duke should be decisive in everything he does…

He stepped into the room and pushed the door shut behind him.

The fire was crackling in the grate, and there was a candle still on the window ledge, a slim volume beside it that could have only been poetry.

He shifted his weight, glaring down at her, irritated by the need that simmered beneath his skin.

She looked glorious standing before the fire. Her dark hair fell about her shoulders, a halo forming around the edge of it with the light behind.

Her full lips were slightly parted, and as he watched, those stunning blue eyes flitted over his face and down, taking in the loose cravat around his neck and the cut of his waistcoat.

Her pupils were wide and dark, her interest in him written all over her face.

Damn it all to hell.

Seth needed to leave—immediately. Only a small part of him could recall his reluctance as he had ascended the stairs. Any doubts had been replaced by intense lust, and as his eyes fell to the floor, he saw her tiny, perfect toes and miniscule feet.

She was so petite, so easy to lift and bend to his will. His big body would engulf hers in every way. He would be able to tower above her, pin her to any surface, and own her in every sense of the word.

“I came to say goodnight,” he muttered gruffly, his voice hoarse and an octave lower than usual. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at himself.

Alicia’s eyebrows lowered as she stepped back toward the fire, moving behind the chair placed there—creating a barrier between them, for which Seth was very grateful.

“You are wishing me goodnight?” she asked skeptically. “You have barely spoken to me all day. Are you sure it is merely goodnight you are seeking, Your Grace?”

Seth’s jaw clenched.

And now I am thinking of all the other things I could be doing to her.

“Yes,” he bit out. “Is it not customary for a husband to wish his wife goodnight?”

“Following their wedding, Your Grace? Perhaps not, but I do not believe I need to educate you in what a husband usually does with his wife on such an occasion.”

She was entirely unabashed as she said the words, and Seth was astounded to feel his neck heating at the matter-of-fact way she voiced her thoughts.

Ever since he had met her, he knew she had a spark, but it was clear she was also not afraid of him.

E ven though she believes I am a murderer.

Her eyes ran over him again, and he could feel himself hardening in his breeches.

What was it about her that made his body react this way? He had been around many women like Alicia Holton—perhaps none quite so pretty—but he had never felt this wicked need to possess them.

He wanted to stride across the room, tear that robe off her, rip her nightgown asunder, and throw her to the floor, thrusting into her mercilessly until she was moaning so loudly that the whole house would hear.

By the look on her face, she might even let him.

He took a step forward, his eyes on her lips.

She watched him, unmoving, the frown remaining on her face as he came level with her.

“Well then, goodnight,” he half-growled as he attempted to get himself under control.

“Goodnight, Your Grace,” she said tentatively, stepping out from behind the chair, one hand clutching her robe.

She has not even tied it. With a flick of my wrist, I could rid her of it for good.

It was as if he were watching himself from a distance, his mind screaming at him to walk out of the room. Instead, he took another step toward her.

She was exquisitely beautiful in the firelight, all soft curves and doe eyes. He could not stop staring at her mouth, thinking back to the kiss in the church, that illicit moment when she had captured his lower lip between her own.

He wanted to taste her again, desperately.

Seth took another step forward.

Alicia’s breath hitched as he towered over her. How he wanted to command her to sink to her knees and pleasure him, to put that mouth to good use.

His hands rose against his better judgment, gripping her upper arms as she all but melted against him.

She was staring at his lips now, begging him to plunge his tongue into her mouth, taste the sweetness he had sampled for the first time that morning.

He leaned in, desire racing down his back like a hot flame, his hard length jutting outward, brushing against her nightgown.

Will she let me have her now? I have never wanted anyone more.

“Lady Collingworth was very put out at dinner,” she said suddenly.

Seth paused, an inch from her mouth, so close he could feel her breath fanning his lips.

“She remarked on Lady Pearson’s gown, which was very much like her own. Copied stitch for stitch, or so she told me. Quite scandalous for a wedding breakfast, when the modiste had been preparing them for many weeks.”

Seth stared at her, dumbfounded by the inane chatter.

Have I married a simpleton?

Despite the hardness in his breeches and the desire that still pulsed through his veins, her words gave him pause.

Immediately, he pulled away, tugging at his waistcoat, reminding himself what this marriage was—what it could never be.

He was ashamed to admit that desire had overshadowed his reason. Only ten minutes earlier, he had been thinking of the benefits of leaving her alone, and yet here he was, seconds away from taking her against the wall.

Alicia seemed just as surprised by her words as he felt, the color high in her cheeks, her wide eyes blinking at him in surprise.

Her eyes skittered over his chest, settling on the bulge in his breeches, and her cheeks turned scarlet .

“Goodnight, Duchess,” he said stiffly, fighting the gnawing need to touch her again.

Take her, push her against the bed, and have her, now!

“G-Goodnight,” she said faintly.

Seth turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, furious with himself for what he had almost allowed to happen.