Page 5

Chapter Three

D espite the obvious question the Duke had directed at her, Selina could not speak. She could not move nor look away from the intense stare that pinned her to the spot, rooting her there as if she were a tree that had sprung up from the library floor.

“As I told you, Your Grace,” the Widow Darrington answered, still entirely unaware that Selina was present, “I have come to you with a proposition. You need an ally, one who is experienced with the ways of the ton, so that you might enjoy your time in London without issue. And perhaps even…”

Still frozen, Selina was scandalized as the woman let the words hang while her hands drifted up the Duke’s frame. She leaned toward his neck. The sound of light caresses and kisses filled the hushed library, and Selina’s eyes flared wide.

Oh my Lord…

The woman had lost her husband not overly long ago, but she already possessed a reputation among the ton. Darrington was known as a flirt, and some attested to her being downright promiscuous. What Selina saw now provided evidence that certainly solidified those claims.

“…satisfy you and your needs, Your Grace.”

This was wrong, and Selina knew that she should clear her throat, announcing her presence so that the two would separate at once, but she couldn’t.

Her voice was entirely absent, and as the Duke’s stare remained fixed on Selina, all she could do was watch as the hand on Darrington’s back began to smooth up and down.

It was as if he paid the widow little attention, holding Selina’s eyes captive as he used the other woman to tease her. What was going on? How on earth had she wound up in this situation? Selina was at a lost, so utterly astonished that she couldn’t think.

Except, of course, for how it might feel to be in the Widow’s place. It was clearly the Duke’s intent, his gaze ever trained on Selina as he caressed the woman’s spine intimately. Darrington was merely a stand-in, and what did it say about Selina that she was still allowing this to happen?

Move, Selina. Do something.

Intrigue and fury warred in her blood. Selina despised this man, and yet, she could see the dark hunger lingering in his gaze as it had two days earlier. They’d been locked in the moment together in the study, and now, she found herself under a similar spell.

Heat bloomed through her, the details of the room around her disappearing into a fog as something she’d never felt before took hold of Selina so tightly that she could scarcely breathe.

The Duke’s eyes never left hers as his hand roamed further up, the other one brushing aside the stray curls trailing over Darrington’s neck.

“Is that so?” His voice was a low whisper, this rumbling sound that slithered across the air right toward Selina. “Satisfy my needs… and is this how you’d like to do that? Do you enjoy this , what you’re feeling right now?”

He wasn’t speaking to the widow Darrington, of that Selina was certain. She could be anyone else. In fact, she could be gone. No, the Duke was speaking to her; his words had been meant solely for her.

“My dear Duke,” Darrington whispered, a fluttering lilt to her voice. “I am at a loss. I… do, I fear.”

His hand was at the widow’s neck now, tipping her head so that more of her flesh was revealed to him.

Still, the Duke’s gaze stayed entwined with Selina’s.

He smirked, too, the devilish expression making that twinkle in his eye return.

Then, his lips were hovering over the woman’s throat, not kissing but so, so close.

“And shall I proceed to do more? Would you like that? Would you like,” he sucked in a deep breath, his eyes rolling closed for only a moment before connecting with Selina’s again—hot and bright and ravenous, “ more ?”

Selina was mesmerized, utterly ensorcelled by what was happening in front of her.

She had never felt a burning in her veins like the one that consumed her now.

This was scandalous and highly inappropriate, but she could not bring herself to move away or speak up.

She only watched, enraptured and filled with a terrible, secret longing to be in the Widow’s place.

After all, Selina was untouched and had been for so very long.

She had no idea what it might be like to have someone caress her like she was seeing the Duke do now.

Darrington looked like a puddle of herself, and even just witnessing this, Selina felt her own knees weaken.

Something pulled deep inside her, this desperate need.

Oh, dear God. I… I am aroused.

Just then, the Duke reached his free hand up to the widow’s neck, dragging a finger over her skin. Selina’s skin rippled with goosebumps in response, and a tiny squeak fled from her lips before she could stop it.

Blast!

Clapping her hands over her mouth, Selina’s eyes went wide as the furious pound of mortification drilled through her.

Before her eyes, the widow Darrington perked up, the sound reaching her even across the room, and it served to thrust her back into reality, making her stand straighter as the Duke’s eyes lit with amusement.

“Your Grace, I—” The Widow began to turn around, but the Duke was quick to snag her by the chin and keep her face pointed at him. “Oh.”

“Thank you, Lady Darrington.” The Duke’s voice was still as soft as silk, hovering in the air between the two of them as he dropped his eyes to the other woman for just a moment before they returned to Selina. “It is a truly kind offer. Still, I have no need or desire for your assistance.”

“What?” The woman snapped out of the trance the Duke’s actions had coaxed her into. “I… but you?—”

“I nothing. I shall not speak of what happened of course, but please,” the Duke’s stare was on the Widow again, “do not come to me with an offer of this kind again.”

“Ugh!” she scoffed in return, and at once, Selina realized that the woman was moments from tearing from the room.

She was still standing there like an imbecile. Selina’s heart pounded behind her ribs as the fragile bubble of fantasy that had existed just moments ago was repeatedly shattered with each moment.

Dammit, I need to move. I—Hell!

As if it might help, Selina hurried toward the bookshelves, pressing herself into a corner and covering her face with her hands.

Peeking through the gaps in her fingers as she risked turning over her shoulder, the anxiety strong enough to swallow her whole, Selina watched helplessly as the Widow Darrington spun around and fled from the room.

In some miracle, however, the woman had flattened her hands to her face. Darrington tore from the library without so much as looking up before she flung the door shut behind her, leaving Selina unnoticed as she stood against the books, attempting to make herself as small as possible.

And then it was quiet.

It dragged on, moment after moment, until Selina was forced to turn around—curiosity and embarrassment and the need to know what the hell was going on battling within her like titans.

When she did, of course, she was met with the ardent stare of the Duke once more, and once more, she found herself unable to move when he looked at her like that.

Images and memories of the study swam in her mind, colliding with the present as Selina faced off yet again with the Duke.

If anything, the way the man looked at her now was all the stronger, all the darker, and more unhinged than it had been then.

What had she done by stumbling into this room… and not leaving it as she should have?

Why didn’t I just go? Ugh, I need to get out ? —

“Come here, Selina,” he spoke, his words interrupting her tirade of thoughts.

The way he stared, and that blasted use of her name, had Selina moving before she could think better of it.

It was as if she’d had too much to drink.

And while it had been some time since she’d allowed herself to fall into that trap, Selina still remembered the feeling of intoxication, the way it made her mind fuzzy and her skin buzz.

This was no different, and she feared that the results would be just as devastating.

When she at last stood before him, cognizant enough to keep at least a foot between herself and the Duke, Selina let out a shuddering breath, and the man’s pupils visibly dilated.

“Look at that. She can obey.”

Selina’s irritation flared beneath the heady feeling of arousal and embarrassment.

She wanted to speak up, to challenge his blasted attitude, but her mouth could not form the words.

Selina’s pulse rushed, the heat and feverish beat felt in every inch of her flesh, screaming through her ears.

This was ridiculous after all. She’d caught the man in here in a highly inappropriate situation.

But before she could gather herself to speak, the Duke closed in on her, putting his hand on her waist.

It was as if he’d struck her with a lightning bolt. Selina jumped, a squeak leaving her as the heat in her cheeks flared hotter and hotter.

“What are you?—”

Again, the Duke shocked her, pulling Selina against his chest. And God, the feeling of him. He was hard muscles against her, the firm stance of his body impressive and slightly terrifying. She felt dwarfed by him, and the Duke held her there so firmly that she couldn’t simply slip away.

“You’re rather flushed, Selina.” The man had the gall to lean forward, brushing his lips against the sensitive flesh of her ear which made goosebumps flicker to life all over her. “Did you like what you saw? Have you been standing there, imagining me pressing you against me like I am now?”

How could he be saying these things? The Duke just had another woman in his arms, and though he’d told her he was not interested, and though he had been staring at Selina the entire time, this wasn’t right.

Still, she was distracted by the feeling of him against her.

Everywhere their bodies touched, a silent scream in her brain begged for more.