Page 25 of The Duchess and the Beast

“Oh, I am sure you did,” she chuckled softly. “Yet that underscores my point precisely. We do not truly know one another, do we? We may be married. We may share a home. But in truth, you remain as much a stranger to me as I to you. Yet…” Another step closer, so they were standing less than two feet apart. “It doesn’t have to remain that way. But it can never change if every encounter we have leads to more and more secrets, and fewer and fewer answers. As I was saying, I had presumed the stories about you to be greatly exaggerated, yet you always seem to hint there is a kernel of truth you will never share with me.”

“It… it is not that simple,” Sebastian replied, his voice low.

“Why can’t anything ever be with you?”

“The rumors you hear of me, most of them are not true, but some...” He inhaled sharply, steeling himself before his eyes raised to meet hers. “Some are more accurate than you might imagine.”

“What... what do you mean?”

“I’m...” Sebastian’s gaze faltered, turning away as a wave of self-loathing washed over him. “I am dangerous.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” She tried for a soft chuckle, but it died the moment it left her lips.

“It is,” he affirmed. They stood so close, his massive frame like a mountain before her. Even when he wasn’t trying to impose himself on her, he still had that effect. “I do not mean to be so withdrawn, but it is for your own good.”

“Then why offer to marry me,” she pressed. “I don’t believe that.”

“Believe it.” He looked at her again, jaw clenched now as he tried to keep his emotions in check. “You were right before. I had no desire to marry you. But understand, it had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me. It was unjust of me to force this engagement upon you, and had I known the kind of person you were. How...” The way she looked at him, the pity in her eyes, made his heart beat such that it hurt him. It would be so easy now to dismiss her and leave. He had made his apology and that was why he was here. But they stood close, their stare held, and somehow he found a sense of courage that had eluded him until now. “How innocent you were, I would have never...”

A gentle smile played across her lips. “Don’t apologize. As I have said, I don’t hold stock in the rumors, nor do I fully accept your own harsh judgment of yourself. And if you would only allow me the opportunity…”

“You would not say such things if you knew the true extent of my nature.”

“Then show me!” Virtue implored. “I am right here. I have nowhere to go. Show me the real you and let me judge for myself.”

She awaited his response, but he gave her nothing.

He felt exposed in a way he never had before. She was his wife, yet he felt like a boy speaking to a woman for the first time. Unversed in the ways of courtship. Afraid of rejection. Terrified what might become of him if it happened. And when he glanced at her, he noticed her eyes attempting to see beyond his mask.

He nearly winced when he saw it.

To him, she was the epitome of beauty and grace, and he, a disfigured monster. Both physically and mentally, she was too pure for the beast hidden beneath. He almost scoffed at himself, all the thoughts he had been having, his daring to wonder if she might be feeling the same way as him. Now, he could see it, clear as day. There was just no way. It seemed impossible; the only way he could ever possess her would be through force, for she could never truly desire the savage before her.

Unable to meet her eyes, he looked down, only to see her hand drifting towards him. For an instant, he held his breath, thinking she might reach for his hand. But then, most unexpectedly, her fingers extended not toward his hand, but toward the straps of his white mask—

In a reflex swift and fierce, Sebastian’s hand shot out, grasping her wrist firmly before he could stop himself.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he snarled, still holding her by the wrist, so firmly he might have lifted her from the ground if he so wished it.

“I’m sorry.” She tried to pull her arm free, but he refused to yield. “I did not mean—”

“I told you no,” he growled back, his voice like thunder rolling from the horizon.

“I just wanted to see.” She tried to assuage his anger. “I thought if—”

“I know what you thought,” he hissed, his tone darkening as he loomed over her, his presence enveloping her like the nightfall that shrouds a valley at dusk. All-encompassing and completely dominating. “And I told you, no.”

Sebastian's eyes bore into hers with fiery intensity, a clear attempt to intimidate her into submission. He believed that if she were to see his true self beneath the mask, it would irrevocably shatter any semblance of a relationship they might build. It was better, he reasoned, to fend her off with fear rather than face the potential ruin of reality.

Only this time, Virtue did not retreat.

She met his gaze steadfastly, her eyes unflinching, her spirit undeterred. “Let go of me,” she demanded, her voice strained but firm, fighting to keep her composure and her chin steady.

“What?” he growled, holding her tighter.

He became suddenly aware of where they were. Alone. In Virtue’s bedchamber. The night after their wedding night, still unfulfilled and wanting. How close they stood, how intense they stared, the raw tension building between them transforming to a passionate intensity that seemed to transcend Sebastian’s goal of scaring her back. If anything, his savagery only seemed to thrill her now.

“Let go of me,” she said again, stepping in closer, pressing her body into his.