Page 30 of The Duke’s Second Bride (Regency Second Chances #4)

“ G oodness, the way he was looking at you during that dance!” Edith exclaimed, walking Ava to the edge of the dance floor. “I suppose there was no need for another man to make him feel jealous at all.”

Ava had been left standing alone and speechless on the dance floor, watching Christian stride away. Almost at once, Edith had been at her side.

Ava felt dazed. “I am going to get a refreshment,” she said. “I need a moment.”

She drifted over towards the beverages, feeling almost as though she were floating through a dream.

Edith had been wrong, of course. Christian may have said that he didn’t dislike being around her, but he had immediately proven those words false when he practically ran away from her after the waltz.

He had apologized, though. How strange. She wished she had not been so sharp in her response. It was just that his sudden apology had taken her so by surprise, she found herself falling back to old habits.

How easy it was to bicker and banter with him, even when she wanted to behave!

“Well, well, well,” came a stomach-curdling, familiar voice from behind her. Ice water shot through Ava’s veins as she turned around. “If it isn’t the brand new Duchess of Richmond.”

“Good evening, Brandon,” she said, marking how his face was entirely clear of the bruises he had been sporting the last time they were in a room together.

“Though ‘fresh’ seems a poor term for that which has been sullied,” he said, his tone sharp. Ava felt the sting of it as though struck. “Little wonder your husband finds you less … enticing.”

She tried to keep her composure. “I don’t believe we have anything further to say to each other. Our familiar ties no longer exist, Lord Dunfair.”

It was the exact wrong thing to say, she realized, as soon as she saw the sickly grin that spread over Brandon’s face.

“Yes,” he cooed, “that is quite right. You and I are not family at all. Which means I have no compunctions about telling you just how ravishingly beautiful you look tonight.”

“Enough, Brandon,” she snapped.

“Careful, Your Grace,” he said, keeping that annoyingly sweet voice. “No need for a harsh tone.”

She looked around for anyone nearby that she could escape into conversation with. But the band had started up again, and most people in the room were dancing, not anywhere near the refreshment table.

“One would think you would be grateful for a little complimentary attention,” Brandon continued, stepping closer.

She stepped backwards. They were in a crowded ballroom, she reminded herself. No matter what, he wouldn’t dare make a move on her the way he had that horrible night.

“I would be most grateful if you’d leave me alone,” she said coolly, though the slightest tremor betrayed her efforts to appear unmoved.

“Why should I?” he asked, his tone sharp. “Your husband seems more than willing to make the point himself. It must surely wound you—a miserable union with my wretched brother, and now it is only more evident how firmly the Duke of Richmond keeps his distance.”

“Stop,” she said weakly, though her voice grew quieter, and Brandon ignored her.

“I only wish to show you the affection you have been so denied, dear Ava,” he said quietly, pitched so that only she could hear amidst the hustle and bustle of the music and the crowded ballroom.

“You needn’t say yes now. I can be very patient.

Just know that I can show you a good time, whenever you say the word. ”

“The only word I have for you is goodbye, Brandon,” she said firmly.

After a brief pause, he slinked away, still wearing that unshakable smirk.

Without a second thought, Ava took off in the other direction.

She needed to leave this room at any cost.

By the time Christian composed himself enough that he felt he could return to Ava, he couldn’t find her.

A glance around the room revealed nothing—until he looked across the room to the other end, and saw a glimpse of pale yellow-gold silk and honey-blonde hair.

Most worryingly of all, he saw her abominable former brother-in-law walking nearby.

Since Dunfair wasn’t following Ava, Christian suppressed the urge to confront the other man right off the bat.

Instead, he took off in Ava’s direction, crossing the room with long strides and following her outside. He found her standing alone at the very edge of a darkened balcony, resting her elbows on the stone wall.

“Are you all right?” he asked. He saw her shoulders stiffen at the sound of his voice.

“Yes, quite,” she said. But he heard the tremble in her voice—and, as he drew closer, he also saw that her shoulders were shaking heavily.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“No,” she insisted, the trembling halting for a second. “I am quite fine, thank you. I will be back inside in a moment.”

He finally reached her. “Don’t lie to me,” he said, his voice low and as gentle as he could make it. “I am sorry I upset you earlier.”

She laughed. It was a low, choked sound. Choked by tears, he realized with a stab through his heart.

“No. It isn’t that. It was just…” She took a shaky breath, still refusing to look at him.

“I saw Dunfair.” She tensed at the name. “Did he try to speak to you?”

She hesitated, but nodded. “It is fine. I told him to go away.”

A low growl escaped his throat. “He shouldn’t have approached you in the first place. I shouldn’t have left you?—”

“It’s fine, Christian,” she said.

“No, it isn’t,” he insisted, the guilt crawling through his stomach. “What did he say to you?” he demanded.

When she didn’t answer, he put his hands down on the wall beside her. He needed to make it clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

“What did he say?” he growled.

Ava’s lower lip trembled. “He said I was looking well for something that’s sullied,” she admitted quietly. “And that it was no wonder my new husband doesn’t find me enticing.”

Christian felt something snap within him as she said ‘ Sullied .’

“I’ll kill him,” he said. “I should have killed him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, barking out a bitter laugh.

“He will never speak to you again,” he swore. “Not as long as I draw breath. That vile excuse for?—”

“But he was right, wasn’t he?”

That stopped Christian dead in his tracks. “What?” he asked incredulously.

She finally looked up at him, and he saw, with a pang in his chest, that her eyes were damp and glassy with tears.

“You cannot stand to be near me,” she said.

“Ava, I?—”

She laughed through her tears. “Oh, don’t deny it. I wouldn’t mind so much if you didn’t insist on proving me wrong at every turn. You are not repulsed by me—but the way you act, kissing me, then pushing me away … it is humiliating.”

He drew in a slow breath, jaw tight. “There is nothing repulsive about you. Nothing,” he said firmly, stepping closer, the heat between them sharp, controlled.

Her brow furrowed, suspicion flashing in her eyes. “Then why?—”

“Because I will not lose myself,” he interrupted, voice low, teeth clenched. “I cannot be near you without wanting … everything. Every inch. And yet, I cannot permit it. I will not be the man to give you what I am not prepared to own properly.”

She blinked, caught off guard, but he wasn’t finished. His eyes swept over her, lingering on the curve of her waist, the tilt of her shoulder, and something inside him tightened in need.

“Do you understand, Ava? It is not cruelty. It is not disdain. You are … perfect, in the way that makes restraint essential. And yet,”—he let his voice drop to a low rasp—” I want you. All of you. Every part I can touch, every part I can claim.”

It was as though his hands moved of their own accord, wrapping around their waist. She reacted instinctively in kind, her arms wrapping up around his neck, as he pulled her close into a passionate, all-consuming kiss.

It was even more heated than their first kiss. Gone was any facade, any false visage of placidity around her. He could no longer hide how badly he wanted her, and he didn’t care.

She kissed him back with equal fire and fervor, as he felt inside. Those lips were even softer than he remembered. The press of her breasts against his chest through the layers of corseting and bodice made him long for their wedding night, when she had come to him in nothing but a nightgown.

The memory of it drew out a growl from him, which elicited a whimper from her in response. That small noise was his undoing. He lifted her up against the stone railing, keeping her aloft with his strength and with the press of his body against hers.

Ava clung to him desperately. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth, and the warmth that spread through him was unmatched.

Heavens, she was delicious. She was everything he had dreamed she would be, and more.

As her hands scrabbled at his shirt, he felt his own urge to undress her increase, one hand beginning to trace along the neckline of her dress, and she arched her chest into that hand, as though encouraging it.

Just then, a particularly loud peal of laughter rang out from the ballroom.

They broke apart. Ava’s feet touched the ground once more.

They stared at each other. Both of them were panting, and he watched with hunger and admiration the rise and fall of her breasts, pressed up by her corset. Her hair was slightly askew. He imagined his own clothes looked something of a mess.

They both began trying to smooth themselves out.

As their breathing evened out, Christian said, “We’re leaving.” His voice sounded as raw as he felt.

He was delighted to see the spark that lit up Ava’s eyes at the words and the smile that played around the corners of her mouth.

“Now.”