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Page 23 of The Duke’s Untouched Bride (Regency Second Chances #3)

“ Y ou’re making a scene,” Iris said between gritted teeth as Owen spun her into the next dance.

He’d barely waited for the musicians to begin playing before sweeping her onto the floor. He rested his hand on her waist.

“I’m dancing with my wife.” He kept his voice level despite the fury burning in his chest. “It’s hardly scandalous.”

“You practically ripped me away from him. Everyone saw.”

“Good.”

“Good?” She stumbled slightly, and he steadied her with insulting ease. “ Your Grace , people are staring.”

“Let them stare.” He pulled her closer than was strictly proper. “Maybe next time, they’ll think twice before pawing at what’s mine.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously. “I am not your property.”

“You’re my wife.”

“There’s a difference.”

“Yes. But even so.” The words came out harsher than intended. “Richmond seemed confused about that distinction.”

“He was being polite.”

“He was being predatory.” Owen executed a turn with more force than necessary. “The way he looked at you, the way he touched you?—”

“He touched me exactly as much as any dancing partner would. You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being protective.”

“You’re being possessive. There’s a difference, as you’d know if you paid attention to anything beyond your jealousy.”

The accusation stung because it held truth. Watching Jasper’s hands on her, seeing him lean close enough to whisper in her ear, had ignited something primitive in Owen’s chest. That something demanded he tear her away, stake his claim, and make it clear to everyone that she belonged to him.

“This isn’t helping our reputation,” Iris continued, her voice tight with anger. “We’re supposed to be presenting a united front, remember? Instead, you’re acting like a jealous husband from a bad novel.”

“Maybe I am jealous.” The admission surprised him as much as it did her. “Maybe I didn’t like watching him put his hands on you.”

“Then perhaps you should have thought of that before abandoning me for a year.” Her words cut deep. “You don’t get to ignore me when it’s convenient and then play the possessive husband when it suits you.”

The moment the last note faded, Owen took her elbow and steered her toward the doors.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting us out of here.”

“Your Grace?—”

But he was already guiding her through the crowd, ignoring the curious looks and whispers.

He knew Morrison House well enough from business dinners to make his way to a small library off the main corridor.

The door clicked shut behind them, muffling the sounds of the ball.

“Have you lost your mind?” Iris wrenched free from his grip. “We can’t just disappear. What will people think?”

“I don’t give a damn what people think.”

“Well, I do!” She moved to the door, but he stepped in front of her. “Your Grace, move.”

“Not until we talk.”

“Talk?” She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Now you want to talk? After you just humiliated me in front of half the ton ?”

“I didn’t humiliate you.”

“No? What would you call dragging me away from a perfectly innocent dance like I was some wayward possession you needed to collect?”

“Innocent?” The word tasted bitter. “There was nothing innocent about the way Richmond was looking at you.”

“And how was he looking at me?”

“Like he wanted to devour you.” Owen stepped closer. He was unable to help himself. “Like he was imagining what you’d look like without that dress. Like he had any right to even think about touching you.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Am I? Because from where I stood, it looked like he was doing his damnedest to seduce my wife right in front of me.”

“Seduce me?” She shook her head in disbelief. “He was asking about Evie. About you and Nicholas. He wasn’t trying to seduce anyone.”

His face fell. “What did he say about Nicholas?”

The sudden sharpness in his tone made her eyes narrow. “Why? What are you hiding now?”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“Aren’t you? Because Richmond seems to think you and his brother were quite the pair. All those travels, all those women.” She stepped closer and stared at him down the length of her nose in challenge. “Is that what this is about? You don’t want him to tell me about your sordid past?”

“My past isn’t sordid.”

“No? Then why won’t you tell me about it? Why all the secrets and deflection?” Her voice rose. “What are you so afraid I’ll find out?”

“You want to know about my past? Fine.” He closed the distance between them. “Nicholas and I traveled. Yes, we drank too much and gambled too much and often acted like idiots. But I never touched another woman after I married you. Never even looked at one. So, whatever Jasper implied?—”

“He said Evie looks exactly like you.” The words burst out of her. “That she has nothing of me in her at all. He said blood will tell.”

Owen went still. “He said that?”

“Is it true?” Her eyes searched his face. “Is she yours? Have you been lying to me this whole time?”

“You think I’m lying?” Disbelief battled with hurt inside his mind. “After everything, you still think?—”

“I don’t know what to think!” She threw her hands up. “You keep me in the dark about everything. You disappear for days at a time. You have secret meetings with God knows who. How am I supposed to trust you when you give me nothing?”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what? From the Duke of Richmond? From the truth?” She laughed bitterly. “Or from finding out that our entire marriage was built on lies?”

“Evie is not mine.” Each word came out hard and precise. “I have never betrayed our vows. I have never?—”

“Then why won’t you tell me the truth?”

“Because the truth is dangerous!” he snapped. “Because Nicholas was murdered, and I think Jasper did it. Because Evie is evidence of something Jasper wants to keep hidden. Because every time you get close to this mess, you put yourself at risk.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “Nicholas was murdered? Felix said it was a carriage accident.”

“The carriage accident was too convenient. Nicholas had been asking questions about some of Jasper’s investments, making the wrong people nervous.

” Owen ran a hand through his hair. “And then suddenly, something terrible happened. I do not know the specifics. Something must have happened to his driver. The man had been serving the Richmond household for ages, so maybe he fell ill. Or perhaps some facet of the carriage malfunctioned. Or…”

“And you think Jasper…”

“Killed his own brother? Yes. For the title, for the money, for a dozen reasons that make sense only to him.” Owen moved closer. “That’s why I’ve been keeping secrets. That’s why I didn’t want you dancing with him. He’s dangerous, Iris.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I wanted you safe. Away from this mess.”

“Safe?” She shook her head. “I’m not safe. I’m blind. Walking into danger without even knowing it’s there. That’s not protection, Owen. That’s negligence.”

She was right. God help him, she was right. In trying to protect her, he’d left her vulnerable.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Are you?” She studied him with those inquisitive eyes. “Or are you just sorry I found out?”

“I’m sorry for all of it. For leaving you alone. For keeping secrets. For letting you dance with that bastard.” His hands clenched at the memory. “For not being able to watch another man touch you without wanting to tear him apart.”

Something shifted in her expression. “Owen…”

“Do you have any idea what it did to me?” The words poured out unstoppably. “Watching him hold you, whisper in your ear, make you smile? Knowing I had no right to object because I’d forfeited any claim to you the day I left?”

“You didn’t forfeit anything.” Her voice softened. “You’re my husband.”

“In name only.”

“Is that what you think?” She moved closer, close enough that he could smell her perfume, and see the rapid pulse at her throat. “That we’re married in name only?”

“Aren’t we?”

“I don’t know.” Her hand rose and hovered near his chest. “Sometimes I think we could be more. When you look at me like you are now. When you sing to Evie. When you covered me while I slept. But then you pull away, and I’m left wondering if I imagined it all.”

“You didn’t imagine it.” The confession scraped his throat raw. “Any of it.”

“Then why do you keep running?”

“Because I want you too much.” The words, stark and honest, hung between them. “Because every time I get close to you, I want things I have no right to want.”

“What things?”

He caught her hand and pressed it flat to his chest, where his heart raced.

“Everything. All of you. Not just your body but your thoughts, your dreams, your laughter. I want to wake up beside you and fall asleep with your hair spread across my pillow. I want to watch you with Evie and know that we made something beautiful together. I want—” He broke off because he was suddenly breathing hard.

“What?” Her eyes were wide and dark in the lamplight. “What do you want?”

“This.”

He pulled her against him and claimed her mouth with the desperate hunger he’d been fighting for weeks.

She made a small sound of surprise that quickly melted into something else as her lips parted beneath his.

She tasted of champagne and something sweeter, something that was purely her. Her hands fisted in his jacket, pulling him closer, and rational thought fled entirely.

This was what he’d been running from—this all-consuming need that threatened to reduce him to ash. He’d told himself it was about control and avoiding his parents’ fate. But the truth was simpler and more terrifying.

He wanted his wife.

The realization should have made him pull back. Instead, he deepened the kiss while walking her backward until the back of her legs hit the desk. She gasped as he lifted her onto it.

“Owen…”

“Tell me to stop.” His lips found her throat and he kissed the spot where her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird. “Tell me this is wrong.”

“I can’t.” She tipped her head back, giving him better access. “I can’t think when you touch me.”

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