“I did not read anything.”
“As though that matters,” he scoffed. “It is the principle of the thing.”
She stared up into his face. Logically, she understood that the purpose of his action was not to arouse her, but to intimidate her. She had told Olivia that he had no interest in her, and she believed it to be true. But there was no denying that whenever they were in such close proximity as this, her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed, and she felt her body awakening. Only a fool would misinterpret what this meant: she was attracted to the man.
Deeply. Alarmingly. Beyond all reason or thought.
His brows furrowed as he glared at her. “Well? Have you nothing more to say on the matter?”
“Well, only that it seemed to me that spending your time in a room that was in such a state must not have been happy,” she said carefully. “And I thought that now we are married, you do not need to behave like a bachelor.”
“I willbehavehow I see fit.” He gripped her chin, none too gently. The press of his fingertips exhilarated her. “And you will not be the one to dictate that.”
“But you will dictate howIbehave?”
A wry smile. “Unless, of course, you would prefer not to be married to me.”
Eleanor thought back to Olivia’s advice—dispensed with the authority of a master instructing a pupil, though Eleanor rather doubted Olivia had any true experience in the matter. Still, the general principles had been clear enough.
Find any excuse to touch him or have him see you in a state of undress. A man has urges, and if he is with you all the time, you may find he gives into those urges.
She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, keeping her eyes on him at all times. Perhaps she was not particularly alluring on a regular day, but if he spent time with none but her, especially given the close confines of their life together, surely at some point he must feelsomethingfor her. After all, she was a woman and bore womanly curves, all of which her new gown from Olivia accentuated. The low neckline, paired with the high waist and silken skirts, all served to highlight her breasts and hips.
Gentlemen desire such things, you know,Olivia had said with such decisiveness, Eleanor had not thought to doubt her.They enjoy all displays of the flesh.
Well, Eleanor certainly had plenty of flesh on display.
“Ravenscroft,” she murmured, using the voice she had practiced alone in her room, low and throaty. “Are you determined to quarrel with me?”
His gaze dropped to her chest, and the soft roundedness of her breasts, before flicking back to her face. A muscle in his jaw flexed. “I only argue with you when you provoke me,” he said, releasing her. “If I had my way, we would not speak at all.”
“Even when at social events?”
“No,” he snapped. “There, we will behave as any other husband and wife, newly married.”
“But why? When you are so determined to ignore me when we are home together?”
“What transpires between us in private is no one’s business but our own.”
She stepped closer, eliminating the chasm he had created between them. “Then explain to me why you married me if you dislike me so much?” She bit her lip, testing her courage, which was rapidly failing her. Not because the Duke scared her; no, shehad faced far worse tyrants in her time. Rather, she feared what his answer might be, and what it would mean for the state of her marriage. The only way for her to keep him as a husband, to keep him for her and prevent him from straying would be to gain his affection, but she didn’t know if that was even possible.
He stared at her, something flickering in his eyes, there and gone. “I do notdislikeyou. I do not know you enough to dislike you.”
“Then—”
“I married you because I must. Why else? You knew the score when I proposed.”
Now or never. “Then why did you kiss me at the masquerade?” she blurted. “Did you know who I was then? Was that some kind of cruel joke?”
After all, if he had kissed her, a stranger then, why did he not kiss her now?
“I was nothing to you then,” she continued as his jaw snapped shut. “And yet you idled away your time with me, and you—” She could not say the words again. He had kissed her. And they had never once discussed it.
For a moment, she thought she saw a great, dividing conflict pass across his face. Then he gave her a small, cruel smile. “Ah, sothatis the source of your constant attempts to gainmy attention. You wish for me to kiss you again. Was once not enough, dear Eleanor? Would you rather I kiss you again as your husband? Would you like me to flatter you and tell you that I have been dreaming of it since?” He caught her about the waist, drawing her closer, his grasp anything but tender. “I kissed you because I was bored at that dull party, and you seemed enough of a challenge to make it worth the reward. A prudish lady determined to resist me, and I capable of making her forget herself.” He leaned down, breath hot against her lips. “Was it truly that enjoyable for you that you would brave my temper to get closer to me? Is this enough for you?”
Eleanor’s stomach fluttered, and she placed her hands on his face. “I wish you would tell me the truth.”
“Thetruth?” His smile grew even colder, and he released her so suddenly she almost fell. “The truth is you pose no challenge for me as my wife. You are mine; I can have you whenever I want. And thus, I no longer want you.” He turned away, striding back down the corridor. “If that is all, I have matters to be attending to.”
