Prim smiled at him as she turned to face his playful look. He cupped her face and pulled her even closer, his lips eating her hungrily. She moaned softly in his arms, tightening her arms around his neck. His kiss turned deeper, his tongue licking herlips, asking her for entrance. She gasped, and their kiss turned wet and more intimate.
“Your Grace,” his butler interrupted from outside the door.
“Later,” Leo smiled against her lips.
“Your Grace, an invitation.”
“Leave it on my desk,” Leo said, kissing her neck.
“Your Grace, you instructed me to inform you instantly if anything came up regarding the Duke of Covington.”
Leo froze, his heated kiss turned sour against her skin. His body stiffened in ready aggression, his arm turning from passionate to protective. He gently pushed her to her feet and opened the door.
“Give it to me!”
Prim watched as Leo tore open the envelope. He read what Prim could see was an invitation. His face distorted in wrath.
“Those audacious…” he snarled and paced the room.
“Leo?”
He handed her the invitation. Prim read. The Duke of Covington invited 'The Duke and Duchess of Mildenhall' to the annual family dinner”.
“What is this?”
“This,” Leo said and threw away the piece of paper, “is a declaration of war!”
“First of all, this is an invitation to the family dinner. Let’s not getthatdramatic.”
Leo’s face cracked in a smirk. But his anger came back tenfold.
“It’s a challenge.”
“That it is,” Prim frowned. “The sheer audacity alone.”
“To invite you to this pit of snakes, they dare callfamilydinner! To show publicly how they approve of you, while they have been plotting your demise all along.”
“They are certainly plotting something. The plan at the ball backfired.”
“You are my Duchess, but there are still ways to hurt you. Perhaps now more than ever. They need to strike while you are still vulnerable, not established in the eyes of the ton, the marriage after a scandal,” Leo was seething.
“Your what?”
His eyes snapped at hers, only to find her looking at him with a genuine question. His anger dissipated, and he focused on her.
“My Duchess,” he said.
“I find that possessive pronoun quite pleasing,” Prim concluded.
“I shall endeavor to repeat it often.”
“See that you do.”
He sighed as he looked at her.
“It seems that this exact possessive pronoun is what got you in trouble in the first place,” Leo said, his face distorted by anger.
He glanced at the invitation on the floor. His jaw ticked in annoyance.
