“You…” Her cheeks continued to flush, and he could hear her breath rising in her chest. Still, she forced her eyes on him, not daring to look away as if to do so might break the spell. “You know… it was suspicious. Provocative. You are…” She bit her lip. “It was purposeful, is what.”
“Purposeful?” Still, he pretended to be uncertain. “To what purpose? Save wishing for a happy marriage. Is that not what we both want?”
“You know well what you were doing,” she said sharply, albeit with a playful cadence.
“Tell me.”
Her eyes widened, and she began to fidget. It was right there, on the tip of her tongue, hovering between them because they both knew where this was going. But could she say it?Or do I need to do it for her?
Sebastian knew now that he wanted Margot more than anything. And where that might have sounded like a positive admittance, he knew better than anyone how dire such a circumstance could be.
Was it just physical attraction, he might not have worried as much as he was. Standing over her, his eyes ran across her body, taking in her soft curves, the glow of her skin, the warmth he could feel pouring from her. Then, to her face, those full lips and the eyes…There is mischief behind those eyes, and how much fun I could have, it makes me wild to think.
Alas, the problem was borne from how much he’d enjoyed himself today. When Margot had spurned him, it was easy to focus solely on the physical. When she had been hostile and dispassionate and wore her hate for him on her sleeve. What was a night or two of fun if once it was over, she would turn her backon him and things would return to how they should be? Nothing was what it was, and worth it in every sense of the word.
Dammit, Sebastian was finding that helikedhis wife more than he thought possible. She was fun and playful. She was intelligent and perceptive. She was vicious and fierce and strong, but somehow also kind and caring. Worse still, she seemed to like him too, and if that was the case, and if Sebastian went through with this… a cold shudder ran up his spine, and he began to sweat from it.
I never wanted this. To marry. To fall for my wife – or anyone! There is a reason I have been so single-minded in my bachelorhood, and to threaten that now? No… I can’t do it…
“Do not make me say it,” Margot said softly, her eyes looking away as if embarrassed, but the smile she wore told otherwise.
Sebastian felt his blood pump hot through his body. His hand opened and closed, desperate to grab her by the waist and pull her into him. He felt his crotch harden. His mouth salivating. His arousal begging him to act! And yet…
Somehow, Sebastian curbed those feelings and buried them.
“You know what…” He took a deep breath, forcing calm and centering his mind. Then, he took a large mouthful of his whiskey, draining the glass in one go. “I think one drink will do me for tonight.”
Margot blinked in surprise. “Wh – what?” Then a wary smile as she searched for the joke.
“It is late…” He withheld the urge to grimace, and his stomach knotted when he saw the pain in her eyes. “And we really should be getting to bed. Alone,” he added, which had Margot wincing as if he had slapped her.
“Oh…” She blinked, still unsure. “Are you… I am not so tired.”
“I am,” he said. “It has been a long day. Best not to ruin it.” His expression was stone as he looked at her, all the desire and want once present in his eyes gone as if it had never been. She shied away, crestfallen, it looked like.For the best… and if she hates me, then so be it.
Sebastian did not dare to tempt fate and remain with Margot any longer. Quickly, he put down his glass, said goodnight, and strode from the room, leaving her there. His heart was racing. Still, he wished to go back and explain and then take her as he had wanted to do since they first met! But no… that would only lead to trouble.
Trouble that was sure to find him. He had resisted this one time, but for how much longer could he possibly hope to?Perhaps she will be so angry with me that I won’t have to worry about such things?A man could only hope.
Fifteen
Margot stood in front of the looking glass in her room, looking at her reflection as she tried to ignore the hammering of her heart and the way her stomach twisted as if a hive of snakes had been unleashed inside of her.
What just happened? One minute, everything seemed to be going better than I could have dreamed, and the next… reality struck, and now I am right back to where I started. No, that is not true either. Things are infinitely worse than they had been.
She played the moment over and over again in her head, and each time she did, she became more confused than she had been.
The garden party had gone better than expected. She had seen a side of the duke she had not known existed. She had felt a connection brewing between them. She had seen in the duke a man who had not been there before. For the first time, she had truly wondered if this marriage might be more than one of convenience.
And then back at the manor, drinks in hand, flirtations exchanged between them. The way he had spoken, how he had looked at her, there was no doubt in her mind what was about to happen. More than that, what she had wanted to happen.
Then everything changed. The duke turned cold suddenly. He dismissed her as if she were nothing. All the kindness he had shown vanished in an instant, and she was left standing there feeling like an utter fool.
Was it something I said? Did he see something he did not like? I do not want to think it had anything to do with me or that moment, but I am left to wonder, and the more I do, the worse things seem.
That was why she was looking herself over. Margot had never considered herself beautiful, but she knew that she was just that. Her curves. Her porcelain skin. Eyes that she had been told were desirable and filled with temptation. She studied herself, trying to figure out what the duke had seen to so suddenly change his mind.
Perhaps she was being too logical? Searching for a hidden answer when the obvious one was staring her in the face. This had nothing to do with her and everything to do with him.He is exactly who I thought, and that version from today was merely a mask he wore for appearances’ sake only.
