Selina looked at him, surprised. She also had no idea how to respond to what he was saying.
The duke grimaced and looked away from her. “Eugenia was in love with another man,” he said. “A man her father disapproved of. But he approved of me. She hated me for marrying her, and she hated Percy as well.
Selina gasped, “I am so sorry…”
Dominic barely paused to hear her. It was as if he were in a rush to get it off his chest. “When her former love passed away, we ended up fighting. She decided to join him by throwing herself off the balcony. She blamed me…”
She could do nothing but stare at him.
Finally, he continued, “I did not know it until it was too late, but Percy was under the bed and he saw the whole thing.”
Selina brought a hand to her mouth. “I truly had no idea…”
“No, you would not have had any idea. I did not tell anyone exactly what happened.” Pain crossed his face. “In a way, the rumors about me are true. I killed Eugenia. If I had said something different—if I had been quicker to stop her?—”
Selina reached out and grabbed his hand. “That was not your fault. She was sick. There was nothing you could do.”
“You cannot possibly know that,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
She moved so she was sitting next to him in the carriage. “I know you. I know you are not cruel, and you never would have done anything to encourage her to harm herself, no matter what you felt about her. What happened was not your fault.”
He shook his head. “I should have stopped her.”
“You could not have.”
“I should not have let Percy witness her mother’s death.”
“You did not know he was watching.”
They were so close now, their lips inches apart. His gaze lowered to her lips. “I want to kiss you,” he confessed.
She smiled. Instead of replying, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his own. He groaned softly and did not hesitate to grab her and pull her into his lap.This feels better than my wildest dreams.
His hand tangled in her hair, carefully undoing her hairdo to let it fall loose around her shoulders. He growled softly. “You have no idea how much I think about you just like this,” he whispered as he started to trail kisses down her jaw, down her neckline.
His lips burned her skin, and she moaned in response. “Dominic, we cannot do this here,” she whispered. “We are in a carriage.”
“I do not care,” he growled. “I have wanted you for too long.” His hands went to her bare arms and then her back. She felt his fingers brush against her skin at the nape of her neck before going to the laces of her dress. With expert fingers, he undid the laces of her dress and pulled it down, along with her corset, to reveal her breasts.
She gasped, her nipples already hard. Her face flushed red now that she knew how exposed she was to him.
“You are gorgeous,” he growled as he pulled back to look at her. “Even more gorgeous than I had imagined.” He pressed kisses against her breasts. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, teasing the sensitive nub until it was hard.
She cried out and pushed her hips against his own as pleasure radiated through her. It was all too much, but at the same time, she wanted so much more. “Please, Dominic,” she whimpered. “I want more. I wantyou.”
“You have me,” he whispered. He stopped tormenting her breasts so he could claim her lips again. “You taste so sweet, Selina. So perfectly sweet.”
She whimpered, and her body shook with the sensations.
However, before he could do more to her, the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the manor.
Dominic growled in frustration at the interruption. He barely had time to help Selina fix her dress before the driver opened the carriage door for them. He nodded his thanks to the driver as he grabbed Selina’s hand.
He had to restrain himself from pulling her out of the carriage and picking her up in his arms. He had tasted more of her than he had ever had the privilege of tasting before, but it was not enough for him.
He needed more. He needed her in his bed, now.Restrain yourself. You are not a brute. You do not wish to scare the one woman who has never been afraid of you.
But all of his instincts were telling him to claim her. He put his arm possessively on her back and guided her into the manor. He bent his head down low to whisper in her ear. “Tonight, you shall stay in my room, Duchess.”
