What happened next was so swift that Elara had no time to prepare. The Duke’s hands closed around her wrists like iron, and in one single, fluid motion, he drove her back against the wall and caged her there, both her wrists pinned above her head in one of his large hands. Elara gasped at the impact, her breath leaving her in a rush as the full, overwhelming breadth of him pressed against her, leaving no space between them whatsoever.
“I told you,” he practically growled, his lips only centimeters away from hers. “I amnotlying.”
She squirmed against him, twisting her wrists in his grip and pressing her body against the immovable wall of his chest. It was entirely useless. He did not budge an inch. If anything, he pressed closer, and the more she fought, the more acutely aware she became of every point where their bodies met.
“Stop,” he growled, low and warning.
“Let me go!” she insisted, still writhing.
“I told you to stop.” His voice dropped even lower this time, rough at the edges, making her pause despite herself. His jaw was tight, his green eyes blazing as they bore down on hers mere inches away. “You are too reckless for your own good. Do you know that? You sneak into my home. You rifle through my things. You lock us in a room together and wave evidence in my face, then beat at me as if I am the source of all your grief.” His voice was dangerously quiet now. “Stop provoking me, Elara. I am warning you.”
“Or what?” she breathed, her chest heaving against his. “You will continue to lie to me? Continue to—”
“Stop.” The word came out fractured this time, and for just a moment, something raw and unguarded moved through his eyes.
Before Elara could move or even think, his lips sealed over hers. Amid her fury at the intrusion, she sensed a strong, undeniable craving for more.
Then she bit him.
“Wench!” Constantine snarled as pain shot through his bottom lip, and the taste of copper filled his mouth.
He did not stop his kiss, though. Instead, her little bite only fueled the lust feeding his rage, and he tightened his grip on her wrists and kissed her harder.
It was wrong. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he needed to stop several seconds ago. Yet with every press of his lips, every swipe of his tongue, his anger and Elara’s seemed to shift toward something different. His blood sang with satisfaction as the little snarling noises in her throat shifted to whimpers and her harsh breathing soothed into long, drawn-out pants.
A groan of pure pleasure escaped his throat as he pressed his body even more against hers, and he nearly broke the kiss with a curse at how good she felt, melted against him. He was so caught up in the pleasure of it all that he did not register the sound of knocking at the door, or the fumbling of keys beyond.
Elara, however, must have, for she suddenly turned her face away from his, drew up her knee, and hit him square in the groin. With a grunt, Constantine let her go, staggering back a few steps just as the study door flung open, revealing Adrian, Nora, Bridget, and the young woman who had been close to Elara nearly all evening.
Constantine looked from them to Elara, and his eyes widened at her unkempt state. Her lips were swollen and bruised from his kiss, her cheeks and bosom were flushed, and her blue eyes were wide and wild. Even her hair looked a bit mussed.
Constantine then licked his teeth as he drew a hand to his mouth, not just tasting the copper of his blood but finding it on his fingertips as he drew his hand away.
This was not good.
Constantine turned slowly, his expression unreadable, and met Adrian’s thunderous gaze without so much as a blink.
“This had better not be what it looks like,” Adrian snarled, looking ready to kill Constantine where he stood.
“Someone had better explain this at once!” Nora hissed, slamming the study door shut. “What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to ruin yourself before your debut?”
“Mama, brother, please! This... it is not what it looks like!” Elara exclaimed, surprising Constantine. He had assumed she would blame him for the predicament. After all, he had kissed her rather aggressively, and she had bitten him for it.
“Oh, why me?” Nora sobbed, collapsing into a nearby chair. “Why me? Have I not suffered enough, Elara? To lose a child to death and now another to scandal! Oh, it is too much! I cannotbear it!”
Nora let out a loud sob as she dropped her head into her hands, alarming Constantine. Elara, however, wasted no time moving past him and going to her knees to comfort the dowager.
“Please, Mama, let me explain,” Elara quietly insisted. “This is not what you think.”
“Ashworth,” Adrian gritted out.
His angry tone pulled Constantine’s focus from the scene, and he looked to his left to find Evander’s younger brother watching him with seething hatred.
“I should challenge you to a duel for what I have just witnessed,” Adrian’s deep voice threatened through gritted teeth. “Do you understand that if word of it gets out, my sister will be ruined?”
“Adrian.” Bridget’s hand came down firmly on her husband’s arm, her voice quiet yet absolutely immovable. “You will do no such thing.”
“Bridget—”
