Page 62 of The Haunted Duke

“Do you know anything of what happened to Lord Ingram?” Helena asked, wringing her hands together as she stood with Evander by his bed. With the wedding and reception over, and the last of the guests finally departed, they had gone together to his room, but her mind was still snagged on the man’s bandaged hand and terrified expression. “He looked… out of sorts.”

“I ensured that he had a little accident,” he explained. “Something to teach him the importance of not putting his hands on you or your mother ever again.”

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I kept you safe,” Evander replied, an unintended edge sliding over his words. “As I promised.”

“You… hurt him?” Helena asked.

“I have never claimed to be a good man, Helena,” he said gravely, tracing his gloved fingers down her arms. “I know firsthand what it is like to suffer at the hands of others, and I will never allow anyone to put you through such a living hell. Not while I still draw breath.”

He watched her carefully, bracing for whatever fear his confession might bring to her eyes. Some part of him expected her to shrink away, to finally see him clearly and realize the terrible mistake she had made in marrying a beast like him.

“Are you afraid of me?”

Instead of pulling away, Helena wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his chest.

“No,” she murmured against him. “I would never be afraid of you.”

Relief eased the tension in his chest, and he gently kissed the top of her head, then pulled back to look at her face, noticing the still-pinched line between her brows.

“Then what troubles you still?” he asked, cupping his hand over hers.

Helena looked hesitantly at the floor for a moment, then swallowed.

“I hate that it is him that I am thinking of in this moment,” she confessed. “I still cannot believe that this ordeal is finally over.”

“Then let me try to take your mind off such things,” he murmured, his hand sliding to cradle the back of her neck.

He could see the questions still forming in her eyes, and he found he did not want their wedding night spent speaking of his torment, or hers, when there was so much pleasure and passion waiting to be had. So he dipped his head and stopped her questions with a kiss before she could ask them.

Pleasure and relief roiled through him as he felt her relax into his arms, and as he gently parted her lips with his tongue, he slid his hands down over the long trail of pearl buttons that followed her spine. He thought, for a moment, about ripping it; about sending those infernal buttons scattering all over the room, but he had already ruined one of her dresses. Tonight, he wanted to worship her the way she deserved.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked, his voice coming out hoarse and raw with need as he pulled away from their kiss.

He grazed his knuckles lovingly over her cheek, and he reveled in the way she nuzzled into his touch.

“I am very eager,” she whispered, then pressed a tender kiss to his knuckles. An adorable blush stole across her cheeks as she added, “In fact, it is something I could not stop thinking about ever since you first kissed me. I… I do not know what to do, but I know I want to please you.”

Evander could not help the rasping groan that was released from his throat as he heard her words.

“You please me,” he assured her, brushing his lips over hers. “You please me more than you can imagine, Helena.”

He deepened their kiss then, swallowing every whimper and sound of pleasure Helena made as she pressed herself tightly to his aching body. His hands trembled with need as they began to slowly release the buttons down her back one at a time, and when he finished, he trailed his gloved fingertips slowly down her naked spine. Desire coursed through him as he felt her shiver at his touch, and when he pulled away from their kiss, he nearly groaned again as he saw equal desire reflecting in Helena’s eyes.

“Remove your gloves,” she implored, curling her fingers around his lapels as she slid her body against his. “Please. I want to feel your skin against mine.”

Though he hesitated for a moment, he obliged, stepping back to pull them off and set them aside. As he stepped toward her again, he allowed her to drag his jacket down his shoulders, but when she reached for the buttons on his shirt, he grabbed her hands, stopping her.

“Such beautiful eyes should not ever have to look upon such ugliness,” he said as her eyes filled with questions.

Her breath hitched as her curiosity shifted to determination.

“Do not say such things about yourself,” she commanded. “You are the most handsome man I have ever seen. I want to see you. All of you.”

He wanted that, too. More than his heart could take. Yet as he contemplated all the scars that marred his flesh, he knew he could not give in to her request.

“Tonight is about your body, your pleasure,” he replied.