Accidentally Compromising the Duke (12 page)

There was a knock on the door and her heart leapt into her throat. She spun around, pulling the edges of the gown close. “Come in.”

The handle twisted and in strolled the duke, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He was still clothed in his evening clothes and raised a coolly mocking brow, holding up her note between his thumb and forefinger. “You summoned me, Adeline.”

“I was not sure if I was to make my way to your chamber,” she said tentatively.

There was something undeniably disturbing in his eyes. “For what purpose?”

“I may not know the full of it, Edmond, but I am certain my duties as your wife extend to me being with you in your chamber.” She fought the blush climbing her cheeks, striving to appear self-assured.

His lips twisted slightly. “Ah…so you are ready to fulfill your marital duties? I had not thought you so aware of what that entails.” His tone was dry, his expression inscrutable.

“I beg to differ. I have lived in the country most of my life. I dare say I have an idea,” she said teasingly. Her smile faltered when he failed to respond. How was she to pierce his aloofness? Should she even be trying? “Are we to be at odds so soon?” she asked softly.

He stiffened and then scrubbed a hand across his face. “Forgive me, Adeline,” he said, regret heavy in his tone. “I am being slightly boorish.”

She arched a brow. “Only slightly?”

He smiled, and she rocked back on her heels. The man was simply too handsome for his own purpose.

“Being married…though it was a decision I made in earnest, I find I am plagued with more doubts than I expected.”

Oh.
That bit of honesty warmed her heart. “I think it is normal to feel doubt, not that I am an expert on marriage,” she said with a small smile. “And our situation was highly unexpected.”

“Hmmm,” he murmured noncommittally, sipping his drink. But his eyes…they devoured her, from the top of her head to her toes in a slow heated sweep. What was he thinking?

Her heart seemed to flip over when his eyes finally collided with hers. The expression of raw need in his gaze both frightened and excited her. “Should I…should I go on the bed?” She didn’t have much of an idea what should happen, but she knew enough that it must happen there underneath the covers. Adel had heard enough giggled whispers from the maids at her former home.

A disturbingly sensual smile curved his lips, yet his eyes remained guarded. “While there is distinct appeal in the notion, I believe you need time. There is no rush.”

This Adel had not expected. “Thank you for being so considerate, but I assure you, time would only serve to fuel my anxiety.”

“I had thought you would be pining over Mr. Atwood.”

Adel gasped. Edmond was blunt to the point of being distressing. A gentleman would not so willingly hint his wife might be in love with another man. Would he? What was even more startling, she had not given Mr. Atwood a thought since she married Edmond. Her heart ached with the knowledge she would have wedded a man she apparently had little or no romantic feelings for. “Mr. Atwood is in the past.”

Edmond downed his drink and moved farther into the room. He placed her note on a small side table and rested the glass on it. Then he sauntered over to her, his movements so graceful and masculine she was mesmerized. There was a startling surge of heat in her veins, and a flutter wormed its way through her heart. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but not an unpleasant one.

He skimmed his fingers over her cheek, and then dragged the pad of his thumb across her lips. “Is he?”

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“A few days ago you were planning on marrying him. You were so certain of your affection you took radical steps to climb into his bed and into his life. Are you saying that you did not love your young Mr. Atwood?”

A soft pain sliced through her heart. She had assuredly been fond of James. The only man with whom she had laughed, bantered. They had even exchanged a few chaste kisses. However she would admit she had been desperate to marry him because of how strident her papa had been in pressuring her to marry Lord Vale. Without her father’s ambitions, she would have waited until she and James had formed a stronger bond. “I had affections for Mr. Atwood, and I respected him. They have not disappeared despite his inconstancy, but I am now attached to you.”

Cynicism twisted Edmond’s lips and she hated to see it there.

“I do not need time,” she insisted. “I would prefer to get it over with.” Her stepmother’s only advice in relation to the martial bed had been
“Do not brace against the pain or it will make it harder, and if your duke is the sensible sort it will prove to be stimulating.”
The mysterious
it
once again. Adel would have preferred to have had the knowledge of what she should expect in the marriage bed rather than wait in anxiety. Though if what she had experienced in his arms was a precursor she was baffled as to how it, could ever be unpleasant.

A shadow seemed to cross his face, and dark eyes watched her. “Get some rest and in the morning I will inform you of the state of our marriage.”

The state of their marriage?
“I would have you inform me now.”

“No.”

“I will not be able to sleep a wink after such dire words. I will not hesitate to follow you to your chambers for answers.”

An imperious brow arched, no doubt at her audacity.

“Our marriage will not be consummated.”

Adel truly appreciated his restrain but it was not needed. “Thank you for thinking of giving me a reprieve.” She winced. “I expressed that poorly. It is not necessary for us to wait until tomorrow, I am ready to—”

“I do not only speak of tonight.”

Bewilderment filled Adel. She searched his face, seeking understanding. His mien was cool and distant. “I do not understand,” she said softly.

He crossed his forearms across his chest and leaned against the door. Something akin to regret gleamed in his eyes. “I had thought since you were in love with another man, you would welcome such news.”

She flinched. “I am not in love with Mr. Atwood! If this is the reason you—”

“Nevertheless it is best we delay. We had no knowledge of each other a few days ago. It would not be remiss if we wait until we are better acquainted to pursue the more intimate aspects of marriage. My home, my wealth, and titles are yours, let that be enough for now.”

She considered him. Was this the normal way of
ton
marriages? Suddenly she felt the burning need for her mother’s guidance.
Oh, Mamma, how I wish you were here
. “I do believe waiting will create more distance between us,” she said softly.

Adel should have been happy he was willing to wait, for she hardly knew this severe man standing before her. But instinctively she felt if she agreed to such a separation, the fight for his heart would be much greater, and the divide would be impossible to close. She jolted.
The fight for his heart?
When had she even thought it likely she wanted this cold infuriating man to hold affections for her? Certainly a happy marriage could be achieved without any attachments?

No…it cannot
. Even with her limited understanding of what a marriage should entail, without love they would be like the many lords and ladies she had observed throughout the seasons. Most attachments were cold and impersonal, with both man and woman seeking other lovers to soothe the heartache of loneliness. She couldn’t endure such a union.

“I do not desire anything deeper from this union,” he said flatly, piercing the disquieting silence that had formed.

Pained awareness dawned. “You are not granting me time to acclimatize myself to you…are you?”

“No.”

“Are you saying there is a possibility we may never consummate our vows, even if years pass?”

“Yes.”

A startled laugh burst from her. “Surely that is the most ludicrous notion I’ve ever heard. Why?”

He became even more guarded.

“I may be ignorant of the acts of the marriage bed, but even I know that without consummation you cannot gain an heir.” And according to her stepmother and the
ton,
every titled man was in need of an heir.

“I have an heir.”

Her eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”

“I did not misspoke, Duchess.”

“An heir?”

“Yes, my mother thoughtfully provided my father with a spare before he died. My brother Jackson is currently away in the diplomatic corps, but he is the heir presumptive, and I am quite content for it to remain so.”

She froze, and the shock gave way under the tide of rage that filled her. “And did you hold this knowledge before wedding me?”

A shadow shifted over his face. “Yes.”

“And it never occurred to you I would desire children of my own?” she said, her throat tightening with anger.

“I did not single you out for my attention,
you
climbed into my bed. You would have been ruined and disgraced if I’d walked away.”

“The truth of that situation does not make your assertions now any less despicable. Has it not occurred to you I would have preferred a life disgraced in the country with Mr. Atwood or someone else, rather than be a duchess who will be denied the chance of…of…motherhood?” she growled, her heart pounding. She could not believe they were having a raging argument in such little time. This did not bode well for their marriage, and she hated the tears thickening her throat.

“No man would have had you, once society was through,” he said coldly. “I daresay the turn I did you by marrying you is unmatched.”

She gasped. “You are a heartless brute.”

“It is better that I am heartless, than that I am held responsible for your death,” he snapped, finally showing some passion.

Her death?

Edmond pushed from the door and raked fingers through his hair with force. He grabbed the doorknob.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

“We will finish this discussion in the morning when we are calmer,” he said and opened the door.

“I beg your pardon; do you believe I will be able sleep after what you just said?”

“I assure you I will be thoroughly rested.” As if to say he was not concerned about her state of rest.

Then the wretched, infuriating man walked away.

She growled under her breath and rushed after him, the voluminous nightgown swirling around her ankles. “You have been nothing to me but boorish and…and uncivil. You seem quite content that I not speak to you, and now we are not to form any intimate attachment. Surely such a state of matrimony cannot be agreeable to anyone.”

His long strides took him to his chamber in short order, and she hurried to keep up.

He wrenched opened his door and seemly hesitated. “Oomph,” slipped from her as she collided into his back.

They tumbled and he twisted so his back slammed into the jamb of the door, protecting her. Acting on instinct she slipped her hands around his neck and gripped him tightly. Adel could feel the thud of his heart against her body.

She tilted her face to his. “Do not walk away, Edmond.”

Eyes filled with raging emotions glared at Adel.

“Tell me what you meant about me dying.”

His muscles tensed, and she tightened her hands at his nape.

“My wife died in childbirth.”

Adel bit into her bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. “I am deeply sorry,” she said hoarsely.

His mien grew even colder. “She was much more voluptuous than you but even so she forfeited her life.”

The mad duke killed his wife.
She remembered the vile whisper. How could society blame him? She wanted to ask, but the question lodged in her throat. “It does not stand to reason I would suffer the same fate, if that is your concern,” Adel whispered.

He flinched. Then he closed his eyes, and tipped back his head to rest against the wall baring the corded column of his throat. The move forced her to lift herself more on her toes so that she could maintain her hold on his neck. What was he thinking?

“Edmond, I—”

His eyes snapped open and the raw torment in his gaze strangled her words. Her heart pounded ferociously, and it was as if his will pressed in on her, encouraging her to release him. Slowly, she slid her hands from around his neck and fisted them to her sides.

His dark eyes never left hers and the distress in them swelled, and spilled forth crashing over her senses. Her limbs trembled. It was as if she could feel his raging pain.
Impossible
.

Later, she would never be able to say what had possessed her. It could have been the need to wipe the grief from his eyes, or to just offer comfort, or maybe she just wanted to kiss him. Either way Adel reached up and pressed her lips to his.

The fleeting touch of his lips to hers was devastating. Adel stood transfixed for a timeless instant. His taste, his scent… Shock exploded through her. She was no longer even slightly soused, so her reaction was beyond alarming. The intensity was nerve-wracking.
Good Lord
. Then he shifted, cradling her cheeks into his large palms, and his lips parted. His touch was sinfully alluring.

He used one of his thumbs to part her lips. Then Edmond took her lips in a kiss that was at once domineering and tender, with a seductive ruthlessness. Adel helplessly responded. She gasped, and he swallowed it as she sagged against him. His mouth settled more possessively over hers, his tongue urging her lips to part wider to his wonderful assault. On a moan she surrendered and he plundered.

Glorious heavens
.

Pleasure dark and stormy filled her veins. His hands stroked her jaw, over to her collarbone, down to the underside of her breast and around to her back and down to her backside, which he gripped tightly in his large hands…and squeezed. His touch wasn’t considerate of her innocence, and Adel shivered in his embrace.

He drew her closer, and she gasped into his mouth at the hard length that pressed in through his trousers and branded her stomach.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he whispered harshly, pulling his lips from hers.

She tried to comply, but the length of the nightgown tangled her legs. With a muttered curse, he swung her into his arms, his rapid stride taking them over to the massive bed in the center of his chamber. What was happening? Was he forgoing all he’d just said?