Page 29 of A Bride for the Cruel Duke

And then he pulled away.

She gasped when he did, nearly crying out because it felt like he was tearing with him a piece of her.

“That is one way to shut you up,” he said.

Caroline stared at him stupidly, with no idea what to say or do. Her chest hurt from how quickly her heart beat. Her body was drenched in sweat from the heat which he’d instigated. Her knees were trembling, her mind blank. In that moment, the only thing Caroline knew was that she both hated the duke... and wanted all of him at the same time.

“I think it is time that you leave,” the duke said.

“But...” She didn’t know what to say.

“This marriage is happening, and I suggest you make your peace with it. For once…” He took a deep breath to control himself, sighing next as if with regret “… do as I ask.”

She was too stunned to argue. Too shocked to make sense of anything. Glad to be given a chance to leave, as she needed space, time, and reason to assess, Caroline put her head down and fled the room as if it had suddenly caught fire.

It was only once she was on the other side of the door that she fell back, using the closed door to keep her from collapsing entirely. Still, her body rebelled. Still, her mind was on that kiss. Still, her lips burned as did her thighs as if they had a mind of their own.

What was... how did... when did... what is going on?!

Caroline had never been kissed before. She had never even considered it. She was not a romantic. Not one to lust after men. She had never seen much point—she had been raised to think of marriage as a contractual bond only, never once considering the hidden passions that might come from such a union. But if that was what was in store for her from this marriage, she was starting to wonder if maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

No! I cannot think like that. And yet...

Was it possible to both hate someone and desire them at the same time? If she was to give a definitive answer in the moment, it would be a resounding yes.

And something tells me that for the second night in a row, I will not be getting so much as a wink of sleep.

ChapterTen

“Caroline!” her mother snapped. “Will you at least try and pretend to look as if the world is not falling down around your ears.”

“Huh...” Caroline looked up, surprised to find her mother glaring at her.

“Honestly, girl...” Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed. “I had hoped that you—of all my children—would be the one to cause me the least amount of angst on today of all days. What has got into you?”

“I...” A flash of anger roared itself to life inside of Caroline. The desire for her to unleash it fully and tell her mother in no uncertain terms that she knew very well why Caroline was acting this way. That this was her doing. That she could at least pretend to care! Of course, as this was Caroline, she did no such thing. “I am sorry, mother. I will try to do better.”

Her mother sighed. “Would you? A smile might be nice. Not everything is about you, dear.”

It was ironic that it had taken this sudden marriage arraignment for her mother to start paying Caroline attention. Times were that Caroline could have burst into tears and her mother still might not have noticed. Now, the slightest sense that Caroline was not behaving as she expected, and her mother was on her like a mother attacking a flame.

It had been that way these past two days; for the entirety of the weekend. Caroline was unable to get so much as a moment of peace because from sunrise to sundown her mother was at her, nipping at her heels and doing everything she could to ensure that Caroline behaved herself so that there was no chance she might ruin her betrothal and thus her name and her family’s.

That was why she had been dragged by her mother into Violet’s room on the final night of the weekend, there to be kept an eye on as Violet readied for supper.

“Mother...” Violet was standing back from there, before the mirror which she had been using to assess her dress. Now, she eyed Caroline with a sense of concern that was alien to her often distant sister, clear worry seen in her eyes. “May you give me and Caroline a moment?”

“What? Whatever for?”

“Because I asked it of you,” Violet said. “Do not fret, I will call you back in when we are done.”

“Violet, there is no time for?—”

“Now, thank you,” Violet spoke over her. Not rudely, but with command borne from her soon-to-be found station. That of a duchess.

Her mother did not look pleased, and she widened her eyes at Caroline in warning before hurrying from the room. She and Violet were not particularly close, as Violet had always been the favorite daughter, she who her mother had put much stake in for the future of their family. And Violet, ever aware of her role, had taken to it as only the favorite daughter could.

“I am sorry, Violet,” Caroline sighed and bowed her head. “I did not mean to cause a fuss. And I certainly did not mean to make this weekend all about me.”

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