Page 7 of Claimed By the Beastly Duke

“Next time, I won’t let you go so easily,” he murmured.

Ava’s heart skipped a beat as she felt the vibrations against her chest.

She wanted to give a smart retort, and yet she could not. He was magnetic, and their bodies touching in this way was too much for her brain to handle.

“There will not be a next time,” she managed to say, swallowing hard.

Her body heated all over, and she could feel the tension in the air.

His pupils dilated, and she knew at that moment that he was about to do something scandalous.

She struggled even harder to get past him to the other end.

He smiled as he leaned into her ear. “Won’t there?” he whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.

Flustered, she finally managed to move to the other side of the passageway.

Her pulse quickened as she walked away from him as fast as she could without sparing him a backward glance, even though she could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head.

She was determined to put as much distance between them as possible. After all, she did not quite trust herself to be able to resist him if he caught up with her.

It was not until she stepped through the door and slammed it shut behind her that she finally heaved a sigh of relief.

But then she remembered that he was still behind her, and he could choose to follow her at any moment.

Fortunately, there was a room close, only a few feet away from her. She quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Her face felt hot all over. However, she was happy to have gotten away from him.

She sat on the bed in the room while she tried to catch her breath. Her hand rose to her ear and brushed it, still painfully aware of her body’s reaction when he had whispered in her ear.

A sudden rattling at the door startled her, making her jump.

He could not have possibly followed me.

Ava was terrified, yet a part of her was excited. What would he do if he entered the room and saw her?

The door was pushed open, and Ava held her breath. However, she was disappointed when, instead of the Duke, someone else entered the room.

“Stella!” she blurted.

Stella was smiling sheepishly while looking behind her, as though ensuring that nobody followed her. She whipped her head around and gaped at Ava, her face white with shock.

Ava slowly rose from the bed and approached her sister, who did not seem pleased that she had just been caught.

“Where have you been, Stella? And what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I… I was not feeling quite well,” Stella stammered, not quite looking her in the eyes.

Ava could tell that her little sister was lying.

“You seemed to be feeling quite well when you entered the room—with abigsmile on your face,” Ava countered. “Now, where were you running off to?”

Stella kept her eyes trained on the floor while she grumbled an answer that Ava did not quite hear.

“Look me in the eyes when you answer me,” Ava huffed.

Reluctantly, Stella looked up at her, frowning deeply.

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