Page 18 of His Ruined Duchess

She chewed on her lip, hoping that the Duke would move on with the conversation and simply allow her to leave. Her bed sounded like the best place for her right now.

“Now, wait just a minute.” The Duke stepped closer again, and Selina instinctively backed up, landing against the sharp surfaceof the hedge which halted any further retreat. “I believe I am understanding now. You didn’t mean the Widow at all, did you?”

She would not answer him.

Attempting to flee, Selina turned to the left and began to hurry away. She needed to be back inside—now. But the Duke’s arm shot out, his fingers entwining in the hedge and blocking off her path of escape. She tried to do the same in the opposite direction, but again, the man cut her off with his arm. She was now firmly trapped between them.

“Well, well. Sothatis why there was never an heir produced. You were never claimed by your husband. In all his years with you, he never touched you. How could that be so?”

“Get away. I wish to return to my room.” Selina shoved at his arm, but it wouldn’t budge. The flames beneath her skin doubled,tripled, and she was furious that he was this close to her. “Move.”

“How on earth did your husband restrain himself so well? I know that he was much older, but to be in the same room with you day in and day out andnotclaim you? His will must have been that of iron.”

She didn’t know how to feel. The Duke was refusing to let her leave, he was being entirely inappropriate, and yet, he wascomplimentingher. He professed how hard it would be to keep her intact, and Selina hated that she was fascinated by the desperate sound of his voice.

There were too many thoughts swirling about in her head, and Selina was furious with herself for all of them. She must have lost her mind. It was the only thing that could explain her curiosity, the interest she had in the proximity of the Duke, the soft curves of his lips that seemed to beckon her closer…

No, this is ridiculous! Get a hold of yourself!

“Unless, of course, this is all a ploy. Some way to make me more amenable to your wishes? A vixen’s false claims that might persuade me to be more lenient.”

“How dare you question my veracity. I do not lie. I would never.” She pushed against his arm again before ducking to sneak beneath it all to no avail. “Let me go. You have no right to keep me here.”

He craned closer, his face inches from hers so that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her mouth. Selina’s heart was going to burst from her rib cage, and she spun, unable to tell what she wanted and what she should run from.

“But, of course not. How could I be so foolish? You respond to my teasing with such a lackluster expression of emotion. I am confident you would not be able to lead a man on that way. And since you will not play along because of yourinnocence…”

He let the word hang in the air, and something snapped inside Selina. The Duke was baiting her, insulting her, and Selina had had enough. She was not a pawn, and she made her owndecisions. She was not a fainting waif who couldn’t stand the very fundamentals of life, and she would prove it.

Grabbing the Duke’s arm, Selina yanked him around to face her. His eyes widened, a hint of curiosity, and then she took his face in her hands and pulled him down to her lips, sealing them together in a kiss.

Selina had never kissed anyone, not like this at any rate. There were chaste kisses for the public when she was married to Easton, but this wasnotthat. The heat that had been growing within her magnified, and her head spun all the harder, like she was intoxicated.

It only took a few seconds for the Duke to take over. He swept her against his chest, his hand wrapping around the back of her neck. Selina had no idea what she was doing, and she easily relinquished control of the embrace to him.

ToHugh.

It was the first time she’d thought about him as anything but “the Duke,” and Selina felt a stirring in her low abdomen, a buzzing that spread to the most intimate parts of her.

Something rigid at his hips pressed into her, and Selina abruptly realized that Hugh was aroused. Was that what she was feeling? It had to be. It was alien and addictive. She swept her tongue against Hugh’s as he had been doing, and oh, the thrill of tasting him.

Hugh pulled back, looking down at her with an unreadable expression.

“Youareinnocent,” he whispered, his breath strained. “My God.”

Confirmation of her truth from his lips yanked Selina out of her fantasy. She was standing in the garden, entangled with the new Duke, when she was supposed to be sleeping. When she was supposed to be finding a husband at his command. This was wrong.

God, what have I done?

“I-I can’t.”

Unable to stop her this time, the Duke was forced to watch as Selina extracted herself from his arms and sprinted back for the house. She did not stop until she reached her room, diving into the bed and burying herself in the blankets, silently praying that it would make the last few moments disappear, even as she knew that was utterly impossible.

Chapter Eight

That was decidedly not where Hugh believed the evening was going to go. And with the knowledge he had now, the Duke was unlikely to be returning to his bed to slumber peacefully.

Selina is a virgin.

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