Page 44 of His Ruined Duchess

The doors to the theater opened, and Selina followed behind Magnus and her mother as they entered with the crowd that had been milling about. Hugh took up the rear of the group, and it was impossible not to feel the daggers of his stare as they met the back of her head.

Still, she followed as she should, walking carefully through the aisle until they arrived at their seats, and everyone began to sit down. Magnus was on the other side of her mother, and Hugh was to Selina’s left. It left her positioned in the center of the group between the two chaperones, but Hugh was hardly a protective presence as he should have been.

Breathe Selina. Focus on the play. Do not look in his direction. Do nothing but?—

Hugh’s arm brushed against hers on the rest. He did not pull it back, and she would be damned if she gave it up just because he made her feel so uncomfortable.

He was like this whenever they went out with Magnus during the courtship. He’d test these boundaries, poking at the edges of her proper presentation, which infuriated her. What precisely was Hugh looking to do? Did he truly wish to cause a scandal? To make Selina look so horrible in front of a would-be match and damage her reputation beyond repair?

He does this whenever he can get away with it. Ugh, that man is…

Selina’s blood hummed at just the gentle touch of Hugh’s arm, her entire body heating and yearning for something. She would not break. She couldn’t. But just as every other time, Selina found that her defiant nature was used against her.

As the lights lowered, making the area around them nearly pitch-black, Hugh slid his hand under her arm, smoothing his thumb against the delicate flesh of her wrist. It was exhilarating, and it truly shouldn’t be. This was wrong, but no matter what she did, it seemed that some part of Selina would always be drawn to Hugh, unable to escape the way he made her feel.

Confusion and fear and want tumbled through her, too much to process. How was she supposed to maintain herself like this? Hugh was a terrible tease and torturer for doing this to her, and still, Selina did not pull her arm away.

Why couldn’t she pull her arm away?

At once, clapping began, and Selina finally yanked herself away from Hugh and gave applause to the actors as they took theirplaces on stage. When she lowered her hands, Selina kept them planted in her lap. Lines and humor filled the theater, and for a moment, she was lost in the enjoyment of seeing one of her favorite books acted out on stage.

She had not been to a theater that got quite so dark as the players performed. It was a bit of a shock to be so surrounded by black, but it did lend itself well to the notion of focusing on the scene in front of her. And indeed, most people did.Mostpeople.

Hugh’s hand found hers in the dark, and Selina stifled a gasp. Worse, his fingers wound beneath her palms to where they covered the juncture of her legs. Heat burned in her cheeks as he tested her resolve, and though Selina could not bring herself to look at him, she cast a sideways glance at her mother to her right.

The woman was none the wiser, utterly enraptured by the performance as Selina should be. So, she pretended nothing was amiss, pinning her eyes to the stage even as her mind reeled against the reality of Hugh’s touch teasing her right where he’d touched her that night in the hallway.

He was not pulling back, and she was not stopping him. This was the farthest they had taken things at this point. Each time previously, either one of the both of them would stop things before they went too far. But in this quiet dark, with everyone’s attention somewhere else, Selina couldn’t find it within herself to stop Hugh.

His touches grew more insistent, and though there was fabric between them, he still managed to stimulate the nerves that responded to his touch with such effortless ease. Selina’s head spun, and she tried desperately to keep her breathing even.

Dammit. Damnhim.

It was nearly impossible for her not to exhale in ragged succession as the arousal pooled between her thighs, Hugh’s touches driving her mad, anger and need warring for dominance. It built and built under his touch, and still, she could not look at Hugh. Her hands still shielded her lap uselessly, and she dug her fingernails into the top of his hand as he continued to torment her.

She was nearing the peak of that mountain she’d only begun to recognize. Selina chewed on her lip until it burned, and when the release hit, she fought every urge inside her that demanded she scream out. A tear prickled at her eye, and she let it drip down her cheek as the feelings backed off and Hugh retrieved his hand.

Before long, it was intermission, and Selina stood with the rest of the people there, pretending that nothing was amiss. Thank goodness she had been so familiar with the book, or she would not have been able to make conversation.

Chapter Twenty

That evening, Selina could not fall asleep, despite her efforts to force her thoughts of Hugh from her head. When they’d returned from the theater that afternoon, Hugh had gone to his study, and Selina did not see him until dinner. Even then, they said nothing to each other. This was precisely what she detested about their relationship, yet she’d still fallen victim to his charms.

She cursed herself and sat up in her bed, scrubbing her hands down her face.

“How could I let myself do this again?” Selina pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them. “Why can I not find the resolve to swat that man away like a pesky fly?”

Her skin heated at the thought of the theater. She’d been terrified that someone might notice what they were doing, but no one had. They’d gotten away with their little tryst, and it should not thrill her as much as it did. Selina had always beena proper lady, and Hugh was leading her astray from that path with every moment they spent together.

“Ugh, no. No more. I shall sleep, and I will not allow Hugh to continue this.”

Selina didn’t believe herself for a moment, but she needed to try. Lying back down, she buried her head in the pillow, trying to focus on the in and out of her breaths, the sound of them, and the way she felt.

But her attempt at slumber was interrupted when she heard the sound of intense conversation just outside her window.

“What on earth?” She sat up once more, rushing to the window and peeking out through the glass to see who was carrying on so late at night. “Lydia?Hugh?”

Unable to make out the words, Selina stared at the two of them, trying to piece together at least the mood of the conversation. It appeared that the two of them were fighting. Lydia looked distraught, her hands flailing about as she spoke. And while Hugh was the opposite, utterly still, Selina could see the way his brow furrowed, even from a distance. It was a habit of his when he was upset, one that also included clenching his jaw.

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