Page 47 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars
But he paused before the door to her bedroom, wanting to peer in through the crack first. How would she act when she was alone, with no risk of someone watching her?
He nudged the door open just a bit wider. Her back was to him as she faced the mirror that was propped up in the corner of the room. She slid her foot behind her and knelt low, her head bowed. In one fluid motion, she pushed herself up, and he caught her smile in the mirror.
She practiced a few more times, each curtsy more graceful than the last. It did not escape Aaron’s notice that she was wearing one of the nightgowns they had picked up at the dressmaker’s earlier that day. It hugged her curves, like an open invitation for him to wrap his hands around the dip of her waist.
Still, he wanted to watch her while she could not see him. This was who his wife was, really and truly, when she was alone. She was intent on learning decorum and etiquette, on behaving as was expected of her.
It helped that she was mesmerisingly attractive. As she bowed one more time, Aaron tried to ignore the twitch in his pants and draw her attention to him.
Of its own volition, his mind wandered to the night he had first spent with his new wife. The one where he bent her over the desk and gave her the pleasure she had never known before.
Knowing that he was the only one who could ever touch her that way only made the desire stronger.
I could do so much more…
Aaron chastised himself for thinking of her that way. She was a more noble woman than he could ever hope to have wed. It would not do for him to defile a woman of the cloth.
Instead, he tried to focus on his evening with his friends. The Dukes and their bawdy talk took his mind off his wife for a moment, but it was nearly impossible to think of anything with her bent down before him.
The hour was late, and he should have been in his own chambers. Still, he could not take his eyes off Theresa. She had not seen his reflection in the mirror she was using for practice, and he wanted to draw her attention to himself.
He slowly clapped as she rose to her feet and leaned against the door casually. He could have been there for five minutes or an hour. He was no longer sure how long he had been watching her.
She turned to face him, her face flushed. “You were not meant to see me practicing.”
“You were born to be a duchess,” he said, stepping into the room. “Do you see how graceful you are after just one day of practicing? It is natural to you, despite your unfortunate upbringing.”
“My time in the convent wasn’t unfortunate,” she shot back.
“It was unfortunate for your life here. I’m afraid you may always be at a disadvantage here.”
But she simply shrugged. “We have been invited to our first house party. At the end of the week. I do not wish to embarrass you in front of your friends.”
“I could never be embarrassed by you,” he told her honestly. With a smile, he put his hands on her waist and turned her around. “Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror?”
“Not until recently,” she admitted. “The nuns don’t believe in the vanity of looking at ourselves all day. There were few opportunities to see how we looked in the nunnery.”
“They were wrong, then.” He pulled her closer to him, his voice dropping to a whisper. “If I had the chance to look at you all day, I would.”
She blushed and looked down at the floor, not sure how to respond to his overtures. He could see the smile on her face, and he knew he had pleased her. He wanted to do more, to see that smile light up her face like sunrise.
“We have not spent much time together today. And unlike you, I wish to abide by your rules.”
He walked back to the door and closed it behind him so that they were truly alone. No servants would interrupt them now, no nosy sisters, no friends during a picnic in a secluded area of the park.
Instead, he led her straight to the mirror.
“Don’t you see what I see, Duchess?” His lips trailed down her neck, and she tilted her head back, giving him more access.
Aaron knew he could never settle for just a kiss on her neck, not at this point. His cock was straining against his pants, needing more.
More ofher.
He slid his hands around her torso and began to unbutton her nightgown, slowly baring her to his hungry gaze. First, her shoulders, then her collarbones. When he looked at her face, he noticed her eyes were closed.
“Look,” he commanded. “I want you to watch what I’m doing to you. I want you to watch me slowly undress you in front of this mirror. And I want you to know how beautiful you are.”
Her eyes fluttered open and slowly met his in the mirror, a pink flush to her cheeks.
