Page 16 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
“No,” he said simply. “I am not mistaken.”
“I am not some chattel that you can do whatever you please with!”
His eyes flashed. “No, you are my wife, and I expect you to behave as such.”
“You expect me to follow your every command, then? That I will be nothing except subservient?”
“You assured me before we married that you would play your role as a duchess.”
“I did, and I have done nothing since our marriage that would entail any different.” She glowered up at him. “Fulfilling my role as a duchess means that I will host and be gracious and take my place as head of the household.”
“Itmeansgiving me an heir,” he said, enunciating every word. “Or had you forgottenthatpart of being a wife?”
“I had no inkling you were expecting that of me,” she said stiffly.
“Is it not what every gentleman wants from a wife?”
“Only the savage ones,” she shot back. “And the ones incapable of proper feeling. You may be surprised to learn, My Lord Duke, that many gentlemen marry for affection’s sake.”
He observed her coolly, although she could sense his temper underneath the calm façade. “And do you expect those gentlemen tonotwant heirs?”
“I would expect them to approach their wives about it with a little more grace. And,” she added defiantly, “perhaps their wives would be a little more amenable to the prospect.”
He leaned in, bracing his forearms on either side of her head. Not for the first time, Emmeline was forced to come to terms with precisely how large her new husband was, and how much he physically overpowered her.
She waited for the fear to strike, but there was nothing except restless, urgent anticipation in her veins. A sense that she was engaging in battle and the next move would dictate the victor.
“Do you mean to deny me, Emmeline?” he murmured, leaning in.
“I do not give my affection without cause.”
“I am not asking for your affection.”
“That ispreciselywhat you are asking for.”
His head dropped even closer to hers, and she had to suppress a shudder.
“There need not be any affection in it,” he said, a hard edge to his voice that she tried and failed to find unpleasant. “But you would do well not to deny me. I take what is mine.”
She tossed her head. “A crude sentiment.”
“In the eyes of the law, an accurate one.” His gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth, then rose again. “I will give you some time to adjust to the idea, but believe me when I say I will fulfill my duty soon.”
She raised her chin. “And what if I do not obey these ‘rules’ of yours? What then?”
“Then,” he said, catching her chin in his strong fingers and holding her face up to his, “I will see you punished.”
“Cruel,” she breathed.
“Perhaps.” His smile was wicked, a little taunting, as he brought his mouth down on hers.
The kiss was not gentle, and considering it was her first experience of intimacy, it was shockingly forward. With that hand still on her chin, he tilted her head slightly to the side and opened her mouth with his. His tongue brushed along her lower lip. A promise of more, and an assurance of desire.
Desire that now unfurled low in her belly.
His hand found her waist, drawing her against him. His hips were against hers, his chest flush with hers, and the wall was cool against her back. Words of protest were lost before they reached her mouth, and the kiss deepened. His tongue brushed against hers, hot and wet and shockingly intimate. The motion should have disgusted her, but it appeared that her mind was suspended behind the insatiable calling of her body.
In her twenty-one years, she had never felt any desire for physical touch. The idea of her wedding night had scared and intrigued her, but she had neverwantedit.
