Page 35 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Margaret had been so willing, so eager for his touch. He had not anticipated that she would want him as badly as he wanted her. For all of her talk of the book club and her interest in it, he had not expected that she would want to try those things withhim.
Let it go,man.
At the thought of how wet she had been for him, how her legs had parted when he touched her, he grew hard. It would not do for his cock to be visible to everyone in the box, Aaron included.
He must think of something else.
The play ended, and the singers came on stage to take their final bows. He stood with the rest of the crowd and clapped, but kept his eyes on Margaret. Her face positively glowed in the dim light. Her smile made the corners of her eyes crinkle with a charm that reminded him of how different they were.
Leo did not have the lines around his eyes that Margaret did. Unlike her, he lacked the determination to see the good in the things that happened to him. He did not have her emotional resilience, even if he was unsure exactly what had happened to her. This play was nothing special to him—he had been raised here by a duke, after all.
But Margaret was seeing London through new eyes. He wished he could have her perspective.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear, the only way that she would be able to hear him over the loud applause. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
She blushed, just as he had intended. He was deliberately vague about whether he referred to the play or their time together in the carriage.
“It was a wonderful story,” she said, choosing to ignore the double meaning in his words.
If she did not want to acknowledge it, Leo would not force her to think of their time together.
“A wonderful performance!” Theresa exclaimed, still clapping. “It is a shame that you were not feeling well and missed so much of the story.”
“Yes,” Margaret said, avoiding Theresa’s gaze. “I felt quite faint. It must have been the heat. It is so crowded in here.”
Theresa pursed her lips and looked between Margaret and Leo. He wished that Margaret would simply make eye contact with Theresa, that she were a better liar.
Why did the one woman who drove him mad have to be the one woman he could not have? The one woman who could not lie about what he was to her?
“We should return to Devishire Mansion,” Aaron said, guiding his wife out of the box. “If we hurry, we may be able to beat the crowds out of the stables.”
“Our carriage is ready,” Leo said. He followed after Aaron, each of them with a lady on his arm. “While Margaret and I were getting some air, I had them prepare it in case she needed to return home.”
“You went all the way back to the stables?” Theresa asked. She quirked an eyebrow at Margaret, who remained blissfully unaware of the implication in her friend’s words.
“It was much calmer away from the crowds, and I needed to find a place to rest for a moment,” Margaret said.
Theresa nodded and bit her bottom lip, but said nothing further.
The foursome walked to the carriage, which was indeed awaiting them. Leo and Aaron helped the ladies into the carriage, and they rode back in a tense silence.
Leo knew that Aaron did not approve of his actions, but his friend was not about to confront him in front of the ladies. Aaron may have been just as beastly as he was, but he had enviable decorum.
When the carriage pulled up to the back of Devishire Mansion, they were greeted by Joan, who looked harried and exhausted. She was peeking into each of the stalls of the barn, which could only mean one thing.
The girls were missing again.
“Please tell me you have not lost the girls,” Leo groaned as he stepped down from the carriage. “It has been a long night already. The last thing any of us wants is to play hide and seek with Annie and Kitty.”
“They were supposed to go to their room and get ready for bed,” Joan said. “I did not expect them to run off while I tended to necessities.”
Margaret giggled behind him. As irritated as he was, he relished the sound of her laughter.
“Do not be cross with the girls,” she said with a smile. “They are just having a bit of fun. Let’s have a hideout with them.”
“You mean to indulge their bad behavior?”
“Perhaps they are not being naughty, but merely trying to draw your attention,” she said thoughtfully. “They say you do not speak with them much.”
