Page 77 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Without a conscious thought, she took a step closer to him. What she had to say, she did not want to shout. She would not want the servants to hear. She would not want thegirlsto hear them argue.
“You did not come to my room last night,” she said. “You left the girls with me at breakfast. You hurried out of the sitting room when you saw me there. You have gone out of your way to avoid me.”
“This is your proof that I did not want to marry you?”
“What further proof would I need?”
Margaret threw her hands up, irritated that he could be so calm while her blood was boiling with anger. They had been married not even for a full day, and they were already arguing so loudly that the entire mansion might hear them.
“Why did you marry me if you do not want me?”
Leo circled her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. It was the same hungry look he had given her at Olympus, his gaze darker than usual. She did not move a muscle as he took her in.
“Was I just a bet to you?” Her voice came out smaller than she had intended. Margaret swallowed hard to keep the tremor out of her voice. “A—A joke?”
He did not answer her, so she kept saying the words that were willing to pour out of her as readily as her tears.
“How does that joke go, may I ask? ‘Let’s make the little nun come undone, and never touch her again?’” She bit out every word so that they fell like blows.
Leo flinched, but he did not pull back from her.
“Do you want me to touch you again?” he asked.
He stopped circling her and stood directly in front of her. He brushed his fingertips along her cheekbone, heat blazing against her skin.
“You liked me better when I was temporary, is that it?”
Margaret pushed him back from her as she drew a ragged breath. His hands flew up to encircle her wrists, pulling them away from his chest. He lowered her hands back to her sides.
“Careful, wife,” he warned.
“No, I am so tired of being careful.” Her tears fell freely now. “I have been socarefulsince my mother died. I have had to hide and stay away from everyone I cared for. And now you are asking me to do the same?”
She could not help pushing him again. Her fists found their way to his chest, and she punched him as hard as she could. He allowed it without so much as taking a step back.
But then he grabbed her wrists and pulled her into him. He tucked her into his chest, her head nestled beneath his chin. Releasing her wrists, he wrapped both arms around her and held her close so that she could feel his heart racing beneath her cheek.
She let the sobs tear from her throat as she shook in his arms.
How foolish of me to find comfort in the one person determined to avoid me.
Even though she knew that it was foolish to pretend that her new husband wanted anything to do with her, she melted into him.
“It pains me that you think I do not want you,” he murmured into her hair.
She pulled back to look at him, feeling the cool air kiss every place where he no longer held her. He pulled her down onto the settee. He sat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“I have been in agony,” he started.
She looked at him, surprised that he was willing to be honest with her. Margaret knew Leo to be two things: emotionallydistant and domineering. Yet, his voice now was gentle but firm. He meant the words he spoke, never saying anything casually.
“I was burning for you before, or do you not remember?” Leo asked, running a hand down his face.
She blushed at the memory of his covered manhood pressing against her. The color in her cheeks must have been enough to let him know that she did remember what he had shown her.
“I am burning for younow.” He laughed a little, but there was no mirth in it. “I cannot exist without thinking about you. Don’t you dare think that I do not want you.”
Margaret opened her mouth to respond, but words failed her. Her husband was sitting in front of her, confessing that he felt for her a small fraction of what she felt for him. Heat pooled in her core at the mere thought that he might touch her again.
