Page 45 of Bound By the Duke
“Standards without affection,” she whispered now that she was close enough, “are nothing but cruelty.”
Her eyes locked on his in a silent challenge, her lips parted slightly.
Percival knew this was the moment to assert his stance and make clear to Aurelia that Lottie was to be raisedhisway. But all he could think of was touching her again. And he wasn’t sure what would come after that, his guilt or his ruin.
“Charlotte,” he rasped, his gaze never leaving Aurelia’s. “Go to your room.”
Lottie looked up, hesitating. “But?—”
“Now,” he repeated, his voice softer.
He sensed Aurelia’s confusion, but he didn’t speak until his daughter left the room, his infuriating wife sending the girl off with a kiss on her forehead.
The silence that followed was dangerous, yet she did not step back, despite the way her chest rose and fell from nervousness. Her nearness had him grasping at the thinning fringes of his control, and from the glint in her eyes, it seemed she was aware of what her proximity did to him.
He hadn’t even touched her, but it felt like he had done something far worse—he had let her in. And now, he didn’t know how to shut her out.
She looked up at him, searching his face. It made him hate how much he wanted her. How much her presence made him forget every reason he shouldn’t. And the temptation to make the same mistake twice. Or three times. Or every night for the rest of his goddamned life.
He didn’t move.
Because if he took one step toward her, he would not be able to hold back.
CHAPTER 14
The hall became too quiet after Lottie’s small footsteps had faded away.
Aurelia and Percival remained where they stood, neither of them moving. His blue gaze didn’t leave hers, and she stared right back at him with her chin jutted.
She looked like a lady who refused to bend, even though her heart thundered hard enough for him to hear.
“Standards without affection,” he repeated, his voice low and rough. “Curiously bold words from a woman who barely knows this house.”
Her lips quirked up, almost in a smile. Except it lacked warmth.
“Bold, yes,” she returned softly. “But not untrue.”
Something hot coiled inside him. His jaw tightened, and he clenched his fists at his sides. Not from anger, but in an attempt to resist the urge to pull her against him. To silence her with his mouth, his hands, his body.
“And what,” he murmured, “do you know about standards or affection? What makes you believe you’re qualified to speak of either?”
She blinked once, slowly, but she did not retreat.
“I know enough to see a child fall silent the moment her father enters the room,” she declared, her voice steady. “I know enough to see her shrink under the weight of rules she doesn’t understand. And I know this—” She took a step closer. “Standards without affection don’t raise children. They break them.”
Her words cut deep.
Percival should have been furious. Instead, he felt burned.
He clenched his fists harder, such that his knuckles cracked. He opened his mouth to retort, but then his gaze drifted, drinking in the golden glow of her skin.
Her neckline dipped low across her chest elegantly and tastefully, drawing attention to the soft swell of her breasts. The fabric didn’t hide enough, and he stared. Just for a second too long.
Aurelia saw it.
Her breath hitched, and her cheeks flushed. But then she lifted her chin further, still challenging him.
Except it came with a provocative edge this time around. The type that made Percival want to curse under his breath, rip that damn gown off her body, and discover whether the flush on her chest reached lower.
