Page 28 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
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When she first stumbled onto this room, her initial impression was that someone else, anyone else, was the one indulging in this hobby. It simply didn’t suit the man she knew as her husband, the man who always took what he felt was his, without asking, the man who was not used to being refused, the man who thought he knew everything better than anyone else.
That was the impression she had of him. Now, it seemed that another part of himself had opened up, one she hadn’t anticipated. He had patience. He had attention to detail, although she could tell that from the way he prepared her private quarters.
She gazed at the clocks, then her focus shifted onto the pocket watches. She felt an irresistible urge to caress its polishedsurface, but she managed to resist the temptation to do so. Instead, it was only her gaze that stood drawn to its intricate design and weathered charm. Dominic seemed to notice immediately which watch caught her eye.
He neared her, lifting the timepiece from its resting place. Immediately, the smell of his cologne permeated her nostrils. A musky, manly scent that could only belong to him. Her body gently swayed to the side, to near him even more, without her even realizing it. She swallowed heavily as his voice filled her ears, caressing them with its sound.
“This watch has quite a story behind it,” he began, tenderly holding the pocket watch in his hand. “It belonged to my great-grandfather, a man who was no stranger to adventure. As the story goes, this watch was with him until the very end. It survived battles and storms, hardships and triumphs, a silent companion through the passage of time.”
Catherine listened with interest, eyeing the watch, then Dominic, as his words weaved a tale of his great-grandfather’s adventures abroad, of exotic lands and faraway places.
She could sense that this was a special memory for Dominic. She could sense his connection to his past, to his family and his roots. A part of her could understand why he enjoyed clock repairs. Every tick was a glimpse into the past, and in the past, time stood still. It was what it was.
It couldn’t be changed. It was the present that shaped the future, and that was why one was always afraid of making the wrong decision. She couldn’t believe it, but there might actually be a vulnerable side to this man, who presented himself as all-knowing and all-powerful to those around him, demanding what he thought he was due.
“It really means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” she asked.
He nodded with a smile, offering her the pocket watch. “It’s like holding a tangible piece of history in your very hands.”
He hesitated at first, then she took the watch. She turned to him to do so, locking her eyes with his. His words seemed to fade into the hushed air of the room, and a charged silence enveloped them.
Catherine felt a flutter of nerves mingling with the warmth that pooled between her thighs. Being there, in the darkness with him alone, awakened all sorts of naughty desires in her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, but she dared not move. She didn’t want this moment to end.
She was so close to him. Dangerously close. Yet, she couldn’t move despite knowing that something might happen, or perhaps exactly because of it. That was when Dominic closed the distance between them, his hand cupping the curve of her cheek as he leaned in, his lips hovering tantalizingly close to hers.
Time seemed to stand still. Catherine even felt that all the clocks were suspended in time, just like they were. It felt like an eternity as they lingered on the precipice of possibility. And then Dominic closed the final distance, his lips capturing hers in a searing kiss that turned her insides into a blaze of roaring fire.
Led by pure instinct, her hands dug into his hair, keeping him close. His touch ignited a firestorm of need within her, a primal longing that had been building up slowly, without her even realizing it. She knew that she couldn’t fight the feeling of raw need and she simply surrendered herself to the blissful oblivion of their momentary embrace.
Their kiss deepened as their tongues danced to a symphony of their own making. His hand trailed down to the small of her back, pulling her closer to himself. She could feel the awakening of his manhood pressed to her body, and her own throbbing place reacted in the same manner, with roaring desire.
She was heady and needy, completely awash in senses. She drank in his kisses thirstily, her fingers clutching at him almost desperately. She wanted him, and the sheer force of this desire frightened her.
Suddenly, she pulled away from him, her lips slightly red and swollen from the kiss. She had hastily created a space between them that was now crackling with tension. He was shaking her head, her entire body still trembling from his touch.
“If you expect me to succumb to you and become nothing more than a silent, doting wife, you are gravely mistaken.”
At those words, she took another step back, as if to strengthen her resolve, which she knew was on the verge of breaking. She had almost succumbed to her desire and gave herself to him. Almost. But not quite.
He seemed surprised for a moment, then he wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb. His expression remained unreadable as he regarded her with a mixture of curiosity and awe. “You can’t tell me that you don’t desire me as much as I desire you.”
Catherine’s lips pouted, then clenched together in an effort not to say a single word. Because he was right, and she hated that. The worst thing of all was that she didn’t even need to say anything. The way she kissed him back betrayed her innermost desires.
As if able to read her mind, Dominic’s lips curved into a confident smile as he took a step closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “I will wait for you to come to me of your own accord. But I will not take you by force, Catherine,” he assured her, his voice thrilling and enraging at the same time.
Her jaw clenched with frustration. “You have already taken me by force,” she countered, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion. “By forcing me into this marriage against my will.”
The air crackled with tension. If one was to light a match between them, the entire room would have exploded into a million little pieces. Catherine could no longer remain in his presence. Just when she thought that she was seeing a different side of him, he reminded her of who he truly was. A selfish egotist who only thought of himself and his own desires, no one else’s.
He didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. She spoke of facts, and there was no rebuttal for the truth.
“Good night,” she said demonstratively, walking around him, as if afraid to touch him and heading towards the door.
“Take the first corridor to your left and then the second to the right,” she heard him say, but she was already out of the room. “That will take you back to your quarters…”
His voice trailed off, and she couldn’t hear him any longer. It was for the better. She was beyond upset with herself and she knew that she couldn’t allow him to have so much power over her ever again.
