Page 9 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
He too was dressed for bed. Wearing only a loose-fitting nightshirt, it hung down to his knees. But his legs were bare. The top of his chest was exposed. And Iris’ eyes widened when she spied the smattering of dark hair that covered it, her pulse racing and her body flushing so she started to shake.
Her arms wrapped her body tighter in a vain effort to suppress her shaking.
“I have been thinking about earlier,” he began as he stepped deeper into the room. “What we spoke about. Or rather, how we spoke.”
“Oh…” It was all she could do not to take another step back.
“Tempers flared,” he explained simply. He was so big that when he walked toward her the room seemed to shrink around him. “And I should not have snapped at you.”
She blinked. “I did not think you would care either way.”
He chuckled. “We are married, you and I, and it will not work if we are at one another’s throats the entire time. You will be living with me, in my home. One which will be yours from now on. Just as it should feel that way.”
The duke came within five feet of her. Her eyes grew wide, and she could not stop looking at the hair across the nape of his chest. Just as she could not keep her eyes from flicking to his bare legs…
“Is something the matter?” he asked her.
“Oh!” She forced herself to meet his eyes, which was not a good idea as no doubt he could see in them exactly what was wrong.“I… no—no,” she stammered. “Not at all.” She could feel her cheeks turn bright red.
The duke frowned at her response, but it was not with confusion, because she was certain he knew only too well what had caused it.
“On that note, I think it is important that we discuss expectations,” he stated.
She swallowed. “Expectations?”
“Tonight.” He took a step closer, and her breath caught. “It is our wedding night. And I am sure that you are aware of what that means…” He raised a knowing eyebrow at her.
Iris could hardly take it. A part of her wanted to fall back, to cover herself, to tell the duke in no uncertain terms that whatever it was he had in mind, she was not interested! And the other part…
“I… I don’t… I don’t know what you mean,” she stuttered through the lie.
“Yes, you do,” he said as his eyes flicked over her. They paused on where her arms covered her breasts and his smirk grew. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Your Grace…”
“Philip,” he corrected her.
“What?”
“Call me Philip, as I will call you Iris. We are man and wife now. It is expected.”
She swallowed again. “Philip.”
Nothing was said for a moment, and Philip took advantage of the fact. His eyes continued to look her over and behind them she could see clearly what was on his mind. Iris told herself truthfully that she did not want it. That the idea made her wretch. But deep down, she felt a tingling in her thighs, they shuddered with desires untold, and she knew in that moment that for all her harsh words toward the duke that she wasn’t nearly as opposed to him as she had led herself to believe.
At least not in the manner of the physical…
“Good.” He met her eyes then, and the smirk faded from his lips. “You have nothing to fear, Iris. Not from me.”
“I… I don’t understand?—”
“Tonight is our wedding night, yes, but I am not here to force myself upon you. I would never do such a thing.”
Iris felt a crash in her chest which she could not tell if it was relief or despair. “I did not think you would…”
“Good,” he said simply. “In fact, I think we should take this time to speak of… well, as I said. Expectations. Those concerning our marriage.”
With the duke’s confession sitting between them, Iris felt herself calm a little. Now that she knew he wasn’t going to force himself on her, she allowed herself to breathe. Not that she wasn’t still wary. And she kept her arms folded over her chest always.
