Page 15 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“Rule two. You were not to disturb me unless it is for good reason. A reason that I thought I made clear needed to be considered close to life or death for me to be disturbed. This…” He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Your boredom, as it is. I hardly think that qualifies.”
“This…” She hesitated, sensing his anger. “This isn’t about my boredom.”
“What then? So far, all this sounds like to me is the complaining of a bored wife who can’t find ways to entertain herself. A problem, perhaps, but not the travesty you seem to think.”
She scowled at him, her anger still there, through with giving a damn about how angry she made him. “This isn’t about my boredom. It’s about being treated with respect. Like… like your wife.”
“And that is what you want, is it? To be treated as my wife? I was under the impression you didn’t want this marriage at all.”
“I don’t!”
“And yet you insist on acting as if you do. I thought I made it perfectly clear what this was. A marriage of convenience that the two of us have been forced into. But the way you are behaving, it is almost as if you secretly desire more…” It was subtle but a smirk flicked across his lips and there was a look in his eyes that sent a shudder up her spine.
Iris felt her heart racing and her body began to shake. For a second, as she met his eyes, she was transported back to the previous night, trapped in the pull of the duke’s dark eyes, the feeling that she had no power and he could do with her as he pleased.
“This…” She found her voice cracking. “This isn’t about that.”
“Yes, it is.” Suddenly, the duke stood from behind the desk. If he looked big before, now he was towering. And as he stepped around the desk and strode toward her, the walls felt as if they were closing in around them. “You say you want one thing but then act as if you want another.”
“I don’t.”
“But you can’t have it both ways, wife.” He reached her, thankfully stopping short a few feet back. Iris would have liked to have taken a step back, but she was frozen, utterly drawn to the duke and his power. “Do you want a typical marriage or don’t you?”
“I told you that I don’t.”
“Which means that you shouldn’t expect me to behave as a typical husband. Isn’t that fair?”
“What…” She gave her head a shake, desperate to try and settle herself. “No, you’re twisting my words.”
“I twist nothing,” he said, his voice dropping. And as he spoke to her, he looked down and held her stare so she couldn’t so much as blink. “When I gave you my rules, it was because I thought we had an understanding. One I was led to believe you accepted.”
“We do. This isn’t… I don’t expect you to?—”
“If we do not have this understanding,” he spoke over her, this time taking another step closer. “Then I am to assume this is a traditional marriage. And if that is the case, I might have to rethink the timeframe I gave you.” His eyes flashed and she could see the delight he was taking in unsettling her. “Regarding an heir.”
Her eyes widened and her heart leapt through her throat.
Deep down, Iris was certain that Philip was testing her. That he knew why she was there, what she wanted, and all this was, was his attempt at reminding her of that. But also…
She felt her mouth turn dry just as a warmth spread from her loins and up her body. Her thighs started to shake, and her limbs began to tingle. It was easy to tell herself that she wanted nothing to do with her husband. But in the face of his flirtation and with the implication of it sitting between them as it was, Iris wasn’t such a fool to deny what she knew entirely.
“You need to have a long and hard think about what you really want…” Philip was a foot away from her, but he was so big it felt like he was right on top. And as he spoke, he reached up and gently touched under her chin.
She shook his hand back and leaned away, unable to look at him directly. “I know what I want.”
“Do you?”
“Y—yes.”
“If that is the case, I expect you to do as you promised me.” This time, he snatched out with his hand and pinched her chin between her fingers. She tried to shake him off, but he held on, forcing her to look at him. His eyes danced and the curve of his lips was mocking. “Can you do that?”
“I… of course I can.”
“Or are you in need of some… let us call it a punishment.”
Her heart nearly exploded in her chest, and her knees just about gave out. “Punishment?”
“To remind younotto break my rules again,” he purred, his fingers now stroking her chin. “The next time you think to barge in here and cause a scene to which you do not even know the purpose, think about this and what will happen if you do it again.”
