Page 23 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“Is that an option?”
It was happening again. A brewing fight. Tempers flaring. And Iris’ pulse quickening as the excitement built inside of her.Is he doing it on purpose?She realized quickly that he probably was.
Her mind flashed back to earlier when he had suggested that they break the third rule and give in to their urges because the duke seemed to think that he could have her whenever he wanted. And where Iris knew deep down that she yearned for this too, she knew that the same satisfaction would be taken from denying him.
“I don’t have to listen to this,” she snapped. And then, she turned to leave.
“Where do you think you are going?” he barked.
“Away from you!” she said over her shoulder.
“I did not give you permission to leave!”
She was at the door. Another step and she would be through it. Common sense screamed at her to keep going, because the danger of turning back and rising to his accusation would see her come completely undone. Her body was shaking. Her foot was in the air, about to step forward. Only…
Iris did not want to go. Dammit! She had tried so hard to avoid this. She had told herself she did not want it. But she remembered the kiss. She remembered how it had made her feel. And most of all, she remembered that word he used on her.Punishment…it sent a spike of energy through her body.
“Excuse me?” she turned around and fixed him in a glare. “Did you just say that you did not give me permission?”
“I did.”
Her eyes widened in anger at him. “I do not need your permission to go anywhere. This is my home! And I will do as I please.”
“Is that what you think?”
“It is what I know.”
She could see the effect her words were having on Philip. He was trying to keep his anger front and center but beyond it she noticed the way his body was trembling. His dark eyes, how theyflicked over her. The way he licked his lips. And most of all, the satisfied smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You really are…” He groaned. “Insolent.”
“And you are a brute.”
He started toward her, each step shaking the floor. “I have tried to be understanding,” he growled as he came closer. “I have tried to give you what you want—what I thought you wanted.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“Space from me,” he snarled. “You say you want nothing to do with me but every time you do, you purposefully put yourself before me so that I am left with no choice but to…” He grimaced.
“To what?”
Philip reached where she was standing by the doorway, stopping only a few feet short of her so that he towered over her like a beast from some sort of horror story. He then fixed her in a glare, bared his teeth, and looked at her as if he wanted her to shy away.
She did no such thing, matching his glare with her own one. A raised eyebrow next, daring him to do it.
And all the while her body trembled as a warmth rushed through her limbs so that she thought she might catch fire.
“Punishyou,” he growled. “That is what you want, isn’t it. Admit it.”
“I will not.”
“It is no less than you deserve,” he breathed as he leaned in. “A punishment to remind you of what happens to bad girls who don’t do as they are told.”
She gasped at the wording. Iris had never been a bad girl before. Always, for as long as she could remember, she was the good daughter, the one that never got into trouble. To be accused of such things now…I can’t even describe what it does to me.
“You… you need to leave my room,” she tried bravely. “Now.”
He laughed deeply. “Not until I give you what you deserve.”
