Page 38 of The Duke’s Unwilling Bride

“Joseph,” I growl. “You are my wife now. I want you to address me by my name if you are to continue to slap my face with your words. And as for frightening you. Do. Not. Tempt me.”

“Fine. As if I could tempt you to do anything. But, indeed, Joseph,” she hisses, my name scathing on her tongue. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Please enlighten me if you are to continue to threaten me with your words.”

“You dare lie. To my face?” Unable to rein in my violence, I turn from her and pace the floor, my fingers crumpling the bill with each clench of my hands.

“I grow tired of this,” she snaps out. “I know nothing about the modiste. I don’t know about anything. I left everything for your mother to do. That way I couldn’t mess up. You might want to take this up with her, seeing as I barely left the house during the days leading up to our nuptials.”

“Oh, do not worry on that account, my little doll,” I bite out, knowing just how much she detests that pet name. “She is the next I will consult with, seeing as she was the one in charge of keeping you in line.”

“Your doll has no such needs, Your Grace. I am more than capable of handling myself. What I will not handle, however, is your constant obsession with money. Every conversation leads back to it. Blazes, you care far more about money than you ever will me. And I find it disgusting.”

“I have already told you once to watch your tongue. I will not tell you again.”

“Or what?” she cries out, hysteria lacing her tone. “You’re going to take me back to that torture chamber of yours and spank me until I cannot speak anymore? Pray tell, oh magnanimous duke. Whatever will you do to me?”

“That is indeed the question, isn’t it? What on earth am I going to do with a money-grubbing little liar like you?”

“Enough!” she shrieks, ripping at her long stays. “I am through with this line of inquiry. If you insist on making our union all about money, then allow me to assist you.” She tugs at her stays, pulling them off and tossing them to my feet. “I believe you’ve paid for this, yes?”

Storming over to her wedding gown in nothing but her shift, she grabs the voluminous swath of fabric and hurls it at me as well. I cannot help but stare as her nipples poke out against the stiff fabric, causing my cock to come to attention. I despise the traitorous organ as my thoughts turn from anger to arousal.

“This too,” she says as her fingers tug at the neckline of her shift. “You cannot forget this.” From there, she pulls it up, baring her body to my hungry eyes.

My cock pulses as she stands there, naked, her body shaking with anger. Truthfully, it’s the one thing that gives me pause; however, from reports I’ve gathered from her cousin and the theatrics I’ve witnessed in this room, she’s quite the accomplished little actress.

“You cannot forget this, Your Grace.” She tosses the last of her garments at me and plants her hands on her hips. “Oh, wait. I have forgotten. It seems as if you are under the notion that you have also paid for me.”

Silence fills the space between us with her words. “I never-”

“In that case,” she interrupts, “does my body please you, Your Grace? Has your coin purchased a woman beautiful enough to be called a duchess? Oh, wait. My most humblest of apologies.” She goes into a deep curtsy, drawing my attention to the thatch of light blond curls at her apex. “You once said my breasts were far too diminutive. Did you not? They failed to meet with your exacting expectations. Well now, my dear duke, you have paid for them, whether they please you or not.”

My mind cannot think of anything else but the nakedness of her body. True, when I first saw her, I found every inch of her lacking. I was scathing in my review of her, my mind turned about from the hellacious stories of her person. But now, seeing her like this, her breasts high and pert, her nipples just begging for my mouth, my tongue, my clamps… It’s almost too much to bear.

But then, she must know this. She’s using her body as a ploy, distracting me from the real matter at hand. I will not be swayed by such a tactic. She may think to rule me with her body, but she has another think coming. Striding over, I scoop her up, ignoring the squeak of surprise and protest, and toss her over my shoulder to take her to my dungeon.

My first time with her was going to be a soft, romantic affair, but now she has forced my hand. I will take her with the same violence she hurls at me and make demands of her body I had no intention of making until after I could train her. I was going to give her time to acclimate to me, but no more. After tonight, she’ll truly understand the power of an Alpha.

CHAPTER 19

Teresa

Rage floods my system as he hauls me about, as if I am nothing. Curling my fingers into fists, I pummel at his back, nonsensical sounds and grunts ringing from my lips. He ignores them, however, and continues on with this quest.

For a moment, I was terrified he was going to take me downstairs so unclothed, showing off my diminutive body for all to see, but that’s not what was in store for me. Going through the door adjoining our suites, he takes me back to that place near the wall, and instantly, I know just where he’s taking me. Would I rather go back to his torture dungeon or have my nakedness seen by everyone? At the moment, I cannot tell.

He said I should be afraid of him, and right now, apprehension drips down my spine, turning my stomach into knots. Though I have no idea why he’s raging at me over money, I’m wondering if I should have just played along, taken whatever punishment, and been done with. Now, I have no idea what’s in store for me.

This time, when he opens the passage, he doesn’t bother with lighting anything, and this tells me it was more for my benefit than anything else. He traverses the hall with a practiced ease that has me feeling a bit more uneasy, and yet, all my mind can latch onto is the bunching of his muscles as he carries me as if I’m nothing.

There’s a strength there I wasn’t able to appreciate the first time, perhaps because my brain wasn’t trying so desperately to find anything else to think about. Maybe, instead of marveling at the duke’s strength, however, I should be thinking through the numerous accusations he’s hurled at me.

None of them makes any sense. And nothing I’ve said have seemed to deter him. But why? How? He doesn’t even know me. But before I can puzzle through anything, we’re back in that room from earlier. Though I still can’t see anything, I feel the shift in the air. I note the way the space feels bigger.

He sets me down on my feet, but I don’t run. How can I when I’m unable to see? It’s as if he planned it this way, to keep me trapped and under his will. Wrapping my arms around my body, I do my best to fight off the chill seeping into my bones.

“None of that,” he growls out, the deep sound thrumming through my body until I feel nearly boneless. “You were so keen to show me what it is my coin had purchased. No need to cover up now.”

I can’t help it. As much as I want to go back to that woman who’s defied him, in this room, I feel so small, so helpless. Perhaps this is why he took me back here. Soon, he sets a candle ablaze, then uses that to light the others until the room is bathed in a soft glow.