Page 55 of The Duke’s Unwilling Bride

Tearing the door open, I storm my way inside, pausing at the acrid stench of fear permeating the room. At least she has sense enough to know she messed up. I watch as she paces the floor, still not noticing me.

What catches my attention first is the clothes she’s wearing. Is that my overcoat? As she walks, it flaps open, revealing an ill-fitting shirt and breeches. Anger once more burns through my gut as I realize just what she had done. The addlepated minx somehow managed to get a male’s clothing that wasn’t mine.

I’m not sure what makes me angrier, the fact she’s in someone else’s clothes or the fact she used said clothes to attempt to get into The Rose and Thorne. Though I did not care for Madame Douler’s tone, she was right. Tonight could have gone so very wrong.

Scenting the air, my cock stirs as the smell of terror intersperses with that of her impending heat. What would have happened if the doormen hadn’t been better disciplined? What would have happened if some random Alpha on the street smelled her and decided to claim her?

It’s far too terrifying to think. And now, more than ever, it’s clear to me I must give her my mark. Though I already planned to do it, this little escapade solidifies it more than ever. With her bound to me, no other will be able to have her. I won’t have to worry about some other Alpha stealing her out from under me.

More than that, it will keep her in her place. I’ll no longer have to entrust her whereabouts to a manservant who is apparently as good at guarding her as she is trying to infiltrate a whipping house as a man. I still can’t get over the sheer audacity of seeing her in breeches, as if she could actually convince someone she had a cock instead of a cunt.

With a hard fling, I slam the door closed, startling her. Teresa looks up at me with wet cheeks, her eyes wide and full of tears. It tugs at my heart, but only for a moment. She’s in this predicament because of her foolishness, and I am to show her the error of her ways.

Before I can even say a word, however, she races toward me, falling down at my feet, sobbing as she wraps her arms around my shins. “Oh, Your Grace. Thank the heavens it’s you.”

“Who else were you expecting, little doll?” I bite out.

“I hadn’t a clue. When the woman put me in here, she… well, she was vague about what was about to happen.”

Crossing my arms, I ease my way out of her grasp and lean against the door. “And like a good, obedient little omega, you just waited in here to see what was coming for you? You had no thought of fleeing?”

“I- I felt as if I had no choice. I wanted to see what it was that dragged you away from the house every night. She said the only way to enter was to work. Being locked up in a room full of tortuous implements wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“Oh really. Enlighten me then.”

“I thought I’d be of service. I-”

“And if it were some other Alpha coming in here?” I bark, not believing her pitiful excuse for a second. Either way, it doesn’t matter what she hoped to accomplish. The end result is all the same. “What then? Once you were brought into this room, what was your grand plan?” My anger burns hot once more as I’m constantly reminded of the danger she put herself in.

She bows her head, her hair covering her face. “I had no plan. Only my prayers that it was you coming through the door.”

Moments pass where she remains silent, but soon she looks up at me, her eyes blazing. It seems that now she knows she’s not in danger, her spitfire self has come back. “Besides, what is it a man would do with me in here? What is it that you do in here every night you leave? What’s good for you should be good for me as well. Should I ask the Madame to come back and instruct me on your comings and goings?”

“You dare to question me? When it is you that’s taken your life into your own hands as if it means nothing?” Her mouth drops, but I don’t allow her to say anything. Not yet. “You should be home safe in your bed. Where you belong.”

“As should you, Your Grace. And yet, here we both are.”

“I would be at home, safely in bed, if you were there with me, and yet, here we both are.” The stubborn omega tilts up her chin, eyeing me in that defiant manner of hers.

“Maybe if you had been nicer to me, I’d still be in your bed.”

Hunching down, I level my gaze at her, pausing to tuck her hair behind her ears so I may see her expressions better. “And yet, you get so deliciously wet for me when I’m rough with you. Say what you will, but you like me that way.”

“You disgust me.” Her words spew out venom, but this time, her eyes reveal the truth.

The conniving little minx is lying again, and this time, I won’t stand for it. Especially now when her actions have put her in extreme danger. What will it take to get it through her head that she holds no power? As a woman without rank of her own, she’s nothing, and even then, most men wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of her.

Tipping my nose in the air, I drag in her scent, noting the change in her. So close to her heat. Too close. Too fucking close for comfort. If any other Alpha scented her, she would be lost to me forever.

And it’s that thought that turns my blood ice cold. It doesn’t matter that we’ve fought. Blazes, it doesn’t even matter that we don’t even like each other right now. She is mine, and I will never let anyone, even her, cause harm to befall her. And if I have to beat it into her, that her life is precious beyond words, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.

“Stand.” When she doesn’t immediately obey me, my rage knows no bounds. Leaning down, I grab her arm and haul her up. “When I give you a command, you will damn well obey me.”

“Please, Your Grace. You’re hurting me.”

“I will be doing a lot more than that when I get through with you. But I refuse to take you in hand when I’m so furious I cannot even think.” Looking about the room, I spy an empty corner.

That will have to do for now. I drag her behind me, ignoring her pathetic wails. I’m barely even gripping her. All this caterwauling is a ruse to get me to be lenient. But I cannot allow that to happen. Not when the fear of losing her keeps edging out the rage that bubbles under the surface.