Bound by Bliss (Bound and Determined #2)(106)

Rising to her feet, she paced for a moment, her hands pleating the fine linen. Her father would let her come home. He would understand. He knew what it was like to be inconsistent, to change his mind at a moment’s notice. He understood what it was to be unreliable.

And Swanston? Swanston was unsure of her marriage; he would support her fleeing from it.

Or would he? Swanston always stood by the commitments that he made.

And so did she. That was one thing she had always stood by. She might be flighty and inconsistent, but she always stood by her word. She had stood in St. George’s this morning and given her word and now she would stand by it.

She clenched her fingers tight. The effort of being the woman she wanted to be was almost too much for her in this moment; tension built behind her eyes.

And then it did not matter. The door opened and there he stood. Stephan Andrew James Perth, Earl of Duldon. He wore a robe of emerald green brocade, his legs and feet bare beneath it.

Their eyes met and held, and she felt like every secret she’d ever had was open for his viewing.

“Come here.” His voice was cold and commanding, but his eyes were filled with heat.



Her inner muscles clenched and she could feel dampness between her thighs. “Why?” Without realizing it she crossed her arms across her chest, protecting her heart.

“Come here.” There was a bit more iron in his voice this time.

She wanted this. She should not, but she did. She took a step forward, and then another. Stopped. The wanting only increased the knots of fear that wrapped her belly.

“Closer.”

She knew she was testing him, pushing him, but she could not help it. She inched forward.

“Do not make me ask you again, Bliss.”

Tingles ran down her spine as she took the final step.

“Good girl.”

“Don’t talk to me like I am a hound.” She had not meant to snap.

He laughed. “Then don’t act like a puppy needing to be trained.”

Her bristles rose, but so did the heat deep in her belly. Even her nerves could not stop her awareness of every inch of her body, of the cool boards beneath her bare toes, of the brush of fabric across her stomach, of how her pebbled nipples pushed tight against the lace edging of her bodice, and of the blush in her cheeks beneath his gaze. “Then don’t order me about like one.”

“But you like my orders.”

She wanted to argue, oh, how she wanted to argue. Her eyes dropped and she stared down at her pink toes peeking out beneath the white of her shift.

He laughed again softly, sweetly. “You were made for me, Bliss. I’ve known it for years, but every second it becomes more true.”



His words should have brought reassurance, but instead she felt the fear in her belly grow. She’d tried to move past her fears, but every wonderful word he said only made her more aware that someday he might leave her. Her hands clenched tighter until she felt her nails bite into the tender flesh of her palms. “Why do you do this to me?”

“Why do I do what?” There was a brief second of true confusion in his voice.

“Why do you make me want things I should not? Why do you make me need things I have never needed? Why can you not let me just be carefree, pursuing fun and laughter?”

He stiffened for a moment. Even without looking at his face, she could feel the consideration in his gaze. “Take off your chemise, Bliss.” He spoke with absolute authority and command.

It was not the answer she had expected, but somehow it calmed her as nothing else would. This she could do. This small order she could obey. No thought was required. Her hands rose to the ribbon, which ran through the lace at the top of the bodice. With one sharp pull, it came free. Her fingers stayed there, poised at the neckline of her chemise, her gaze still focused down.

With the slightest of shrugs, she moved her shoulders until the straps slipped down. Her hands still held the fabric just above her breasts. She had never been so aware of her body and of the thin layer cloaking it, if not hiding it completely.

It was hard to say why she did not let the chemise drop further. Stephan had seen her naked before. She even understood the power a woman had in her own nakedness. If anything she had far more control when she stood unclothed than when the thin layer of cloth shielded her. Naked she was a creature of desire, clothed she was still held by the conventions of society. If only she let the covering fall then she could be herself, needing no mask to hide all that she was.



And yet she hesitated.

“Look at me, Bliss. Do not hide yourself.” His voice called her and yet she was not sure.

She should answer. She should say something—or else look up at him—and yet she stayed quiet.

“Are you seeking another punishment, Bliss? Is that what you want?”





Chapter Twenty-nine


Punishment? Did she wish that? Is that what she was seeking? It was hard to admit even to herself that she might wish such a thing. How could any woman of self-respect allow a man such power over her, and yet…It got to her. It would be impossible to pretend that it didn’t. The thought of his hand smacking down upon her ass tied her innards in knots that were not at all unpleasant—and the sense of freedom that came after, that was incredible. When she gave herself to him, gave herself completely to him, then she could release all worry, all fear, and simply be. She pressed her thighs together tighter. “I do not know what I want.” She spoke the words so softly that they were hardly more than a whisper.