Bound by Bliss (Bound and Determined #2)(12)

Her mind still spun with images, with questions.



Deep breath in, deep breath out. She could do this. She could return to the dance and pretend nothing had happened.

At least pretend for now. Later when she lay in her own lone bed she knew the images would return to taunt her, to tantalize her, to offer questions with no chance of answer.

Raising a hand, she laid it upon one hot cheek. Her face must be flushed, but everyone knew she liked to twirl. No one would ever imagine what she had just been through. No one.

And then she raised her eyes from the floor.





Chapter Three


Duldon could only stare as Bliss eased from the library. He’d known she’d seek escape in the freedom of the gardens rather than the retiring room, but when he’d reached the door and heard the unmistakable noises coming from within he’d been prepared to turn away. There was no possibility that Bliss was in that room, and from the sound of things it had been going on awhile. A smile curled upon his lips as he started to turn away. Someone, or rather someones, were having a very good time.

He paused as the door eased open and a small green slipper slid through, followed by a rosy pink skirt. What was Bliss doing in there?

For the briefest of moments his hands curled into fists as he reached the obvious conclusion. He’d known she was curious, seen it in her every glance, known of her involvement with the notorious Countess, but he hadn’t expected her to act on her curiosity. He took a step forward.

And then just as quickly his mind calmed.

She was flushed, but still dressed. Her eyes might look dazed, but not with the haze of spent passion—if anything she looked in the first stages of arousal. And her hair—he would guarantee that the woman whose cry echoed into the hall did not still have her hair neatly caught up with only the sweetest of curls escaping.

No, his Bliss had merely gotten an eyeful—and based on her flush and the heavy beat of the pulse at her neck she’d quite enjoyed it.

He watched as her eyes settled on her delicate slippers and then slowly rose up.



He saw her eyes widen as they met his, felt her sudden intake of breath, the jerk of surprise that would have sent her a step back if she had not already been pressed against the door.

He raised a questioning brow.

Her flush grew darker. Her eyes dropped and then flashed back to his. He saw a moment of consideration and could only imagine what flitted through her mind. She held his gaze, although her color grew even deeper. His Bliss was not a coward despite her earlier flight.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was accusing.

Clearly she was defensive. He continued to let his gaze rest upon her for a moment. Her breath remained fast and shallow. She was finding him most unsettling. Curious of her response, he let his eyes wander down her body, taking in the tight nipples visible beneath the silk of her gown and the slight quiver of her thighs. He let himself imagine pulling her toward him, pressing her belly tight into his rapidly hardening cock. He’d reach a hand into her bodice and pull those eager nipples free, lower his mouth, and devour her.

He tried to halt the thoughts. They were quite inappropriate for the woman he wished to make his wife, but…

Bliss swallowed, the movement of her throat drawing his eyes back to her face. Her pupils had grown large and dark despite the multitude of candles. She caught what he was thinking, or at least the gist of it. What exactly had she just seen?

“I should ask what you are doing here,” he replied to her question of a second before. “I was only following you. Were you looking for a book? Perhaps I could help you find one.” He let his gaze wander over her shoulder to the library door.



“Ahh, no. That is not necessary. I was merely seeking a moment of quiet.”

“And did you find it?” It was not nice to tease her, but it truly was irresistible.

It should not have been possible for her to turn even redder, but she did. Her gaze followed his, over her shoulder, to the door. “I am ready to return to the dance floor.”

“Have a bit of extra energy, do you?” Again, he could not resist.

She dropped her eyes and he could only wonder what exactly she had seen to leave her quite so flustered, flustered and…“No, I think perhaps a stroll about the gardens would help calm you before you return to the dance floor.”

“But I don’t want to stroll. I want to twirl.” She spoke with some desperation.

He was sure she did, but equally sure he did not want her seen with that particular flush upon her cheeks, that slight wistful smile playing about her full lower lip.

“And why should I listen to you?” The lower lip pushed out in protest.

“I am your fiancé.”

He should not have said that. Her shoulders drew back and her eyes skewered him, the pupils beginning to narrow. “Not yet, you are not.”

Reaching out he took her hand, rubbing his rough thumb over her velvety skin. “You gave yourself to me when you were twelve years old. I have never given you back.”



Her pupils darkened again at his touch. “I did no such thing.”

“You certainly did, but that is not an argument for this moment. The more important point is that if you walk into the ballroom as you look now your brother will have twenty proposals tomorrow before he finishes his breakfast—and that would not suit either of us.”