Bound by Bliss (Bound and Determined #2)(13)

“How do you know what would suit me? I am planning to find my own husband before the end of the summer.” Her chin tilted up, daring him to comment.

“That may be, but if Swanston has twenty men asking for your hand, I doubt he will wait for you to choose. He may very well decide who he thinks would suit you best.”

“I thought he already had.” Her eyes swept him, and he could not help but notice that they lingered over muscled thigh and broad shoulder.

“He has, but let us just say that despite our friendship he does have some concerns.” Swanston knew very well that Duldon was not always the man he appeared in public and he was not quite sure that he wished a man like Duldon in his sister’s bed—and Duldon could not blame him. Duldon did not have a sister, but if he did he imagined he would have felt much the same.

Bliss snorted but did not shake off his hand. “Well, I don’t know what you are talking about. I look no different than when I left the dance floor.” Her free hand rose to her hair, checking to be sure it had not fallen.

“Perhaps not to an unpracticed eye, but I guarantee you that any man who’s worth anything will take one look at your flushed skin and swollen lips and know exactly what you’ve been thinking for the last while. And that man will want the chance to put that flush upon your skin again.” He knew he certainly did.



Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He had a moment to decide. He’d always been a plainspoken man, a man who preferred to speak the plain, simple truth. But he was also a man who lived in society, who understood how rarely the truth was actually spoken. “It was impossible to mistake the sounds coming from the library. I do not know how long you were in there or exactly what you saw, but I can guess. And I do know how you looked coming out, your eyes hazy, your cheeks red, and your breath shallow. You liked what you saw and it left you full of need.”

The pulse beating at the side of her throat increased. “I do not know what you are talking about,” she repeated.

He took a step toward her, toward the door. “Should we go in to the library? Perhaps then you will remember exactly what I am talking about.”

She spread her legs slightly, creating a slight barrier, barring the door. “You wouldn’t.”

He smiled, broad and slow. “Actually I would.”

“But…” She paused for the briefest moment. “I suppose you would. You might even like it.” The last bit was said so quietly it was hard to be sure he’d heard the words correctly.

His smile grew.

She held his gaze for a moment, but then her eyes fell. “I didn’t like it. What lady would?”



Ahh, she was going to play it that way. “Many of my acquaintances. I did not realize you were a voyeur, but it is not altogether shocking.”

“A voyeur?”

“You like to watch.”

“I do not.” The lip was out again and for a moment he remembered her as a young girl, willing to argue any point.

He smiled softly.

“I merely found it interesting,” Bliss stated. “I was curious. Girls are not taught much about such things. Even when we were in the country at the family estate, Risusgate, my father tried to shelter us. I can remember not being allowed to leave the house because one of the mares was in heat—and I only knew that much because I overheard the kitchen boys talking. They found the incident quite educational, I gathered.”

“I imagine they did. Did you ever get to see a stallion cover a mare? It is rather unforgettable.” Duldon rubbed his thumb over Bliss’s palm, feeling her slight quiver.

“No. And why are we talking of this? What I have seen—or not seen—is none of your concern. I do not want to even think of such things. I do not. I am going to go and dance—and not with you.” She tried to pull herself free.

“If you dance, it will be with me.” He lowered the tone of his voice, filling it with command.

Her eyes flew up to his and again he saw her pupils darken and grow large. Now that was interesting.



“I will do what I want.” Her voice was defiant, but she did not again attempt to escape.

“There is another door to the gardens at the end of the next hall. Why do we not walk that way?” he asked.

Her lips grew tight but Bliss did not resist as he began to stride away, to take control, her hand still tight in his.

—

Why was she going along with Duldon? Bliss asked herself the question again and again as Duldon led her around a bend and down a dark hall. If she wasn’t careful she’d be forced to marry the man even before her brother demanded. She might have somewhat greater freedom than young ladies in their first season, but it was still not done to be found alone with a man in the dark.

And now she understood why. Her mind filled with a picture of herself leaning over the desk, of a man’s weight behind her, of Duldon’s weight behind her…She slammed that mental door shut, almost stumbling as she thought of Duldon’s long strong fingers moving over…No.

If only she could run and hide, escape the torment of need that churned inside her. Again the images flickered through her mind and again she fought to shut them away.

The worst was that she knew they were not solely the result of this night. They bore far more relation to…No. No. No. She was not going to think of that. She never thought of that—at least not during waking hours.