Page 48 of The Odyssean Duke

If he learned too much about Evelina, they might become something much more, and he could not allow that.

CHAPTER 20

The bath water had grown tepid, but Evelina remained in the tub, her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes fixed on the clothing draped over the chair a few feet away. Gooseflesh raised along her arms. There was something strange and intimate about him having procured clothing for her. She had dismissed her lady’s maid for the night.

Evelina was alone. Her heart raced madly, and a dull ache throbbed in her head. This whole situation felt wrong in a way that she was ill-equipped to define. She forced down the lump that rose in her throat and tried to determine the source of thewrongness. Perhaps it was because she knew to anticipate her husband. This entire evening after the wedding was like a drama, every behavior of the actors and actresses already planned.

Any moment, her husband would enter her bedchamber for one reason. He would find her in her bath and wish to consummate their marriage. Evelina’s breath caught in her chest.

Control yourself, Evelina! He is prepared to give you what you want.

It was an impossible situation to be in. She wanted a child, but there was no desire to perform the act which might give her a child. Evelina ran her hands through her damp hair, frustration burning like fire inside her.

She had let him show her some pleasure before, and this would be no different. On the contrary, this time, there would be no impropriety involved. Evelina ought to be pleased by this development. If she had enjoyed his attention then, she could certainly enjoy it once they were wed. Wasn’t that so?

Still, she hesitated. Previously, everything had been exciting and sudden. Evelina had surrendered to her passion in an instant, and there had been no waiting and worrying about what might transpire. There had not been time to think about what might happen if she could not perform her wifely duties or any fears about how badly it might hurt, as she had heard it whispered that sometimes consummationcouldbe injurious.

The door creaked open, and Evelina inhaled sharply in a desperate attempt to fill her lungs with air. Somehow, there did not seem to be enough in the world to satisfy her.

Footsteps followed, and Evelina’s chest grew so tight that she could scarcely draw breath. At last, she turned her head and saw him, the Duke of Rothbury. Herhusband.

“My lovely wife,” he said.

She couldn’t decipher his tone. Was he pleased with what he saw before him, or was he merely offering some courteous greeting before he fulfilled the task he had come to do? Heat flooded Evelina’s face, and she curled up tighter, extending one arm to the clothes in an instinctive attempt to cover herself.

“There is no need for that,” His Grace said, his tone deep and pleasant. “I will only have to remove them if you dress.”

She swallowed hard and gazed at him with wide eyes. “Oh,” she breathed.

It was suddenly difficult to find any words at all, even though she felt that she ought to have some. Her husband reached into the water, bringing one strong arm beneath her legs and the other at her upper back. He drew her effortlessly from the bath waters, a motion accompanied by the sound of water droplets falling around them.

The duke pressed her against his chest, and the pressure building inside Evelina finally burst. “You are getting your clothes wet!” she exclaimed.

He laughed, the sound rumbling in his chest. “Perhaps I should remove them.”

Evelina’s heart was in her throat as he set her gently down. As her feet touched the ground, she pressed her legs together and raised her hands, trying to cover her breasts without seeming obvious about it. His Grace retrieved a white cloth and looked at her with a sly, joyful gleam in his eyes.

“I can dry myself,” Evelina said.

“Nonsense. I am going to touch you tonight anyway. Why delay any longer?”

He brought the cloth over her arms and shoulders. Evelina shivered, fighting to stand still and remain dignified. He brought the cloth over her right breast, slowly drying her. Evelina swallowed. She felt the warmth and shape of his hand through the cloth, and his thumb brushed across her nipple in a manner that suggested intentionality. Her breath shuddered as the duke coaxed her nipple into a hard peak. Then, he did the same to her other breast. Evelina’s face was so hot that she felt as though she had lowered herself into a fire.

Her blood roared in her ears as he dried beneath her breasts and crouched to dry her stomach. At last, he reached her thighs, coaxing them apart with his hands. “Now, I must dry you,” he said. “Are you this shy with your lady’s maid?”

Her core ached, and she was struck by the sharp fear that he mightknowher body reacted to his touch. When he brought the cloth to her sex, her hips jolted forwards. Evelina stifled a groan, her face growing impossibly hotter.

“Shall we?” His Grace asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he swept Evelina off her feet and carried her to the bed. He laid her down on the mattress, and cool air swept over her naked body. His Grace stood over her, his eyes dark and pleased.

“Your Grace?—”

“I rather think it ought to beStephan,” he said. “Don’t you?”

She nodded mutely. Evelina’s mind scrambled for a reply, but when he began to unbutton his jacket, anything she might have said vanished in a haze of awareness that he was about to undress. She had never seen a man without his clothing before, and she watched, transfixed as he shrugged the jacket from his shoulders and tossed the garment carelessly to the floor. His waistcoat soon followed. Then, he removed his shirt, and Evelina’s gaze landed on his bare torso. His chest and stomach were strong and well-muscled, and with a fluttering sensation, Evelina thought that her husband—the Duke of Rothbury, Stephan—had a body that sculptors probably admired and longed to immortalize in marble.

Stephan might not be Odysseus, but he was certainly built like the man’s statue. He removed his boots and stockings in quick succession, revealing long legs and muscled thighs. Then, his deft fingers went to the buttons that held his trousers fastened closed.