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As soon as she came to her room, she rang for a bath and sat in the tub soaking and remembering the past days. The next ones she spent on cloud nine, fluttering between scorching nights and days when she could think only of the nights and count the hours for when dinner ended.
“The Duke and the Duchess of Crompton.” The doorman announced Philip and Selene’s arrival at Lady Pendleton’s ball.
She hadn’t given a thought to how they’d be announced at their first social function together. It felt weird, as if they formed a couple. In sight of what had been happening behind closed doors, it sounded positively sinful.
She joined Lady Milton and Lady Wilkinson, her best friends, for a chat, sitting on the chairs lining the ballroom’s wall. Selene dressed a dark purple velvet dress lined with lace on the cuffs, neckline and skirt.
The ball started and she watched eagerly. She loved dancing and wished she could try a few steps. Society would deem it utterly improper, though. So she kept her body silent to the music.
Not long afterwards, the Earl of Pendleton approached her and engaged her in conversation. The information Philip had given her about the earl’s finances helped her put his approach in perspective. She had no interest whatsoever in remarrying. Ever again. As a widow of means, she had ample mobility and she had no will of giving it up. What for? To have duties upon duties and little freedom? No, thank you very much. She preferred her present condition. With or without that carnal duke in the picture!
Unless she intended to have children, then her plans would have to change. She’d never thought about it. Right now, the subject seemed superfluous.
Philip watched as the wretched pauper aimed the rich widow and seethed. She was not available. He considered Selene his…territory! He didn’t care if she agreed with him or not. Most probably not. She belonged to him. End of! His woman! He wasn’t the sharing kind. He did not intend to give her away. She had the right to re-marry if she so wished. The thought made him see red. Another man touching her? Another man in her bed? Never, never! Ever. He tried to calm down. He’d not make a scene here. Not at her first ball after six months. Worst of all, he’d not be hinting people about their…liaison so publicly. The situation had traps enough. He waved to a footman.
Selene walked to the refreshment table, relieved to have freed herself from the boring earl. He’d held her in endless conversation, to which little she paid attention. The music enchanted her and held her appreciation. A footman stood in front of her, bowing and delivering a folded paper. As he left, she unfolded it. “Meet me at the garden temple. P” What the autocratic man was up to now, she wondered suspiciously. If she let him, he’d control every inch of her life. Anyway, better to go see what this was all about, rather than risk having the man making a scene. She retraced her steps to the French doors.
Beyond the terrace surrounding the ballroom, pitch darkness dominated the lawn. The faint silhouette of a Roman temple lay a couple of yards away. Carefully she reached the small circular construction that served as a shady retreat in summer. Her eyes adjusted to the moonless sky, the faded sounds and lights from the ballroom still divisible. The first accords of a waltz had just begun.
“Would you give me the honour of this dance?” She heard the rich velvet sound of his voice in the dark. Dressed in black, except for his shirt and cravat, little could she see of him. She sensed more than she saw the tall, broad-shouldered shadow near her.
She inhaled the manly scent of him, so near her. “I…” His proximity addled her senses as usual.
“Nobody can see us.” He husked in the dark, taking her hand and lacing her waist.
They began to dance, the fresh night enveloping them in a world only theirs. He guided her steps around the temple. From afar, the music seemed out worldly, stars blinked here and there, as they swirled on marbled floor.
The music, the night, the man involved her in a dreamy dance, where only the senses and emotions played. He seemed to have pulled her closer, the contact with his strong body intoxicating her. She let herself go with the music, with her senses. With that seductive man. More and more, she felt detached from reality and immersed in a fluctuating state filled with music and him. They danced and danced in this magical atmosphere until she no longer felt her feet touching the ground. He’d lifted her to level with him and twirled them both with the orchestra. She looked at him elated and delighted in him and their dance.
The music faded in the last notes. Silence followed. Slowly he lowered her to the marble floor, while she grazed his body in the process. His head bent to her; hers lifted to his. They stood there in the nightly stillness, staring at each other, their breaths mingling in the fresh air. Selene was warm all over with the waltz, her emotions and her reactions to his magnetic allure.
His kiss came hot, full, carnal. She welcomed him in kind, opening to him, entwining her tongue with his, lacing his neck, gluing her body to his. He embraced her tighter, his hand at her nape. Her fingers dived in his dark sleek hair and the kiss heated to unbearable peaks. Their mouths devoured each other as if this was the last day of the universe.
Her body aflame, one of her legs snaked his, rewarded by his moan. He walked with her, pining her to a column, their entire bodies touching. She registered the hard ridge in his middle and hungered for it, moving her pelvis to have more of it. His hand rested on her breast over her dress, provoking, igniting, giving, demanding.
“Let’s go home.” He murmured against her lush mouth. “I need you like crazy!”
He sent her to the carriage and strode the ballroom to tell Lady Pendleton that Selene had an indisposition. In minutes he sat in the carriage, signalling for it to drive.
Selene sat wide eyes, lips parted and breathless in front of him. He couldn’t resist her, just couldn’t. He pulled her to sit astride on his lap, bunching her fine dress, and resumed kissing her with gluttony. Her pelvis moved yearning for him, he pulled her closer, kissed her deeper, his erection in a painful state.
Yanking her dress down, he took her whole breast in his mouth; so famished for her, it hurt. Her head fell down and her breath caught as she clutched his hair to keep him there. He took the other, his fingers searching her centre in a frenzy. He found her hot, wet, void.
“Selene.” He moaned. “I can’t wait till we arrive!”
No need to say it twice. Her hands unbuttoned him. His removed her drawers and two starved bodies joined in one heavenly thrust. He laced her waist firmly and guided her up and down, panting in desperation. She also breathed fast in his ear and she moved her pelvis instinctively seeking pleasure.
His erection felt so hot and extreme he thought he might explode. They moved on each other blindly, she gasping, he in grunts. The more he thrust, the deeper he went. He managed to shatter her to such a point, her head fell back, her hand tamped on her mouth to keep it silent. Her body grasped his repeatedly and he was helpless. A few more thrusts and he became shamefully unmanned, spewing uncontrollably in her chore. She fell on him, he held her, both breathless.
They managed to go back to minimal decency a minute before they arrived at Crompton house. Philip dismissed the driver and Jenkins. At the deserted top stair, he picked her up in his arms and took her to his room. They helped each other undress and sneaked under the covers, clinging to each o
ther, bodies sated and lax.
The last dazed thought Philip had, wondering if he’d ever be able to live without her. Oblivion caught him and, spooning her, he closed his eyes.
The following evening, there would be no social function. Therefore, dinner would be at home. After meeting in the drawing room, he offered his arm and they came to the dining room. There, Selene saw that her dining place had been set by his right side. Arching her brows, she eyed him inquisitively.
He smiled innocently. “I directed Jenkins to rearrange our dining places.” The butler helped her sit.
