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“Excuse me.” She managed to murmur before turning and leaving.
Philip soaked his tall, strong body in his bath and reflected. If what Charles said was true, the ton must be abuzz with talk. Damn it to hell! He didn’t want Selene involved in sordid talk. She didn’t deserve it! He’d inquire around and see what he got.
If people talked, he had to admit some truth to it. They had been… Well, they had been…together. But people would talk as if he took advantage of Selene. He didn’t. They’d felt this pull from the start, even before his uncle introduced her as his wife. He didn’t see it as a dirty thing. Far, very far from that. He saw it as…surprising? Elating? Different? Perhaps a little of the three and more. What he knew for real: this passion took him by storm and still shook the hell out of him! He felt almost out of his depth. This…madness consumed all of him and kept him coming for more, for everything.
The memories of her wouldn’t give him peace. Even now, in the tub he was…in a state! A state of wanting, craving her so terribly much it scared him to death. He needed to get a grip, or he’d go insane. He didn’t mind insanity, as long as she remained with him. Without her, the world went out of its axes. He preferred not to search the cause of this thought.
He finished his bath and rang for his valet help him prepare for dinner.
As he entered the dining room, he stopped short. Selene sat there, at the right side of his place. A sense of victory came over him. No more avoiding, perhaps. Hopefully so.
“Good evening, Your Grace.” He greeted her, bowing over her hand.
“Good evening for you too, Your Grace.” She tilted her head in greeting.
“You look beautiful.” He complimented her.
She wore a dark-blue half-mourning dress with a prudish lace neckline that only made him want to tear it off. He longed to see her in bright colours that became her so nicely. He’d have to wait a little for this, though. It was not disrespect towards his uncle’s passing. So young a lady deserved to enjoy the brightness of life.
Smiling she said. “Thank you. You do not look bad yourself.” She devolved.
Food served, footmen dismissed, as he used to do at dinner, he tried to keep the conversation light. He wanted her to forget the afternoon’s…incident. He hoped her half-brother didn’t importune her ever again.
He couldn’t stop staring at her either. He absorbed every single detail of her beautiful face. Her vivid green eyes, her upturned little nose, her delicate cheeks, her feminine chin, most important, her lush delightful lips. He missed kissing her. He missed her melting under him.
Selene sensed his eyes on her and her heart jumped. She’d decided to keep him company to show him she appreciated him standing by her side this afternoon. Only she hadn’t deemed it’d be so difficult to resist his seductive stares and his dashy handsome person.
Her mother had been the only person in her family who gave her support. It had been limited though. As a wife, she depended on her husband’s decisions. The men in her family couldn’t be counted on. For them, she constituted just an asset to be traded at will. Therefore, she thought it endearingly strange that he’d offered her support to help her deal with Charles.
His attitude elevated him in her eyes. Dangerous thing, since she already thought too much about him. Thought. Missed. Craved. Dreamed. Daydreamed. He’d begun to occupy a large space in her inner life. Something she had to be avoiding. He was not for her. His duty lied in finding a lady of breed to continue his lineage. These things had nothing to do with love or passion. There were social and structural circumstances that dictated these alliances. Neither of them had a say in the matter. If she allowed herself to feel more for him than desire, she’d be in for immense disillusionment.
“Isn’t the pheasant to your taste?” His rich velvet voice started her. She darted her eyes at him. And saw he’d inclined his body, being closer to her. So close, she could see the dark rim around his clove eyes.
“It’s certainly delicious. Thank you.” She took a forkful to prove it. There was no disguising the warmth that his voice and his proximity caused in her body.
Her eyes wandered his broad chest wrapped in a white shirt and black coat; his neck in white cravat, his strong chin, his chiselled nose, coming up to his clove eyes. They stared at her so molten, they threatened to melt her in the spot. She flushed and sipped her wine, as her mouth dried. Tense, she bit her lower lip. His daring gaze descended there; it felt as if he kissed her. She sucked in air, fire coursing through her. This intimate atmosphere caught at her nerves.
After dessert, she excused herself hurriedly and flew to her room, coward that she was.
Chapter 13
Later that night, Philip dismissed his valet and undressed himself. He couldn’t decide if it would have been better to dine with her absence or her presence. Both unsettled him. Her absence, because it made him miss her. Her presence, because it set him on forbidden fire. He felt restless, his body raw with need. It’d be another endless, frustrating night. He resigned himself to lie down in a cold bed and prepare himself to endure wakefulness. Again.
He’d been lying there he didn’t know for how long, dozing in and off, images of her racing through his head, throwing his body in hell. He heard the door open. Moonlight flooded in through the gauzy curtains and fell on a feminine form in a snowy nightgown. The goddess of the moon! His goddess!
“Selene.” He muttered, believing he dreamed.
Slowly, she paced to his bed, placed a knee on the mattress and pulled at the ribbon on her neck, her eyes on his.
“Philip,” a strand of her loose rich brown hair fell from her shoulder. “I can’t sleep.” Her voice low, raspy. “Please, help me find my sleep.” The nightgown fell to her slender thighs, her long hair about her.
For the first time in his life, he found himself speechless. His body reacted so violently to the mesmerizing sight of her he could barely breath. Her torso bathed in moonlight, showed off every single curve of her.
He pulled her to his bed, pining her with his eager body. “Yes,” his husky voice making way through his dry throat. “If you help me find mine.”
His mouth sought hers and it was as if desert had met rain. Deep, thirsty, agonizing, their mouths devoured each other greedily. Their naked bodies touched in every inch, she cradled him in between her flexed thighs and embraced him as a lifeline.
“I missed you like a madman!” He muttered in her ear, as his open mouth tasted her long neck. “My moon goddess!”
