“What... what do you mean?” she squeaked.
He reached out then, his hand gripping her waist and pulling her flush against him in one smooth, unhurried motion. His palm pressed warm and firm against the small of her back, and there was no more distance between them. Her heart was galloping so loudly she was certain he could hear it. Though as she pressed against his chest, she wondered if some of that rhythm belonged to him as well.
The contact shocked her, but she held back her gasp. It almost escaped her mouth, but lingered there as her mind tried to grasp what was happening.
Of course.
Did he not warn her about what might happen if she entered his bedchambers? The physical contact between them was getting harder to ignore.
“You aremywife, Madeline,” he whispered, his eyes still boring into hers. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her forehead. “You aremyresponsibility, and I can tell that you are in desperate need of some attention since you came into my bedchambers once more. You did not even knock; you just burst into my space. You are here to provoke me, are you not?”
“No! I am not here to provoke you! I am here to remind you that you have a nephew and a niece who need your attention. They... they need your attention, Kenneth...”
Her voice faltered in the end at the sight of the smirk forming on his lips. Her heart felt like it was going to burst clear of her chest with its wild thrumming. Her senses were inflamed with Kenneth’s heat radiating toward her, a welcome from the chill of the rain outside.
“But what about you, wife? Do you not also need my attention?”
“I... Kenneth, please,” she protested, even as she leaned closer to his body. “This... this visit, or whatever you may call it, is not about us. It is about the children. Both Alexander and Emily are hurting. And the silence in Huntington House? It is not helping them.”
“Silence? What silence?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “It was gone as soon as you entered my bedchambers. You have added that noise into my head that I cannot deny. And now, I will have to make good on my word.”
Kenneth moved before Madeline could protest. He kept his hand on her waist as he guided her toward the massive four-poster bed, and Madeline’s heart was in her throat the entire way. She had said nothing. She was not entirely sure she could have formed any words even if she had wanted to. The backs of her legs met the edge of the bed, and she gasped, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. He turned her around slowly, deliberately, and urged her forward into the shadowy fort that the dark velvet hangings created around the bed. His hands remained on her waist, warm and steady, guiding her onto the bed until she was on all fours, the orange fabric of her dress pooling around her.
“Put your hands on the headboard,” he commanded. The languid man from earlier was replaced by someone accustomed to holding authority. Even in his quiet moments, was there ever any doubt?
Somebody else might not have questioned the order, but Madeline had her stipulations. Though a virgin, she knew what he meant. She could feel it rippling across her skin, like a caress that she could not help but lean toward.
“I will not!” she snapped. “What sort of madness is this?”
“I told you that you were in need of attention, Duchess. This is the attention you will get. The one you provoked by coming to my rooms,” he said calmly, his eyes hovering over her body.
“I will not give myself to you!” she cried. Fear and anticipation blended strangely within her, and she could not bring herself to fully accept it. She should not be so confused. “I told you that I will not... not like this. I do not wish to give myself to a man who feels nothing for me. I want our union to feel special, so I will only give myself to you if you have feelings for me, Your Grace!”
He chuckled at that. She realized that she had called him by his formal title; at that very moment, she wanted him to see her as more than just a part of a contract.
It was curious that Madeline remained on all fours. Shame washed over her.
‘I thought choking was more your thing.’
She had not understood it back then. She was starting to now, and the realization did nothing to cool the heat spreading across her skin.
Kenneth leaned in, his chest pressing against her back, keeping her there, planted on the bed, even though both of them knew by then that there was no need. Her body was berating her.
“Oh, this has nothing to do with feelings, Madeline,” he murmured wickedly, his lips so close to that spot between her shoulder blades. His breath fanned close to the nape of her neck, warm and alive. Hot. “But I do not like repeating myself. Put your hands on the headboard.”
Trembling, Madeline reached for the polished wood and gripped it hard. For some reason, the act made her feel alive and excitedfor what was about to happen. The orange fabric of her skirts felt heavy on her skin now, as if it were better without it constricting her. It bunched up to her hips as Kenneth moved behind her.
Then, his palm struck her buttock. She gasped from the shock. There was a stinging sensation, but it was not painful. Then, he struck again, making her eyes fly open. She did not even know that she had squeezed them shut. Soon, it was a rhythmic series of deliberate strikes. Focused. Measured.
“You want a reaction out of me, do you not, Madeline?” he asked, a challenge in his voice. “You want me to respond to your pleas for attention? Here it is. This is the punishment you will get, for you are my responsibility. Mine alone.”
Madeline clung to the feeling of his hand landing on her skin. It was getting more difficult to stop the noises coming from her throat or the pants from her chest. It was not just the sting of his palm spreading, but also a different sensation she was not familiar with. It made blood rush to the surface and in places that throbbed like the one between her thighs.
She could no longer grasp the anger she felt earlier. It was gone.
Kenneth knew what he was doing. He knew that the force from his hand and the texture of her dress would all coax out what Madeline had wanted to keep to herself.
Desire.
