Page 52 of The Haunted Duke

“That is fine. I do not need to seek your pleasure to have my own. In fact, I feel quite a thrill when I have to fight for it a little,” he said, his tone dark and full of evil promise as he stared down into her eyes.

His grip on her hands tightened painfully as he yanked her close.

“Especially when you fight me, Little Helena,” he whispered, so close to her face that she could feel his hot, rank breath on her face. “It still fuels my fantasies to imagine how I will break you open.”

Despite her rage and determination to hold on to it, Helena paled and cowered under his watchful and disgusting gaze, the tightness in her chest now competing with the rising tide of her panic. Unable to bear his touch any longer, she wrenched her hands from his, unconcerned if the people around her thought her rude.

“Get back here,” Lord Ingram demanded through gritted teeth, his eyes darting toward the crowd. “You will not embarrass me.”

“Do forgive me, Lord Ingram, but my feet are weary from dancing and in need of rest,” she said loudly enough for those around her to hear, though the words came out more breathless than she intended.

She then turned her back to him, feeling her anxiety rise now that she could no longer see him, and hurried out of the ballroom, one hand pressed unconsciously against her ribs as though she could will them to loosen on their own.

“What was that?” Jeremy asked at Evander’s side.

“I do not know,” Evander said through gritted teeth as he watched Helena flee the ballroom. “But I am going to find out. Stay here and distract your guests.”

Jeremy gave him a solemn nod as Evander moved with forced restraint through the crowded ballroom. He had seen Lord Ingram approach Helena; seen the way she had first glared at him, then paled at whatever he had said to her. The beast in him wanted to grab hold of the evil man right then and there and make him pay, but the man, the human Helena had brought out in him, needed to see to her comfort first.

He searched for her in the large house, finding her in the library where she had found him the day before, sitting on the couch and clutching her throat as she gasped for air.

“Helena!” he exclaimed, rushing to kneel before her. “Are you all right?”

“I… I cannot breathe.”

Her eyes were wide and panicked, her cheeks pale as she tried in vain to heave in breaths.

“Come here, love, I have you,” he quickly assured her, moving to take her into his arms.

Helena let out a desperate cry as he cradled her in his lap, his large hand moving down to her chest, where he found her racing heartbeat. He could feel her body struggling, fighting the fear that had taken over her, and realized how trapped she felt. Not waiting another moment to give it a thought, he reached down to the tight bodice of her white gown with both hands and yanked.

The sounds of tearing fabric and popping laces intermingled with Helena finally taking in a deep, gasping breath. His eyes drew to her beautiful, bare breasts, the sight of which had his body responding instantly. Instead of giving in to such a delectable view, however, he snapped his gaze back up to her face and focused on calming her down.

“Breathe, sweetheart, breathe,” he coaxed.

“I cannot do this,” she rasped through still-struggling breaths. “He will not stop. He will never stop.”

Fury tunneled through Evander’s veins as he gently stroked his hands up to her face and cupped her cheeks, making her look at him.

“Helena, look at me,” he commanded, holding her terrified gaze. “All you need to worry about is breathing. Deep breath in through your nose. There we go. Hold. And let loose through your lips. Just like me. Watch me.”

He held her face as he took a deep breath, exactly as he had instructed her to, then exhaled. Evander repeated this several times until color finally returned to Helena’s face. Only when he let his hand drift back to her chest and felt her heart steady did he lean in and softly kiss her lips, offering reassurance. Helena whimpered as he did, and his rage abated a little as he felt her arms slide around his neck and cling to him.

He caressed her lips softly with his own, giving her a quiet promise that he would make everything all right, and only when he felt her body relax did he pull away.

“Better?” he asked, caressing her cheek.

Her forehead pressed against his; she nodded.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I thought I would die in that thing.”

“Of course,” Evander replied, tilting his head up to kiss her forehead. “Now tell me what that scoundrel said to you.”

Helena drew in another shuddering breath as she pulled back and bowed her head. It was then that she seemed to notice her ruined gown, and a beautiful pink blush stole across her cheeks as she tried to pull the ripped ends back together.

“Here,” Evander said, sloughing off his jacket.

Keeping his eyes averted, despite his body screaming at him to do otherwise, Evander held out his jacket, putting it on her with the lapels facing her back so she was fully covered.