Page 64 of The Duchess’ Little Miracle

William stopped a few paces away from her. His eyes searched her face.

“You speak with incredible certainty for someone who is contradicting herself with every breath,” he said softly.

“I am doing no such thing!” she countered. “Why do you think you know it all? That you know what I am feeling? It is frustrating.”

“You frustrate me!” he said. “You stand there and tell me you find me attractive, you admit without hesitation that you are drawn to me, yet in the very same breath, you claim it means absolutely nothing,” he said, stepping closer still. “You offer direct confessions wrapped in academic detachment, and you expect me to sit back and accept that those two realities can comfortably coexist. It is confusing. It is contradictory, and frankly, Seraphina, it frustrates me to no end.”

“There is no contradiction whatsoever!” Seraphina insisted, holding her chin high. “Attraction is a physical sensation. Affection and commitment are choices of the mind. Why are you making such a tragedy out of this? We have talking about this for weeks now, it is driving me mad. I am telling you that I am in complete control of myself. Why can you not simply take my word for it and cross that bridge when we come to it?”

“Because I do not leave the stability of my life to chance,” he growled lightly.

“Well, what about you?” she fired back, her frustration boiling over. “Why is this entire interrogation focused exclusively on me? Why are my theoretical feelings the primary threat here? What about your own line in the sand?”

“Because I know how to draw a line,” William answered instantly. “I have drawn my line, Seraphina. I simply need to ensure you are standing on the same side of it.”

“Why do you assume I am incapable of doing the exact same thing?” she demanded, stepping directly into his personal space, her pride blinding her to the danger of their proximity. “Is it because I am a woman? Do you believe my mind is so fragile, so governed by hysteria and romantic sentiment, that I cannot enjoy an intellectual and physical appreciation of a man without losing my senses? If I tell you I can draw the line, why is my word not enough for you?”

William stared down at her, his eyes ablaze with a scorching intensity that made the air between them crackle.

“Because words are cheap...” he whispered, taking one final step forward until he was standing directly in front of her. “...And I do not trust them.”

“Then what would it take?” she challenged, her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts. “What ridiculous task must I perform to satisfy your relentless skepticism? Do you want me to sign a legal affidavit? Jump off the balcony? Name it, William. Name it, and I will do it just to prove how entirely wrong you are.”

William stared down at her mouth, his chest rising and falling in short breaths.

“Kiss me,” he said.

Seraphina’s eyes widened. Her heart gave a violent thud against her chest. “What?”

“You heard me,” he rasped. “You want to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you feel nothing for me? That this is all just empty attraction, and meaningless biology? Then kiss me, Seraphina. Kiss me, and feel nothing.”

A wave of heat rushed to her face, painting her cheeks a fiery crimson. Her pulse roared in her ears, so loud it threatened to drown out the crackle of the fireplace. He had backed her up slightly, her skirts brushing against the edge of a side table, trapped between the solid wall of his chest and the furniture behind her.

Her mind scrambled wildly.

He is bluffing. He is trying to force me to back down.

‘Fine,’ her pride screamed back. ‘Let him see. Just do it and get it over with. End this ridiculous argument once and for all.’

“Fine,” she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

Seraphina shut her eyes tight. Reaching up, she grabbed both sides of his face with her hands, leaned up on her tiptoes, and slammed her lips against his in a brief, hard, terrible kiss.

It lasted less than two seconds.

She immediately snapped her head back, stepping down, her heart thrashing wildly against her chest. Her face was burning, her breathing ragged, but she forced a triumphant, defiant glare onto her face.

“There,” she panted. “See? Nothing. Absolute —”

William looked down at her lips. Then his eyes flicked up to meet hers, dark and completely unimpressed. He let his gaze slide down to the frantic rise and fall of her chest, before settling back on her eyes.

“That...” he murmured softly. “...was not a kiss.”

“I did precisely what you asked. I am tired of these endless, arrogant games —”

Before she could finish her sentence, William moved.

His hand shot out, wrapping securely around her waist, while his other hand slid up the back of her neck, his fingers threading deep into the soft hair at the nape of her head. With effortless strength, he pulled her flush against his body.