Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Agnes waited with bated breath, hoping that Silas would agree to her offer.
Most of her motivations stemmed from her love for horses and a sudden desire to see the magnificent beast she had now taken to be crowned as the victor of the competition.
She also secretly hoped that if she was able to ensure their success, Silas might feel indebted to her, guaranteeing that he would keep his word and reunite her with her sisters.
Silas, on the other hand, had reached his limit.
This woman seemed to either have no comprehension of refusal, or she just held no regard for him whatsoever, and that spurred her to say whatever she wished, ignorant of his stances on things.
And that irritated Silas to no end, as he had never met anyone as infuriating as they disobeyed him.
“Get out. I am done speaking to you.” he snapped, rising from behind his desk.
“No,” she refused, standing up as well and folding her arms in a defiant stance.
Silas grabbed her and dragged her to the door, speaking angrily.
“I am sick of you. I say one thing, and you make it your duty to go against it. I am in no mood for your incessant disregard for my orders. Now, get out of my study!”
Agnes pulled her wrist out of his grip and stood before him with her back facing the door, staring right at him with that stubborn gaze of hers that infuriated him to no end.
“Are you deaf? I said –”
Suddenly, she surged forward, bracing her hands against his shoulders, and pressed her mouth to his lips.
Silas felt the fight melt out of him immediately as confusion took over, though not for long because his body was quick to respond.
An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against him as he backed her against the door, deepening the kiss.
He had tried very hard to forget what had happened the previous day in the rain, but his mind seemed quite reluctant to relinquish the thoughts of her lips, and he did not expect to feel them again on his so soon.
This kiss was much different from the first, given that there was so much to focus on this time.
His hands found a home on her hips, holding her close as his lips worked over hers, with her scent penetrating his senses and rendering him dizzy.
She felt so soft beneath his touch, and her height made it easy to just angle his head a certain way in order to nudge her lips to part, giving him a chance to slip his tongue between hers and taste her.
She sighed into his mouth, her hands coming up to clutch at his shirt, shivering as one of his hands came up to lightly grip her chin, keeping her lips connected to his while the other left her hip to explore her body, slipping down her back and gripping at her behind.
Agnes moaned, and it only spurred him on, filling him with white-hot desire and desperation to feel her skin directly on his.
He pressed her to the door and continued to ravish her with his tongue, nipping down from her lips to her neck, drawing out deep pants and breathy sighs while his hands roamed around her body, gently kneading and gripping at her round and full bosom.
Silas wanted more, a craving that was close to desperation.
He wished to unearth the secrets hiding inside her soft, yielding flesh, to hear her voice as she moaned and cried out his name.
He felt powerless in his yearning, pressing impossibly closer to her, grinding the length of his arousal against her hips, wanting her to know how much trouble she was, how she was infuriatingly reducing him to nothing more than a hungry animal.
His lips returned to hers, and he wasted no time licking into the hot, wet heat of her mouth, his tongue coaxing hers into a heated dance.
Agnes could not fathom a single thought that wasn’t about his lips or the weight of his hands.
He was quickly reducing her into an incoherent mess, and she found herself desiring more, as much as he could give.
“Silas,” she gasped, tightening her grip on his arms.
That seemed to break the spell, and he leaned back, breathing heavily, looking as though his whole world had been turned upside down. Agnes wondered what she looked like from his perspective, her mind still weakened by the heat pooling between her legs.
Did she look as debauched as she felt? Could the heat within her cheeks be reflected on the surface of her skin? Did he know from her dazed expression how much she wanted them to go even further?
He simply stared hard at her, almost like he could not decide what to do next, and she couldn’t help but smile lazily, her mind and body humming pleasantly with hot need.
“You know… for someone who claims to be irritated by me, you seemed pretty attracted to me moments ago. Have you perhaps changed your mind about that?”
She did not expect him to admit it, as much as she hoped he would not necessarily address it and pick up where they had left off, already missing the feel of his lips against hers. But she was disappointed when he pulled away completely and stepped back, away from her.
“You are mistaken. I do not need anyone. Leave me be.”
He looked… much angrier than he had been earlier, and she did not want to push him even more, slipping out of the study without another word. She could not pretend she was not disappointed by his direction, even as she was surprised by her attraction to him.
All her life, she had suppressed whatever needs and desires she had because her thoughts and actions were always ever first and foremost for the benefit and happiness of her sisters. And that worried her father greatly. He used to pat her head and ask gently,
“What about you, poppet? What do you wish for? What do you want? You can’t always serve your sisters because you are also a person who needs to be served as well.
I do not pray that a time will come when you will be unable to reach for the things you want because there is hardly anything as regretful as the thought of a chance that was missed. After all, it was not taken.”
And now, she seemed to want someone who made her blood boil and had no interest in forming any sort of relationship with her.
His rejection stung, and her heart ached as she went to her room, her mind swirling with thoughts on what to do next.
Perhaps she would focus her energy and time solely on training Scar, and eventually, her thoughts of the Duke would subside.
She did not care that she did not have his approval since he already felt that she would go against him anyway.
With that in mind, she forced herself to abandon thoughts of her future husband and focus on ensuring that Scar would win the competition.
Silas tried not to pay too much attention to her departure, ignoring the fibers of his being screaming at him to call her back as he settled into his chair. Once the door shut behind her, he dropped his head into his hands and groaned in frustration, willing his heart to be still.
He did not really wish for her to leave, and now that she was gone, he felt as though it was harder to breathe than when he had been pressed against her, swallowing every sound she made.
There was an ache in his chest that throbbed when he realized he could have had her then and there and that she would have likely let him.
This was never the plan. He had no intention to get close to his wife right from the start, but Agnes was not what he had expected at all. She had a fiery spirit and stubbornness that rivaled his greatly, and as much as all of that annoyed him… it also made him yearn for her.
But she was not someone he could have. Her aspirations for their marriage were simple and clear – she wanted her sisters. She wanted the family that she had been ripped from, the family that was somewhere waiting for her.
And Silas had no one. Every loss of his had always been permanent and destructive. And clinging to her would only sentence her to a life of solitude or even put her at risk of being another victim of his fate. She was far too bright to be chained by someone as flawed as he was.
So, no matter how much his heart craved for her, he would have to do what was best for them and keep up the rift between them.
He was far too undeserving of her love.