Chapter 8 #2
Her mind flashed back to earlier when he had suggested that they break the third rule and give in to their urges because the duke seemed to think that he could have her whenever he wanted.
And where Iris knew deep down that she yearned for this too, she knew that the same satisfaction would be taken from denying him.
“I don’t have to listen to this,” she snapped. And then, she turned to leave.
“Where do you think you are going?” he barked.
“Away from you!” she said over her shoulder.
“I did not give you permission to leave!”
She was at the door. Another step and she would be through it. Common sense screamed at her to keep going, because the danger of turning back and rising to his accusation would see her come completely undone. Her body was shaking. Her foot was in the air, about to step forward. Only…
Iris did not want to go. Dammit! She had tried so hard to avoid this. She had told herself she did not want it. But she remembered the kiss. She remembered how it had made her feel. And most of all, she remembered that word he used on her. Punishment… it sent a spike of energy through her body.
“Excuse me?” she turned around and fixed him in a glare. “Did you just say that you did not give me permission?”
“I did.”
Her eyes widened in anger at him. “I do not need your permission to go anywhere. This is my home! And I will do as I please.”
“Is that what you think?”
“It is what I know.”
She could see the effect her words were having on Philip.
He was trying to keep his anger front and center but beyond it she noticed the way his body was trembling.
His dark eyes, how they flicked over her.
The way he licked his lips. And most of all, the satisfied smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You really are…” He groaned. “Insolent.”
“And you are a brute.”
He started toward her, each step shaking the floor. “I have tried to be understanding,” he growled as he came closer. “I have tried to give you what you want—what I thought you wanted.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“Space from me,” he snarled. “You say you want nothing to do with me but every time you do, you purposefully put yourself before me so that I am left with no choice but to…” He grimaced.
“To what?”
Philip reached where she was standing by the doorway, stopping only a few feet short of her so that he towered over her like a beast from some sort of horror story. He then fixed her in a glare, bared his teeth, and looked at her as if he wanted her to shy away.
She did no such thing, matching his glare with her own one. A raised eyebrow next, daring him to do it.
And all the while her body trembled as a warmth rushed through her limbs so that she thought she might catch fire.
“Punish you,” he growled. “That is what you want, isn’t it. Admit it.”
“I will not.”
“It is no less than you deserve,” he breathed as he leaned in. “A punishment to remind you of what happens to bad girls who don’t do as they are told.”
She gasped at the wording. Iris had never been a bad girl before. Always, for as long as she could remember, she was the good daughter, the one that never got into trouble. To be accused of such things now… I can’t even describe what it does to me.
“You… you need to leave my room,” she tried bravely. “Now.”
He laughed deeply. “Not until I give you what you deserve.”
Her heart was racing. “And what is that?”
“As I said…” He flashed his eyes hungrily and licked his lips. “Your punishment. So, you’ll know not to act this way again.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Is that a threat?”
“What…” Her entire body trembled. No idea what was going to happen, only knowing that she wanted it more than anything. “What are you going to do about it?”
The duke’s hands were opening and closing into fists. His body trembled as her own did. He had his jaw clenched and if Iris didn’t know any better, she would say that he was doing everything in his power to control himself. For a second, she worried that he might…
“Come here.” He pointed to the floor right in front of him.
“Why?” she asked, forcing herself to remain put.
“Do not make me ask you again.”
Iris hesitated, finding that she enjoyed the bite behind the duke’s words. Just as she enjoyed the savage look in his eyes when she denied him. But she was also no fool, and she knew that she should only deny him so much…
“Fine,” she conceded, approaching him. “But I do not appreciate being told what to do in my own home.” She stopped short, just a foot away from him.
“Just as I do not appreciate being ignored,” he growled.
He reached for her hand, she half made to pull it away, but he snatched it and yanked her into him.
She gasped, eyes widening, heart leaping through her throat as her body tripped into the dukes.
But he was so strong and powerful that he did not budge, as if she had walked into a wall.
“What are you…” she swallowed.
He looked down at her, his spare hand gently moving up her body and then to her neck and then to her chin. “You need to be made to understand that there are consequences for disobeying me,” he said in a deep whisper.
“All I did was –”
“Enough,” he growled, forcing her to shut her mouth. “There,” he then purred. “See, it is not so difficult to behave, is it.” His hand touched her chin, and she quivered. “You want to be a good girl for me, don’t you?”
“I do not,” she said with defiance. “I am not yours to do as you command.”
“That is where you are wrong,” he said. “And I am sick of you disobeying me. Now, tell me, will you behave from now on? Or do I need to punish you properly?”
Iris was not sure what to say. She was not sure what she wanted. And, as stubborn as she was, she figured that perhaps it was a good idea to diffuse the situation and not give into the duke’s commands. If only because she felt that she should.
“Fine,” she said sharply. “If you need to hear me say it, I will…” She set her jaw angrily. “I will do better not to upset you. Happy?”
He smiled. “Very. But I fear it will not last.” He released her hand and took her waist, gripping her so that she could not pull away.
“What are you –”
“I am going to reward you,” he cut her off. “You made me a promise, and I expect you to keep it. For that, a reward is in order.”
“I thought you were going to punish me.”
“No,” he said as if such an idea was beneath him. “Not when you have decided to be a good girl for me. You are going to be, are you not?”
“I…” She swallowed, shaking from head to toe. “I am.”
“Good.”
Her heart started to thump against her chest. “What reward… what is the reward?”
“Here, let me show you.” With his hand under her chin, he tilted her face and puckered his lips and Iris gasped before closing her eyes and accepting what she had wanted since that first kiss what felt like a lifetime ago.
Their lips met in a soft yet passionate kiss.
It was surprisingly gentle, even tame. The way the duke held her chin, parted her lips with his tongue, explored the inside of her mouth and then nibbled on her lips.
She moaned and melted into him, her body trembling and her knees shaking and a wetness creeping up between her thighs.
She did not want it to stop. Which, she came to realize, was the point.
The duke pulled away, a satisfied smile in his eyes. “As I said, a reward for doing the right thing.” He licked his lips. “Now, are you going to continue to behave? To listen to me?”
“I think so…” her body was still trembling.
He laughed deeply. “If that is the case, perhaps another.” With his fingers still touching under her chin, he tilted her face and exposed her neck. Then, ever so gently, he leaned down and kissed her bare skin; it was soft and wet, and it sent a ripple of pleasure across her body.
“Oh…” she moaned.
“Do you like that?” he purred.
“I do.”
“Do you think you deserve another.”
“Yes.”
He kissed her again on the neck, lower that time, toward her collar bone. She moaned further, her knees buckling, all senses of rebellion dying inside of her because she did not want him to stop.
“You frustrated me earlier,” the duke purred as he kissed her again. As he did, his other hand squeezed her waist. “You know that, don’t you?”
“I do,” she moaned as he kissed her across the collar bone.
“Do you promise to stop,” he asked, his kisses moving up her neck and toward her face. His hand, which held her waist, moved to her front, pawing at the skirt of her dress.
Her eyes were wide now, her mind moving from his kisses to his hand as he brushed over her thighs and she felt it touch her womanhood.
“Do you?” he demanded.
“I do,” she said, almost begged. His kisses moved up again, finding her lips. His hand took her by the back of the head, holding her face so she could not pull away. “I promise,” she managed through kisses. “I promise.”
“I am not sure I believe you.”
“I won’t upset you again,” she said, thinking she had to do he would keep going.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he agreed. “We will see.” Then, he pulled back, dropping his hands and stepping away.
She gasped and lurched forward, trying to follow him. “What? What are you –”
“Giving you your final lesson.” His expression was stone. “And the punishment which I promised.”
Her heart was still racing. Her body was still trembling. “Punishment? But you said…” She shook her head, trying to clear it. “You said I was good. That I deserved a reward.”
He chuckled deeply. “I gave you three simple rules, and so far you have failed to follow them. Perhaps the next time you think to break them, you will remember this moment. And when you do, when you remember how it feels to be tempted and then turned away, you will stop and consider what I asked of you. And maybe then, you will behave for a damn change.”
That was when she realized what had happened. What he had done to her and why. And oh, how she hated herself for giving in.
She thought to be angry.
She thought to snap at him and demand that he not stop.
She thought… she thought… I don’t even know what to think. Never in a million years could I have predicted any of that. All Iris knew was that she wanted more.
“Good,” he said, seeing in her expression that she understood well enough what he had done and the reason for it. “Next time, behave, and we won’t have this problem.” And then, with nothing else to do or say, he strode past her and left the room.
And just like that, the promise she’d made to herself, foolish notions of avoiding the duke and acting as if he did not exist were shattered into oblivion. She wanted more of what the duke had just given her. More than that, she wanted him.
Just as he wants me too. Of that, I have no doubt.