Page 25 of My Cruel Duke

Before Penny had time to react to the kiss, Rhysand broke it off and gazed into her eyes. Penny had never seen that look in his eyes before. Most times she could tell the look in his eyes because he did not express much; it varied from anger to a pinch of desire, but this time, when his blue eyes watched her, she saw something that had not been there before, and then he pulled her closer again.

“Open your lips for me, Sunshine.”

She was under a spell; Penny was sure of it. Or how else was she to explain the immediate response of her body to his command?

Long fingers hooked around her neck, massaging it softly as his lips recaptured hers, more demanding this time. She returned his kisses with reckless abandon, as her entire body lit up in flames for him. This kiss was different from the one they shared at the altar. That one had been careful and tender, but this one was like the smoldering heat that joined metals, and it took everything in Penny to stay on her feet and not offer up herself to him in whatever way he would take her. The aching need brewing between her legs did not help. It made her long for him in ways she knew nothing about.

His lips left hers and seared a path down her neck, her shoulders, drinking up every bit of her he could taste. Heavens… had she always tasted like this? So sweet, so alluring. How had he not known that she tasted this divine? No, he knew. He knew it the moment he sunk his teeth into her neck on the first day they met. His urge to take her then and there surprised him and so he kept his distance because he knew. Rhysand knew that the moment he had a taste of her, there would be no going back. And he was right.

How was he ever supposed to return to a life where he did not know what she tasted like?

Penelope broke off the kiss this time and stared at him with swollen lips that screamed of the pleasure they had just had.

Good. Let her walk out like that and let everyone see that she had just been ravished by her husband.

“If you do not want to share, then you should be the one to take me dancing when I desire it, or else you shall suffer in silence while I dance with whoever I please.”

The slight tilt of her lips fought his reserve and urged him to take her into his arms and kiss that hell out of that foul mouth of hers, but with a little curtsey, she ran out of the room before he could react.

“Bloody hell!” Rhysand adjusted his breeches to accommodate his hardness, but even a slight graze of it hurt terribly. How could this innocent woman evoke such attraction from him?

Chapter13

“Where should I put this, Your Grace?”

“Just place it here with the others.” Penny smiled as the maid brought in yet another bunch of flowers.

She had lost count of the hours, or perhaps days, it had been since she had an interaction of any sort with her husband. It was as though they took one pace forward and ten paces backward.

Nevertheless, Penny had made fine use of Rhysand’s absence to her benefit. Since more gentlemen had their eyes on Lydia and were paying calls to Thornbury Hall almost daily, Penny started with the drawing room. At first, it was nothing but two vases of flowers to brighten up the rather dark room that looked like it had not been used in years. One more vase, Penny told herself was all she would adorn the room with, but in the coming days, the drawing room looked more like a garden. It was then Penny decided, much to Aunt Augusta’s dismay, to make big changes to the room.

“He would not know if we do not make it obvious,” was Penny’s reply when Aunt Augusta voiced her disapproval of the renovation of the drawing room.

Penny had gone forward with it, changing the black of the walls to something lighter. Aunt Augusta had advised to paint the walls gray, but Penny refused immediately, claiming gray walls were just as horrible as black walls, if not more since they told the story of decay which was far from the ambiance Lydia needed to receive her guests.

Penny chose cream walls. In her defense, it was not white, or blue, so Rhysand would have less to say concerning the color. It was warm and promised comfort. Even Lydia seemed to love it.

In the one week Penny used to renovate the drawing room, she suspected Rhysand knew about it because there was no way the remuneration for the workers was approved without his signature. Sure, his uncle Harold was aware and supported the little changes, but Penny strongly believed Rhysand knew about it, and because he was not opposed to the change, Penny went as far as reviving the large garden that Thornbury Hall was widely known for.

Penny heard the mutters from the staff of the house while passing, each one expressing their fears for when Rhysand would return and see how much the house had changed. Not only was the drawing room completely changed, but the halls too. Colorful vases with colorful flowers now sat on the window stool and mixed with the fresh air from the open windows, the entire place smelled different. While the staff liked it, they were scared of the consequences but did not voice them to Penny since she claimed she knew Rhysand did not object to the change. Penny dreaded the consequences too, but she raised her shoulders high, with a small smile while she passed the breathable halls.

“The Baron of Sigertem has arrived for Miss Lydia, Your Grace.” Rufus approached Penny who had been on her way to the garden outside. With a smile, she clapped her hands.

“Splendid! Fetch Lydia, she must be in her room,” Penny ordered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The baron was the last person Lydia wanted to see, but he had been consistent in paying calls, some of which Penny had to reject due to Lydia’s refusal to meet him.

“Will it be all right for Miss Lydia to meet with him? After the last time…” Rufus trailed. “Forgive me for overstepping, Your Grace,” he quickly bowed. Penny sighed.

The last time the baron paid a call to the house and Lydia would not meet him, he waited outside the Thornbury Hall, claiming he only wanted to see Lydia for a moment and he would be on his way. Uncle Harold had sent him away with a promise of company with Lydia at a later time.

“If the baron returns after today, I will have no choice but to let the duke know about the matter. His Grace would know what to do.” Penny passed Rufus a smile and the man bowed and went to fetch Lydia.

Penny would have preferred to have Aunt Augusta sit with Lydia through the meeting with the baron as she had done for the other gentlemen who paid call to Thornbury Hall, but Penny had been feeling a little out of touch with Lydia since she was more focused on the little changes she had been making around the house. Penny and Aunt Augusta came to an agreement where while Penny worked on the house, Aunt Augusta helped Lydia through the meetings. Aunt Augusta was the baron’s perfect match; Lydia had said and told Penny about a time he came and tried to hold Lydia’s hand without gaining permission from her. Aunt Augusta was quick to swat his hand away, claiming she saw a fly, or was it a bee?

Penny was not Aunt Augusta, but she had faith in her title, that the baron would be on his best behavior around her.

“Good day, my lord,” Penny smiled at the baron whose smile stretched from each end of his lips. He took a bow, showing off the bouquet of daisies he brought with him and the black cane he seemed to love walking around with of late. Penny smirked with the knowledge that Lydia detested daisies.

“Good day, Your Grace,” the man bowed. He was a fine man with a fine background. Penny doubted the ton would believe her if she told them how obsessive he had been with her sister. Penny offered him a seat and called for some refreshments while they waited on Lydia who made sure to take her time to arrive much to Penny’s dismay. She would have preferred Lydia did nothing to hurt the man’s ego, for he was an Englishman, and Englishmen took to heart every blatant insult to their egos, but Penny was in support of her sister.