Enchanting the Duke of Demoon (Touched by Fire Book 4)

by Jenn Langston

  Edmund nodded. Although his uncle allowed his mother’s manipulations and remained as her advocate, his heart was in the right place. After what she had suffered, she did deserve an easier life. The problem was, Edmund couldn’t help in that regard as she didn’t want him to be any part of it.

  “Have you seen my duchess this morning?” Edmund asked as they made their way back into the warm castle. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know in order to go see her or to avoid her. Honestly, he wanted to do both.

  “Yes. I saw Her Grace with Thomas when I was handling a matter with the tenants. You may want to keep an eye on those two. They spent much of yesterday in each other’s company as well.”

  The thought had him clenching his fists, but he quickly forced himself to relax. He knew them and their history enough to know there was no threat. However, the two of them had been betrothed . . .

  Once inside, he took leave of his uncle and asked the butler on the whereabouts of his wife. Learning she was in the drawing room with Thomas, he hurried there and froze to hear her laughing. She sounded so happy. Jealousy stabbed him. The carefree sound had been something he hadn’t heard in a long time.

  When he stood in the doorway, both pairs of eyes met him. Thomas’s gaze narrowed, but Carolyn’s face lit up. He couldn’t contain his smile. She hadn’t looked like that when focused on his cousin.

  “May I join you?” he asked, then grit his teeth when Carolyn and Thomas exchanged a glance.

  “Actually,” Thomas stood, “I was just leaving. You may have Her Grace all to yourself.”

  Edmund inclined his head as his cousin left. Although this was much preferred, he felt as though they had set this up. Clearly, they had been talking about him. He didn’t like the idea of Carolyn turning to Thomas instead of him.

  “I take it you have something on your mind,” he said, stepping just inside the room.

  She stood. “Yes. Would it be all right if I join you in your study?”

  Just the thought of having her in that particular room had anticipation raking his body. Even after taking her multiple times last night, he wanted her again. How was he supposed to get them used to the idea of having a celibate marriage if he couldn’t keep his hands off her?

  “Of course.”

  As she took his arm, she smiled up at him. No hint of anger or disappointment from the previous night shown on her face. Although he wanted to take that as a good sign, he learned not to trust so easily. She could be trying to lure him into a false security.

  He shook off the thought. This was Carolyn he was talking about. The one person who hadn’t manipulated or tried to use him. Or, had she? Distrust snaked through him. He hadn’t wanted a wife or child, yet here she was, his duchess and pregnant.

  The second he closed the door to his study, Carolyn hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Although surprised and still feeling uncomfortable with the situation, his traitorous body clasped her to him and he devoured her mouth. Lecherous thoughts filled his mind. He still hadn’t been able to have his way with her on the sofa, and he’d be damned if he didn’t fix the oversight.

  She pulled back, but he wasn’t ready to end this. Moving his mouth to her neck, he savored the noises spilling from her lips as her hands tangled in his hair. She burned him like fire, and different from the one of his youth, he wanted to jump in. To let her consume him with her fiery passion.

  “Edmund,” she gasped as his hand cupped her breast. “As much as I like this side of you, this isn’t why I asked you to join me.”

  A groan ripped from his lips as he drew back, feeling as if she’d tossed a bucket of cold water on him. With his desire for her, he’d almost forgotten she and Thomas had shared a private conversation about him. He indicated the sofa, holding his breath as his blood pounded through him to see her rest upon the cushions.

  Knowing he needed to contain himself, he sat behind his desk. He steepled his fingers on the oak surface and faced his wife. She seemed nervous. He narrowed his eyes.

  “Now that you have me here, what did you wish to discuss?”

  She put her shoulders back. “I have a few requests I’d like to make of you.”

  An image of his mother in the newest fashions and jewelry flashed through his mind. His jaw clenched. Was that her desire, too? He wanted Carolyn to be different.

  “Go on.”

  “There are some things I would like, and I believe it would be better to be open in addressing my needs.”

  My needs. Not what they needed. Her words echoed in his mind. Speech failed him as he gazed upon the woman he’d thought he knew. Perhaps she had sought him out in order to become the duchess. This was the part where she would make demands of him in exchange for being his wife. How easily he’d fallen into her trap made him ill. Even so, he couldn’t make himself regret the time he’d spent with her.

  Unable to handle hearing the very words his mother had used on him all those years ago coming from Carolyn, he stood and walked to the door. She would have her way. He had discovered he had a weakness when it came to his wife.

  “The Duchess of Demoon shall have what she wants. Talk to my mother about seamstresses and jewelers. Don’t bother me with such matters.”

  He left the room feeling frustrated and angry. Inside, he’d known it all along. Carolyn was no different than his mother. He had gone against everything he wanted to have her, and now he would pay for it.

  Chapter 12

  Carolyn let out a long sigh as she paced her sister Claire’s drawing room. She was tired of the customary small talk. It had been two days since her disastrous talk with Edmund, and he hadn’t spoken one word to her during that time. She sincerely hoped her sister would be able to help.

  “Marriage is a lot harder than I thought,” Carolyn admitted as she took a seat next to her sister.

  Claire grabbed her hand and held it. “That’s why I wanted you to marry for love. I still don’t understand how you came to marry the Duke of Demoon. Actually, I’m not even sure I believe it.”

  Choosing to ignore the question in her sister’s eyes, she cleared her throat. “I think you’re wrong about marrying for love. If I wanted nothing from my husband, his indifference would be so much easier to bear. Desirable, even.”

  “Then, you love him?” Hope infused her sister’s words.

  “No, but I do care for him, or rather, the man he can be.”

  Recalling the Edmund she’d met in the garden every day brought both happiness and sadness. She missed the one who had flirted with and teased her. Had conversed with her for hours and had toiled beside her in the garden. Her chest quivered when she thought about him. Their trip home from Scotland had been passionate and joyous. The very opposite of their life at Moonlight Castle.

  “Then, you need to turn him back into the man he can be. Sometimes husbands can be stubborn, and they need to be faced with the reality that they can’t simply treat us like we know nothing unless it suits them.”

  “Somehow, I can’t see Ian treating you in a similar manner as His Grace is treating me. That man thinks you are the center of the world.”

  Claire laughed. “That’s true, but he’s stubborn in different ways. If it were up to him, I would spend the next several months locked in my bedchamber. He seems to believe that I’ve turned into glass since his child is growing inside me. You should have seen his face when he felt the baby kick.”

  A rush of nausea hit Carolyn as she thought about the life inside her moving about in the near future. The whole thing still felt foreign to her. She sincerely wanted to talk to her sister about it, but she couldn’t. Besides, if she had, Claire would be expecting her to go through the sickness that had plagued her. Luckily, Carolyn’s body seemed to be immune to that particular part of pregnancy.

  “You are fortunate that
he cares. The duke is not even aware that I left the castle. At this point, I’m not sure he would care.”

  Tears threatened to obscure Carolyn’s vision at the pity on Claire’s face. She blinked them back, embarrassed that her emotions were so unpredictable. She couldn’t break down in front of Claire. It was already bad enough that she confessed as much as she had. After years of sheltering her sister from harsh realities, her one moment of weakness was ruining her sister’s happiness.

  “Don’t say that, I’m sure he would care. I know Ian does. When you first arrived, he almost went to Moonlight Castle to tell the duke how he felt about you on horseback in the cold.”

  Carolyn huffed out a breath. “It’s no different than I’ve done dozens of times before.”

  “I know. Father couldn’t stop you, and Gordon knew better than to try, but . . . Well, I suppose you’re right. At this point, you’re safe.”

  Forcing a smile, Carolyn stood. “Well, I should be returning. I promised Mr. Avery that I’d keep him company during this boring time, as he had phrased it.”

  As she walked through the hallway with Claire, she felt slightly better. She knew she’d always have her family for support. Her life may not have turned out as she had envisioned, but she didn’t have to be alone, at least not physically.

  A knock at the door caught her attention. She glanced at Claire, but clearly her sister hadn’t been expecting a visitor. The butler opened the door, and Carolyn’s heart stopped at the dark, cloaked figure in the doorway. Although his face was hidden, she had seen that muscular form too many times to have any doubt.

  Hope curled inside her. Perhaps he did care a little. She tried to temper the emotion. Being let down hurt too much.

  “Your Grace, you are coming with me.” His voice was even, but his fury was unveiled.

  Claire stepped in front of her. “Simon, summon the viscount.”

  Not wanting another scene like at Dailey, Carolyn quickly stepped away from her sister. “Claire, I’d like to introduce you to His Grace, Edward Marsham, Duke of Demoon.” Then, she faced her seething husband. “Your Grace, this is my sister, Claire Caldwell, Viscountess Knightly.”

  Before anyone could respond, Ian approached. “I see you received my missive. Your presence here does you credit.”

  Edmund inclined his still cloaked head. “Lord Knightly, I presume.”

  “Yes.” Carolyn hurried to introduce her brother-in-law before she spun on him. “You wrote to the duke?”

  Ian looked at her in his disapproving manner. “A lone woman should not be out riding in this weather. Clearly, he had no idea. Someone had to tell him.”

  “And, I’m grateful for your assistance now and in the past,” Edmund said then turned to her. “It’s time for me to take you home.”

  “Thank you for visiting.” Claire pulled her into a hug, then whispered in her ear. “I’d say he does care. Perhaps his indifference is a mask.”

  After making her goodbyes and donning her winter coat, she took her husband’s arm and they descended the steps. However, as an idea hit her, she stopped and faced him at the carriage. His avoidance would end now.

  “I will go with you, but I want to choose the destination.”

  “You don’t have a choice whether you are coming or not. You are leaving with me no matter where I take you,” he growled.

  She lowered her voice. “Please, Edmund. I should very much like to go to the hunting cabin. Just you and me.”

  Holding her breath, she hung onto his silence. This was her only chance to get him to a place where he couldn’t escape from her.

  “It’s too dangerous. We can’t take the carriage.”

  “We can for as far as possible. Then, we can continue on horseback for the rest of the way. It’s not too dangerous. As you see, I made it here safely on my mare.”

  “Don’t even bring that up. We have much to discuss on that subject.” He glanced up at the sky. “Very well. We will return to Moonlight Castle to retrieve my stallion and some supplies. Then, we shall continue on to the cabin.”

  Unable to contain her happiness, she threw her arms around her husband. To her surprise, he pulled her up against him, hard. Perhaps Claire was right. He did care. She just hoped he would listen to her this time.

  ~ ~ ~

  Edmund let out a curse as he built up the fire in the hunting cabin. This was a bad idea. However, his traitorous-self wanted to have Carolyn alone, not to mention the fact he had trouble denying her anything.

  Looking back at her, bundled in her coat and blankets, he wished he could pull her into his arms. Memories of the last time they’d been there haunted him. At least this time she didn’t have to worry about the duke. Thinking about how she put herself in danger to go to her sister made him amend that statement. She certainly should be worried about the duke.

  “Now, tell me what possessed you to ride out in this weather. And, to go so far. Damn it, Carolyn, do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”

  She put her shoulders back. “I’ve done it dozens of times before, and I needed to be around someone who cares for me.”

  “That’s what this is about? You think I don’t care about you? I have given you everything you could ever want. You’re a duchess, you have a husband, a child, and you live in the most luxury my mother could find. You have unlimited access to any clothes or baubles you desire. What more do you want from me?”

  As she stood, the blankets and coat fell to the floor. “I couldn’t care less about any of that. There is one thing I would trade all of that for, but it’s the one thing you deny me.”

  Hurt, unlike anything he’d ever felt before, shot through his chest. Everything he’d given, and it wasn’t enough. The woman would be the death of him. Exhaustion drained him as he gazed upon her. He couldn’t take much more.

  “What is it? I have nothing left to give.”

  “Just you. I want you to look at me, to talk to me, to share your meals with me. I want to fall asleep in your arms every night and wake beside you in the morning.”

  Tears freely slipped down her cheeks as he stood there, too stunned to move.

  “You have that to give,” she continued. “Please, Edmund, I miss you.”

  Her words seeped through all the anger and resentment he held on to. His throat clogged. Again, he’d misjudged the purity of the woman he married. He’d forced thoughts of his manipulative mother’s antics onto Carolyn. There was something wrong with him. It was as if deep down, he didn’t want to be happy.

  In a second, Carolyn was in his arms. He silently vowed never to allow his mother to come between them again. Putting his wife in this situation wasn’t fair. He’d promised to make her happy and had failed miserably.

  “I’m so sorry, Carolyn.” He ran his hands up and down her back as her tears dried. “I’m not the best husband. Trusting you to not be like the women I’ve known is proving to be more difficult than I’d originally thought, but I will try harder.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him, tears still in her eyes. “Do you promise?”

  “Yes. I promise. And, if I fail, I give you permission to push me again, just like you did in my bedchamber.”

  A smile twisted her lips. “You didn’t move very far. Is that why you lift boulders?”

  Heat burned his cheeks. He should have known she would have seen his ritual. “Yes. It began as a punishment from my father, but I learned the task made me strong. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after he died that I realized the full extent of my strength. I could have . . . Well, it doesn’t matter now.”

  She ran her hand down the left side of his face. “Can you tell me about him now? This burden you carry isn’t good for you.”

  Knowing he couldn’t avoid the discussion forever, he drew back and faced the fire. “Do you remember
the story I told you about my grandfather and the watch fob?”

  “Yes.” She slid her hand into his, but he didn’t look at her. He couldn’t.

  “My father beat me for being late.” She sucked in her breath, but he continued. “That was the first time I learned the severity of his punishments, but not the last.”

  “Did no one do anything? Surely, your grandfather could have done something.”

  Feeling the pain of his loss, Edmund closed his eyes. “I’d like to think he tried to talk to my father, but he died too soon afterward to do any good. My mother protected me as much as she could, but it came at a high cost to her.”

  “Is that why she acts like she does now?”

  He faced her then. “What do you mean?”

  “As I told you, I’m fairly good at reading people. Although I have only spent a limited amount of time in her company, I’ve never seen anyone try so hard to be someone.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “Everything about her is false. She’s acting the way she does for a reason.”

  Clenching his jaw, he returned his attention back to the flames consuming the logs. He knew exactly why she was fake. The looks she gave him, or rather the way she avoided looking at him, said it all. He didn’t want to think about it. About her.

  “Whatever the reason, it’s her secret to keep. But, now that you understand about the people who I came from, do you understand why I shouldn’t have children? And, certainly not more than one.”

  She cupped his cheek, forcing him to give her his attention. “Is that why you’re pulling away from me? After this child is born, you won’t touch me again?”

  “For good reason.”

  With narrowed eyes, she walked away, pacing the small space in front of the fire. Her agitation only fueled his. She had no reason to be distressed. After all, he’d warned her months ago how it would be if he were to marry.