Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

“ A ghostly tales evening?”

The uncertainty in Selina’s voice was quite obvious, and Nora took it quite kindly with a giggle as she said, “Yes, dearest. Think about it — what is more exciting that subjecting yourself to an opportunity to feel fear? We have a few of our guest sharing tales they’ve heard on their travels or folklore from their parents, we’ll have wonderful treats, and we’ll use the smaller ballroom with dim lights for added effects.”

The skepticism must now be on Selina’s face because Nora pouted at her friend’s expression.

“Just, be there tonight. You’ll receive an invitation after dinner, giving you directions to the ballroom. Say you’ll come.”

Selina couldn’t refuse for two reasons. One of them lay in the fact that Nora requesting so earnestly robbed Selina of any will to go against the Duchess’ wishes.

The second was because of her need to be distracted from thoughts of a certain Duke that seemed hell bent on being her undoing.

“It is only a bunch of scary stories. Of course, I shall come. How bad could they possibly be?” she asked with a smile to Nora’s glee.

She later found out why she should’ve been more reluctant to join this activity as she stepped into the ballroom the directions on her invitation had led her to.

The invitation had arrived in a suspiciously nondescript red envelope, and the card inside had contained simple words that bore an ominous notion.

Descend one flight, Stroll to the end,

And then be prepared,

To meet your fate.

The ballroom was dimly lit, as Nora had promised, illuminated only by the small lamps on each table, but there was something unsettling about the shadows moving about that made Selina nervous. The curtains looked black from where they hung, and there was a group of musicians playing foreboding music.

There were small tables scattered around the ballroom, each made to hold three people, and Selina managed to navigate to an empty one that was furthest from the stage that had been set up with a single chair on it.

She had hardly been there for longer than five minutes when she heard a voice. “It seems our gracious hostess has a flair for the dramatic.”

Selina whirled around with a half scream, the single candle on the top of her table letting her know it was merely a man — and not a ghoul — that had approached her.

“Oh dear, my apologies, My Lady. I did not mean to startle you.” he apologized profusely.

“It’s…” she gulped. “It is fine. I’ve merely been on edge. I do not like being… “

“Frightened?” he guessed with a pitiful tone.

“That’s… a word I would use, I suppose. I’m sorry,” Selina laughed nervously.

“Do not be, My Lady. You have a right to dislike whatever it is that unnerves you. May I sit?”

The man sounded polite, kind even, and Selina felt herself nod quickly, only to say out loud in case he couldn’t hear her.

“Of course.”

When he was seated, she could see his face more clearly, recognizing him as a man she had spotted a handful of times around Samuel.

“Lord DeWitt, My Lady. The Baron DeWitt,” he introduced himself softly.

Selina felt herself grow eager to make the acquaintance of another man, thankfully away from Aaron’s reach and focus.

“Duke of Crauford,” Selina stiffened as someone else fell into the seat on her other side. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

Lord DeWitt tensed up, his gaze shifting between the Duke and her.

“Forgive me, My Lady, I did not know your company had already taken for the night.” the Baron apologized.

“No —”

“Did you forget about me, My Lady? That wounds me. And here I thought we’d reached a comfortable understanding, you and I.” Aaron stared with a tone so sweet, it caused her teeth to ache.

“I shall just —” Lord DeWitt scrambled to his feet. “My apologies, again.”

“Think nothing of it, sir,” Aaron grinned, sliding his gaze to Selina with a husky tone. “You are not the one I have business with.”

As the Baron left, Selina felt the tension she had been resisting curl up her spine and hold her captive.

“Must you be so irritating?”

“When it gives me the pleasure of receiving such glorious reactions from you, I feel as though it is a necessity for us to have such interactions as often as possible,” he responded smoothly, reaching for the glass of wine that had just been served for them both.

Selina’s lips parted to retort, but the words lost themselves in her throat as she felt a hand rest on her thigh, and she jumped with a gasp.

“Careful, Lady Selina,” he murmured, drawing invisible circles along the inside of her thigh, the touch somehow burning through the soft fabric of her dress to leave brands of his fingertips along her skin. “I’m gradually becoming aware of precisely what makes you tick. And with this much cover of darkness, you shouldn’t tempt me to see just how much I can get away with.”

“Whether or not I tempt you, you are still going to do whatever you can to unnerve me,” Selina gritted out, feeling a little breathless at just a simple touch and hating herself for it.

“You are learning,” he smirked, sliding his gaze to her, heavy and dark. “Good.”

The last word carried with it heavy promise that made her mouth dry, and it was almost disappointing when he took his hand away.

“You are incorrigible,” Selina sighed, too tired to let his games or her anger over the loss of another potential match hang over her for too long.

Aaron was silent for a moment then he said, “I did not think you would be here tonight. I assumed you weren’t the sort that would be interested in tales meant to put fear into the heart and mind. Then again, you seem to thrive off being unpredictable.”

Selina snorted, reaching for the small dish that contained what appeared to be a slice of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce that all together looked like something was bleeding onto the stark white china.

“As much as it pains me to say it, you’re not entirely wrong. It was Nora who convinced me to attend. It is up to fate, now, to prove if I was unwise for relenting. Though I have to say, I am surprised you decided to grace us with your presence, Your Grace.”

Aaron laughed, a sound that made him seem less of a bore than he appeared to be.

“I do not scare easily, Lady Selina.”

“I was leaning more to you dismissing such tales because I expected you to have no tolerance for the superstitious.”

“Ah. Well, you are also not wrong pertaining that. I do not have time for such humbug, but I actually do enjoy a good ghost story, every now and then,” he informed her casually.

“Oh. Is that so?” Selina questioned, surprised.

Aaron nodded slowly. “I’ve found it strangely comforting, especially tales that lend to the belief of karma. They often go to show that life can always reach worse planes, eventually.”

Selina let out a deep sigh, somewhat unsurprised by his reasoning.

“That is rather pessimistic of you, Your Grace. Though it does explain quite a bit about why you choose not to entertain the idea of love in your quest for a wife. You prefer to scowl and brood for the rest of your life. That is what you feel suits you.”

“You cannot hope to shame me for preferring practicality over fantasy.” He sounded amused, and something in Selina twisted into a disconcerting knot.

“There is nothing wrong with wishing for something magical — especially if there is plenty proof of its existence. Your lack of faith and belief in something so real is quite disheartening, Your Grace,” Selina tutted at him with a shake of her head.

“It is not as though I don’t believe in love, Lady Selina. Afterall, how can I not believe in the very thing that led to my conception in the first place?”

It is oddly intimate, the way they both seemed to have dismissed the whole purpose of this gathering, focused on each other even with their gazes fixed forward. But she couldn’t help but glance at him then, needing to understand why his tone had gone tense at the end of his statement.

Selina knew of the rumors, especially because they had surfaced again as Aaron walked along the halls of the Bancroft estate, very obviously in search of a wife of his own. His orgins had become the talk of the house once more, just as they had when he had claimed his title, and now, there was a likelihood that if he was in a room, the story of his illegitimate birth was being discussed.

“Oh,” was all Selina felt she could say.

Aaron kept his eyes on the man who had taken a seat on the stage, his eyes wide as he regaled the crowd with a story he had sworn was from a personal experience.

“My father told me once that he had loved my mother dearly. He had been drunk, angry after a fight with his wife, and he had sought comfort from a bottle of the strongest drink in his cupboard. I’d found him on the verge of falling asleep on the floor of his study, and he took one look at me and told me he hated my eyes. Because I had her eyes. And then he told me that he had loved her more than his own life, and it had to be a sin of some sort that I was allowed to live while she had given her life in exchange for mine.”

He sounded so calm, as though he were discussing the weather, but when she looked at him, there was a hollow look in his eyes when he glanced back at her.

“I’d never heard him sound so… pained. And I never saw him that way again until he passed away. But I had understood him, understood how he could have given so much of himself to someone to the extent that he did not care much for what was right. I understood that he caved into his weaknesses, and I was determined to not make the same mistakes he did. Because in the end, the sins of the father were passed along to the son, and I have had to spend years of my life proving that I am worthy of what was mine by birth. I have no need for love. It only complicates things,” he said with a sigh.

Selina understood him and why he felt that way.

Love had birthed him, had abandoned him, and now, it had him paying dues that he did not owe.

“Your Grace —”

“Ah, I’ve spoiled the mood,” he blinked, shuttering himself behind the gentleman many knew him as, smiling sideways at her. “My apologies, I merely grew bored of this weak storytelling.”

Selina tried to tell him there was nothing to apologize for, her heart saddened by his story and the life he had led till this point, only to lose her train of thought as his hand rested on the small of her back. He didn’t tease her with it, merely kept it there in order to obtain and retain her attention.

“I’ve grown rather disinterested in this gathering after all, Lady Selina. Perhaps we should find a way to entertain ourselves, away from here. Hm?” he asked quietly, his touch scorching hot.

Selina licked her lips, reminding herself that she knew the rules of this game.

If she refused, she would lose. The goal was to push back, just as hard.

“What do you have in mind?” she murmured, unconsciously leaning into his touch.

He seemed to notice because he reached for the lamp in the middle of the table and blew the light out, shrouding them in darkness. His hand left her back but found her hands clasped on her thighs, grabbing one of them to pull her to her feet.

“Careful,” he urged softly. “Be as quiet as you can.”

“A-All right,” she whispered, letting him lead her out of the ballroom.

It seemed that Nora had wanted the ambience to linger for a moment longer because the hallway outside was also dimly lit, but Aaron navigated through it expertly, pulling her into a room.

“I’m going to propose a little, crucial rule for you this time,” he said, cornering her in a way her body had grown familiar with.

“And that is?” she asked, surprised by how much she was willing to easily bend to his wishes.

He tugged off his cravat, holding it up next to his face, so she could see it.

“If you wish for me to stop, all you have to do is say the world Bolton , and I’ll stop right away.”

“ Bolton ? Your last name?” Selina questioned, confusion etched onto her features.

He stepped closer, his body crowding hers, and his scent that she was shockingly familiar with making her head spin.

“Remember it. Hold it close in your mind. And whenever you wish to stop, let me have it,” he told her as he leaned down and claimed her lips.

Her knees grew weak instantly, and she clung to him for support as his tongue slipped past her lips to mingle wetly with hers. Her mind felt so far away, she barely noticed him leading her to a desk until he lifted her to rest on the surface.

She gasped and pulled back, just as he tugged her hands forward in front of her and tied them together, tight enough not to budge under whatever experimental tug was done to test its strength but still weak enough not to cause her any pain.

“No matter what you do, keep your hands to yourself, all right? If you disobey me, there will be consequences. What do you say when you wish for me to stop?” he asked, mouthing along the column of her neck.

“ Bolton .” she gasped, feeling wetness grow between her legs.

“Good.”

Suddenly he was everywhere, his hands running up and down her sides, squeezing at her hips and breasts as his lips claimed hers, pushing and taking, sucking and devouring. Selina felt rationality slip with the unfamiliar feeling of helplessness aching in a corner of her mind at the thought of her bound hands and how they left her at his mercy.

“You taste so sweet,” Aaron moaned, his hands tugging up her skirts almost impatiently. “Always. You spit such vile, rude words, and yet, your lips are always so sweet.”

“Are you complaining?” she somehow found it in her to tease only to arch into his touch as his hand snuck beneath her dress to touch her beneath her legs suddenly.

Her mind felt clouded with all that had transpired between then before, and she was filled with an odd, desperate need to touch him too.

But her hands were tied, literally, and so all she could do was writhe helplessly as a finger snuck in deep, pulling a breathy groan from her.

“You are phenomenal,” he said as he thrust his finger in and out of her, the intrusion far more pleasurable than she could’ve imagined.

“Your Grace —”

“Yes, pet?” he drawled, inserting another finger into her, erasing every single thought she’d had in her life, enslaving her to the sensations of lightening running from her head to her toes.

Selina nearly blurted it out then, nearly said his last name as he pressed in too deeply, and she swore she could see stars. But it felt so good, so incredible , she couldn’t help but yearn for more.

She shook her head, far too overwhelmed by all she could feel and whimpered as he sunk his teeth into her collarbone, gasping a bit as he licked over the mark he had left, only to trail soft fleeting kisses down her chest.

“I wish I could see more of you. I wish I could hold you more because you feel magnificent around me,” he panted into her ear as his fingers began to work faster in and out of her.

Something was building within her, a wave that seemed to grow with each stroke of his fingers until she had been pulled taunt on the verge of breaking.

“P-Please,” she stuttered, not sure what for.

But Aaron, ever perceptive and understanding, knew, and he kissed her then, curling his fingers expertly in a way that stole the breath out of her lungs in a hard shove.

“Go on then. Do it.”

Her release came in waves, claiming her with tremors that set her body alight.

Aaron kept his lips on her throughout, mumbling that she had done well and was just all right.

When Selina had calmed down, his cheeky expression was fixed as he undid her restraints and asked, “Was this not a better idea than the ghost stories?”

Selina had grown to understand that she needn’t speak to agree Aaron. Still, she felt herself nod, preening when he pulled her closer by her hips and mumbled against her lips.

“Good girl.”

Aaron had expected to regain some peace of mind, hoping that all his teasing would have spurred Selina to feel as though they had seen enough of each other to last a while.

However, when morning came, he learned that perhaps there were other powers at play when Selina arrived at the gathering of men who had been getting ready to set off on the hunt.

Aaron wasn’t as surprised to see her as the other men were, already aware that she liked to hunt and was, in fact, good at it. The day after their eventful first meeting, she had convinced Benedict to take her with them on another hunt, and his cousin had indulged her.

And she had surprised them both with her astonishing marksmanship and keen senses.

In as much as he respected her skills, he couldn’t ignore that her behavior was extremely unladylike in every way. He would never approve of his woman engaging in such an activity.

“Selina.” Samuel smiled at the sight of her, clearly unsure of what was happening but unwilling to let that stop him from being kind to her anyway. “Did you need something? To speak with Aaron, perhaps?”

She glanced at the men staring at her, her gaze lingering on Aaron for a tad longer before she shook her head.

“No, I am here to join the hunt. In the announcement you made last night, you said anyone could participate,” she stated with her head held high.

Aaron pretended not to notice the flush on her cheeks, his grip on his weapon tightening as the image of her gasping sweetly beneath his touch flashed through his mind.

For the love of — he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus on everything, other than the curl of lust in his veins.

It had been hard enough to stop himself from going further the night before, and the last thing he needed was for a reminder of how he had felt to ring constantly in his head.

“Right. That I did.” Samuel nodded, shifting his gaze to Aaron, asking what he should do with his eyes.

Aaron stepped closer to Selina, his eyes reflecting his disapproval.

“This is not your brother-in-law’s estate, Lady Selina. I wouldn’t recommend joining in on such an activity with far too many men who wouldn’t care to watch your back for you.”

“You are under the impression that I need such assistance, but I do not, and last I checked, this event was open to all,” she said in a too-sweet tone that told him she was willing to fight to hell and back to get what she wanted.

Aaron looked back at Samuel, gave him a single nod, and Samuel smiled at her again.

“You are more than welcome to join us. Let me see if we have any guns light enough for you to handle.”

“Anything you have will be fine. I used to hunt with my father, so I am used to the weight of practically any gun,” she assured him with an excited smile of her own.

Samuel laughed, seemingly fascinated by this turn of events. “I am sure you are. Let me find something for you then.”

The Duke of Bancroft walked away momentarily, and the rest of the men kept glancing at Selina strangely, as though they wanted to speak up against her presence.

Not on my watch , Aaron said to himself before clearing his throat audibly, nudging her slightly away from the group with a light touch to her back.

“Must you be so difficult? These are not the lands you are used to, and the weather is quite unfavorable. Not to mention you are acting rather unladylike right now before a group of men — one of whom might have fancied you enough to court you before this troublesome display,” he said the last part quieter for some reason, as though there was any need to attempt to salvage her dignity anymore.

Selina rolled her eyes, visibly annoyed.

“I did not ask for any protection, Your Grace. I wish you would stop fussing over things you want me to need and who you need me to be. Why do you care if I chase away potential prospects? The duty to marry me off does not fall to you if I fail to obtain a husband here. If any man thinks less of me because I like an activity mostly preferred by men, then he is not worthy of being my husband!” she snapped in a hushed tone.

“You are preposterous.”

“And you are a controlling fiend who needs to learn to only involve himself in matters that concern him. I am quite fine, and I can handle myself, thank you.”

Lord Honeyfield then approached Selina, starting with an air of bravado.

“Do not worry, Lady Selina. I shall stay close by and protect you for the entire hunt. You have my word.”

Aaron had never been as glad to be outside as he was then. He barely managed to purse his lips as Selina laughed out loud, assuming the Viscount was joking.

Her chuckles had barely ceased by the time she waved a hand in the air and told Isaac playfully, “I do not need your help, Lord Honeyfield. I am very capable of taking care of myself, do not worry.”

The other men watched on silently, and that was when Aaron’s laugh broke past his lips, unable to believe the day had begun with such great entertainment.

Samuel returned, armed with an extra gun which he handed to Selina, who received it carefully.

“Are we all set?” he asked and received murmurs of accent. “All right. Let us go then.”

Aaron lingered as the group set off so he could watch over Selina from the rear. He noticed Isaac storming past the Duke, along with the others.

Aaron knew it was only normal for the man to feel upset, perhaps offended on behalf of his wounded pride, but the dark, clouded expression the Viscount had was not reminiscent of a man who had been showing interest in a woman for the last two days.

There and then, Aaron told himself to pay close attention to Lord Honeyfield as it was likely he wasn’t interested in Selina but rather in her title and dowry.

And Aaron was not going to let her be taken advantage of.