Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
To feel anything at all for someone as out of her league as the Duke of Flanders would be the height of stupidity, and since Mary had always found safety in doing what was smart...
Chapter Three
From the moment he had stepped out of Mary Ashton's room, Rathe had sworn to himself that it would be the last time he'd have anything to do with Saffi's equally eccentric and impossibly curvy friend.
But he also found himself breaking his word the very next day. He had even bought her flowers, a task that he had always left for his secretary to take care of. He had never taken the time to personally buy something for any of his former lovers in the past, and he had no fucking idea why he had done so now.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Rathe had always considered it crass to reference movies when it came to life, but there was just something about Mary.
And whatever that something was now cursed him with his first taste of jealousy, when an amused Camille told him that Mary was at a nearby club for a poetry reading.
His mind immediately rebelled at the thought of pursuing her in public, and his already black mood turned even blacker when Rathe still ended up chasing after a teenage girl...and he saw for himself the kind of place Mary's so-called poetry reading session was being held.
Bloody, bloody hell.
Rathe was extremely familiar with establishments like Art Hubz. Such businesses were typically put up by a group of individuals that looked down on any work of art that was commercially profitable. The seedier and shabbier their places of business were, the prouder they were, and upon entering its premises, Rathe saw right away that Art Hubz was no different.
His contemptuous gaze swept over his dimly lit surroundings. The stage in front was nothing but a couple of wooden planks haphazardly nailed together. It was an accident waiting to happen...just like the next thing he saw, which was Mary sharing a tiny table with another man who could only be none other than her professor.
Asshole.
The bastard looked to be about the same age as Rathe's. He had oily-looking hair that was evenly part in the middle and a pair of glasses that the duke supposed was meant to give the other man a pseudo-intellectual look.
One look at Mary's professor, and Rathe knew the smug SOB was the kind that had no qualms in using all sorts of pretenses to groom impressionable students into becoming his lover.
With Mary's attention focused on the student reciting some Shakespeare poem on stage, the professor wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that his eyes were fully trained on Mary's tits. It wasn't that she was wearing anything revealing, but with her all-too-generous curves, the modest cut of her lavender-colored dress only served to accentuate the fullness of her breasts.
Only Rathe's iron self-control kept him from grabbing the man by the collar and hauling him off his ass. He could have his own personal security escort the professor out of the premises in seconds with no one the wiser...but he also knew that would not solve anything.
The duke knew that Mary had to see her professor's true colors for herself...and Rathe knew exactly how to achieve this.
****
Professor Reginald Byron knew tonight was the night he had to make his move. He had been extremely patient and careful in grooming Mary, knowing that he only had one semester to convince his beautiful little slut to surrender her virginity to him. One look at her, and he had known right away that he had to portray himself as a mild-mannered man to win her trust. As long as he spoke gently and softly, he knew it would only be a matter of time before he could persuade Mary, gently of course, to fuck him.
Mary struggled to look impressed as Professor Byron went on and on to talk about artsy and poetic things that her scientific mind was not quite able to grasp.
The older man had captivated her from the very first day of the semester, with how incredibly gentle and soft spoken he was. He was the opposite of her stepfather, who had been nothing but a monster hiding under pastoral robes.
The professor only paused in his speech when a waiter came to their table, and this gave Mary a chance to absently look around.
Oh!
She suddenly realized all the other students were staring at them, and an even more awful realization came to Mary when she glanced back at the professor. Everyone knew that she was infatuated with Professor Byron, and that included her professor himself!
Mary could feel her cheeks turning red as the professor stared at her in a way that he had never done so before. He had always been very professional with her, and this was the first time that...that...