Page 38 of Dance with the Dragon Duke

Margot jerked on the laces of her corset. “Is that too tight?”

“No, that’s just right,” Tomorrow said.

Margot tied it off for her, humming a bar song under her breath, then she helped her slip on her skirts.

Tomorrow slipped her arms into the sleeves of an ocean blue bodice with intricate pearl buttons at the back. She caught the shuffling of bedding in her peripheral. Dark got to his feet and closed the distance between them with slow, even strides.

The duke waved Margot off with a gesture befitting a man of his station. He pulled the back of her bodice together behind her, starting at the crest of her bottom. He worked the intricate fastenings slowly.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Margot said with a crooked grin.

Tomorrow wasn’t certain she was ready to be alone with the duke with so much left unsaid between them. Her cheeks heated. She reached for her friend, a halting gesture, but the courtesan slipped out quickly.

“What are you dressing for so early in the morning?” Hovering close, Dark’s breath blew against the back of her neck. His fingers worked the tiny pearl buttons in a steadfast manner. She felt every tug of fabric low in her belly, remembering against her wishes teasing touches and long hot kisses. The pulse between her thighs jumped.

Tomorrow squeezed the bodice in place over her chest, her nipples hardening against the fabric of her shift. “The Earl of Westarow is nocturnal. I sent him a message as soon as I awoke, asking to visit with him before he tucks in for the day. He kindly keeps me appraised of the status of my father’s estate from time to time. I’d also like to know what he and Glen argued about at the feast.”

The silence that hung in the air spanned only several heartbeats, but it felt like an epoch.

“Did you want me to come with you?” he asked finally.

Tomorrow would have liked that—she likedhimvery much, wanted him very much—but her tongue tied. The words to explain her plight were difficult to get right, and they cost her dearly.

Margot had warned her it’d take a fortnight before they had the required engagement agreement. If Dark came with her now, they could flaunt their false relationship before the executor. The earl wanted reassurance that he was carrying out the deceased duke’s wishes to the letter—like a surrogate father of sorts. Dark could help give him that peace, but she wasn’t certain anymore how fair such a farce was. Mating was so sacred to the Unseelie, possibly more so than it was to other immortals.

She’d hurt him yesterday and hated that. His expression when she told him they couldn’t mate—it haunted her still. Could a farcical public display mislead him now? How could she continue to use him in such a way when she knew he wanted to make their relationship real. No matter what she wanted, her path would end in vengeance, not romance.

Tomorrow hung her head. “Dark, if you require an out from our agreement—”

“I require nothing,” he said, tugging the fastenings together more forcefully.

She caught his reflection in the mirror that hung over the vanity by the door, and she measured her words. “If any part of you believes that a mate bond is waiting for us at the end of this scheme of ours—”

“You were very clear yesterday that mating is not a part of your plan.” His lips pursed. As quick as the lines of frustration had formed around his mouth, they were gone again, but his black eyes were mournful.

“Half of my duchy will be yours,” she said warmly, but it did nothing to strip the grief from his gaze.

The lines bracketing his lips returned, and his tail whipped side to side. “I will help you do this. Then I’ll take my redemption and call us even. No coins needed.”

Tomorrow’s shoulders sagged. “I wish I could convince you that you don’t require redemption.”

“You can’t.”

“I’d still like to give you—”

Dark finished the final fastening and spun her so that her body was flush with his. “Keep your wealth, Sunshine. Use it to buy your gran more orchards, add more copper bathtubs and fruit trees and sitting rooms to your new estates. Spend it onyou. I don’t want it.”

Tomorrow fidgeted with the hem of her bodice, smoothing the satin in place over the top of her skirt, uncertain what to say next. When words continued to fail her, she rose up on her tiptoes and laid a chaste kiss on the bottom of his jaw. “Get dressed, then. We can always argue about what I owe you later.”

* * *

They borrowed a carriage that belonged to the Gilded Boot. Tomorrow sat in the cab, winter quilt pulled up to her chin, trying to calculate in her head how much she owed Susan and Margot for all their assistance and loans to her these past few weeks.

She gave up quickly. The amount was more than she could sum up without pen and paper. Another shiver wracked her body, and she clung to her quilt, wishing for heat.

On the bench seat across from her, Dark rolled his eyes. “You’d be much warmer if you stopped being stubborn and simply sat closer to me.”

“I’m fine,” Tomorrow insisted.

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