Page 4 of A Bride for the Rakish Duke

She threw herself into the darkness cast by the towering bookcases, tiptoeing along the row as catfooted as could be. A moment later, a shadow cast by the fire flickering behind the intruder stretched across the path between the stacks.

A deep, rumbling voice murmured seductively, “Do not hide from me, My Lady. There is no use. I have you precisely where I want you, and I am so very tired of chasing.”

CHAPTER 2

Lydia might have relished her clandestine novels, but those were for the comfort of her own bedchamber, whereshecould lock the door and leave the real world beyond it for a while. Whoever this man was, he was threatening her very existence in Society, risking her reputation—and, perhaps, worse—by cornering her, alone, in another lord’s library.

No… You have been training for this. You might not have known it, but you have.

She took a slow, quiet breath, praying the intruder could not hear her heart thundering. It was true. From a young age, she had devoured every book she could find, and there were lessons to be learned from the fairytales and myths of old. Lessons that she needed to put to good use now, lest she find herself ensnared by this ungentlemanly man.

Careful not to make a sound, she began edging into the deeper darkness at the farthest end of the bookcases. She planned tocircle back while the intruder moved forward, and if she timed it just right, she would get to the key and open the door before he even knew she had escaped him.

Should I scream afterward? Should I howl for help once I am in the hallway beyond?

Instinct told her to do so, while knowledge of Society said otherwise. It would be her word against his, whoever he was. If any witness to her escape suspected they had been alone together, for even a moment, it would shred her reputation to tatters anyway. It would not matter if she had done anything wrong or not.

She was so focused on the aftermath that she forgot to concentrate on the present… and did not see the book sticking all the way out of the second-to-last shelf until her thigh collided with it. A startled gasp slipped past her lips, and her hands fumbled helplessly for the tome, her fingertips skimming leather as it fell to the ground.

Thethumpas it hit the parquet was as loud as a thunderclap.

There was no way the intruder had not heard it.

Cursing inwardly, she half-limped, half-crept toward what she hoped was the safety of the shadows just ahead of her. She could still make it. She could still trick the man if she could just grit her teeth through the pain throbbing up her leg and the fear that kept trying to render her frozen.

Almost there… Almost there… Come on, Lydia!

She reached the darkness at the far end of the stacks and nearly made the mistake of breathing a sigh of relief. Waving one hand in front of her, she tiptoed to the next bookcase and paused to listen for the intruder.

Silence boomed back.

Swallowing thickly, she crept on, the back of an armchair coming into view, illuminated by the fireplace. She was almost back where she had started. Almost back to the library door and freedom.

“There you are, my sweet bunny.” A figure stepped out in front of her, the silver edges of a mask catching the glow of the firelight.

In silhouette, she could just make out the curve of a saber, the shape of muscular thighs in tight trousers, and the sleeves of a billowing shirt. He held a tricorn hat in one hand.

The fox-pirate!

The ears of his mask seemed to glint in confirmation.

She turned around, hoping to dart between the stacks once more. If she could put enough bookcases between them, maybe she would have a chance of escaping him.

Indeed, it was ridiculous to think that not very long ago, she had been fantasizing about being in front of him, hearing him whisper sweet nothings, admiring his physique and his flirtations up close. At least now, she had the answer to what she would do in such a situation: run.

His free hand shot out, grasping her by the arm and pulling her backward. Her shoulders bumped against something solid, and his arm was swift to snake around her waist, pinning her to him.

That solid thing, she realized, was his chest.

His breath left a feverish heat along the curve of her neck as he whispered, “You did not seem so shy earlier, My Lady. It does not become you to change your character now.” He held her tighter, his lips so close to her skin that tiny bolts of lightning seemed to jump between the two. “You have teased me enough, My Lady. You claimed you were a woman of action, you asked me to come to this library—the chase is over.”

Fighting past the curious thrill of his closeness and the way he pressed himself flush against her, Lydia saw sense through the fog of bewilderment. A violent gust of anger and fear for her reputation swept through her mind, clearing it of everything else.

She dug her fingernails into his forearm and pushed with all her might, wrenching herself free of the fox-pirate. “Excuse me?” she hissed, glaring up at him, though it was unlikely he could see in the dim light of the room. “I have never met you in my entire life, and I have certainly not teased you or asked you tojoin me in this library! But Iama woman of action, and I shall… I shall smack you with every book I can grab if you come near me again!”

The fox-pirate stepped backward. “Come into the light where I can see you.”

“I will do no such thing!” She reached for the nearest book she could find, wielding it in both hands, ready to make good on her threat.

---