Page 8 of His Duchess' Wicked List

“Give me back my list!” she demanded, outraged.

She didn’t carewhohe was, or why he was here. All she knew was that he had something that belonged to her, which she needed back, quite urgently.

“All in good time, My Lady,” he drawled in a dry, amused voice, those piercing grey eyes lingering on her face. “All in good time.”

Maddie blushed fiercely, feeling heat creeping up her face, like a fever. She stepped back, watching him warily. She was so overcome by the shocking situation that she staggered a little, reaching out and gripping the back of a chair to stop herself from toppling over entirely.

To her shock, the gentleman leaned down, in a quite deliberate way, taking her other hand. Slowly, he planted a soft kiss on it, with his eyes locked on her own the whole time.

Maddie jumped violently. A thousand tiny pinpricks of sensation leaped to life within her hand, coursing up her arm. She sprung back as if the hem of her gown had suddenly caught fire,blushing so deeply that her face felt as if it were about to implode.

“I believe it is high time we introduced ourselves,” the man continued in the same amused tone. “My name is Daniel Huxley, the Duke of Everly. And you are?”

Maddie’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t be Selina’s older brother, could he? Selina had talked about her brother, the Duke, from time to time. He was on a Grand Tour of the Continent, which had apparently stretched on for years, sorely trying their mother’s patience, who wanted him to come back. It had something to do with their family scandal, which Selina never talked about.

And her best friend had failed to tell her at all that her absent brother had finally returned home!

Selinahadrevealed, however, that her brother had the reputation of a rake. According to her, the ladies flocked like starlings around him. He had his pick, and he picked quite a few. Now that she knew who he was, Maddie didn’t find it surprising at all. She had never encountered a man with such raw masculinity and charisma. No wonder the ladies couldn’t resist him.

She still couldn’t speak from the shock of it all. Here she was, in her best friend’s family study, with a duke, no less… who happened to be the enigmatic older brother of that friend. And by some bizarre twist of fate, he had her missing list. How onearth had she managed to get into this truly dreadful situation? And how on earth was she going to get out of it?

A cold shiver ran down Maddie’s spine. He not only had the list, but he had in all likelihood read it. Why else would he have it in his hand? Heknewwhat was on it! Conflicting emotions surged through her. Embarrassment, shame, guilt… as well as heightened arousal at being in such close proximity to the gentleman she had been daydreaming about the entire day.

He was just as handsome as she recalled—if not more so. In the flickering candlelight, he seemed to loom over her, exuding a sensuous energy that she had never felt before. And the scoundrel had taken the liberty of kissing her hand!

“The cat seems to have gotten your tongue, My Lady,” he drawled, his grey eyes sending off sparks of amusement, as well as something else, which made her stomach flutter with a thousand tiny butterflies. “Whoareyou?”

“I am Lady Madeline Cole,” she managed to stutter. “And that ismylist. I dropped it today, in Hyde Park. I demand that you return it to me this instant!”

He kept gazing at her, in a speculative fashion, as if he was trying to work her out. As if she was a puzzle he was determined to solve. Maddie’s eyes flicked to the list, still secure in his hand.

Oh, Lord, whatwasshe going to do if he refused to give it to her?

Daniel stared hard at the beautiful young lady who had stumbled into the study, babbling on about the list. It was as if he had conjured her out of thin air. He was just as shocked as she appeared to be at this bizarre twist of fate. But he was thinking quickly as to how he could maneuver it to his advantage.

She was even more beautiful than he remembered from their brief encounter in Hyde Park. She had changed, of course, from what she had been wearing today. Beneath her dark green velvet cloak, he could just see her slim but curvaceous body filling a long white silk gown suitable for evenings. His loins were stirring at the sight in a way that he hadn’t felt in averylong time.

She had finally revealed her identity to him, and now, he vaguely recalled Selina mentioning her new best friend, Maddie, in her infrequent letters to him over the past year. Were Lady Madeline Cole and Maddie, her sister’s new best friend, one and the same person? It would appear so, judging by how familiar the beauty was with his house, as well as the way she had been speaking to him when she had assumed he was his sister sitting in that chair.

“So, you are Maddie?” he asked, with a small smile. “You are the new best friend my younger sister has been telling me about in her letters?”

The lady took a deep breath, straightening her spine, looking him directly in the eye. His loins tightened again at thefierceness he beheld within the liquid amber depths of her eyes. The blushing, stammering girl of moments before had entirely vanished.

Oh, she is indeed magnificent.I must have her. And it is going to be delicious play seducing her. The thrill of the chase is almost better than the capture.

“I am Lady Madeline Cole,” she repeated, through gritted teeth. “The youngest daughter of the Marquess of Ollerton. It is indecent for you to address me by my pet name, as it is reserved for those who are close to me.” She inhaled again. “Just as it is indecent to read and withhold personal items, such as the list you are holding in your hand!”

Suddenly, she lunged again, trying to snatch the list out of his hand. She was quick. Daniel only just managed to evade the attempt.

He leaned down, so he was close to her ear, noting the smoothness of her skin, as well as the evocative scent of her perfume. Was it lavender? Or bergamot?

“There are things that are rather more indecent than that,” he whispered in her ear, delighting in the way she shuddered. “Especially when a lady wishes to do them.”

He straightened, looking at her closely, watching for her reaction to his words. She was blushing fiercely again, but she held his gaze, a determined expression on her face.

“The list,” she demanded, holding out her hand in an imperious manner. “If you please.”

He ignored her outstretched hand. She was biting her full, rosy lips in the most endearingly sensual way. He wanted to lean down and capture those lips with his own, resisting the impulse with difficulty. He didn’t want to frighten her away entirely. Lady Madeline Cole was a dish to be savored, and he fully intended to do just that… when the time was right.

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