Page 4 of Duke of Seduction

“Yes,” she whispered, barely able to say the word.

“Verygood, little Persephone,” he praised in the same erotic but condescending tone, rewarding her with another massaging stroke of his hand, this time at the back of her neck. “Now tell me your limits. What do you want to happen tonight?”

Everything,Helena immediately thought as her body seemed to become boneless. Through the pleasure though, a voice of reason reminded her of her promise to herself and Teresa. Tonight was for a kiss and kiss only, although she was quite sure what she had just experienced was far more intimate than any kiss could ever hope to be.

“May we…I…I wish to be kissed tonight, but not an ordinary kiss, I…” she was trying to find the words, but her brain became incapable of formulating the sentence. Hades’s thumb paused in mid stroke along her lips as his eyes grew wide with recognition, and he uttered the single word that could make her fear for her life.

“Helena!?”

Helena’s body was immediately wrenched from its state of euphoria when she realized that she recognized Hades’s voice.

CHAPTER THREE

“What in God’s name were you thinking,” Morgan hissed, pulling his hand away from Helena’s mouth as though it had scorched him.

He grabbed her by the hand, ignoring the way his palm exploded with heat from her touch, and all but dragged her into a nearby room.

“Ibegyour pardon!” Helena hissed back as she fought against his grip. “Who are you to…oh good heavens, Morgan?!”

The anger in her voice transformed into genuine surprise as he pulled off his mask, and even through hers he could see the dread fill her expression.

“What are you doing here?”

From the nearest sconce Morgan pulled away the red votive, flooding the room with a soft yellow glow so that they could see one another better. It was a mistake, as the dim red lights that once hid some of her sensual features brought out the best of them. Her stunning blue eyes, the fullness of her black-painted lips, and the swell of her bosom as it threatened to escape from her dress.

A carnal and deep hunger unleashed in him as he scanned his eyes down the lithe body of his best friend’s little sister. He was immediately filled with hot shame, not because ofwhathe had intended to do, butwith whomhe had intended to do it. With significant effort, he dragged his eyes away from her and shrugged out of his coat and held it out to her at arm’s length.

“Honeysuckle,” he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief, “I knew I recognized that perfume from somewhere.”

Helena paled even more as she pulled off her mask, using it to cover a small expanse of her tempting bosom.

“Here,” he insisted, shaking his jacket at her, “Put it on so that we may speak without further distraction.”

He glanced at her once more and watched as a gorgeous pout formed on her lips and her delicate brows creased into a frown.

“Why must I put that on?” she asked defiantly. “You had no trouble speaking to me a few moments ago.”

“Yes, well…that was different!” He stammered like a young, unseasoned buck. He had seen other women in much less, and yet…

“Put that damned thing on, Helena, and tell me why you are here,” he commanded. “Does your brother know you are here? Of course not. God, he is going to lose his mind if he finds out. I know you watched the couple on the settee. What else did you see?”

“Now, just you wait a moment!” Helena shot back.

She took the jacket with an aggressive tug, shooting her arms through the large sleeves with emphasis, and pulled it tightly around her.

“This is none of my brother’s business or yours, and you have no right telling him I was here.”

Morgan let out an annoyed laugh as he shook his head, finally turning his gaze back to her. His jacket swallowed her tiny figure, making her appear more adorable than he had ever seen her. He groaned internally at the sight and rubbed his face.Not her. Not mine. Wrong. So, sowrong.

“Oh, I amcertainlynot the one that will be confessing to Ambrose about this, Helena,” he laughed darkly. “You see, I value my life, and if I was to be the one to deliver this news, I would surely lose it at the end of his pistol barrel.”

A look of relief spread across her face, and she took a deep breath.

“Exactly. You did not see me and I did not see you, so we are both free to go on our merry ways without any discord.”

She attempted to remove his jacket, but in an instant he was towering over her, his hands clasped tightly around the lapels to prevent her from doing so.

“You still have not answered my question, Helena,” he said, meeting her annoyed gaze with his own. “Do you have any idea how dangerous parties like this are? You said you simply wanted a kiss, but the men who attend these things are devilishly convincing. Most here have trained to be masters in the art of seduction. You could have walked out of here experiencing much more than your first kiss.”

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