Page 19 of His Tempting Duchess

The hot sensation returned, tightening her chest. Her stomach knotted, bursts of awareness shooting through her like a pulse.

He was watching her, something intent in his eyes that she could not interpret. Emily wished she had the space to step back.

“Who are you supposed to be, then?” she managed, her voice hitching, to her embarrassment.

He grinned. She hadn’t noticed it before, but one of his eye teeth was a little crooked, giving his lopsided smile more character. There was also something vaguely vulpine about it all.

“Why, I’m the God of War, of course. Ares. Although, I do think I ought to have brought a sword and shield with me,” he added, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Otherwise, I might as well be any Grecian man. And you?”

She blinked up at him, momentarily distracted. He had brushed his hair up into a halo around his head, forming it into properly Grecian curls. It gave him an almost boyish expression, strangely endearing. Also, the brushing had not been done particularly well. A few locks were falling over his forehead, and she felt the strangest urge to push them back.

The pulse was more intense, lighting up parts of her body that she would rather forget about, at least for now.

It wasn’t a feeling she’d experienced before. There was something… something visceral and unstoppable about it.

Like when you get a fever,she mused, with a flash of inspiration.You can’t stop it. It just happens, and you have to go along with it.

He was still staring down at her, and she blinked up at him again, her eyes widening. He’d asked her a question.Of coursehe had, and she was gawping up at him like an idiot.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Who are you dressed as?” the duke patiently repeated, that smile still playing on his lips.

She cleared her throat. “Aphrodite. We all decided to come as Grecian gods and goddesses, and somehow I was assignedAphrodite. Can you believe it?”

He tilted his head. “Why is it so ridiculous?”

She stared up at him. Did he really not know? Or did he simply want to make her say it? Either way, she was not giving him the satisfaction.

“My sister chose Athena,” she heard herself saying. “I think I’d rather have been Athena. Don’t worry, Ares is not taken. As far as I know, you’re the only God of War here tonight.”

He chuckled, extending his hand towards her face.

Emily froze, her eyes widening.

What on earth is he… Oh.

He gently plucked a small, pink feather from her hair.

“I imagine you’ve encountered Lady White in the hallway,” he murmured, holding the feather up for her inspection. “She’s covered in feathers. I have no idea who she is meant to be.”

“Icarus?”

He gave a brief, surprised bark of laughter, then closed his jaw hard as if it had slipped out without his knowledge and permission.

Clearing his throat, the duke turned away, dropping the feather. It floated down to the ground, only to be swept away by a passing lady’s hem.

“I imagine you want to find your family,” he said carelessly. “I’ll find you later. Save a dance for me, won’t you?”

Emily opened her mouth, ready to let loose a customary witty response. She’d never had trouble finding something clever to say, but at that moment, her wit seemed to have deserted her as if it had never been there.

The pulse coursing through her body made sense now. Desire. It was desire. She was feelingdesirefor this endlessly wretched man. How humiliating.

He paused. “For what it’s worth, Miss Belmont, I’m glad that you’re Aphrodite and not Athena.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And why is that?”

He grinned. “Because Athena and Ares are siblings, andthatjust wouldn’t do.”

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