Page 8 of Good Duke Gone Wild

“Have a good night.” She tipped her chin and dashed off.

Wait just a minute. He was the one who was supposed to have done the dashing.

No.

No.

No.

This would not do. He was a captain. Of a large ship. With an intimidating crew. Which he led. He was the one who was in control at all times. Not that little slip of a woman who had asked him to dance.

Who the devil did she think she was?

No. This would not do at all. She would not be getting the last word on this. Not now. Not ever.

Chapter 5

JUDE WAS NOT A man easily phased. So how could a woman get so under his skin in such a short amount of time? And what had she done to get there? And how on earth could he remove her from underneath him? Because if he was sure about anything regarding this nameless woman, he did not want her underneath him, or anywhere near him.

Overjoyed that the dance was over, he certainly did not want to hold her in his arms for even a minute longer. And he couldn’t possibly imagine her underneath him on his bed. Or up against a wall with her head thrown back, pinned there by his body. Her moans were sure to irritate him to no end. Even his cock was twitching at the thought. So no. Not underneath him or anywhere within his breathing zone.

Except for right now. Because he needed to clear the air. He needed to make sure she understood who was in charge in this situation. Any and all situations really. He was the captain, damn it.

So of course he was currently marching right after her, in her aqua costume with a light frilly fabric—of which he didn’t know the name, but now knew the feel of— that reminded him all too muchof a mermaid.

Damn her and her mermaid dress.

Her steps picked up their pace as she darted out of the main ballroom and down the corridor. Where the devil was this siren going?

While he peered around a corner, he watched as she slipped into one of the rooms. Now was his chance.

Checking the corridor once more, he dashed down it and swung the door open. Only afterward did he even reconsider his actions. For all he knew she could have planned an assignation with any of the men in attendance. Nowthathe did not want to interrupt. A sharpness stung his chest. He wasn’t completely calloused, perhaps he would have still interrupted, had he known. It would do her no good to ruin her reputation. Assuming she had one.

One of his hands gripped his hair while the other shut and locked the door behind him. He knew nothing about her, yet the fluster continued.

At the click of the door, she whirled around. “What are you doing here?”

Oh. The disdain. It dripped off her lips like treacle and it was tasteworthy. Wait. What?

“I’m here to—” and before he could start on his tirade of how he was there to set the record straight and all of that, she was up in his face.

“Did you even think about the consequences of following me and being found alone with me?”

His thoughts were whirling in his head. Like some tempest at sea had formed and was suddenly all around him soaking him. Wet.

There she stood with a darkness in her eyes that he couldn’t quite interpret due to the low lights.

He needed a drink. Or three.

“What are you doing here? In the—” his eyes scanned the room— “library?” Drat. She was now tarnishing one of his favorite places. Libraries and books were always a welcome escape. One would think a pirate—ahem, privateer—would have no need for an escape, seeing as how his whole life was one giant escape, but really, everyone could benefit (often) from the new world a book provided.

“It’s a library,” she said, hands akimbo. “What do you think I’m doing here?” Then she turned her back on him and went, assumingly, in search of a book.

“You came to a ball to read?”

She merely shrugged in response. Shrugged? As if she couldn’t put in more effort and provide an actual response. Shrugged? As if he wasn’t worth words from her luscious ruby red lips. The gesture had tapped something within him that was bound to explode if he didn’t diffuse it right away. And what was the best way to diffuse something? Or numb it so that he could no longer feel it enough to be upset by it?

“I need a drink.”

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