Page 29 of Never Dare a Duke
“Do not worry,” he said softly. “The doors will be open, and we’ll remain in their sight.”
“And you know they’ll all be watching.”
“True. But it will work in our favor, will it not?”
She showed not another qualm as she walked at his side. He felt the awareness of every female in the room.
Softly, Miss Shaw said, “You are making it look as if an evening of billiards with other gentlemen is not enough to keep you from my side.”
“And that is how we want it to look—according to your plans.”
Those plump lips turned up in a secretive smile that aroused him.
As the dimness of the torchlit terrace swallowed them, an evening breeze blew gently. Miss Shaw did not seem cold. She leaned on the stone balustrade and took a deep breath, tilting her head to the night sky and closing her eyes, her face awash in serenity. But again his gaze was drawn lower, to her breasts, full and creamy by moonlight, the deep vee between them a darkness that made his stomach tighten with lust.
To control himself, he said, “So how else do you think two people playing a game of courtship should look?”
She slanted her eyes at him, batting them prettily. “You are much more experienced at such things than I, Your Grace.”
“Then in my vast experience, I should be leaning too close.”
He rested his hip against the balustrade, put his hand on the flat surface as he loomed over her. She didn’t even look startled, although her gaze moved rapidly from his face to the hand beside her.
“Are you teasing me?” she asked, staring up at him. “I know you are still amused by my offer of help.”
Amused?he thought with faint sarcasm. That wasn’t all she made him feel. “I must admit to a certain enjoyment of the secret between us. Is that so very wrong?”
“No.”
Was he imagining it, or was her voice a bit breathless? Some distant part of him set off a faint warning, but he didn’t want to hear it.
“After all,” he continued, “you are displaying a certain amount of flesh. How else am I supposed to act?”
Those intelligent eyes now narrowed in a frown. “How far do you mean to enjoy yourself?”
“How far would you like me to enjoy you?”
Abigail drew in a shocked breath, unable to believe that this sensual, flirting man was the same responsible, sober duke. It was as if, now that they shared a secret, he did not feel compelled to treat her as he would other ladies.
And she was not a lady—although he did not know that.
Or did he? Was she somehow behaving even more inappropriately than she thought?
But he was a man, not just a duke, and her mother had always warned her that a man could be more tempted than a woman. A woman had to act with sober judgment, for she was the one with the most to lose.
So although her stomach fluttered with nerves that seemed too pleasurable, Abigail forced herself to smile dispassionately.
“I think you are trying to test my determination, Your Grace.”
He arched a dark brow, not giving her even room to breathe. And she was not about to back down, to step away as if his presence was too much for her.
“Your determination?” he echoed.
To her faint relief, she saw a curve of amusement on his lips, the lips she was paying far too much attention to. And that strengthened her resolve. He was not going to kiss her. She didn’t want him to kiss her! He wasteasingher, and she would have to show that he was having no effect.
“You are trying to see how firm my resolve is,” she said, “and I assure you, your behavior will not change my mind about helping you. Though even now I am certain that your mother and sister are watching us, I will not disappoint you by retreating.”
He did not even stiffen at the mention of his family, but she sensed his sudden remembrance of them. Though this was a game between the two of them, he would not want others to be hurt.
