Page 9 of To Tempt A Highland Duke
Raven-haired, deep-set blue eyes, coupled with his iron physique, caused her knees to tremble. She’d never wanted him more.
Was she fooling herself or was his self-assured stare full of heat and desire? She needed to sit down.
“I was about to come and find you. I was merely having a few drams for courage.” He patted the settee beside him. With a hint of a devilish smile tugging at one corner of his tempting mouth, he said in a whisper that intimately flowed down her spine, “Take a seat before you fall down.”
She could not move. She could barely breathe.
Pinned by his piercing stare, she shivered at the force of the unbridled sensuality in his beautiful eyes. What was he playing at?Lady Claire. Think of Lady Claire.
It was no use. From halfway across the room, the heat of him seemed to engulf her. The enveloping visceral reaction took her by surprise. She’d been alone with him plenty of times and been able to control her response to him. Why was tonight different? Her heart lurched as he gave a knowing smile. “I prefer to stand thank you, I love the fresh air.”
“You’re scared to sit by me,” he goaded.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I be afraid? I’ve known you since I was a young girl.”
His heated gaze ran over her person, from her feet to her face, indecently stopping at certain points along the way. “You are not a young girl anymore,” his husky declaration saw her thighs clamp together.
Dougray was an expert seducer, but he’d never tried his skills on her before. For one brief year when she was nineteen, he’d—courted her—stolen her heart and then stood by and let her marry Iain.
Her heart slammed behind her ribs like a drum’s doom filled warning. She would get hurt if she even thought of playing this game with him.
Still, ignoring her own mind’s warning, her feet moved, and she sat where only moments ago his hand had been. To her disappointment and relief, he did not touch her. He was busy pouring her a drink.
“Why did you want to find me?”
He handed it to her. “Drink. You look as if you need it.”
She took a big gulp, only to splutter. “Whisky?”
“You’ve been drinking it half your life.”
She nodded as she fanned her mouth. “I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” The fiery liquid gave her courage. “I wasn’t expecting you either. I have been waiting outside the card room all evening. How did you leave without me seeing you?”
His devilish grin widened. “Waiting for me?” He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “How intriguing.”
She pulled back. “To introduce you to Lady Claire.” At his puzzled frown, “You are looking for a wife. Lady Claire would be perfect.”
His face blanked, and he turned away and downed the rest of the whisky in his glass and set it on the table with a loud clunk. He turned to face her. “I don’t need any help in finding a woman to be my wife.”
Her heart almost stopped beating. He’d found someone. She wasn’t ready for the pain that engulfed her.
So lost in her anguish, she at first did not notice his hand slowly stroking her bare arm above her glove—up and down, seductively. “Why do you look so stricken? Don’t you want to know whom I have selected?”
She swallowed hard and succumbed to a violent shudder. He was being cruel. She wanted to tell him to stop, but any words fled when she caught the faint whiff of Dougray’s exotic incense that clung to his skin like a jealous lover—Sandalwood.
“No words. That must be a first. I’ve never known you to have nothing to say, Flora.” The way he said her name made her think of sex.
He pulled her into his arms. “So are you going to kiss me?”
Flora melted at the question. Her heated brain and her battered heart warred over the answer—her heart won—she wanted his lips on hers like she wanted her next breath.
This was madness. He’d just confessed to having found a woman to marry, yet here she was in his arms eager as a puppy to please. This man aroused her with a simple smile: what could he do with a kiss, a touch, a…
Take this one chance, before he is lost to you forever, in case you have to endure another loveless marriage.Her body and mind clamored in her head, arguing with each other.
She faced him and when she saw the desire swirling in the blue depth of his gaze, she yielded willingly. His head drew close, totally focused on her lips and her body thrilled. He was impossibly handsome, and for one night he would be her real fantasy. Her gaze traveled over his chiseled face with its tantalizing strong bone structure. His eyebrows were thick and black, which made the blue of his eyes appear darker. But it was his lips that made women swoon. Sculptured, full, and soft, she was dying for a taste.
She beat him by leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. His mouth opened under her lips in surprise.
