Page 6 of Her Duke of Sin: Lady Be Wicked
Three
It was a beautiful morning and Juliet had decided to take a few moments to herself before she had to start her day. A day that would be filled with tasks set by Lady Wyndam regarding the house party and entertainments for all the guests. After she left the garden, she would have a lot to accomplish and sometimes it felt as if he did not have enough time to do any of it. After the afternoon meal, there would be archery.
Juliet didn’t particularly like archery. She wasn’t very good at it and had no intention of joining in the sport. She would organize it and keep tabs of the teams, but that was the extent of her involvement. Lady Wyndam had thought it a grand idea. It was something that both the ladies and gentlemen could partake in. At least those inclined to… She wondered how many of the guests would decide to come outdoors and shoot arrows at targets set up on the lawn. Either way, she’d be out there and ensuring everyone that wished to participate could.
“Fancy finding you out here.” The sound of a familiar man’s voice filled her ears. Juliet closed her eyes and prayed she hadn’t heard correctly. This was her time to enjoy the morning. Alone. Without interruption from the likes of the Duke of Sinbrough.
Slowly, she turned around and faced him. “I must admit I’m surprised to see you, Your Grace.” She pasted a smile on her face. How could he still be so spectacularly handsome so early in the morning? “I expected you were the sort to sleep the morning away lazily in bed.”
His lips twitched until he apparently gave in and smiled fully. His dimples were on display for her, as if they came out to present themselves for her alone. “If given a reason,” he drawled. “I’m more than happy to remain in bed for hours in the morning. But as I woke alone.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “There wasn’t any pressing reason to remain there.”
Juliet stared at him. Just stared. No words came to her, and she could not discern the proper response. The duke always befuddled her, as if she was always addle brained. How could he stun her stupid whenever he spoke to her? After several minutes of staring at him like an utter fool, she finally said, “I’m sure it disappointed you when you woke this morning then.” There. She’d responded, and it almost sounded reasonable.
“Well, of course I was.” The duke took several more steps toward her. “Especially since you were not there with me.”
“As that is an unlikely outcome on any morning,” she began. “Why ever would you have expected me to be in your bed?” This was not a conversation she expected to have. On any day… “I would say I am sorry to have dashed your hopes, but that would be a lie.”
“And you never lie,” he added.
“That is correct.” She should excuse herself and go inside. At least then she would have some of her good sense back. If she remained outside in the garden with him any longer, their conversation would only take a turn for the worse, not that it hadn’t spiraled out of control already.
“To answer your question…” The duke took a few more steps toward her. He was so close now, and her body heated more and more as he closed the distance.
“I do not recall asking one,” she replied. What the blazes had she asked him? He couldn’t have invented that to vex her.
“You did,” he said firmly. “You inquired why I would have expected you in my bed.”
She closed her eyes and groaned. What had she been thinking with that quip? “You don’t need to reply. It was rhetorical.”
“Still,” he said as he raised his hand to brush one of her stray locks behind her ear. “I feel as if I should.”
“Honestly,” she said hastily. Juliet feared what he would say almost as much as she yearned to know. It was a conundrum deep inside of her. This was insane. She was insane. That was the only answer that made sense. “I do not need an answer.”
“And yet I feel the need to.” He traced her jawline with his fingertip. Shivers slid down her spine and she almost moaned. The sensations were almost too much. How could such a simple touch affect her so much? “The reason that I expected to find you there was because you haunted my dreams. They were so real it seemed as if I would open my eyes and you would still be there. I wanted you to be there, and imagine my disappointment in discovering my dream had lied to me. I was…devastating.”
“Is that so?” She met his gaze and held it. “I don’t lie. You lied to yourself.”
“I did,” he agreed. “Or perhaps it was a simple case of wishing for something so much it made me believe it had actually been granted to me.”
Juliet should step out of his reach. This had already gone farther than it should have. He was caressing her and it played havoc on her senses. She licked her lips and pondered her next words. “Your Grace,” she began.
“Gideon,” he reminded her. “I thought we already discussed this.”
“And I explained that it was improper. We should not use our given names.” They were already far too intimate with each other. He felt entirely too comfortable caressing her at will. “I cannot call you Gideon.”
“You can,” he insisted. “You want to.” He kept stroking her jawline, and it made it impossible for her to think. Juliet already struggled with that.
“Even if that is true,” she told him. “I still will not.”
“Juliet,” he said softly. “Say my name. Say it like you mean to, and want to. You can do it.”
She shook her head. “No.”
He grinned. He was so darned insufferable. Instead, she stepped out of his reach and turned away from him. Juliet needed distance and there was only one way to achieve that. “I’m going to take my stroll in the garden now.” She put one foot in front of the other and started moving away from him. Juliet prayed he did not follow her, and at the same time she hoped he did. She was such a fool. He made her a fool.
The duke fell into step beside her. “If you insist on exploring the gardens, who am I to dissuade you? It is a lovely morning, and the gardens are equally lovely.”
“They are,” she agreed. “And it is.”
