Page 51 of Healing the Duke's Desires
With every movement, every twirl, every fleeting glance she stole, he fell deeper in love with her. He couldn’t wait for the music to change and bring the separation of this dancing couple, after which, he vowed to make sure that the marquess’ hands didn’t touch Emily’s again for the rest of the evening.
Chapter 29
Emily felt as if her dance with the marquess had been slowly draining her of her energy, as if she had been drowning underneath the man’s heavy plans of their future together and the curious eyes following them everywhere. The only thing keeping her alive was Alexander.
Her thoughts never strayed far from him. With every note of the music, her anticipation grew until, finally, the marquess relinquished the grip he held around her waist, letting her go. Emily felt as if her cage had been opened, and she was now more certain than ever that she would not be allowing that man to cage her again.
She rushed to the refreshments table in an effort to find Sarah and Henry, but even after a rather careful examination of the entire ballroom and all the faces in it, she couldn’t find them. She had no idea where they might have disappeared off to. But one thing was clear.
They didn’t wish to be found, and Emily would keep it that way. If their mother asked about Sarah’s whereabouts, she would simply come up with something plausible.
She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Her thoughts had been focused on Sarah, and she turned around, smiling.
“I caught you!” The words spilled out of her lips, but much to her surprise, it was not Sarah at all.
“You did?” Alexander smiled.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Emily blushed. “I thought you were Sarah. I couldn’t seem to find her.”
“Would like to look for her?” he asked.
That would have made a good excuse to be alone with him. And being alone with him made her mind come up with all sorts of mischievous scenarios, enough that she could not decide which she preferred more. She almost chuckled but managed to stifle the urge to do so. “No, no. I’m sure she is all right.” She looked at him expectantly. His next question did not disappoint.
“I was hoping you would do me the honor of having the next dance,” he asked, his voice laced with the same sort of longing bubbling underneath the surface of her mind.
A thrill ran through Emily as she placed her hand in his without even thinking. Her fingers tingled at the touch. “Of course,” she replied, her heart all aflutter as they joined the other dancers in the center of the ballroom.
While with the marquess, she could feel the curious eyes like small arrows being show at her from all directions, dancing with Alexander made all those eyes fade away. They did not exist any longer. She couldn’t care less whether they were looking at her or not, and with what intention.
Their connection was immediate, and as they swayed to the gentle rhythm of the waltz, there was no denying the burning desire between them. Their eyes met, and in that moment, the world around them seemed to fade away. It was just the two of them, lost in the enchantment of the music, their bodies moving in perfect harmony.
“Have you taken up painting again?” she couldn’t help but wonder, remembering the passion with which he had spoken about it, and how disappointed she was that he had decided to give it up.
He gave her a strange look, but immediately softened. “A little,” he said.
“That is wonderful,” she said with sparkling eyes. “I am very happy to hear that. One shouldn’t lock away one’s talents, but rather use them, relish them.”
“Painting comes from the heart,” he told her, which she already knew.
“It can also mend it,” she replied, hoping she had not crossed any boundaries with her comment.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. His presence, his manly scent, the way he stared right at her made her entire body shiver with delight. When he would swirl her to the sound of the music, her breath caught in her throat, their faces inches apart.
How she longed to kiss him again, to feel his hands on her body, caressing her. The thought made her entire body burn. Tonight, she needed to prove not only to herself but also to fate that she would not become the marquess’ wife. She would not allow herself to become that. She belonged to Alexander, heart, soul, and body.
As the final notes played, their dance came to an end. A frantic thought seared her mind in two. What if she lost him in the crowd? What if they kept him away from her? What if she didn’t get the chance to speak to him or dance with him again?
No. She had to make her own destiny. She had to be the writer of this evening’s events, no matter what the outcome would be. Before their hands untangled, she leaned closer to him.
In a hushed voice, she whispered, “Meet me outside, beneath the moonlit gazebo.”
She had no idea where this scandalous proposal had come from. She had no idea how her mind conceived of it or how her lips managed to find the right words to say this out loud. But she desperately wanted to see him alone. From the way he looked at her, she knew he wanted the same.
Instead of a response, he smiled at her, squeezing her hand. A silent agreement. Her words were a promise, a secret shared between them, and she hoped this clandestine rendezvous would allow them to explore the depths of their feelings and the possibilities that lay ahead.
She separated from him reluctantly, her body silently screaming against this outrage, but they would soon be reunited under the moonlit sky. And it was so. She had no idea how long it had been.
But the moment he let her go, she rushed through the crowd, elbowing her way to the door. After what felt to be both an eternity and merely a blink of an eye later, Emily and Alexander found themselves alone in a secluded garden gazebo.
