Page 58 of Duchess By Accident
Still the Duke said nothing and the intensity of his silence felt like a hard embrace. Natalie found words tumbling out of her mouth. “I am not sure if I will be able to remember who everyone is. I was never really very good with names.”
“I had thought to perhaps write some notes on my arm, but then what if my gloves slipped and people saw them?” She gestured to her forearm as though to demonstrate. “So then I thought I would just focus on the Dowager Duchess, but at a certain point I just… ”
She trialled off, Adrian’s gaze still fixed on her. “I am sorry – I am rambling. Perhaps this was a silly idea. Maybe I should have chosen a more modest dress… If I had had more time perhaps –”
She went to turn from him but he caught her hand in his and gently brought her to face him. She swallowed, the smell of his cologne filling her head and making it swim.
“You look utterly breathtaking.” His voice was hoarse. “Even more than on our wedding day. There is not a woman in England—no, the whole world, who could hold a candle to your radiance.”
His eyes seemed to drink her in and the butterflies in her stomach seemed to spread through every part of her body. She shivered under the intensity of his gaze, her lips parting.
The carriage stopped, and he looked away from her. Wordlessly he pulled her from the carriage, leading her up the stairs. He towered above everyone, and his height made her feel dainty for the first time in her life.
She found she quite liked it. They paused at the entrance to the grand ballroom, and Natalie let out a breath she had not realised she had been holding.
“Are you ready?” Adrian asked her, his voice soft.
Natalie nodded, drawing strength from the feeling of his hand in hers. She watched as her husband signalled to be announced.
The doors opened, and at once Natalie felt over a hundred eyes flit to her. Her heart pounded, but she stood tall, choosing not to mimic Adrian’s coldness.
She would be the fire to his ice. Two opposites, drawn together in a spellbinding show.
“Announcing, Adrian and Natalie Stone, the Duke and Duchess of Blackwood.” A man’s voice called out.
“It is time to make them eat their words, little Thief. Let us give them a show they will never forget.” Adrian murmured, so close to her that his breath tickled her cheek.
They walked down the stairs, and as they did, every eye seemed to follow them. The music began, Adrian swept into a low bow.
“May I have the honour of this dance?” his eyes glittered, his hand outstreched.
Chapter Eighteen
“Ifeel like I cannot breathe. They are all staring at me, waiting for me to fail.” Natalie muttered as they danced..
Adrian drank her in, her perfume flooding his senses. They waltzed, their bodies perfectly attuned to one another. There was a fluid grace to Natalie’s movements that was utterly spellbinding. Her nerves and little fidgets seemed somehow endearing.What is wrong with me?
“You will not fail.” He answered, his voice huskier than he had expected. “I will not let you fail.”
“Is that a promise, Dear Fox?” Natalie’s eyes held his in place, and there was an earnestness to her question that twisted at his heart. “Is it really in your power to promise such a thing?”
Adrian saw a man approaching them, his eyes fixed on Natalie. Deftly, he swirled them away, his grip tightening around herinfinitesimally as he fought the roaring monster that had sprung to life in his chest.
She arched an eyebrow at him. His heart thundered in his chest, the warmth of her spreading through him, even through all the layers of fabric. Another man approached them, and he spun them away once more, clamping down a growl that threatened to escape.
Where has my control gone?
“Are you going to sweep me from every man for the rest of the night?” Natalie frowned at him, spots of colour on her cheeks even as irritation was plain on her face.
Adrian nodded curtly, swallowing to keep his voice somewhat level. “Yes. Tonight, all your dances are mine. Let them watch and wish that you were theirs. Let them burn for you.”But they will not have you.The thought of another man so much as looking at Natalie, let alone dancing with her, made Adrian want to snap him like a twig.
Her eyes widened, and he thought she would object, but instead she simply nodded. “I suppose that saves me having to fight off the line of women who are staring daggers at me.”
“Are you worried, Little Thief, that they might steal me from your side?” he flirted, a part of him desperate to get back to more familiar, safer ground.
“Why would I be worried? You are not truly mine to steal after all.” There was a tightness to her voice, something beneath her casual tone that he could not quite place.
“As far as they know, I am.” Adrian scowled at another man who was approaching them, and saw with some satisfaction that the man turned tail and swiftly left in the opposite direction.Perhaps there is something to letting a little anger show once in a while.
