Page 26 of The Duke of Desire
She looked at him, sitting just a few feet away. His dark gaze lingered on her, but it was inscrutable. She had no inkling what he was thinking. Which made what she was about to say all the more terrifying.
She ran her tongue along the suddenly dry roof of her mouth. “When you said you could change my life, what did you mean?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you really want to know?”
She nodded.
He pulled his legs up and leaned forward, sliding to the edge of the chair. When he spoke, it was dark and soft, but she heard every syllable. “I want to make you smile. Laugh, even. Although I can apparently do that with a well-placed treatise on cattle.” His lips curved up, captivating her even more. “And, if you’ll allow, I will ensure you’re satisfied in a way you’ve never been before.”
Satisfied? She was certain what he meant. “You’re talking about…sexual acts.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I’m talking about pleasuring you in whatever way you permit.”
“What if it’s just…talking to me?” She did love the things he said to her. He made her feel beautiful and special.
A voice in the back of her mind said this was Peter all over again. That Clare was just telling her what she wanted to hear so that he could get what he really wanted. Except he talked abouther. He’d said nothing about what he wanted.
She was also ten years older now, and she had no illusions about her future. She knew precisely what awaited her, and this could be her last chance to have something, if only for a short time.
He fixed her with a dark, provocative stare. “I meant what I said—whatever way you allow. Even if it’s just spending time with you. We can even discuss that treatise if you’d like.”
Yes, he seemed a man of honesty and integrity, even if he was famous for seduction.
Emmaline’s words haunted her brain:“You shouldn’t have to be alone.”
No, she shouldn’t.
Lifting her chin, Ivy looked him square in the eye. “A great source of calamity lies in regret and anticipation; therefore a person is wise who thinks of the present alone, regardless of the past or future.”
“Goldsmith.” His lips spread into a wicked smile.
“Yes.” She stood up, the treatise in her hand. “I’ll give you one chance to change my life, Clare. Just one.”
He unfolded himself from the chair, rising above her and stepping so close, she could feel the heat of his body. “Please call me West when we’re alone.” He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’ll accept your challenge. And I promise you that once won’t be enough.”
