Page 11 of The Duke's Contract

“Yes,” Bre insisted trying to make her face as innocent as possible. Bre did not know how close Thomas was to his sister, but him railing against Henry’s presence would not be a good thing.

“Interesting,” Thomas said. “Well, I wouldn’t want to distract you from your work, but could I join you for a cocktail. I’m hiding from my mother and her continuous attempts to set me up with one of my sister’s dopey friends.” His comments made Bre laugh and distracted her from her previous jealousy. Thomas seemed to have an effortless way about him, which felt refreshing after several days of Henry’s intensity.

“Sure,” she said gesturing to her empty champagne glass. “I could use another drink, as long as you are okay with giving me a few talking points about your sister’s charity.”

Thomas laughed mirthfully. “I’d be glad to give you some information if I had it. Besides love, it looks like your boss is getting all the talking points for you.” He gestured over to where his sister giggled into Henry’s shoulder.

Bre’s stomach felt full of knots. Bre knew her job was to find Henry, a wife, but their intimate encounter flashed before her mind as she took in Henry and Sienna. She could not stop staring at the two of them. Everything was falling into place, so why did Bre feel sick.

“Breanne?’ Thomas questioned breaking her from her reverie.

“Sorry, Let’s get that drink,” she said.

Thomas extended his hand, and Bre joined him hoping that the third glass of champagne with a handsome Earl might ease the ache in her heart caused by a dastardly Duke.

* * *

Three full glasses of champagne later, and the warm liquid made Bre feel bubbly and giggly inside. She laughed at all of Thomas’ jokes, even the ones lacking even basic humor, and allowed herself to forget all about Duke Henry and the beautiful, perfect Sienna Marlborough. ‘Screw them and their perfect breeding,’ Bre thought to herself.

“Let’s get another drink,” Bre said quickly as her mood began to turn. Thomas grabbed her hand as Bre stumbled towards the waiter. Her four-inch heels caught the Oriental carpeting, and if it weren’t for Thomas, she would have tumbled to the floor.

“Perhaps, we should slow down,” Thomas said, holding Bre close to his chest in an attempt to keep her from falling over. In another situation, their embrace might be considered romantic, but nothing felt sexual about this embrace.

Bre pouted, “I don’t want to slow down.” Seeing Henry from afar all night made her down her champagne until the knot in her stomach began to unravel. Thomas felt nice against her, and he smelled like fresh linen, but she missed the feel of rough hands and the taste of scotch on her lips.

“Would you be interested in taking this party somewhere more private,” Thomas whispered in her hair. He was attracted to Bre, she could feel the evidence of that against her leg, but she felt nothing.

“That’s not a good idea,” she said, untangling herself from Thomas. Apart of her wanted nothing more than to go somewhere private and allow Thomas to make her forget Henry, but she’d need several more glasses of champagne and possibly some tequila before that felt like a good idea.

“If you insist,” Thomas said disappointedly. “I hope that I did not come on too strong, but I enjoyed our evening together,” he said earnestly.

Thomas was a nice guy. He was earnest and fun, but he did not make every nerve ending in Bre’s body stand at attention. “You’ve been great,” she told him sweetly, wanting to let him down easy. “But I should get back to work,” she told him.

He nodded as Bre began gathering her things. “I should make my way back to the party,” she said.

“Well, I will be here if you change your mind,” Thomas told her his bright blue eyes twinkling. Bre blushed before moving away from him and back towards the garden party.

She felt like she’d been away for hours, but checking her watch, she realized she was gone for less than an hour. ‘Explains, why I am so drunk after three glasses,’ she thought to herself as she worked to control her legs.

“Where have you been?” Henry asked as he slid next to her. His silent presence made her jump. She expected him to be with Sienna, not sneaking up on her.

“Damnit,” Henry growled as he grabbed Bre before she tumbled across the lawn. Her heel caught in the dirt as she tried to move away from him, and once again, she found herself nearly tumbling on her face. Bre made a mental note to eat more than canapés next time she shot back a bottle of expensive alcohol, not that she anticipated coming to another one of these things.

“Are you drunk?” he growled out as he righted her on her feet. Bre noted that he smelled like the expensive cologne he used and scotch, and she wanted to bury her face in his arms. Her mind clouded with the effects of alcohol, and she wasn’t sure what to say. She was drunk.

“We are leaving,” Henry growled as he was practically dragging her across the ground. The angry energy he exuded kept people away from him, and luckily, Sienna appeared too busy with hostess duties to notice Henry and Bre.

“Henry, you need to stay,” Are told him stumbling to keep up. He practically dragged her across the yard his long legs eating up the yards in quick fashion.

“Don’t give me orders,” Henry barked out. “We are leaving together. I’ll make excuses to Sienna later,” he told her. “Now, get into the car,” he ordered practically shoving her into the backseat of the town car which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Bre flopped down on the backseat, unsure of how to act or what to say. No man ever commanded her the way Henry did, and while it bothered her, she also felt herself heating up at his attention. The leather stuck to her sweaty shoulder, and she banged her head on the headrest as Henry slid in beside her. Despite her desire, she felt like an idiot. She shouldn’t have drunk as much as she did, and her only excuse was that she was jealous of a man who just wanted to fuck her. Still, she did not conduct herself like a working professional, and she ruined the evening.

“I’m sorry,” she bit out regretting her actions of the evening. Henry did not speak, and his silence made Bre feel small. She observed him nervous about what he would do. Henry undid his tie and unbuttoned his jacket all while rolling up the divider on the car.

“Undo your hair,” Henry ordered. His voice was so soft Bre nearly questioned if she heard him correctly. “Take it down now, Breanne,” he repeated his voice brooking no argument.

The alcohol lowered her inhibitions, and with the memory of his fingers between her legs, Bre decided not to fight his order and so, she released her hair from the clips holding it off her face. It tumbled down softly in waves.

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