Page 49 of Taken By the Duke of Stone

She laughed when his words trailed off, delighted by his speechlessness.

"I cannot wait to see the Duke's reaction," her cousin crowed.

"And the rest of theton's," his mother added conspiratorially.

Noah held out both his arms and said as regally as he could, "My ladies."

Dalton house was one of the largest houses in the city, with elaborate columns in front and a long staircase leading up to the front double doors.

The Hartfield carriage drew to a stop right at the foot of that staircase and Noah jumped down from the vehicle, releasing the carriage stairs and helping the ladies to descend.

The Daltons threw some of the most exclusive parties and luckily, Lavinia's new association with the Duke had made her a bit of a hot commodity, the invitations piling up in the tray in the front hall.

"Lady Hartfield, Lord Thornton, and Miss Lavinia Proctor," the liveried man announced, causing all eyes to swing towards them.

And then her family stepped aside to allow Lavinia to precede them. Shocked gasps and whispers tore through the crowd as the lady in red was revealed. Keeping her eyes forward and her shoulders squared, she began to descend the short stairs into the ballroom.

At the bottom of the stairs, she took one purposeful step to the side, right under the chandelier hanging there. Madame Vandeleur's genius was revealed as the dress came to life, sparkling and glittering, the hand-sewn beads that had been stitched into the dress catching the light.

"What an entrance," Noah whispered at her, "I did not think you had it in you."

Lavinia was barely listening to him, instead her focus was on the man across from the room who hadn't yet taken his eyes off her, not even once. Even from a distance, his gaze still had the power to disarm her completely.

She watched him throw back the contents of his glass before peeling away from the men standing with him.

He stalked towards her, a predator who had just caught sight of its prey. Excitement and a hint of danger spiked inside her while she tried to appear unaffected.

"Are you even listening to me?" Her cousin's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked over at him to see her staring down at her with amusement. "You can at least try to make it less obvious that you feel something for him," then he looked over at the approaching man and chuckled. "Between the both of you, I don't know who is more obvious."

She cleared her throat and looked away, "it's not what you think."

"What do you mean?"

But the Duke of Wyld had already caught up to them.

"Your Grace," Noah bowed smartly and then disappeared into the crowd. She guessed it was to meet those dull never-to-do-wells.

Lady Hartfield and Lavinia dropped into a deep curtsy, "Your Grace."

He nodded at their show of deference, but his gaze still held Lavinia's captive, "you are breathtaking."

"All thanks to the modiste," she laughed.

"It's not her, it is you," he said in a voice that was too low for the older woman at her side to overhear. "Yes, the dress is stunning, but it takes a beautiful woman to turn a good dress into art."

"Are you saying I look like art right now?"

He took her hand in his, holding it out, his large hands dwarfing hers. She wondered what those hands would feel like holding hers without the barrier of their gloves.

And then he bent over her hand and skimmed his lips over the back of her hand, "your first waltz is mine."

The possessiveness in his voice did something to her. A flash of heat raced down her spine and she bit down on her bottom lip.

"It'll be a real struggle to keep my dance card from being filled up," she teased.

"Mine," he reiterated before walking away. She watched him go and only when he disappeared into the crowd did she look away.And it was just in time too, because Jenny appeared at her side the next moment, looking a tad pale.

"You, my friend, have been holding out on me," she chided, then ran a wide eyed stare down her frame. "That dress is divine and you wear it so well. Oh, Lavvie, you look so gorgeous, I barely even recognize you, and yes, I know that I could barely recognize my own self in the mirror without my spectacles."

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