Page 78 of The Heiress Gets a Duke
“I want to go back with you.”
She couldn’t stay in London and risk running into him again.
***
Congratulations, Hellion. That was a hell of a fight.” Gabrielle’s voice with the faintest hint of a French accent cut through the din of the crowd.
Evan reached out, snaking his arm around her waist to bring her closer. She had been with him from the very first public match, and the men in the crowd seemed to love her, routinely getting louder and betting harder when she was present. “A hell of a fight for Wilkes,” he said.
The cheers grew louder at the embrace, obscuring what she said in answer. She leaned up and placed a kiss on his mouth. It wasn’t an unusual display of affection after the win. What was unusual was the fact that she deepened it, her tongue brushing across his lips in an effort to have him open to her. They hadn’t been lovers in years, but he might have obliged her and played along if something about the way she had looked at him in the heartbeat before their mouths touched hadn’t raised suspicion. Her gaze had beentoo intent, too full of meaning. This wasn’t her usual playfulness. Then she tugged the hair at the back of his head, curling her fingers in the locks in the same way August did, and it suddenly felt like a mistake. Too intimate and with the wrong person. Placing his other hand on her waist, he gently pulled back. Her eyes reflected a passion he hadn’t seen in them since he’d left her bed.
She leaned forward to speak near his ear. “Come home with me tonight, Evan.”
Had she asked him after the last fight, he would have said yes. They had drifted apart as lovers to pursue others, but the attraction was still present. She was giving and adventurous in bed, and he carried nothing but fond memories of their time together. But she wasn’t right in his arms now. She was beautiful and perfect in her own way, but she was thin where his hands expected August’s curves, and too tall when his body longed to tuck her against him. She was not August.
He wanted to take August home. To have her soothe his wounds and help him in his bath. Then he wanted to spend the rest of the night with her under him in his bed, showing her all the ways they could find pleasure together.
“What happened with Ware?” he asked.
She shrugged one shoulder, and he caught a glimmer of pain in her eyes. “He wasn’t who I thought he was.”
Evan could have told her that Ware was a scoundrel and would never return her affection, but he had not wanted to ruin the small bit of happiness she had found.
“Now that he’s gone, we could amuse ourselves for a few nights,” she said.
Touching her cheek to gentle his refusal, he said, “I am sorry, Gabrielle, but I want August.” After their talk the day before, Evan had been willing to let August walk away from him. But that resolve had lasted for all of twenty-four hours. He wanted her in his life, and he planned to try to win her.
“We need to get going. You never know when Wilkes’s friends might put in an appearance,” said Leigh, coming to a stop beside Gabrielle outside the ropes.
It was true. They made certain to not linger after all ofthe public matches outside the club. The environment was largely uncontrollable and very prone to disgruntled gang members lurking to take back money that had been lost.
“Do you love her, then?” she asked.
He shrugged. Perhaps he did. Yes, if living without her made him feel so empty, he did. “Come back to the club with us and celebrate.”
She nodded and allowed Leigh to lead her away toward one of the carriages waiting out back. Evan jumped out over the top of the ropes to where his friends were waiting. Thorne clapped him on the back in congratulations and tossed him a towel. As Evan brushed off the layer of sweat and blood, he looked toward the crowded riser. August was not there. He knew because he had looked for her as soon as he had entered the warehouse. Still, he could not help but look one more time, hopeful that he had somehow missed her. Foolish of him, but he had hoped she would come. Disappointment was bitter on his tongue.
“The crowd is becoming restless,” said Thorne, nodding toward the side door.
Evan agreed and took a last lingering look before following him. His boots were waiting in the carriage along with his shirt and coat. He would take a bath in his room at the club before joining in the celebration. The truth was he did not feel like celebrating. He should have been ecstatic, and in the moment when Wilkes had fallen, he had been, but the feeling had been fleeting.
The same emptiness that had been present ever since he walked out of August’s life had come swirling back. He missed her.
Giving her freedom had been the right thing to do, but his noble instincts only extended so far. He wanted her to be his. That last kiss between them had been telling. She had wanted it as much as he had, and her eyes had shown genuine sadness as he was leaving.
He was a duke who was not in need of a wife but who wanted one. He laughed, drawing Leigh’s attention as he swung himself up into the carriage. His ribs ached from Wilkes’s blows, but he ignored them.
“Wilkes hit you too hard?” Leigh asked.
Evan could not stop the smile that spread across his face. “I am going to ask August to marry me.”
Leigh laughed without mirth and glanced at his brother, who was getting into the carriage. “We should have the physician examine him.”
Thorne smiled as he sat across from them, stretching his long legs out before him. “He seems fine to me. Inherit a fortune and then sign the Crenshaw contract as insurance.”
“This is not about the contract. I only want her.”
Leigh looked at him as if he was mad, but Thorne raised a brow. “Words I never thought to hear you say.”
