Page 9 of Her Wicked Duke
The two of them, hidden in the shadows, while her mother’s grand Seasonal ball continued downstairs and nobody knew they were intertwined like this…
It stirred something deep inside her.
Anne’s hands gripped his lapels. What would happen if she pulled him closer? Would he kiss her the way the Earl might have if she had propositioned him? The way the Earl kissed those women?
Hungry, that is how it had looked. As if the Earl was starving and the women were something he could devour.
Anne’s eyes met Alexander’s, desire humming between them.
Do you hunger for me?she wished to ask.Would you devour me without ruining me?
Perhaps she might want him to ruin her.
She should not have been tempted by the thought, but she knew she was.
He leaned in closer, close enough that his breath fanned her neck, and she shuddered, her hands falling to her sides and her nails digging into her palms to stop herself from reaching for him again.
“You flush beautifully, Anne,” Alexander murmured.
And then his mouth was on her neck. She felt the brief brush of parted lips, the press of teeth, and she gasped and pushed him away.
She stumbled past him, reason winning out. Hesitating, she glanced back at him but then turned on her heel and rushed down the stairs, stopping by her brother’s study to catch her breath. Her body was heated, and arousal pooled between her legs.
Clapping a hand over her mouth, she took a moment to collect herself, and then she fanned herself with her hands. She willed the heat in her cheeks to dissipate before she made her way back to the ballroom.
What was that? What has he done to me?
On her way inside, she passed one of the ladies who had been outside with the Earl. Their gazes met, and Anne wondered if she looked as debauched as the lady did.
The lady gave Anne a secretive smile as if to say,We shall keep each other’s secrets, and Anne was scandalized as well as horrified that someone else thought she had indeed engaged in the same acts.
Moments later, Alexander brushed past her, all the teasing smiles gone from his lips. The lips that Anne had very nearly kissed. He left the house in a whirlwind of fury without another goodbye.
Anne walked into the dining room, trailing behind a group of young ladies hoping to be courted, wondering how she now stood with her prospects, and where Alexander fit into anything that happened after that night.
But most of all, she wondered if her brother’s inane request would have Alexander sticking to her side. She wished it would. She wished it would not.
She cursed herself for having such conflicted feelings. The Duke was wealthy and handsome, but he had a foul scowl, and clearly, her brother had never thought him up to her standards if he had not tried to match them before.
Yet, the thought of a secret affair tantalized her. As much as she yearned for the Earl’s attention, the way Alexander had looked at her sparked a fire in her belly. It was as if he had barely controlled his desire for her.
It was a fire that she wished to stoke, even if she knew it was wrong.
But Anne thought that made it all the more wonderful.
Chapter Four
“Take me out of here at once, Higgs!”
Alexander stormed out of the Angleton residence and climbed into his carriage, his arousal slowly abating, his anger simmering. He half wished he could take care of his stiff length right there in the carriage, or find a lady to assist, just so he did not have to deal with it any longer.
He did not need the lingering reminder of what he had almost done.
What was I thinking? So much for promising Christian…
His best friend had entrusted Anne to his care. That did not include fighting temptation during their very first reunion. But oh, her tongue had fired him up. Her snappish way with words that she had not had years before truly had riled him up.
He desired her and was furious with himself for desiring her. He loved a challenge and a woman who could give back and would not simply roll over until he told her to do so, but Anne was something else entirely.
