Page 8 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
He was asking her to marry him for a reason: to get his grandmother to cease her meddling and stop the endless parade of limpid, guileless ladies like Lady Susannah Winter that the Dowager Duchess was throwing at him.
A marriage of convenience would be far better than indulging the desire between them which would probably peter out quickly anyway and just make things awkward.
“I simply need a wife to satisfy family needs,” he said slowly. “I want a marriage of convenience too. So that condition is fine with me.”
Miss Audley looked so relieved that he almost felt irritated, even though it was what he wanted as well. He had just told her so. But suddenly, he couldn’t bear for it to be left at that. Not this evening.
“Have you ever been kissed?” he asked her softly.
Her eyes widened with alarm. “No.”
“Then I propose starting ourcourtshipby showing you how.”
Chapter Four
“Did you just say you wanted tokissme?”
To Catherine’s dismay, her voice came out like a high-pitched squeak. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and her mouth had gone dry. Not to mention her head was reeling with confusion.
So many unexpected things had happened this evening that she was having a hard time processing it. She had been caught out by this gentleman—the Duke of Newden, no less—who had a scandalous reputation with the ladies. And instead of exposing her plan and ruining her, he had shockingly asked her to marry him instead.
And she had accepted. She still had no idea why.
You do know why, insisted a small voice in the back of her head.It is because he can save you and your brother from ruin. Thewinnings from tonight will help, but they won’t cover the whole debt. Marrying him will wipe the slate completely clean.
Yes, she had agreed to marry him, which made her just as bad as all the mincing, mindless young ladies she encountered at Society balls, who made no bones about the fact they were hunting wealthy husbands. She had never understood them.
“My Lady?” His voice was deep, persuasive, and full of fire. “What do you say?”
Catherine jumped. Her nerves were frayed. Just being near him like this—so close, and he was inching closer by the second—was making her feel like a startled horse. He really was handsome. In fact, he was the most handsome man she had ever met… but she wasn’t about to tellhim that. He was a known rake. She didn’t want to just fall at his feet like all those other ladies.
Her skin started to tingle, and she felt a thrill course down her spine. Her body was reacting so strangely—she had never felt this way around a gentleman before. It was most alarming. And intoxicating, as well.
Be careful. Refuse him. Do not let him kiss you. He has agreed to all your terms for marriage. Escape now while you have the chance.
But she couldn’t move. It was as if she was bewitched—her feet were rooted to the ground. His scent enveloped her. It was distinctly masculine and incredibly arousing. His distinct blue-green eyes bored into her own, pinning her to the spot.
But then again, she reallydidwant him to kiss her.
It wasn’t just that she had never been kissed before and was a tiny bit curious about it. It was because he was just so alarmingly attractive that she couldn’t seem to resist.
It was already the strangest evening of her life. Why not end it like this?
“Well,” she said at last in an almost prim voice, “we are going to get married after all…”
She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence, for he had already put his arms around her, pulling her towards him as well as into the shadowy recesses of the room where they could not be seen. Their bodies collided so fiercely that she instinctively let out a cry of alarm.
Her head fell back as his lips crashed into her own so eagerly that she gasped. For a full moment, she couldn’t even think, let alone feel. She was too amazed by the sheer fact that this devilishly attractive gentleman was actuallykissingher.
My very first kiss. And I am in a gambling hell dressed as a boy. Who would have thought?
But slowly, sensation started to overwhelm her, abruptly halting her thoughts. His lips were hard but hot and fierce. Another shiver ran down her spine. Instinctively, her lips parted beneathhis, just as his tongue, as slithery and soft as silver, slipped into her mouth.
A stab of desire jolted through her, zigzagging through her body. She whimpered, clinging to him, feeling like she was drowning, melting into a warm liquid pool. Sheneverwanted it to end.
But suddenly, clanging bells were ringing in her head, jolting her out of the delicious torpor. She was in a gambling hell, dressed like a boy, kissing a rake. Even if he had asked her to marry him.
What if some other gentleman walked by and saw them like this? What if she was recognized? Apart from the fact that Oliver would be growing impatient, waiting for her in the carriage. Her brother hadn’t been able to accompany her inside on account of the fact that some of those ‘Captain Sharps’ he had warned her about were baying for his blood and would probably bodily harm him if he showed his face.
