Page 4 of A Bargain with the Rakish Duke
The footsteps grew louder, and a shadow moved across the room.
“Excuse me,” she began. “I?—”
Her words caught in her throat as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.
Standing before her was a man.
A man who wore no shirt.
“What are you doing here?” he barked, his voice deep and authoritative.
Chapter Two
“What areyoudoing here?” the woman stammered, her voice trembling.
Kenneth stood in his chambers, staring at the intruder who had dared to invade his private space.
As she gulped, he noticed the delicate pearl drop necklace that dangled in her décolletage, the tiny pearls glistening in the dim light.
The sight of her in a lavender gown was doubtlessly designed to ensnare a man’s attention. Her beauty was undeniable, the gown hugging her curves perfectly.
She flushed a deep crimson that on some women might not be attractive, but on her, it made her appear innocent and quite fetching. He squashed that feeling immediately.
“This ismyroom,” he asserted.
“I…”
He strode across the room with purposeful steps, closing the distance between them.
His gaze never left her face, assessing her reaction, watching her discomfort.
He towered over her, forcing her to look up at him.
“If this is a ploy to seduce me, My Lady, it is failing miserably. Well, not miserably. You are quite… tempting,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm and intrigue.
The thought that one of his old drinking chums from his misspent youth might have sent her to him for a night of pleasure crossed his mind. Perhaps they thought it would be amusing to see the once notorious rake settled into a life of domesticity, or maybe they believed he needed a distraction from his duties.
The idea irritated him, making him even more determined to uncover her true purpose here.
She took a step back, her eyes wide with fear and indignation.
“I assure you I had no such intention,” she declared, her voice gaining a measure of steadiness. “I was simply trying to find my room.”
Kenneth’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing her. “Your room, you say? And which room might that be?”
She hesitated, clearly uncertain. “I… I believe it is just down the hall, and I must have taken a wrong turn.”
“Indeed,” he replied, arching an eyebrow. “And how convenient that your wrong turn led you tomyprivate chambers.”
“I apologize. I left the ball in such a hurry… and got lost, and…”
She took in the sight of him without a shirt, the color rising to her cheeks again. She bit her lip and quickly averted her eyes.
“Could you at least put on a shirt in the presence of a lady?”
Kenneth raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “I didn’t realize my attire, or lack thereof, would cause such distress. Does it bother you that much?”
She straightened her back, meeting his gaze with as much composure as she could muster.
