Page 123 of The Good Duke
His brain stalled.
Panic set his stomach to roiling.
That would mean he missedPersephone.
Sweat beaded at his brow.
Stop!
There was nothing horrifying about that; she happened to be Simon’s long-lost friend, finally found. It was only natural that after their reunion and the bonding they’d done these weeks that he’d miss her when he—or she—left.
You’ll also miss the unabandoned way she came undone in your arms… Or the feel of her skilled fingers wrapped around your aching cock, the devil on Simon’s shoulder taunted.
Simon, like he was some untried youth, sprung hard in his trousers. He shifted in a bid to ease the discomfort and, worse, the tell-tale signs of his desire.
Despite himself, a wry laugh escaped him.
Here he stood, but moments away from meeting his potential future duchess, while sporting a cockstand that wouldn’t quit for another. His body’s reaction hardly hinted at friendship. At least not one that was purely platonic in nature anyway.
Simon briefly closed his eyes and sought to rein in his salacious thoughts about Persephone.
When he opened them, he caught the approach of a young lady buried under a parasol and, from under there, buried under an enormous bonnet.
He tipped his head sideways. Not justanylady.
The moment she reached him, a grin pulled at his lips. “Seph, is thatyouunder there?” he teased.
Chapter 23
As Persephone and Simon approached Lady Isabelle, Persephone walked several steps ahead of Simon. He appeared both content to keep a distance from Persephone and in no hurry to meet the young lady awaiting him.
And truth be told, Persephone was not eager to meetLord Silas.
From behind her big bonnet and from under her parasol, Persephone examined Lady Isabelle and Lord Silas, the Marquess of Bute, in Hyde Park. In the distance, some sixty yards away, brother and sister stood in wait.
Seemingly unbothered by the duke’s tardiness—and disrespect—Lady Isabelle, like the carefree child she’d once been, and still apparently was, happily tossed scraps of bread into the lake for the vibrant pink pelicans of Hyde Park.
The same, however, could not be said for the gentleman pacing the shore beside the young debutante.
Persephone’s formersweetheartstill had the face and physique of a fallen angel. Between his masculine beauty and effortless charm, Persephone hadn’t stood a chance against the allure of such a charismatic man.
After a broken heart and years of waiting for that organ to heal, which it eventually had, Persephone was but moments from coming face to face with the man who’d been responsible for both her finding herself unemployed and brokenhearted.
Time had since leant a hardness to his already chiseled features, but then betrayal had that effect on a man. She found some solace in discovering he’d been altered too.
She angled her head.
The franticness of the marquess’s movements, however, were at odds with the cool impassivity of his granite-hard jaw and steely expression.
Her stomach churned.
All hopes of finding him the genial, easygoing man who’d never have borne a grudge faded. The gallant, good-natured Silas of old had been replaced by someone she no longer recognized.
But then he’d never really possessed any of the traits that made you fall in love with him, a voice of reason reminded.
And Persephone had come to a place where she just wanted to get this moment over and done with—whatever the outcome may be.
She’d given Silas too much power over her, but along the way, she’d managed to reclaim it from him.
