Page 37 of The Duke of Fire
Her mind betrayed her with images that had the duke’s hands trailing her skin, his mouth pressing low and slow against her neck, his voice murmuring promises meant only for her.
She squeezed her thighs together, as if that could silence the pulse building between them.
“Y-you brought me into a den of libertines,” she hissed. “W-what is this place? This is not a ball, Your Grace.”
“No. I never said it was,” he replied, not looking bothered.
“Yes, you said we were going to a hunt.” Amelia hated that her voice had risen in pitch.
But nobody would care. Not really. The moans were getting louder, and even the quieter lovers were too preoccupied to notice them. Some masked figures from dark corners seemed to be staring at her and the duke, but she could not be too certain with half their faces covered.
“We are. I brought you to a hunt,” he confirmed, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
“What are they hunting?” she asked, her heart pounding as she realized even before he answered.
“Each other.”
Chapter 13
“Is this… is this what you do?” she asked, pulling away from him.
“Sometimes,” he replied, watching her closely.
She wanted to increase the distance between them. She should. But she remained a few inches away, still feeling the heat of his body.
“And why did you bring me here?” The answer dangled somewhere, but she wanted to hear it from his lips.
His gaze did not waver. “Because I wanted you to see the part of my world not bound by titles or expectation. A part ruled only by want. Because I wanted you to know what it feels like to be truly desired. To be pursued… properly.”
His voice had taken a husky tone, as if he were speaking to her in the privacy of a bedchamber where there were no rules but his, which might as well be given the house’s current situation.
“And what if I do not want to be caught?” she asked, breathless but defiant.
He stepped forward again—barely, but it was enough. Enough for her to feel him at the edges of her control.
“Then, run.”
When the game began, Amelia did not ask where to run. She did not need to. She soon found herself running, with the rules of the hunt unfurling in her chest as if she had done it before.
She ran outside, finding herself weaving through the maze of shadows and rose bushes in the estate’s vast gardens. Now, she knew why the hunt had to be done at night. The moonlight added intensity and mystery to the chase.
While a garden might normally feel like the widest open space with no place to hide, it did provide labyrinthine hedges. She also had to worry about her slippers crunching over grass, branches, and dried leaves. Even the mask gave her a more vivid view of her world.
To her horror, a giggle escaped her lips. She should be afraid. She was running away from the duke, but other guests were also in the chase. While she knew the basic rules, she could not be too certain that she was off limits to the other players.
Then, she heard them. Footsteps. They sounded heavier on the grass than hers, but whoever it was did not even try to hide that he was behind her. She whirled around to see who it was, the hem of her gown brushing against the bushes. Nothing. Nobody. Goosebumps rose all over her arms and legs, as the sudden silence made her heartbeat sound louder.
Then, as if by magic, he was suddenly there.
The duke seemed like he had come out of the shadows, or even from nowhere. There was no mistaking his build even as he worea mask. But what if it was somebody else? In the darkness of the night, anything seemed possible. She gasped. He was so close that she collided with his chest. His all too solid chest.
“I found you,” he murmured, his hands sliding to her arms to steady her.
It was him, after all. She felt relieved and thrilled at the same time.
“You must have cheated,” she whispered, breathless.
“Do you know the rules well enough to say that?” His voice was a low drawl, teasing and dark, edged with something sharper.
