Page 80 of Married to the Icy Duke
That is dangerous.
His gaze held hers like a magnet, and she didn’t quite dare look away. The world narrowed to just the two of them.
The dance required that she step away, spinning once, twice, three times under his arm. She could feel his stare on her like a physical weight.
It was dangerous, the desire. Charlotte was sure of it. It complicated what should have been an otherwise ordinary situation. It wastroublesome.
He had promised, of course, that he would keep his distance from her and her bed once they were married, but what if he chose not to honor that request? Would she object?
In fact, might shewanthim to break his word?
The music stopped abruptly, and Charlotte almost carried on dancing. She staggered, losing her balance, and might have tripped if it weren’t for Isaac’s firm hand in hers, pulling her upwards and towards him. She thumped against his chest with a tinyoof.
“Careful, there,” Isaac murmured, quiet enough for only her to hear.
Applause broke out, and the other dancers began to laugh and talk. The musicians were preparing for another song. The celebration, of course, had only just begun.
I cannot dance with him again,Charlotte thought, heart thumping. She felt as though she could not breathe. Her skin prickled, and she felt as though she were stepping on clouds. Stepping on clouds would be a surreal experience, with a fabulous view, but how dangerous! One wrong step could send her tumbling to the ground, to a rude and painful awakening.
Before she could make her escape, however, Isaac gripped her upper arm and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Meet me on the first-floor landing in two minutes,” he murmured, his voice low and deep. “If you like, that is.”
Without another word, and without waiting for her to reply, he turned on his heel and strode across the ballroom. In a moment, he was swallowed up by the sheer volume of people, leaving Charlotte feeling as though she had stepped on the wrong cloud and had begun her descent.
She followed, of course.
For a moment, as Charlotte hurried up the stairs, she was sure that Isaac was not there at all. What point his deception would serve, she could not decide, but …
He stepped out of the shadows, seeming taller and broader than usual.
Shivers rolled down Charlotte’s spine. A fluttering sensation gathered in her stomach. Quick as a flash, an image popped into her mind of Isaac, holding her gaze, pressing his forefinger and middle finger against his tongue. Heat sparked down her spine. She swallowed thickly.
“Well, here I am,” she responded coolly. “You told me to meet you here. I am not sure what the secrecy was for.”
He gave a wry smile. “You think that a bride and groom disappearing together, early, on their wedding day, would not attract the wrong kind of attention?”
She sniffed. “That is a fair point.”
He took a step towards her, eyes darkening. “You do not want children. That I can understand. I can promise you that no children will appear if you only trust me, my dear duchess. After all,somethingmust be done. It is our wedding night, after all.”
Charlotte reddened. She swallowed dryly. “Trust you? That seems like a dangerous choice.”
He chuckled. “And here I thought that you were not afraid of me, Charlotte.”
He took a step backwards, pushing open a door which she had not even noticed. As if they were tethered together by a silk ribbon, Charlotte followed.
Behind the door was a long, thin room, a cosy little nook which seemed to have been transformed into a humble storage room. It was untidy, cluttered with trinkets, and in the far corner, a large, heavy-looking bag of what seemed to be full ofsandwas hanging from the ceiling, secured with a chain.
A single candle burned on the countertop, throwing dancing shadows across the room. A bed was pushed into the corner by a wide, curtainless window, just about large enough for two.
“I sleep here, on occasions,” Isaac said, his voice tight in his throat. “When I am coming home late, and do not wish to wake up the whole house. I can step in the door, walk straight up the stairs, and here I am. I suppose a man is entitled to have more than one bedroom in his own house, eh?”
He pushed the door closed with abang, and Charlotte shivered. He took a step closer, close enough to press two fingers on the underside of her chin, tilting her face up towards him.
“Perhaps we should have a celebration of our own, duchess,” he murmured. The candlelight flared across his glossy eyepatch. “Unless, of course, you’d rather return to the party downstairs?”
Charlotte swallowed, finding herself unable to tear her gaze from his face and his single, gleaming eye.
