Page 43 of His Grace, the Duke
She gave him a steely look. “First tell me what happened with Callum Barbridge.”
He relaxed his hold on her. “His family wealth is utterly spent. The family must retrench. They’ve already vacated Glenrose Park. Poor Cal said if they can’t turn it around, they’ll likely lose the London house as well.”
Retrenchment was common, unfortunately. Lords often lived outside their means, ruining their families and their estates at the gaming tables, or betting on risky speculations andlosing it all. She might feel sorrier for Lord Barbridge if she knew the man... she certainly felt for poor Lady Barbridge.
“Are those the only three you met?”
“Yes, but James put out an alert at White’s and Brooks’ to send him word if and when others appear,” he explained. “Between that and the invitations for the engagement party, we should wrangle several more eligible bachelors.”
“Good,” she murmured, giving his hair another stroke.
He glanced up at her, his grey eyes dancing with intensity in the firelight. “So... are you going to tell me about your evening ride with Tom through a perilous thunderstorm?”
She stilled. “Mrs. Robbins told you, then.”
“Oh yes, she had much to say on the matter,” he replied, shifting off her lap to sit up. He turned to face her, one arm slung across the back of the sofa, which opened the “V” in his robe even wider.
“Eyes up here, love,” he said with a smirk, tipping her chin up with his finger.
She didn’t bother blushing. The energy he radiated was unmistakable. She knew exactly what he wanted. She also knew whatshewanted, what she’d been aching for since she’d first gotten a taste.
He brushed his fingers along her neck. “Did you have a nice time with Tom?” He was fishing, and they both knew it.
“Not as nice as it could have been,” she replied, closing her eyes as his fingers trailed down, stopping just above the tie of her chemise.
He tugged her robe open so he could place a kiss on her exposed collarbone. Then he flicked her braid over her shoulder, repeating the kiss on the other side. “What happened?”
She arched into him, turning her face away to expose more of her neck. “We were... interrupted.”
His hand worked the knot of her robe as he kissed her chest. “Interrupted?”
“Yes,” she breathed, raising both hands to rest on his shoulders. “A statue fell.”
He tugged the robe off her shoulders, sliding a hand inside her chemise to cup her breast. “Falling statues,” he murmured, kissing the swell of her breast. “Sounds dangerous.”
Heavens, but this man knew exactly how to stoke her fires. She ran both hands through his hair, holding him to her as he lowered his mouth, teasing her nipple through the thin fabric of her chemise. “She was pushed—ah—”
He looked up at her with those hooded, stormy eyes. “And if no statues were pushed? What might have happened then?” He used both hands to loosen the chemise, giving it a gentle tug until it slid down her arms, exposing her breasts to the chill of the room.
She loved the way he looked at her, feeling his eyes on her. To be the object of his desire was intoxicating. She glanced down, following his heated gaze. Her skin glowed in the firelight as he took a breast in each of his hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. She arched into him, relishing the exquisite jolt that traveled from the tips of her nipples straight to her core.
“You didn’t answer me, love,” he murmured. “If no statues were pushed?”
“Burke . . .”
He glanced up, his thumbs still rubbing circles against her soft skin. He raised one of his dark brows in silent question.
“I want him.”
The words settled between them. The fire crackled, casting golden light dancing across both their faces.
His jaw hardened slightly as his eyes narrowed. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
“I want him,” she repeated, trying to keep the trembling from her voice. “I’m aching with want of him. Burke, I need it. Need you both.”
He released a slow exhale, dropping his hands away. “There is no going back from this. If I leave this room... if we do this...”
“I know,” she whispered, brushing her fingers over his lips.
