Page 4 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
She looked back at the man and realized what set him apart from all the others.
“You do not wear a mask,” she said, studying him carefully.
She could see his perfectly chiseled features, as if he were made of stone. His brow was strong, though furrowed as if she were a problem he needed to solve. His cheekbones were perfectlysculpted, leading to a strong jaw. Her eyes drifted to his full lips, to the strong chin that squared off the rest of his face.
Part of her wondered what it would be like to run her finger over his plump lips, but she shook the thought away.
God, what she had witnessed at thatbook clubwas clearly affecting her. She should pray.
But to do that, she would have to stop thinking of anything else. And she couldn’t. Not when his skin was so perfectly smooth that she wondered if it would feel as cool as the statues outside the Earl of Riley’s estate—yet another reminder of how she ended up in his presence.
Still, it was his eyes that drew her in. They were the deepest shade of brown she had ever seen, so dark they were almost black. In this lighting, they appeared larger than they had in the library. While the color was warm, he fixed her with a cold stare that put the color at odds with his expression.
He took a seat behind the desk in the center of the room. With a sigh, he said, “I do not require one. And you will remove yours as well so that I might see who has happened upon my club without an invitation.”
Margaret sank into the chair across from the desk, her curiosity once more getting the better of her. Prolonging the time she could spend at this club was of the utmost importance. Was the Earl still searching for her? Would he find her if she departed so soon?
Every minute counted to keep her out of the Earl’s clutches. She was desperate to stay, if only for an hour or so.
“Why do you not require a mask?” she asked instead.
“Everyone here knows me already.” The man shrugged, leaning back in his chair as if she should know who he was.
Perhaps if she were a lady of the ton, she would know who he was. But Margaret was an outsider, and she never wanted to be one more than she did right now.
“I do not know who you are. Who are you?” she asked.
“The King of Olympus.” His voice was bold and commanding.
She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. How could he be the king of Olympus? Margaret knew only one person who was the King, and she said as much.
“Do you mean that you are Zeus?” She furrowed her brow.
A convent education might be thorough, but it had never touched on dangerous-looking men with commanding voices.
“That would not turn out well for you.” The man smirked at her, but she did not know what he could possibly mean by that. “Remove your mask, My Lady. It is time to see who thought shecould intrude on a private club. You cannot remain hidden from me forever.”
Margaret tried to think of an excuse to keep her mask on. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had been caught fairly. There would be no getting out of this without revealing she had no invitation.
The flush crept back into her cheeks, but she carefully untied the mask from around her face.
As the mask dropped from her face, she tried to be brave and look the man in the eye. If she could pretend well enough, maybe he would allow her to stay in this study until the need to escape had passed.
“What is your name?” he asked. His gaze lingered on her face as he tried to place her, furrowing his brow in confusion.
“You first,” Margaret said.
She dared to look him right in the eyes and straightened her spine, shoulders squared so that she had a perfect posture. Even if she could not be brave, she could at least appear confident.
“Leonard Hunton, the Duke of Devishire.”
“Oh, so you are one of the Beasts?”
Margaret was starting to gain some clarity into the situation. This man must be friends with Theresa’s husband. Surely that meant he could not be all bad, even if that was how he wanted to portray himself.
“Excuse me?”
“You know, the ton’s Beasts. The Queen issued an edict for you. Like my best friend’s husband, Aaron. But he is not so beastly after you get to know?—”
