Page 26 of Dukes Are Forever
And they both knew it.
"Are you daring me to try?"
She set one hand to his chest and pushed.
He stepped back.
"Be careful, Your Grace, that I do not consider my own attempt. I'm not the only one who can fall."
Malloryn captured her hand and held it there, where she could feel the thump of his heart. "I should like to see you try."
A breathless moment extended as they beheld each other.
Adversaries always.
But for the first time he felt something else between them. He'd been furious when she'd first trapped him into marriage, but there'd always been a tiny little part of him that had been intrigued.
Nobody got the better of the Duke of Malloryn.
But Adele had.
The constant sparring between them grated at first, and yet he had to admit it had become a little bit of a game between them. Now this....
He had a horrible feeling he might have finally met his match in this woman.
Lifting her gloved fingers to his lips, he brushed his lips there, soft and decadently slow, even as he never took his eyes from her.
"What are you suggesting?" she murmured.
"War."
"Isn't that what we've been engaging in all along?"
"Not like this." He slowly turned her wrist, mouth whispering over the thin black silk that hid her pulse point from him. "Carnal warfare. The first to surrender loses. I'll even allow you a head start. You dictate how far each encounter goes."
"That's too kind of you."
"You're the one who said you were innocent," he pointed out. "It seems I have an unfair advantage."
His cock strained against the placket of his trousers. He'd said it to give himself the luxury of extending this chase between them—to give himself time to discover if his wife was innocent or dangerous. But the flex of his cock warned him: Adele was dangerous in more ways than one.
Because he wanted her.
Here.
Now.
And desire was possibly the only thing that could undo him.
"Innocent of pleasure, perhaps. Not of men's desires. Or their arrogance. I accept your deal. You were right," she said with a devilish smile. "You did make this worthwhile."
Then she set her hand against his chest and pushed insistently.
"But since I am in control of our game, it seems I must decline tonight's advances. Tonightyoucan go unfulfilled."
He trapped her hand there. "You don't accept my apology?"
"I'm fairly certain I didn't hear one."
