Page 27 of Dukes Are Forever
Her smile glittered as brightly as the diamonds around her throat.
"'Til tomorrow then." Malloryn couldn't deny it wasn't disappointment that filled him, but interest.
He allowed her to escape.
"Dream of me," she whispered, backing away from the folly, lantern-light gleaming on her blue skirts. "All alone, wearing nothing more than my diamonds."
Why had he ever thought inexperience took away her edge?
"Iwill," he promised darkly.
And then she turned and dashed away through the gardens, glancing back over her shoulder, just once, to make sure he was watching.
Malloryn felt his weight shifting forward, the predator within him drawn to chase her. To capture her. To win. Adele's silvery laughter caught his ear as she read it on his face.
And then she was gone.
He crushed his fingers into a fist and forced himself to rein his darker urges in. Every part of that act had been choreographed to an inch, designed to intrigue him. And she'd succeeded. If they'd been dueling, then she had drawn first blood.
He could practically sense the jaws of her trap woven carefully around him. What a dangerous, dangerous woman.
He'd never been more convinced she was working for the enemy.
Chapter 6
Adele felt breathless as she clutched her skirts and dashed up the stairs back to the ballroom. An odd mix of victory, curiosity, and challenge filled her as she left her husband staring after her, and her cheeks ached from smiling so much.
For the first time since their wedding, she finally felt as though she held a little of the power between them.
And he'dgivenit to her.
Thoughts of Malloryn so distracted her that she hurried into the ballroom and slammed directly into a firm male body.
Hands caught her forearms and a husky laugh escaped her assailant. She was two seconds away from panicking when the scent of Devoncourt's familiar cologne caught her attention.
"If it isn't my favorite duchess," Lord Devoncourt mused, though his eyes flashed dark for a second, and he reached up to brush his thumb against her mouth.
Adele jerked her face away. "What are you doing here?"
Oh, God.If Malloryn followed her there'd be bloodshed.
She could still hear the chill in his voice when he cast that cursed photograph in her lap.
"This ends. Right now."
"When I saw your husband lure you into the gardens I thought all was lost, but here you are, rushing away from him as if you had the hounds of hell on your tail."
Nobody was watching them, but she couldn't afford to be seen here.
And she owed Devoncourt the truth: that while his flirtations had made her feel, for a moment, as if someone cared, they could not continue.
She grabbed his sleeve and hauled him into a nearby alcove. He wasn't even wearing a mask, as if he wanted the world to see him act so familiarly with her. "Are youtryingto ruin me?"
"Trying, my dear. You've led me a merry chase."
Rough hands captured her face and his lips loomed close. Adele twisted her face away, her heart hammering as Devoncourt's mouth mushed wetly against her cheek.
"Unhand me, you idiot," she whispered, shoving against his chest. Every hint of desire she'd felt in the gardens with her husband shriveled up.What was he thinking?"My husband will kill you if he sees you."
