Page 8 of Her Duke to Seduce
Aiden stared at the beautiful woman before him and suddenly lost all ability to think. That scarlet gown of her made her body decadence wrapped in silk and lace. Her golden blonde locks were was gathered high on the crown of the head and twisted into a loose bun with tendrils left to frame her face in soft, romantic curls. He wanted to loosen her hair and set those curls free to fall down her back in a cascade of waves, then he wanted to run his fingers through those soft tendrils as he kissed her. He ached to touch her.
Her lips parted as she drew in a breath and his cock tightened in his breeches. He was a right arse staring at her as if she were a courtesan he could readily take in the garden. “Do I know you?” she asked.
“I do not believe that we have been introduced,” he said. He tilted his lips upward into a wicked smile. “Would you like to correct that?” He certainly did. Aiden wanted to know everything about the lovely creature before him.
“I’m not so certain that would be wise,” she told him. “You do not appear to be the sort of gentleman my family would approve of and I would hate to disappoint them.”
She tilted her head to the side and studied him. What did she see when she set that gaze of hers upon him? She stepped a little closer and he itched to reach for her and pull her flush against him. This was not how he expected his evening to go. He had not spent any actual time in the ballroom. His father would be so disappointed with him. He was supposed to meet the young ladies and determine if any of them would be suitable to be his marchioness. He stared at the lady before him. At least he would be able to say with some honesty he met one unforgettable woman. “You know nothing of me?” He lifted a brow. “And already you believe the worst in me.”
“Am I wrong then?” She met his gaze boldly. “Are you a perfect gentleman?” She moved even closer to him and he could see the shade of her eyes in the moonlight. They were a stormy gray and he couldn’t help thinking he had seen that exact shade somewhere before. She seemed so familiar to him and yet he could not fathom why. “You would never attempt to use your charm and experience to take advantage of my innocence?”
Aiden did not know what she expected him to say. If he told her he was the perfect gentleman would she stay in the garden with him. Would she then find him trustworthy? Where she was concerned he found he wanted to be a rogue. He wanted to kiss her. Hell, he wanted far more than that. But that was not what she asked him was it? “I do not think you require a gentleman.”
Her lips curled. “You believe I need a rake then?”
“Yes,” he told her. Then he moved closer to her. “I think you want me as much as I want you.”
He hoped he was not about to make a mistake. If he took a wrong step he could lose a chance with her. One he very much wanted and would do anything to ensure happened. She did not move as made his way over to her. He stopped when he was so close their bodies almost touched. Still she remained in place.She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “What if I do?” She asked him. “Will you give me what I desire?”
Aiden swallowed hard. God help him. He had undoubtedly found his match in this woman. She was brazen and wild. A temptation he should not give into. The overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms surged through him, and it was too difficult to resist. He really should though. It was not proper and with her he found he wanted to be the gentleman. Not that he was not a gentleman, but he wasn’t exactly that far removed from being a rogue either. He walked a fine line and he had never regretted his actions. He could seduce her. It would be so easy to lead her down a path of ruination. “Are you certain?” Aiden could not take advantage of her. He had to be good. It might very well kill him, but he had to do right by her. He did not even know her name and he already knew she would be an important part of his life. She was daring him, taunting him, drawing him deeper into a wicked game neither of them should play. Yet he wanted to. More than he had ever wanted anything.
Her lips parted slightly, as if inviting his kiss. He knew he should turn away. He was not some callow youth incapable of controlling his urges, nor was he the kind of man to dally with an innocent. And she was innocent—at least, in the ways that mattered. But there was a knowing look in her storm-gray eyes, as if she understood the power she wielded over him and was prepared to use it.
Damnation.
Aiden drew in a slow, steadying breath, willing himself to retreat. He had come here to consider his duty, to find a respectable match, to honor his mother’s memory. He had not come to be undoneby a woman in a scarlet gown with lips that begged to be kissed.
Her voice was silk and sin when she spoke again. “Are you afraid?”
A sharp, amused breath left him. “Terrified,” he admitted, his voice huskier than he intended.
Her eyes flashed with something dangerously close to delight. “I see,” she murmured, lifting her hand to trail her fingers lightly over the lapel of his coat. “I must say, my lord, I expected something more daring from a man with such a reputation.”
His brows lifted. “And what reputation would that be?” There was no way she could know he had even a small roguish past. Could she?
She tilted her head, feigning innocence. “I do not know, precisely. But a man who skulks about in the dark corners of gardens rather than dancing in a ballroom surely has something to hide.”
Aiden chuckled despite himself. She was far more extraordinary than he could have imagined. “I do not skulk,” he corrected. “I avoid tedious conversation, which is an entirely different matter.” In truth, he avoided proper societal functions as a rule. This ball fit that description aptly.
“Ah,” she said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. “And do you find me tedious?”
“Not in the least.” His voice dropped, his restraint fraying further with every breath. “You, my lady, are the most intriguing woman I have ever met.” That was an understatement. He could not truly describe her and what she did to him.
Her breath hitched, and for the first time, uncertainty flickered across her face. She had been toying with him, but now she realized the danger she courted. The air between them grew taut, charged with something neither of them dared to name.
Slowly, carefully, Aiden lifted a hand and traced a single fingertip along the bare skin of her forearm against the sheer fabric of her crimson sleeve. Her skin was warm beneath histouch, and she trembled, just slightly. It was a battle, then—one he fully intended to win.
“I should leave,” she whispered.
“You should,” he agreed. He should encourage her to, but he wouldn’t. Neither of them moved.
Aiden was the first to break the silence. “Tell me your name.”
She hesitated.
“Do not say it does not matter,” he continued. “Because it does.”
She swallowed, then lifted her chin, eyes locked with his. “Felicity.”
