Page 4 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
At his words, the fluttering in her stomach suddenly attacked her heart and stole her breath. For a second, her lungs burned for air and her throat constricted so painfully that she almost gasped aloud.
Then she reminded herself,he is only trying to woo me to get close to Petunia.
She had met the likes of him before. Men who liked to play games to get what they wanted. And never in her life had she been what they coveted. Instead, she had always been a pawn in everybody else’s game, and never the prize. It was a fact that she had grown steadily used to over the years, and yet that still did not lessen the pain inside of her.
“Your Grace, are you not fearful of inciting a scandal?” Melody blurted and the moment that the words left her lips heat burned in her cheeks.
The duke pulled back just enough to meet her gaze once more and Melody found she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze. In the depths of his brown eyes, she saw amusement. It flickered in the golden and amber flecks in his irises and Melody couldn’t help but think that looking too deeply into his gaze was dangerous. She felt trapped, caught in his eyes and in the sensations that his closeness caused within her own body.
Men had tried to get close to her in the past, just to get to her friend, but none of those times had felt anything like this. And when he leaned into her again, she felt his breath caressing the side of her neck. He drew closer and closer still until she feared that he would do something they would both regret.
Yet, desire filled her from head to toe, so much so that she felt as though she was on fire. Suddenly, the only thing that would ease her feverish flesh was the touch of his lips upon her.
In the instant that she blinked her eyes closed, she felt his mouth upon her throat. Desire and pleasure made her heady and she spun and spun around the dancefloor, entirely forgetting everything save for his touch.
Then, just as suddenly, her eyes flew open once more and the sudden realisation that the music had ended caused her to realise that she had imagined the kiss entirely.
She had to have, because she couldn’t imagine that anyone in the room would be able to keep quiet if they had witnessed such a thing and every single pair of eyes seemed to be on them.
“Thank you, Miss Thornton, for a wonderful dance,” the duke said warmly as he released her from his arms. Disappointment threatened to overwhelm Melody for a moment, but it was replaced just as quickly by a rush of surprise when he reached out and took hold of her hand again.
This time, instead of pulling her into his arms to dance again, he lifted her knuckles to his lips and kissed them through the silk of her glove. As he did so, he looked up through the thickness of his eyelashes and met her gaze once more.
Though she knew that she ought to have looked away, she found herself caught in his stunning gaze once more.
What is wrong with me?She asked herself, unable to believe that not only had she allowed herself to be wooed by him, but she had also imagined something entirely inappropriate—with a man she barely knew—while surrounded by people who loathed her very existence.
Deciding that it was best to put it down to the stress of the evening, Melody forced a smile and said, “No, Your Grace, thank you.”
The corners of his lips twitched upwards in a smile, and the duke again kissed her knuckles before finally releasing her hand. Then he stepped backwards, bowing low as though she was a highly respected noblewoman rather than a stain upon their otherwise perfect society.
“Until we meet again,” he said in a whispered tone that caused Melody’s flesh to come out in goosebumps. The mere thought of being in his presence again made her head spin and she wasn’t at all certain she could handle it. In fact, every single muscle in her body was screaming at her to turn and run from the room but she was frozen to the spot by his continued gaze upon her.
All she could manage to say was, “Your Grace,” before she dropped into an awkward curtsey.
When she straightened up again, she found that the duke had already departed, slipping away into the crowd which seemed to open then close, swallowing him up protectively.
The glares of several young women and their mothers remained locked upon Melody while others turned their attention after the duke, clearly looking for whomever he might seek to dance with next.
“Melody, whatever was that all about?”
The excited tone of her best friend caused Melody to jump. She had been so intent upon the duke’s departure that she hadn’t even noticed Petunia coming up behind her until she felt her hand wrap around her wrist.
Melody shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Petunia’s grip tightened on Melody’s wrist then and she yanked her around to face her. The excitement and shock that fizzed in Petunia’s eyes left Melody feeling more than a little uneasy.
“Is there something you need to tell me?” Petunia demanded and Melody gulped. It was clear that her friend had already gotten the wrong end of the stick and from the looks of it several people around them had also. She could only imagine the kind of gossip that would be spread by the time dawn came around.
“I am as confused as you are,” Melody assured her friend. “I have never found myself in the duke’s presence before.”
“Well, he certainly seemed to want to find himself in your presence!” Petunia exclaimed, and the excitement in her tone only grew as she added, “Perhaps he has taken a liking to you!”
Melody scoffed at that and shook her head. “I imagine that his interest was elsewhere.”
Petunia scowled back at her and cocked her head to one side. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Melody’s stomach groaned with anxiety then and she shook her head. Though it had happened several times before, Melody couldn’t bring herself to point the finger at her friend and accuse her of being the reason for the duke’s attentions. Nor could she allow herself to share in her friend’s excitement of the fact he had taken notice of her. There were too many possible reasons for his actions and not one of them was acceptable to Melody.
