Page 53 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
"Why are you in such a state, Miss Thornton?" The duke asked when she made no attempt to respond.
He stood only a short distance away with his hands clasped behind his back as if to stop from reaching for her. Or perhaps that was her imagining that he might wish to.
"I am to be married now, Your Grace, you need not take pity on me anymore," Melody stated, trying to maintain her composure. She could not allow herself even a moment of hope. Turning her gaze away entirely, she added, "Please, leave me be."
"Pity? Is that what you believe I have shown you?" The duke demanded. The hurt in his tone caused Melody to look around.
She was surprised to find herself face to face with the nobleman. Moreso, she was startled when he cupped her face in his hand and wiped away what remained of the tears upon her face.
"I care for you more than I ever dared possible," he announced and even as Melody's breath caught in her throat, he kissed her.
Mind whirling with surprise, Melody melted into the duke. Her hands instinctively rose to his chest, her fingers hooking in the lapels of his jacket.
Leaning up on her tiptoes, she kissed him back, and the kiss deepened. What had been passionate yet tender turned into something far more primal and she thought she heard a growl rumble in the nobleman’s chest.
His hands came down to her hips, pulling her close to him, and for a moment she entirely forgot herself.
All she could think of was how much she wished for their kiss to continue, for their bodies to grow closer, for the heat that pooled between her thighs to turn into an inferno.
Her hands slid from his chest, upwards, wrapping around the back of his neck as her fingers slipped into the roots of his hair.
She was no longer the innocent daughter of a businessman who had spent her life terrified of adding to their scandal. In that moment, she was simply a woman who needed to feel wanted. And The Duke of Haston gave her exactly that.
But then reality came rushing back to her and she pulled away so hard and fast that she almost stumbled right over her own feet.
"You…you should not have done that," Melody protested, wiping his kiss from her lips with the back of her gloved hand. "I am to be married!"
"That is the second time you have mentioned your betrothal and yet, I cannot discern that you sound glad of the fact," the duke said, his voice so low that she could barely hear him. At least, she would not have been able to were he not still far too close for comfort.
Melody had no idea what to say and so she decided it best not to say anything at all. Instead, she pursed her lips and looked up at the duke. The way his hazel eyes caught hers made her tremble beneath his gaze. She felt as though his eyes could touch her very soul, setting her afire from within in a way she had never felt before.
And in the silence and the darkness of the garden, she could almost imagine that they were the only two people in the world.
Then his face twisted as if he were in pain, and he opened his mouth as if to speak. Hesitating for only a moment, his gaze dropped from hers before meeting it again as he said, “Miss Thornton, there is something you ought to know about your betrothed.”
Melody’s heart clenched. She wondered whether she ought to act surprised or tell the truth. In the end, she decided upon the latter. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat and said, “You need not tell me. I already know.”
The duke’s eyes widened immeasurably, and his jaw practically hit the ground. “But if you know then how are you still willing to go through with it?”
Melody shrugged her shoulders. Deciding it was likely best to stick with telling the truth, her cheeks blushed as she said, “I overheard your conversation with my father.”
“And you believed me?” The duke asked, clearly astonished.
Melody raised an eyebrow and pulled away slightly. “Is there any reason for me not to?”
Even in the moonlight, Melody could see the colour draining from the duke’s face. “But if you believe me then how are you still engaged to the scoundrel?”
The pain that Melody had been feeling in her gut ever since she had learned the truth was only growing worse. “What other choice do I have? I am not exactly inundated with suitors. Mr Colton is the only man who has ever shown any interest in courting me.”
It was a sad fact that made Melody’s chest tighten and she felt the tears pricking the corners of her eyes once more. If marrying a destitute gentleman was her only option, then she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to continue down any path. Perhaps it would be safer for her to be unmarried, to remain a spinster and fall upon the hope that her father left a valuable inheritance for her.
What the duke said next shocked Melody to her core. “What about me?”
Melody’s face shot up to look at him again even as he gripped hold of both her hands.
Am I dreaming?Melody thought. If he had not been holding her hands, she might have pinched herself. Surely, she had to have misheard him. “Pardon?”
“I said, what about me?” The duke repeated, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in a devilish smile. “Have I not shown an abundant interest in you, Miss Thornton?”
