Page 4 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“If you mean Lord Stu…dlo…fun…tingon,” the words were mumbled, almost as if he didn’t know which exact name to pickout of his mind, so that the story could not be checked, “I think he left.”
She gave him a frowning look. It was obvious that she wasn’t expecting her brother to push her into this. Yet, her brother seemed to be amused by the whole situation. Dominic felt like patting the man on the shoulder in gratitude, but he resisted the temptation to do so.
“Yes, go ahead, Cate. Enjoy your dance,” he urged. “I have to stay here with Lord Willoughby and discuss… things.”
Dominic offered her his arm without hesitation. “Lady Catherine?”
He could see that she was eyeing him suspiciously, as her nostrils flared. The fact that she, of all the ladies there present, did not wish to dance with him and that only made him desire that dance even more. And the indication of her pique amused him beyond description. Her own politeness had become her undoing, and now she had to comply.
“Very well,” she mustered through clenched teeth, resting her hand on his arm. It was a soft, butterfly touch, yet he felt it with the strength of a hurricane.
He led her to the central part of the ballroom, where the other dancers had already assembled for the waltz which was starting.He was aware of the eyes of other gentlemen, which made him proud to have her by his side.
“I am sorry for you missing a dance with Lord… Studlofuntington, was it?” he asked, hardly able to mask his amusement at the made-up name. “But I assure you that I am a match for him in dancing skills, if not even better. And a lady as beautiful as yourself deserves a skilled dancer who knows how to lead.”
Her eyes fluttered only for a moment, but she had a response ready, just as he thought she would have. “Yes, you seem quite knowledgeable in what ladies need, Your Grace,” she replied boldly, titillating him even further.
“I merely know my strengths, Lady Catherine,” he told her with a mischievous wink, which made her blush. He didn’t think that she could be any more breathtaking, but now he had proof otherwise. Her porcelain skin blushed in complexions he had never seen on a lady before, a rosy, pink hue deepening with every exchanged word.
“I’m sure you do,” she added as he placed one hand upon the middle of her back, keeping her a little too close for comfort, just as he liked it. Her hand rested on his shoulder, and together, they started to dance.
“One of my strengths is to point out a beautiful thing when I see one,” he told her, drinking in the sight of her. “Like you.”
A ferocious frown graced her otherwise heavenly features. “Am I a thing to you then?”
He didn’t want to admit that she caught him off guard. Usually, ladies would swoon over his lines, no matter what they were. Sometimes, he didn’t even have to try that hard. But with her, it was proving to be a fun game. A very fun game indeed.
“Most certainly not,” he replied. “I was merely speaking generally.”
“I see,” she nodded, without being amused.
He wanted her to continue the conversation. He wanted to see that little frown again, those dimples in her cheeks which appeared both when she smiled as well as when she frowned. But she seemed to wish to clam up. Disappointment washed over him, and he wondered what else he could tell her, that wasn’t a compliment, which she obviously did not fancy receiving.
But why would he care anyway? It was just a dance to kill some time until it would be polite to wish the hosts goodbye and go home. Still, there was something about her that seemed to stand out. She was breathtakingly beautiful, that much was true, but he could sense that beneath that polite exterior of manners and quietness, lay a fire that needed to be ignited by a knowing hand. And his was just the right hand for the job.
Only then did he notice that they had already started dancing, and his body seemed to take over. She was tall for a lady, but still shorter than him, which made them fit together in a way he wasn’t anticipating. He couldn’t help but wonder in what other ways they might fit together… standing up or lying down, perhaps? The thought made him grin.
“Do you?” he wondered aloud, desirous to keep having this conversation for at least as long as their dance lasted.
“Do I what, Your Grace?” she wondered as they continued to move perfectly to the sound of the music that echoed around them. That was yet another thing he wasn’t expecting, for them to dance so well together.
“Do you see, Lady Catherine,” he clarified, “that I am most certainly a better dancer than Lord Studlofuntingon.” He was actually beginning to like that name. It made him want to chuckle every time he thought of it.
“I did not have the chance to dance with him, so neither me nor you can know that for a fact,” she replied in a way that made him want to throw away her dance card and reserve her selfishly only for himself the entire evening.
There was something rivetingly titillating, not just about their dance, but about her. She refused to succumb to his charms, like the other ladies would. From the onset, she showed him that shedid not wish to dance with him, and even now, with the proof waving in her face, she was denying the fact that she was as drawn to him as he was to her. It was refreshing to see a lady in such control of herself. A rare sight, indeed.
“What do you know for a fact, Lady Catherine?” he wondered, as they whirled together, facing each other, then turning away, only to find themselves facing each other once more.
“That you are rather… confident,” she said, as he spun her, relishing the sight of her gown as it twirled along with her. Something told him that he was the envy of every single gentleman who was watching the dancers, wishing they were in his place.
“I will accept that compliment,” he nodded with a grin, as she faced him, her eyes deep and fathomless. He wanted to dive into their depths and never come out for air.
“You assumed it was a compliment,” she returned, her eyes locking with his. Once again, she caught him speechless. Twice in one evening.
“Confidence is a skill,” he explained. “And every skill needs to be honed.”
As the final notes of the waltz died down, he assumed that they would simply continue on with the subsequent number.However, to his surprise, she curtsied before him with an even better excuse than her brother’s made-up gentleman.
