Page 7 of The Duke and the Lady in Red
She angled her chin. “Do not take this as flattery, Your Grace, but rather the truth being spoken. You strike me as a man who would possess a key.”
He did indeed possess a key. It was no doubt unwise to take her up there, as he wanted to do things with her that were best done within shadows, and there were shadows aplenty within the balcony, and his passions were on a weak tether. She was not an innocent miss, only recently presented to the queen. She was a widow. She had to know men, had to know that he was with her at that moment because of his desire to know her in the biblical sense. Without guilt, he could give in to his desires.
But she was not quite what she seemed. Of that he was fairly certain. He had spent a lifetime avoiding entanglements and relationships. He never looked below the surface of a woman, but something about her urged him to explore a little deeper.
She wasn’t an American as he’d first wondered. Her speech was refined, definitely English, deliberate, but now and again he caught the lilt of something else, as though she were putting on a performance and forgot for a moment her role in the play.
That little aspect to her intrigued him all the more but was no cause for alarm. He didn’t want anything permanent with her. He merely wanted to explore all that lay beneath the red gown. His hands would span her waist. Her breasts would overflow his cupped palms.
He guided her through the crowd that was becoming more populated by the hour. How many blasted invitations had been dispatched? He doubted he would seek sport here after tonight. The club would no longer be as exclusive as it had once been. But then he’d long ago found darker places in which to vent his shame and anger.
They came to the door that opened into the hallways where offices and secluded rooms provided very private entertainment. Removing the key from his waistcoat pocket, he extended it toward her.
She gave him a delighted, wicked smile, filled with mischief and daring. She enjoyed doing things she ought not. He liked that about her. Before the night was done, he anticipated that they would do a great many things they ought not.
Inserting the key, she turned it, twisted the knob, and opened the door. She hesitated not even a heartbeat before walking through and passing the key back to him. After closing the door, he once again offered his arm.
“Everything here seems older,” she said.
“Darling didn’t bother refurbishing this part, for which I’m glad. There is something comforting about the familiar. It has been this way for decades.”
“You don’t look old enough to have been visiting it for decades,” she said.
“I got started quite young.” Although she was right. He’d visited for only a little over a decade. “I know its history. It’s legendary among those of my acquaintance. The stairs that lead to the balcony are here.”
With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her up them and down the short hallway that ended at the balcony.
“As long as you stay behind the draperies, you can’t be seen,” he said quietly. “The shadows serve as cover.”
She eased forward slightly and gazed out over the assembled guests. “Is this where you were when you spotted me?” she asked in almost a whisper.
He came up behind her, only a hairbreadth separating his body from hers. “Yes.”
“It’s odd, but I felt your gaze on me.”
“Perhaps it was someone else’s.”
“No, I’m rather sure it was yours. You have an intensity about you. Do you often stand up here, gazing out, spying on those below?”
“Darling did. He liked to watch the money coming in. Dodger, the previous owner, did as well.” He removed his gloves, stuffed them into the pockets of his coat, and skimmed a bare finger along her nape. Beneath his touch, she shivered. “I was simply striving to determine if it was worth my time to go downstairs tonight.”
“What would you have done if you hadn’t gone downstairs?”
“There is a private game in one of the rooms up here. The stakes are high, but those who play cheat.” He pressed his lips to the juncture where her neck and shoulder met. “You should be aware I employ any means to get what I want.”
“You sound ruthless, Your Grace.”
“That is putting it kindly. I want you, Rosalind. I have wanted you from the moment you walked through the door. There are rooms here. We can make use of them. Or I can take you to my residence.”
“I am not quite so easy to obtain.”
“Are you not?”
She turned to face him. “No.”
“I am prepared to convince you otherwise.”
He claimed her mouth as though he already owned it.
