by Darcy Burke
Andrew shook his head amidst the cacophony of noise around them. “No. Why don’t you go?” He grinned at his friend and clapped him on the shoulder. Yes, they were friends. “See you later.”
As he picked his way through the throng, the anticipation and excitement that he should have felt about parachuting coursed through him, driving him to move more urgently. He couldn’t wait to get to Lucy.
The crowd surged, and the noise grew. He turned his head and saw the balloon ascend. His task became harder as he now sought to go against the wave of the throng. They moved forward as he tried to reach the back.
Finally, he broke free and stopped dead in his tracks. Standing there, with her head tipped back, staring at the sky, was Lucy.
He strode toward her and saw the look of anguish on her face. “Lucy!” he called and started to run.
Her two friends stood on either side of her, but he barely registered them. She lowered her head, and her gaze found his just before he came to a stop in front of her.
He worked to catch his breath but decided he didn’t need to. She made his heart race and his chest constrict, and he prayed he felt that way for the rest of their—hopefully, very long—lives.
“Andrew.”
“Lucy.” He cupped her face, eager to kiss her, heedless of anyone who might see. “If you tell me to go, I will, but I want to stay. With you. Forever.”
She reached under his arms and clutched his back. “Kiss me.”
He claimed her mouth and kissed her fiercely. That she kissed him back with equal fervor heated his body and fired his soul. He pulled his lips from hers but didn’t move away. “I love you, Lucy. I was an idiot.”
“Yes, you were. But I understand why.”
Now he pulled back and looked at her in wonder. “You do?”
She nodded. “I think so. You’re still deeply wounded by your family’s death. And, I think, you’re scared to allow yourself to love anyone.”
He stared at her in wonder. “How is it you understand me so completely?”
“Because for a long time I felt the same way. I was afraid I’d marry someone like my father, so I thought it was best to not marry at all.” She touched his face, her gloved fingers running over his temples and caressing his jaw. “I was so afraid you’d gone up in the balloon. Why didn’t you?”
“I didn’t need to. I wanted to fly—for my brother—but I think he’d understand that I want you more. I’ve spent over half my life running from ghosts and protecting myself from a hurt that you can’t really escape. Loving someone is accepting that you might lose them. I don’t ever want to lose you, Lucy, but that’s a risk I have to take.”
She smiled at him, her eyes full of love. At least he thought they were full of love. She hadn’t said it. “I’m so glad. I came here to convince you that you should. I’m so glad that you realized you love me. You’ve made my task so much easier. In fact, you’ve saved me from it entirely.”
“Does that mean you love me too?”
She laughed, and the sound was a glorious balm to his wounded soul. “Could you doubt it? I think I started falling in love with you the minute you took me to shoot at Manton’s. How could I not? You’ve always treated me with respect and admiration. No one, especially no man, has ever made me feel so special. So cherished. Of course I love you. With all my heart.”
He kissed her again, holding her close against him.
“The crowd is starting to look,” one of her friends—if he had to guess, he’d wager it was Miss Breckenridge—said urgently.
Reluctantly, he pulled away from Lucy, but he snatched her hand in his, bringing it to his lips. “Does this mean you’ll marry me?”
“As soon as possible.”
“I don’t know if I can get a special license, but I’ll do my best.”
She looked at him confidently. “You’re the Duke of Daring. No one expects you to have a conventional wedding.”
He chuckled. “No, I suppose they don’t. But does anyone really call me that besides you three?”
She exchanged looks with her friends, both of whom were smiling, even Miss Breckenridge. “Probably not.”
“Actually, I’m fairly certain Nora does,” Miss Knox said. She looked at Andrew. “The Duchess of Kendal. She’s our mentor. Of sorts.”
“I see.” He saw that the crowd was beginning to dissipate. “Shall we go?”
Lucy took his arm, her eyes shining. “Yes. Let’s go on our next adventure.”
He put his hand over hers and squeezed her fingers. “I can’t wait.”
Epilogue
Lucy eyed the target, her farthest yet, and steadied her arm before she squeezed the trigger. The ball fired and hit the target square, knocking the block off the post to the ground. She yelped with glee, turning to Andrew, who was grinning at her work.
“You are incredible,” he said, shaking his head. “My turn.”
She stepped to the side as he loaded his pistol on the table. She watched his hands work and wondered if it was odd that she could’ve stood there and stared at him all day.
He lifted the weapon and took aim. His ball hit the target next to the one she’d knocked down, but he only grazed it.
He lowered his arm and let his shoulders slump. “You trounced me again. Clearly it’s the shooter, not the weapon.”
She’d beat him the other day using his Purdey, but today she had her new Manton—his wedding gift to her along with her mother’s jewelry, which he hadn’t sold but had only had appraised so that he could settle on a sum. She grinned at him, unable to contain her joy. “I didn’t win by much.”
He arched a brow at her. “I will demand a rematch.”
Lucy caressed her pistol. “I’ll look forward to it.” She laughed as she set the weapon on the table.
He shook his head again and swooped down to kiss her. “Perhaps I was foolish to marry such a strong woman.”
She pulled back in mock affront. “Perhaps I was the fool if you can’t see how lucky you are.”
He snaked his arms around her and held her against him. “I see quite well, thank you. Although not as well as you if that target is to be believed.”
“Oh, now it’s my eyesight that’s to be given credit?”
“You talk too much,” he growled before kissing her soundly.
Lucy sighed into his mouth, loving this man and feeling luckier than anyone had a right to be.
A fat drop of rain found its way to her cheek, splashing against her and making her jump.
Andrew blinked. “What? I was only teasing.”
She pointed up. “It’s starting to rain.”
He tilted his head back and grabbed her hand. “It’s about to pour, I fear.”
She snatched up her pistol, and they took off running for the house. By the time they reached the terrace, they were quite wet but laughing.
Mrs. Alder greeted them, looking in horror as they dripped on the carpet. “Why are you laughing?”
Andrew sent Lucy a provocative glance. “Why not?”
Why not indeed. Lucy’s body heated at the promise in that brief look he’d sent her. “I think I need to go upstairs and change.”
“Yes, me too.” Andrew squeezed her hand as they made to move past Mrs. Alder.
The housekeeper chuckled. “Go on, then.” She smiled to herself and hummed.
She and her husband and the rest of the staff had been overjoyed at their marriage a fortnight ago. It had happened quickly after the Duke of Kendal had helped Andrew procure a special license. All their friends had come to their wedding breakfast, but no one had been happier than Grandmama. She’d said she’d always known that Lucy would break the husband curse and marry a man who was both worthy and reliable. That she was also benefiting from Lucy’s match—by way of a lovely town house in the heart of Bath—was an unexpected boon. Lucy was grateful to see Grandmama settled and happy.
Tindall met them as they entered their bedchamber. “My lord, I understand you were caught in a do
wnpour.”
Andrew gestured toward his damp clothing. “Yes, as you can see.”
“I’ll just lay out a fresh set of clothes.” He turned to Lucy. “I believe Judith is already doing the same for you.”
Lucy looked at Andrew and sighed. “Such brilliant efficiency. I’m almost afraid to tell them we won’t be needing their services just now.”
“I’m not,” Andrew said. He glanced at Tindall but didn’t really take his attention from Lucy. “Please excuse us, Tindall.”
“Just so, my lord.” The valet departed quickly.
“Thank God I convinced him to decline Clare’s offer,” Andrew said as he sent his hat sailing into the corner.
Lucy untied her bonnet just as Andrew swept it from her head. “He’s quite a good valet. I can’t believe you were going to let him go. And to the Duke of Desire, no less.”
“The Duke of what? Never mind, it suits him perfectly.” Andrew spun her around and began to disrobe her. “Although I might’ve gone with Debauchery.”
“Ivy calls him that sometimes. But back to your point, I’m so glad you asked Tindall to stay.”
“As you know, I worked very hard to keep everyone from becoming too important to me. It’s precisely because he was so indispensable that he had to go.”
She understood. They’d talked at length about his fears and the nightmares and attacks that had plagued him since his family had died. Their first night back at Darent Hall, he’d had another nightmare, but instead of retreating from her, he’d talked about what he’d seen and what he’d felt. Then she’d made love to him, and they’d both agreed that it was an excellent way to deal with things.
“Just think, if I hadn’t dressed up as a man and gone to a gaming hell, we’d both be living our sad, lonely lives.”
He removed her dress and started on her corset. When that was on the floor, he turned her around. “I’ve become rather impatient. You do the rest.” He began stripping his own clothes away.
She arched a brow at him. “First person naked gets to be on top.”
He goggled at her, then laughed. “No fair! You have a head start, thanks to me.”
She shrugged as she kicked her shoes off.
He swore and tried to remove his boot without sitting down, nearly falling down in the process.
“Don’t hurt yourself!” She tossed her petticoat aside. “I need you to be able to function.”
He sat on a chair and worked his boots and stockings off. “Oh, I can function, or don’t you remember how I functioned after the balloon descent?”
“I remember everything about that night. Shall I demonstrate?”
His eyes darkened, and the muscle in his jaw flexed as he swallowed. “Yes, please.”
He tore the rest of his clothes off as if they were aflame, and Lucy had to rush to beat him. In the end, she won, and he prowled toward her, scooping her up and tossing her on the bed.
She giggled, but sobered at the look of stark desire in his eyes. She knelt up and reached for his chest, stroking the now-familiar flesh. “On your back, my lord.”
“Whatever you command, my lady.” He kissed her first, hard and deep, his tongue sweeping against hers in delicious, arousing strokes.
He lay on his back, and she straddled him, caressing his cock as she held him to her entrance. Her breath was coming fast, and her anticipation was fever hot. “I’m quite ready,” she rasped.
“Take me,” he said, piercing her with his hungry gaze.
She did, riding him until they were both gasping for breath and completely sated.
Falling on top of him, she kissed him before sliding to the bed and snuggling against his side.
After a few minutes, when they’d both regained their breath, he stroked her back and kissed her forehead. “I take back what I said. Every man should marry an independent woman. Too bad, men are mostly stupid.”
“That’s true. We just need to find one—for Aquilla.”
“What about Ivy?”
“She won’t ever marry.” Lucy traced her fingertips over his chest. “A pity since it’s such a wonderful estate.”
“You say that now.”
“As do you.”
“Indeed.” He abruptly rolled to face her and smiled. “Thank you for coming after me that day.”
“I realized you loved me—you just needed a little help working it out for yourself.” She smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “As it happened, you got there all on your own.”
“I worked so hard to fill my life with adventure and distraction in order to keep love out. You, however, finagled your way in, and there was no distraction in the world—not even jumping out of a balloon—that could compare.” He kissed her, his lips lingering against hers. “I love you, Lucy, my wonderful, exciting, sharpshooting Duchess of Daring.”
A happiness Lucy had never imagined threatened to burst through her chest. “And I love you.”
Thank you for reading! Want more of The Untouchables? Grab the next book, The Duke of Deception, here.
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading The Duke of Daring. I hope you enjoyed it!
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The Duke of Daring is the second book in The Untouchables series. The next book in the series is The Duke of Deception. Watch for more information! In the meantime, catch up with my other historical series: Secrets and Scandals and League of Rogues. If you like contemporary romance, I hope you’ll check out my Ribbon Ridge series available from Avon Impulse.
I appreciate my readers so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Books by Darcy Burke
Historical Romance
The Untouchables
The Forbidden Duke
The Duke of Daring
The Duke of Deception (fall 2016)
The Duke of Desire (coming soon)
Secrets and Scandals
Her Wicked Ways
His Wicked Heart
To Seduce a Scoundrel
To Love a Thief (a novella)
Never Love a Scoundrel
Scoundrel Ever After
League of Rogues
Lady of Desire
Romancing the Earl
Contemporary Romance
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is (a prequel novella)
Only in My Dreams
Yours to Hold
When Love Happens
The Idea of You
When We Kiss
You’re Still the One
Ribbon Ridge: Love on the Vine
So Good (summer 2016)
So Right (coming soon)
So in Love (coming soon)
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I want to thank my readers for embracing this series. I’m so thrilled you found The Forbidden Duke and hope you enjoyed The Duke of Daring.
I couldn’t do anything without my amazing team, which includes my fabulous cover designer, Carrie Divine and the spectacular editing team of Linda and Toni. You all make my job easier and more fun! Thank you also to Danielle Gorman who is so often a voice of sanity in my crazy schedule. I appreciate your assistance so much.
Other critically important members of my team include my writing friends and partners Elisabeth Naughton, Joan, Swan, Erica Ridley, and Rachel Grant. You make me laugh, share my frustrations, and inspire me every single day. Thank you for being such wonderful co-workers and awesome friends.
The biggest thank you of all goes to the team members I simply can’t live without—my beloved family. I love you unconditionally and with the power of a million goat screams.
Copyright
The Duke of Daring
Copyright © 2016 Darcy Burke
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1944576029
ISBN-13: 9781944576028
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Book design: © Darcy Burke.
Book Cover Design: © Carrie Divine/Seductive Designs.
Photo copyright: Couple © Novelstock, Inc.
Photo copyright: Background © FairytaleDesign
(Małgorzata Patrzyk)/Depositphotos.com.
Editing: Linda Ingmanson.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
About the Author
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge. Visit Darcy online at http://www.darcyburke.com and sign up for her new releases newsletter, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/darcyburke, or like her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/darcyburkefans.