My Darling Duke

by Stacy Reid

  He couldn’t help smiling at the large ivory-shaped phallus in her delicate hands. Moving with desperate stealth, he eased from the chair without making a sound. Then carefully, he placed one foot before the other, ignoring the slight pinch in his lower back, and made his way over to her.

  “What is it?” she muttered to herself, running her fingers along the surprisingly veined ridge.

  Softly at her ear, he said, “I’m not sure if I should distress your sensibilities and tell you.”

  With a gasp, she spun around, pressing a hand over her heart. A pulse was beating visibly at her throat. “Oh, you abominable creature! To sneak up on me in such a wicked manner!”

  “Ah,” he said, gently tapping one of his fingers on her nose. “You deserve to be frightened. This room is forbidden to guests, which I am sure you were aware of. Your impudence is unchecked.”

  She thought for a moment and then said, with a gleam of mischief, “Oh, don’t be tiresome; this impudence you keep mentioning is clearly a part of my charm, and I daresay you like it.”

  Katherine was irresistibly fascinating. Slowly, deliberately, he dipped his head to her arched neck and pressed his lips to the fluttering pulse at her throat. “I do like your bold, willful, inquisitive nature,” he murmured against the softness of her skin, and to his utter astonishment, his voice cracked.

  “Alexander?” How breathless and shocked she sounded.

  Common sense reasserted itself, and he stepped back. She stared at him with wide, questioning eyes, the ivory phallus clenched in her hands.

  “Why are you in here, Katherine?”

  “I thought you might have had an enchanted room here,” she uttered in a stifled voice.

  “Ah…the beast and the beauty,” he said, fleetingly touching the ridges of the scar on his lower chin.

  Her eyes dropped to the ravaged side of his face for several seconds. “You’re not a beast, far from it. Nor am I a beauty.”

  “You are the most exquisite woman I’ve ever met. And I’ve all but kidnapped you with no plans to release you. Is there not a parallel with that story, hmm?”

  Her lips parted in a whisper of a sigh, and the gaze that peered up at him held a thousand questions. They would remain unanswered, for he did not understand the forces driving him.

  With only the faintest tremor in her voice, Katherine replied gravely, “Am I to be placed in a tower, then, and let out only when I am to dine with you?”

  “No.”

  They stared at each other, and the silence felt fraught with an unknown peril. Her throat worked on a swallow. “Each moment in your presence threatens ruin, Alexander.”

  “It does.”

  Her lashes swept down across her cheekbones, but not before he witnessed the spark of ire in her eyes.

  She lifted her chin and stared at him. “When do I return to London?”

  “When you no longer interest me.”

  Her features froze in momentary surprise. And suddenly he felt a villain. But it was simply the truth, and he would not allow either of them to shy away from the knowledge.

  An odd expression flickered for a moment in her eyes. “And what if I interest you forever, Alexander?”

  He jerked as if he’d been punched; then he schooled his expression into an impassivity he was far from feeling. His heart was beating rather more rapidly than necessary.

  The little minx stepped alarmingly close, lifted her hand, and cupped the scarred side of his face, rubbing her thumb over those ugly scars. That light caress was like butterfly wings, and with a defeated groan, he closed his eyes and leaned into her palm. There was a hidden part of him that quite liked the sound of forever. It filled all the empty crevices of his soul with endless possibilities…especially the kissing kind.

  Alexander stepped away from Katherine, feeling cold at the loss of her touch. She moved back and lowered her lashes demurely, and he almost rolled his eyes. Katherine would not understand demureness if it bit her in the ass daily. “Would you like a tour?” he asked gruffly.

  Delight lit in her eyes. “I thought no guests were allowed.”

  “I make exceptions for my kidnap victims.”

  She scowled, and he smiled.

  “Ah, Katherine, you are a flame that has no end, and it would be such a damn pity to see your spark dim.” He wasn’t sure who he amazed more, Katherine or himself.

  She leaned her head back and gazed into his eyes. “Why did you say that?”

  He permitted himself to touch her cheek. “I do not know, but it is the truth.”

  She wriggled her nose, clearly irritated. “Only those afflicted with some sort of madness speak without thinking and then have no notion of their meaning!”

  “I daresay I can reiterate the same about those ladies whose mouths have no filter.”

  She chuckled, the sound sweet and stirring, her eyes alight with something far too warm.

  And not for the first time, he wondered what had happened in her life to shape such unflinching boldness of spirit. Was it when she had lost her father and had to be strong for her family? Or had her rebellious nature been buried under strictures and dictates of propriety until she’d had no choice but to draw from that inner strength with which she glowed?

  Alexander had never experienced such melting tenderness. “Delightful,” he murmured.

  Katherine lifted a saucy brow and fisted a hand on her hips. “I suppose you have no notion of what you speak again?”

  “I referred to your laugh.”

  Surprise widened her gaze. “I believe you are falling into like with me,” she provocatively drawled.

  “I daresay I am.” And it was foolish.

  Katherine faltered, and her gaze met his, demanding, fierce, compelling, yet she made no reply for several seconds.

  “I like you, too, very much so,” she said simply, her eyes warm with gentle amusement.

  He opened his mouth, then realized he had no idea what to say. Without answering, he made his way to his chair with shuffling movements, lowered himself, and wheeled toward a crate. Her inquisitive nature, of course, prompted her to follow him, and he suppressed his smile. Alexander had never shared the contents of the room before with anyone except Penny.

  “And what do you think of my treasure room?”

  “It is beyond exquisite,” Katherine said gaily. “It would take me years to examine each item. They are so beautiful and unknown.” She darted from behind him, reached upon a shelf, and lifted a sapphire and turquoise necklace that glittered with resplendent light in her hands. The collar heavy with golden beads was truly a piece of exquisite workmanship, although it was probably not as old as it appeared.

  “The description on the plaque says this is an item from Cleopatra’s jewels.”

  “That is what I have been told. Though I believe she would have been buried with her jewels, and a tomb has not yet been found for Cleopatra, or at least no one has admitted to finding it,” he said, observing her expression of fascination.

  Katherine nodded. “Still, this must be worth a fortune! And you simply have it here on a shelf?” With a smile, she rested it against her throat, and suddenly he wanted her to have the necklace.

  “Consider it my gift to you.”

  She sent him a bewildered frown. “What is your gift?”

  “The Cleopatra necklace.”

  “This is a fortune, Alexander!” she exclaimed, looking considerably astonished.

  “It does not signify. Please accept it.”

  “No.” She tipped on her toes slightly and placed it back on the glass pedestal where it had rested. “This is an outrageous and improper gift, and you know it.”

  “How alarming that you find anything improper.”

  She giggled, and he hoarded the sweet yet throaty sound like the dragon he was.

  They spent the

next hour touring his treasure room. Her questions were unending, and he answered each one patiently, not wishing to be anywhere else. She lingered over burial masks, rare gems and stones, a coin with Alexander the Great’s image, and silks from India. Now she stood beside a brown bowl that had a hairline crack. Her lithe form as she strolled at his side made his chair-bound state a reminder of what he had lost.

  “And this is from Iraq?”

  He wheeled toward a large desk, which held a globe, and she followed. Then he spun the globe, allowing his finger to stop at the correct place. “Yes, in Mesopotamia. Right here.”

  She was silent for a moment. “You have been to Italy, Greece, Vienna, Paris, Egypt, Iraq, Spain, and so many more places.” Her elegant fingers danced lightly over the smooth surface of the globe. “Did I ever tell you the story of us sinful wallflowers?”

  A rich pleasure arrowed through him. “I’ve earned it now?”

  Her mouth curved into a small smile, and a hint of mischief glowed in her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Tell me,” he said quietly. It was almost shocking how much he wished to know everything about her.

  An odd vulnerability showed in her gaze, but she lifted her chin. “There are five other ladies, and they are my dearest friends. Society branded us wallflowers because despite our families’ most ardent wish to see us marry, the men of the ton are decidedly not interested.”

  Her lips pursed, the gesture one of clear annoyance. “Why should we live our lives on the hopes that someone might marry us? We’ve all vowed recently to pursue the desires in our hearts, even if they are the wicked kind. My first sinful act was to pretend to be your fiancée.” She sighed. “Perhaps one day I shall see the wonders of Egypt and many other countries as well. Travel the world as freely as any gentleman would. How extraordinary and sinful that would be.”

  The wistful hunger in her voice dug deep into his heart. “I know you shall.” Her will and fierceness for life were too vibrant for him to believe in any other outcome.

  She sent him a bright smile. “And you will be my knowledgeable companion, perhaps? Do you not long to travel again? As you showed me each piece impregnated with the past, it was as if I could feel your hunger. It was quite beautiful to see.”

  Alexander stared at her for a long moment, and she did not blush or look away but returned his regard in that impudent way of hers. “I’ve not traveled in years,” he finally said, the old need twisting inside him once more. And perplexingly, he could imagine her by his side, and the delight she would take in discovering a new culture and meeting new peoples.

  “Should we make a vow to do so together?” she asked, the laughter still dancing in her eyes.

  But there was something beyond the humor in her gaze, a longing so profound it made his damn throat ache to lay the world at her feet. Alexander took a deep breath, trying hard not to picture them laughing together in the shadow of the Sphinx and bathing in the warm waters of the Aegean. Was it so wrong to indulge such fantasies when they danced in her eyes so excitedly?

  He chuckled, and the sound was a little sad. “My Katherine, you will not want to drag a cripple around with you; you need a healthy young buck at your side…and in your bed.”

  Her eyes flew to his in astonishment, a startled question in them. He surmised it was the allusion to taking her to his bed. Unexpectedly, the air tightened with tension, a flush mounted her cheeks, and her eyes darkened. Katherine wanted him with the same intensity with which he desired her. The awareness brought a violent surge of heat to his loins. Alexander gripped the edge of his wheeled chair and slowly counted to ten…backward.

  It did nothing to halt the lascivious images flickering to his jaded mind—demanding that she be unclothed and standing before him naked. Ordering her to wrap bolts of sheer silk around her voluptuous body and dance for him as he played the pipe. He could take what her heated gaze so innocently offered, and she would be irrevocably ruined with no chance of an offer from him.

  He had the will and these hungers quaking through him, demanding he bend her to the raw, sexual hunger beating through his body. What his cock would not do, Alexander would take with his mouth and fingers.

  “I am not a man you should want,” he murmured.

  “What astounding arrogance to presume to order my desires, Your Grace,” she retorted just as quietly. Yet her regard spoke a different message— there was a challenge in the depths of her golden-brown eyes.

  Take me if you dare.

  And he sensed it wasn’t a tryst she tempted him to reach for—but forever.

  “I want to see you naked. Take off your clothes for me.”

  With each word, her eyes grew wider and wider, one of her hands fluttering to settle above her heart.

  “You are trying to shock me,” she said faintly.

  “I’ve not seen the naked female form in ten years. It is a hunger of mine.”

  “I am sure there are many who would stand nude before you…without an offer of marriage.”

  He rolled closer to her and stroked his finger over the curve of her hips and up to her side. She did not pull away but swayed into him, and his heart became a roaring pounding of need.

  “Yet it is you I want to see.” Alexander was being wickedly provoking, but it was a truth that had been haunting him for the last few days. His thumb slid over the sensitive skin of her inner wrist. “Shall I command you, Katherine?”

  She uttered a slightly shocked protest. “You are laboring under a misapprehension to presume I would simply obey.”

  “You are my captive, and you are wholly at my mercy.”

  Awareness of her vulnerability shone in her beautiful eyes, along with a flash of such soul-searing yearning, his hands trembled, before he curved them over the arms of his chair, now the one desperate to find a balance. “Why, Miss Danvers, I do believe you want to be wicked with me.”

  Her lips curved into a sweetly sensual smile, and dark lashes shielded the expression in her eyes. His gaze lowered to her mouth, as if some unseen force controlled them. Her lips were pink, lush, sweetly curved, and perfect, and Alexander wanted to kiss her without consequences.

  A long breath burst from him as she slowly lifted her day dress above her slippers and bared a stocking-clad ankle to his eyes. So innocent, yet charmingly provocative.

  He snapped his gaze to her, and the minx winked at him before laughing, inviting him to share in the sensual humor.

  He wheeled his chair toward the door, and right before he opened it, Alexander paused. Then he turned abruptly away and said harshly, “I am the villain of this piece, Miss Danvers. You should do well to remember it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kitty had been at the Castle McMullen for four days. In that time, she’d hardly seen the duke.

  Each day, Alexander disappeared behind the beautifully carved door of his treasure room for hours. It had been one of the most exquisite rooms she had ever seen. Three floors of books, ancient artifacts and relics, paintings, sculptures, and scrolls. When not in his treasure room, he retired to his study. In there, Kitty assumed he did whatever dukes did in overseeing their vast estates.

  The constant rains had kept her indoors, and that was entirely unsuited for her disposition. Kitty loved the outdoors, riding, taking long walks, inhaling the various fragrant flowers redolent in the air, and just basking in the beauty of nature. She, however, tried to endure the restrictions with some cheer, and most of her time had been spent reading Sense and Sensibility, which she had found in the castle’s original library.

  She had discovered another splendid room in the castle and one of the reasons she would wish to stay there forever if she were the silly, romantic sort. Three stories high, the library was resplendent with shelves lining all the walls, and every one of them filled with fascinating books. Beautiful books, lavishly bound in the finest gilded, embossed leather. A wheeled ladder hung on runners, which could be moved back and forth to reach the books on the highest shelves.

  Kitty also enjoyed chatting and playing parlor games with Penny, who was a charming girl, even if rather garrulous. It was through her that Kitty learned that Mr. Eugene Collins was first cousin to Alexander, their fathers having been brothers. Mr. Collins’s father had gone to his final rest only a year after his brother had died in the fire at this castle, so he was now Alexander’s heir.

  Penny’s eyes had been wide and wounded as she reflected on their tragedy, though she had tried to sound unaffected. Kitty had gently shifted the conversation toward the history of the castle. That had been a few hours ago, and the young girl had disappeared for the rest of the day with her governess and tutors, while Kitty had retired to her chambers with a novel.

  Today dragged on most unsatisfactorily, and unexpectedly Kitty felt bored with reading. The book was unable to turn her mind away from the duke and why she was still at his castle. After dreading this possible visit and what the duke would do with her, the absence of anything happening puzzled her immensely.

  What if I interest you forever, Alexander?

  How hungry he’d looked at her question. How frightened, as if she offered him a hope that could be ripped away.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sky took on a darker cast. It was barely noon yet it appeared to be late evening. Kitty placed the book on the bed, then selected a shawl from the armoire and made her way from the chamber. Perhaps she needed a more diverting novel to engage her thoughts. She passed a few servants in the hallway, who bobbed and smiled at her. The longcase clock on the landing chimed. She entered the library and let the heavy oak door close behind her. It took a while to understand the sight before her.

  “Your Grace?” Kitty questioned sharply.

  He was sprawled on his back on the floor, his legs spread open, his hands behind his head. Kitty couldn’t determine if his repose on the carpeted floor had been chosen on purpose or if he had taken a fall. His chair was several feet away by the fire, and he was in the center of the room, with four thick leather-bound books scattered around him.

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