The Duke Meets His Match (The Infamous Somertons #3)(23)

The act continued for twenty more minutes. Chloe turned to seek out Eliza when she spotted Lady Willowby beside Michael instead. The widow touched his arm, batted her lashes at him, and whispered in his ear.

Chloe’s stomach tightened with an emotion she refused to acknowledge. She whirled back around. Determined to ignore them and put distance between them, she took several steps away.

The crowed thickened as more and more people pressed closer to get a better look at Madame Saqui’s act. A burly man with a beaver hat bumped into her and she was separated from Henry.

“What’s a pretty one like you doing in the gardens alone tonight?” A pox-faced man asked. He was dressed well, probably gentry, but the strong odor of alcohol wafted from him.

“I’m not alone, sir.”

“You have a protector, then? I shall outbid him,” he said with great bravado. He tried to take her hand, but Chloe slipped away. During their ownership of the Peacock Print Shop, men had tried to proposition each of the three unmarried proprietors. Chloe had experience with over-amorous customers. But the crush of people tonight unnerved her, and she frantically scanned the crowd to find Henry, Eliza, or Huntingdon.

Just as fear began to take hold, a strong hand grasped her arm. She whirled to find Michael towering over her.

“This way.”

She had no trouble following him. Even in a crowd, his presence was compelling. Men and women parted at his size and the air of command that exuded from his tall frame. She assumed he would take her back to the supper box, but he led her away from the throng of people and down a gravel pathway into the gardens.

Her step faltered. “Where are we going?”

“We need to talk. Alone.”





Chapter Ten


Panic welled in Chloe’s chest. “I don’t want to be alone with you.” She couldn’t trust herself near Michael. The pull of attraction was too strong. Then there was the issue of Lady Willowby. He’d gone off in one of the private hedges with her alone. Did he think he could be with the voluptuous widow and then attempt to seduce Chloe as well?

He abruptly stopped to face her, and she nearly collided with his powerful body. “Did you kiss Henry?”

She bristled at his tone as much as his question. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Did you kiss him, dammit?” His tone was harsh, his expression like granite. A muscle ticked at his jaw.

“Did you kiss Lady Willowby?”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

“Do not flatter yourself, Your Grace.” She pushed away from him, widening the space between them.

“How long will you convince yourself that we aren’t meant to be together?” The hoarseness of his tone was like a hot caress across her skin.

“Your arrogance is astounding.” She spun around, intending to flee, but her slipper caught on a rock and she stumbled. He latched onto her wrist to steady her, and the simple touch nearly buckled her knees.

“It may be wrong, but I’m honest enough to acknowledge the attraction between us. Are you brave enough to acknowledge it as well, to admit the truth?” At her silence, satisfaction glinted in his coal eyes. “I’ve never forced a woman into my bed, and I won’t start now. Will you be my lover, Chloe?”

A tremor inside her heated her thighs and groin at his erotic offer. She wanted to yield to the burning sweetness that seemed captive within her. She fought it.

“It’s not possible.” Her voice sounded weak to her own ears.

“Why? You do not strike me as the type of woman who prefers flattery and false praise. You would tire of any man who spews poetry and writes sonnets about the shade of your lips or the blueness of your eyes.”

“You misunderstand. What I want is to be more than a man’s mistress.”

“I’ll give you everything.”

Everything but a wedding ring.

I refuse to spend a future worrying about money or security or if he’ll leave, she vowed. I’ll never allow myself to become a victim of a man’s abandonment again!

What she felt for Michael was desire. Lust. Nothing more could come of it. Certainly not a future. If she gave her innocence to him, she would lose the most valuable thing she possessed for her future husband. And after Michael tired of her, she’d be left behind with a few trinkets and a ruined reputation.

The man saw her only as a pickpocket. A thief. Someone out for Henry’s title and fortune. A woman who’d been with other men.

Regret seared her chest. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never be good enough, would she?

“You want a ring?” he asked.

“Is that so hard to imagine?”

He shook his head. “I cannot have a wife.”

Something about his tone made the hair on her nape stand on end. He couldn’t have a wife or didn’t want a wife? The difference was subtle, but there nonetheless.

“What—”

“We do not need to marry to share pleasure. It will be our secret. No one will learn of it. Let me show you how good it can be between us.”

He stepped close and her traitorous heart skipped a beat. The strength and power of his will was as undeniable as the man himself. The glow from the lanterns highlighted his high cheekbones and the perfection of his lips. His gaze was intense and focused on her. Heat emanated from his body, and her skin tingled with awareness. The rakish fall of dark hair across his brow made her want to touch it. Despite her resolve to show no weakness and resist the pull between them, her breaths came short and fast.