Revealing Ruby (Bound and Determined #1.5)(35)
He smiled again, although only the barest crook of a lip made it too his mouth. Society might say many things if his full life, his full interests, were ever revealed, but he doubted dull would be among them.
Indulging himself, he allowed his eyes to follow Bliss as she slipped through the crowd. Her dress was dreadful, but then most often they were. He’d heard her give expert advice to others on fashion, so why did the chit insist on choosing the worst patterns for herself, dresses that hid every hint of her feminine shape? The dark rose monstrosity looked like she’d stepped into the middle of a molded aspic, the slick silk glistening like gelatin. And it moved the same way, disguising the graceful motion of her body.
Watching, he saw her approach a young man, stopping a few feet from him and shooting him an inviting glance with her deep blue eyes. The man, Lord Paul, he thought, blushed and then as if moving under a spell held out his arm and led her toward the dance floor.
Bliss took a step forward, standing several inches too close to Lord Paul and peering up at him from beneath lowered lashes.
Duldon felt his palms begin to tingle.
Yes, the girl was looking for trouble and if she wasn’t careful she just might find it.
He sighed inwardly; he’d warned more than one young gentleman away from Bliss and by the end of this night it might be time to warn another.
His eyes swept about the room. Lord Dunston was busy flirting with one of Blankmore’s daughters. Mr. Middleham was at the punchbowl. Lord Temple—Lord Temple was staring at Bliss with a little too much fervor in his gaze. It might be time to have another chat with the man. He did seem to be about far too often for it to be merely coincidence.
Bliss was his.
She might not be ready to admit it, but she would soon.
She’d given herself to his care when she’d asked him to marry her and he’d never forgotten it. She might have been twelve at the time and convinced that marriage would gain her his best racer, but from that moment on she’d been his, his to protect, his to care for, his to…
When she’d been twelve and he twenty the feelings had been protective and brotherly.
They might still be protective, but there was nothing brotherly about them now, and hadn’t been for several years.
Bliss reached out and brushed something from Lord Paul’s cheek as the dance began.
Duldon slammed a palm hard against his thigh.
No, he was not dull and soon he’d be demonstrating to Miss Danser just how mistaken she’d been. He might never reveal his true inclinations to her, but that didn’t mean she would not know his displeasure.