Page 47 of The Not So Perfect Duke

Damon narrowed his eyes. “Is that so? I think you thrive on the excitement.”

“Every case is exciting. So yes, I do thrive on it. What is the matter? You have a dour look on your face.”

And he did. Damon was frowning now; the guarded expression had dissipated.

“I do not wish to discuss charitable acts or the level of exhilaration in your investigations, not tonight. I want to know what is going on between us and where it will go.”

“Go?” Althea gave him a puzzled look. “Why does it have to go anywhere? We agreed on a dalliance, and you proposed an hour. Well, here I am.”

“And that is all?” he asked softly.

“I assumed that is all you wanted. Even though a brief liaison was all we discussed, I do take this seriously. I have had plenty of opportunities to be involved with men from all walks of life. You are the only one I’ve wanted to take to my bed.”

“Technically speaking, it is my bed,” Damon purred. “Here is irony for you, perhaps with a liberal dash of hypocrisy, but I do not wish to be used and tossed aside. Or perhaps I deserve to have that exact thing done to me, considering my corrupt past. Regardless, the simple fact is I do not wish to advance with this unless we agree that we both are open to—more.”

“More?”

There were varying levels of more. Does Damon mean physical relations? A deeper commitment? He could not be serious.

But one glance at his tense, gorgeous face it was patently clear that Damon was deadly serious. So much for keeping his emotions behind a mask. Althea could read plenty: trepidation, vulnerability, doubt, and desire. A potent mix and one that had Althea softening all over.

The rain started to patter against the windows.

Damon reached for the bottle of wine. “We should have some before the bubbles disperse. A little wine, my Thea?”

Althea nodded, for she couldn’t speak. Her mind was in a whirl.

He poured her a glass, then leaned forward to pass it to her. “My feelings for you are quite intense and evolving by the minute,” Damon said, his voice deeper than usual. “Remember, I said something extraordinary was happening between us.”

“Yes, but I thought you meant in that particular moment, something brief,” she replied, taking a sip. The bubbles danced on her tongue, and she reached for a raspberry and popped it into her mouth. This conversation was not what she expected.

“I wish to ban the word brief from any further conversations. Forget brief. Forget dalliance and liaison. I am talking about an affair of the heart. We hold nothing back. And if it takes us to any permanency, then we embrace it.”

Althea started hacking as her wine went down the wrong way on the word permanency. He sat next to her and rubbed her back until she stopped coughing.

“Why not us?” Damon asked as he rubbed, intensifying the heat between them. “Christian and Eleanora make it work. As has Gideon and Olivia and Asher and his lovely wife. Brandon Knight, one of the most bitter men I have ever met, has embraced love and started a new life. Do you believe I am incapable of such emotions? That I am a barren husk of a man who cares not for anyone or anything?”

Althea glanced up and stared into his beautiful eyes. “Perhaps at first meeting and a little while after, but not now. I know that you care.” Without thinking, she cupped his cheek. “You are most decidedly not your father’s son. And I am glad of it.”

He rubbed his cheek against her palm, causing her insides to tumble with desire.

“That means more than you can imagine,” Damon said quietly. “But I need further from you. I need to hear you say that you are open to exploring these powerful emotions. That you will give us a chance to discover and embrace these feelings. I cannot illustrate the change that has taken place within me, but it occurred. And is accelerating the more I am with you.”

“But I have plans for the future,” Althea murmured. “I have no intent to marry. That is what you mean by permanency, is it not? I can’t or won’t give up my agency. Not for any man, no matter how compelling.”

Damon took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “No one is asking you to be less than you are. I would never make such demands or control your life. Besides, we can discuss that when we come to it. As I said, allow us to explore first. Come with me. Upstairs. Let the investigation begin.”

Althea smiled, far more tempted than she thought she would be.

“Besides, it’s raining,” he continued. “What a fine opportunity for us to cloister ourselves away from the world and revel in each other’s company.”

“Very well, I will go up—”

Damon cut off the rest of her sentence with a devastating kiss. He pulled away, leaving her panting.

“I-I haven’t told you of my visit to Newgate yet,” Althea said breathlessly.

“Later, my Thea. Come with me now.” Damon stood and held out his hand.