Page 34 of How to Tempt a Duke

Heat scorched her cheeks and suddenly she regretted her decision to dance with him. She would take ill manners over yet another humiliation at the hands of this man.

“No.” His eyes locked on hers. “I was the fool. I have enjoyed our friendship and now I’ve ruined it.” His brow lifted and he turned his head slightly to the side. “Almost ruined it?” he asked hopefully.

She wanted to sigh in exasperation. How was she supposed to keep her wits about her when he looked at her so beseechingly?

She clenched her jaw. If he wanted to continue their friendship she would get what she wanted from this son of her father’s enemy: answers.

“Why did you do it?” Before he could answer, she added, “And I warn you not to lie to me this time.”

Several people stared at them as they passed, their eyes alight with interest...watching. But then they were always watching, were they not? How could she be genuine when she was so very much on display?

Eleanor’s body began to stiffen once more.

The Duke of Somersville’s arm tightened, drawing her closer to the strength of his body. “I vow to be completely truthful going forward. You have my word as a gentleman.”

He came around to face her, preparing for the opening of the dance. Her heart fluttered. The waltz.

She had only practiced it before with her dance master. In fact, she had been sorely tempted to decline each time she practiced because of the dance’s vulgarity.

Though the patronesses of Almack’s had sanctioned it, and given their permission to the ton in doing so, Eleanor had never actually performed the steps at a ball. No doubt her father would have locked her in her room for all eternity for even considering doing so now. And with the Duke of Somersville, no less.

The Duke gave her an encouraging nod and she stepped toward him, placing her left hand on his jacket as his arm came around to lightly touch her shoulder blade. The brush of his gloves whispered over her back, where her skin was bare.

A shiver tickled through her. It was easy to understand why the waltz was considered so scandalous.

He gave her a half smile, boyish and lazy and altogether too charming. It set her heart pounding before the dance could even begin. How would she endure an entire set thus?

She found herself so near to him she could make out every single eyelash around his eyes...could see the beautiful blue was flecked with a subtle pale green she’d never noticed before. The exhalation of his breath teased against the length of her neck like a gentle breeze, tantalizing and intimate. Her stomach quivered and her nipples drew tight where they pressed into the security of her stays.

“Why did you lie to me?” she asked, determined not to let herself be swept away by his attractiveness, determined not to let his transgressions pass without accountability.

The opening notes of the waltz cut in, and the Duke lifted his arm to meet the fingertips of her raised right hand.

His expression became earnest. “I was afraid if you knew whose son I was you would hate me.”

She paused a moment in the dance. “Why would I hate you?”

“Because of our fathers’ past.”

“Did you hate me?” Eleanor lowered her arm. “When we first met?”

He held her waist at a respectable distance—for the waltz, that was—and began to spin around with her. “I didn’t know you.”

The world whirled around and around and around in a heady rush. “You know me now,” she said breathlessly.

“Yes, I believe I do.”

The spinning stopped for a moment and they resumed their careful hold on one another, her hand atop his hard shoulder and his at the nakedness of her back.

His exotic scent was no longer foreign to her, and was uniquely appealing. Conversation was difficult to focus on when it was all too easy to let her gaze wander to his full mouth. And when he held her thus, lightly, almost in a caress.

She liked this, she realized. The closeness to his strong body, the wonderful smell of him, the enticement of intimacy. Was this what marriage would be? A blend of comfort and excitement?

It was far more than she’d ever anticipated a marriage could be.

“What I’ve learned about you makes me want to know even more.” The Duke stared down at her, drawing her attention from his sensual mouth. “Lady Eleanor, you fascinate me.”

Her face warmed in a blush. Was he intentionally trying to distract her?