Page 41 of Mad Duke March

His smile turned easy as if he was about to make a jest or perhaps lie, but then he met her gaze and gave his head a little shake. “Honestly, I was thinking how I’d like to have a drink right now.”

Emily’s heart dropped right into her stomach. Did that woman have so much power over him as to drive him to drink again? “I really wish you wouldn’t.”

“Because you don’t want me embarrassing you?” He didn’t look at her as he asked the question.

Emily licked her lips then slowly, carefully, placed her hand on his jerking knee again, stilling his movements. This time he didn’t jolt in surprise. He slowly turned his head, looking at her hand as if it were a foreign object he’d never seen before.

“No,” she said softly. “Because I think I actually like you when you’re sober.”

He raised his brows. “You do?”

Emily smiled. “Well, the first time I saw you drunk, you nearly crushed me.”

He snorted. “I saved your life.”

“And the second time, you were entertained by a…” She paused and looked around. “I think you remember.”

He let out a chuckle. “And you didn’t like that?”

“Surprisingly, no,” she answered with a smile.

“Do not worry. I am not about to start drinking. I know it makes me an unlikable person. I know that it interferes with my rational thinking.”

“Why do you drink then?”

He shrugged. “It’s not the drinking that’s alluring. It’s just… it dulls the unwanted thoughts. It also washes this dull, gray existence with color. Makes everything more exciting for a moment.”

Emily frowned. “And you never feel this way outside of drinking?”

He looked at her strangely, his eyes glinting with an unfathomable feeling. “Lately… Yes. More often than before.”

Something in his tone of voice, in the look in his eyes, made Emily flush with heat. “You probably just need a distraction.”

He nodded slowly. “Probably.”

“Then what if I distracted you with something?”

He raised a brow suggestively, his next question coming quick and teasing. “In front of all these people?”

Emily couldn’t help the chuckle that left her lips. One lift of the brow and she was already covered with a sheen of sweat, heat gathering low in her belly. She understood his implication. And yes, she would have loved to kiss him now to distract them both. She wished he would kiss her too, but not in an angry way as he’d kissed her before. But a real kiss. A gentle, passionate kiss. Her body trembled at the thought.

Emily briefly closed her eyes. She needed to return her mind to the present and help distract her husband. And she might as well get something out of it. Maybe, she could get to know her husband more, understand why he was the way he was. “What if you told me about yourself?” she offered.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Emily moved to lift her hand off his knee, but he covered it with his, trapping her, causing warmth to flood her body. Then he looked her in the eyes. “What would you like to know?”

Surprised but glad that he was willing to entertain her questions, Emily perked up. “Anything. Everything. I do not know you at all aside from the things I learned through gossip.”

“Gossip is not the most reliable source of information.” One side of his mouth kicked up in a smile, his fingers lazily exploring hers. “You should know that more than anyone.”

“I do.” Emily smiled. Her heart raced, reacting to his subtle caresses. “So, tell me the non-gossip version of why they call you the Mad Duke?”

He laughed. “Pretty self-explanatory, don’t you think?”

She shrugged. “Not really.”

“You don’t think I’m mad?” His fingers traced up her arm and then back again until he turned her hand palm up.

Emily laced her fingers with his, capturing him within her hold. “I’ve seen madder.”