Page 5 of Miss Kimble Bites Back

“And there are a thousand reasons why I am grateful to be spared that fate,” the unsmiling Duke of Mamble said, and then his eyes narrowed at her. “Ah, it’s you.”

“Me?”

“Another woman who stares at a man with a title as if he’s something to bite into.”

“I would do no such thing,” she said, affronted. “And you stared at me, too. It was quite rude of you.”

He drew closer, a smile twisting up his lips. “Is that so?”

“I was shocked by your boldness,” she insisted. “A gentleman would not behave in such a way.”

“Were you really surprised a man would stare at a beautiful woman? That’s what you’re here for. To be admired, and seduced. To turn a man’s head.” He looked her up and down, and then smiled at her in the very same way he had in the ballroom. He was almost undressing her with his eyes and clearly enjoying doing so. His gaze lingered on her lips and then dipped lower. “You’re a rather tasty morsel. I could be tempted to take a bite.”

Gabby’s face grew hot, as did the rest of her under such intense scrutiny. She could imagine…no, she shook her head. She really shouldn’t imagine his mouth anywhere near her skin!

But since no one had ever spoken to her this way before, she wasn’t prepared for such an encounter. The duke was outrageously bold, and he knew his words affected her. There was no doubting the depravity of his thoughts as he regarded her, and probably every other woman he’d ever met. Yet she had no fear of him. “You should not say such things to a lady.”

“Why not? It saves time,” he said, shrugging away her rebuke. “Besides, I doubt you’re truly shocked by me. If you were, you would have run to hide behind your mama’s skirts by now. Or were you hoping to be compromised and become my duchess now?”

Now that was too much of an insult. She glared up at him. “I do not desire or deserve such an elevation, but you don’t scare me, either.”

“Don’t I?” He stepped closer, his eyes searching hers. “You’re trembling.”

"No, I’m not,” she insisted. However, that was not true. She was irritated by him and his groundless assumptions.

“Yes, you are. You came here looking for Brookes, but now linger with me. You say you’re a proper lady but here you still are. I think you like to live dangerously.”

“How dare you? You don’t know me, and you have certainly formed a wrong opinion of my character,” she seethed. She would have continued to give him a piece of her mind, but his finger was suddenly pressed firmly over her lips.

No man had ever touched her face, let alone her lips. Lord Mamble’s finger was warm and, before she knew it, her tongue darted out to touch that digit of his, or perhaps push it away.

His eyes flared, and a wicked smile curved his lips. “Not proper at all,” he whispered as his finger dragged slowly off her bottom lip and then, to her shock, he circled around to stand at her back. “I like that in a woman.”

“I did not come here for you.”

He moved around to face her again and bent until their eyes were on the same level. Gabby’s heart raced as she stared into the duke’s eyes. Blue, like the sea after a storm. A woman could become lost in his gaze if she let herself.

Gabby glanced down as her knees trembled.

The duke drew closer still and she could almost feel his cheek against hers, his breath across her ears. Hers caught, dreading, expecting his next move to be an attempt to steal a kiss. Her breath came too fast while she waited.

“What a shame you’re an innocent.” He drew back. “Run away now, kitten. Come and see me when you’ve more experience of the world.”

Gabby looked up at him slowly. She did not appreciate being dismissed like she was a mere child.

Mamble suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her about on the spot, and gave her backside a hard slap that sent her stumbling toward the door even as it burst open.

Lady Windermere stood there for a moment, and then her gaze lifted past Gabby to the duke. Her eyes took them both in, together, alone in a room distant from her ballroom, and she narrowed them dangerously on the duke.

Mamble laughed. “Herd her back to your little flock, Esme. This one’s not ready for a wolf like me.”

Gabby hurried toward Lady Windermere even before being beckoned. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She did not want Lady Windermere to think she had been compromised. “Nothing happened,” she promised. Lady Windermere nodded and ushered her from the room. As she fled back to the ballroom, she struggled to know what to think of that encounter. She was unnerved by her narrow escape but also confused that she’d stayed. Would she have done so had the viscount been flirting with her that way instead?

CHAPTER TWO

“Would it hurt you to be nice to at least one debutant this season?” Esme, Lady Windermere, chided, after a prolonged silence of several minutes following the young lady’s departure from the library.