Page 19 of The Milliner and the Griffin Rider

The captain’s eyes jumped to him at last, and he cut him off roughly. “We need to start our lesson. The griffins are waiting for us.”

Chloe stared at him in astonishment, her own embarrassment forgotten. It was a strangely brusque manner to take with his squad’s patron. The Duke must treat his captain with a great deal of leniency.

“Not the most patient creatures, griffins,” the Duke said with an easygoing laugh. “I’ll get going, then. Your most obedient, my lady.” He bowed elegantly in Chloe’s direction, and she managed to bob a rough curtsy back.

But as he strolled out of the mews, her eyes were on Harrison, not the Duke’s retreating figure. And he was looking back at her, the storm in his eyes once more.

Nine

Chloe edged toward Sage’s nest, shame creeping up the back of her neck. But Sage had the nest closest to the mews’ storeroom, and Chloe wasn’t paying enough attention to her movements. Her back collided with the storeroom wall, stopping her in place.

She threw an entreating look toward Sage, but the griffin remained perched in her nest, looking back and forth between Chloe and Harrison.

Don’t look at me. Amusement sounded in the griffin’s musical tones. You were the one making eyes at the overdressed one. Personally, I’m most curious to see what Harrison intends to do about it.

Chloe glared at her. It had nothing to do with Harrison, and there was nothing for him to do.

But her momentary inattention had allowed Harrison to move closer unseen, and when she looked back in his direction, she betrayed herself with a gasp. He stepped even closer at the sound, standing so near that Chloe felt the brush of his jacket.

She held her breath, staring up at him, every nerve in her body springing to life at his proximity. The storm in his eyes had reached out to engulf her too, and she couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought.

His face was only inches from hers, his breathing rough. If he leaned down—or if she tipped onto her toes—their lips would meet.

He leaned toward her, and her heart stopped beating entirely, a shiver running over her exposed skin. But his lips brushed along the skin of her cheek with the lightest touch, coming to a stop beside her ear.

“What are you playing at, Chloe?” he whispered.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Even now, if she just turned her head, her lips would be on his. And she could sense—with a sense she hadn’t even known she possessed—that if she did so, she wouldn’t be the only one consumed in the fire that followed. The captain might whisper threatening words, but his stance betrayed him, leaning toward her just as she ached to lean toward him.

An image of her youngest sister appeared in her mind, and her eyes sprang open. She broke free of Harrison’s hold with a gasping breath, stepping sideways into the aisle.

She turned away from him, struggling to get herself under control and calm her breathing. Her month was nearly over, and she had finally managed to make some headway with the Duke. If she allowed Harrison to take her in his arms and kiss her, she would never be able to act for the Duke. Everything would be lost.

As soon as she had her expression under tight control, she forced herself to turn back to Harrison with a smile. He watched her with dark, haunted eyes, but she ignored his expression, responding as brightly as if he was beaming at her.

“Does the Duke often come to the mews?” she asked in a light voice. “I haven’t seen him here before. Perhaps he comes at a different time from me.”

She waited for his answer, trying to appear calm even as her pulse still thrummed.

Harrison slammed a flat palm against the wall beside him, leaning toward it, his head hanging, as if he, too, needed a moment to regain control. But when he turned to her, his expression was as dark as ever.

“Enough!” The word wasn’t loud, but it ripped through her with the same sense of command he exercised over his squad. “What game are you playing, Chloe? It’s time for you to answer me straight.”

“I…I don’t know what you mean.” Her voice shook, the words sounding unconvincing even to her own ears.

That will show him. Sage laughed from behind Harrison, the musical bells ringing through Chloe’s mind. Chloe glared at the griffin, but Sage merely laughed again.

Harrison speared her with a look, reclaiming her attention. “I think you do know,” he said. “As I have known since the beginning. I saw through you the moment I saw you perched up on that rock. Do you have any idea how many girls before you have set out to captivate a duke and make themselves a duchess? You may be more creative than most, but you’re utterly deficient in other ways.” He laughed, the sound holding no true amusement.

Chloe gasped at the cruelty of his words, strengthened by his unjust accusation. Against one claim, at least, she could protest innocence.

“I have no desire to be a duchess,” she said. “And I never did.”

“That’s not what I just saw,” he said contemptuously.

She drew herself up, speaking in her most dignified voice. “I didn’t say I have no interest in the Duke. Just that I don’t have any interest in becoming his duchess.”

The sound of footsteps made her swing around to see Fletcher approaching them. Harrison ignored his second-in-command’s appearance, however, his eyes still fixed on Chloe as his brows rose.