AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chin lifted, she eyed him, her hand still to her hips. “You cannot stop me, you know.”
He met her glare for several heartbeats, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “My cousin...he likes you.”
“Well, that’s a good thing...”
“No, you see, I think he wishes to marry you.”
Demeter laughed. “No one wishes to marry me. I’m too quiet, I-I stutter too much. People think I am simple.”
“I never thought that.”
She glanced at her cream satin slippers, stark against the darkly stained wood floor. “No.”
“You are a duke’s daughter, Demeter, and one who has not yet wed. You are a good prospect for a man who has only just come into wealth.”
“Yes. Of course,” she said numbly.
And not a good prospect for anyone else. That suggestion hung in the air between them. The only reason anyone had ever wished to marry her was because of her father and her dowry, though interest had dwindled swiftly after her debut into Society. She had never minded before. She didn’t want interest from countless gentlemen; just one. She knew loving Blake was a folly and that no man could ever match him. She also knew she did not wish to marry anyone who feared her stutter would embarrass them. It was far easier to love from afar than risk any real pain.
Unfortunately becoming entangled with Blake was leading her too close to risk. She felt it in her heart, pounding heavily, as though wishing to remind her how easily her heart could shatter. Just one word and he could break it, of that she was certain.
But she’d been looking for something to occupy her time and what better way than to get to the bottom of this Foster business? She would simply have to be cautious when it came to Blake.
“How is Ernest?” she asked abruptly when the silence lasted too long.
“Looking handsome.” A half-smile curved his lips. “As predicted.”
“I will visit him as soon as I can.”
“Do. I think he misses you already. You may visit at any time, even if I am not there.”
“Yes. Of course.” She twined her hands together. See? This was why she had to mind her heart. He was only being kind in offering her part-ownership of the dog. It was not so he could see her more.
His fingers curled around her arm once more and he tugged her close. It grew hard to breathe and his gaze skipped over her face.
Then he dragged her into a darkened room and shut the door behind them.
“What are—”
He pressed a finger to her lips and her head spun at his proximity. He remained still, tense, a furrow between his brows. She pursed her mouth against his fingertip.
“Blake?” she said, the word muffled.
“Someone is coming,” he said and she realized he was listening and not summoning courage to kiss her or have his wicked way.
But of course. She let herself sag against the wall behind her and pushed his finger away with the back of a hand. What a fool she was.
***
Blake didn’t make mistakes often. His instincts were always right and leading the sort of life he did, he could not afford to make many.
Taking Demeter into a darkened room, alone, could most certainly count as a mistake. Once the footsteps passed, it allowed him to think upon the lingering feel of her lips beneath his finger. They were soft—unbearably soft. It made him want to recall what they’d felt like upon his own. He regretted that their kiss had been so brief.
No.
He took a few steps back, inhaled deeply and eyed her, her head tilted back, her long, elegant neck adorned by a simple lace necklace stitched into the shape of tiny white flowers much like he’d seen little girls do with real flowers.
He regretted the kiss, did he not? Ashford had warned him against her and he’d not been wrong. Though he’d never let his friend know that.
