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She forced herself to look at him with composure. “Theodore, time is of the essence. The suitors are dwindling because they believe you to be so besotted that you might make a proposal. And no one wants to cross the Duke.”
He inclined his head to the side and hijacked the conversation once again. “We have all the time, Helen. All of it. Tell me, do you remember?”
“Remember what, Theo?” Theodore tried not to groan. He had never before heard someone call his name so beautifully that it almost sent him mad.
“The first time we met? Clyvedon?”
Helen smiled, her face turning slightly pink. “It was an embarrassing situation, so to speak. One that has been smeared into my mind.”
Theodore pulled off his gloves slowly, eager to appease her, then he grazed her skin with his finger. “You likened me to Jack. A compliment that I have kept close to my heart.”
Helen tried hard to suppress the jolt as his body touched hers, but she still shuddered upon contact. They were so close now, merely inches from one another. She could hear his breaths, rapid yet hesitant.
“The rakishness? I think you get a perfect score in that likeness.”
He laughed, transfixed at the sight of her breasts rising and falling with each breath. “You are scoring me now? I believe Jack to be of good character. Just like I am.”
She wanted him to surround her at that very moment, to feel his strength all around her. “Not with the standard of theton. Even though he might pose a challenge to all the young ladies and even the married women.”
Theodore saw the anticipation in her baby-blue eyes, the virginal hesitancy as she struggled to make sense of the situation. He slipped one hand behind her as he grazed her skin lightly with the other. She shivered, clearly under his thrall.
“Helen!” Aunt Gertrude’s voice called from the hall.
They broke out of the trance, suddenly shifting apart. The growing tension that formed ever since Theodore stepped into the drawing room was suddenly rendered apart. Helen shook herself awake, trying to hide the rush of blood to her face. Theodore sat straight as a poker, staring at the wallpaper to relieve himself of the raw desire that flooded him.
He never anticipated something like that to happen. Theodore wanted to please Helen, but he fell for his own plan. His own body betrayed him at the smallest opportunity, falling apart at the sight of her.
“Dinner is set, Your Grace,” Helen said quickly as she shot to her feet.
* * *
Together, they walked to the dining area. Helen walked in front, leading the way while he stalked behind her. All that while, Theodore was trying to stop himself from pulling her into one of the darkened rooms. He pushed the thought out of his mind and pinched himself to get away from everything.
“I am here for her,” he muttered under his breath.
Theodore never expected servings as bountiful as what was set on the polished mahogany table: crimp cod and oyster sauce, lamb chops with peas, chicken fillets, roasted fowls, quails and lots of desserts.
“Lady Helen,” he said, breaking the silence, “can you help pass the chicken fillets so that I might have another delicious serving?”
He saw her aunt smile at him, her chin raised in pride. The food was good, no doubt, but he was thankful for the silence as they ate. Usually, he would be pestered with questions and not even have time to enjoy his food.
“Your Grace,” Lord Erbury bellowed and stifled a cough, his deep baritone reverberating through the room. “May I ask when you plan on proposing to my daughter?”
“Papa!” Helen complained. “The Duke will tell us when he is ready. He does not want to be forced into marriage.”
“Apologies,” Theodore replied briskly with a calm smile on his face. “I am still getting to know Lady Helen before making my intentions known. You can rest assured that I have my eyes on her and no one else.”
Lord Erbury turned to his daughter. “See? There is no harm in asking His Grace. We should let him know that the dowry can be paid immediately so that the necessary details can fall into place.”
Helen grumbled, her face turning pink again. “Papa! We agreed to wait.”
“Is it until you become an old maid?” Aunt Gertrude put in, carefully cleaning her mouth with linen.
“She will not become an old maid under my watch, Lord Erbury. A few more weeks to properly know one another, and I will send for a bishop in the Abbey. You need not worry yourself over these arrangements.”
Theodore saw her flush again, and he wanted to vault over the table and sit next to her. He became seduced by his own imaginations once again as he kicked off his boots gently. With his feet shod in socks, he grazed the tip of her silk slippers. She smirked and put her face down. It was the exact reaction he had been hoping for.
He tickled her again, this time a little vigorously. She sank into her seat, avoiding his gaze. Theodore felt his own body become restless, his pulse pounding. He was soon gripped by a relentless desire, one that his body became subject to.
