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Emotion was for the masses
It had always been easier to be the Duke of Disdain than to let them see the rest of him The part that was not so disdainful
He hated that Juliana knew the nicknalittering blue gaze and read the anger and defensiveness there He could deal with those responses from her But not the sadness
He could not bear her sadness
She read his thoughts, and her eyes flashed fury “Don’t Don’t you dare pity rip “I’d rather have your disinterest”
The words shocked hio “My disinterest?”
“That’s what it is, is it not? Boredom? Apathy?”
He’d had enough
“You think s toward you apathetic?” His voice shook, and he advanced on her “You think you bore me?”
She blinked under the heat of his words, stepping back toward the side of the stall “Don’t I?”
He shook his head slowly, continuing toward her, stalking her in the small space “No”
She opened herwhat to say
“God knows you are infuriating” Nervousness flared in her eyes “And iave a little squeak, even as he advanced “And altogether” He placed one hand to her jaw, carefully lifting her face to his, feeling the leap of her pulse under his fingertips “And thoroughly intoxicating” The last carowl, and her lips parted, soft and pink and perfect
He leaned close, his lips a fraction from hers
“Noyou are not boring”
Chapter Ten
Hay and horses make for unpleasant eau de toilette
The stables are no place for a exquisite lady
—A Treatise on the Most Exquisite of Ladies
Across our great nation, vicars draft seral son
—The Scandal Sheet, October 1823
Juliana had been enthralled by hio no farther, caging her with his long ar her the contact that she had not known she yearned for until that moment And his voice, that low, dark ru her forget why she was here in this dark stable to begin with
He had hovered there, a breath aaiting for her Waiting as though he could have stood for hours, for days, while she considered her options, while she decided what to do next
But she did not need days or hours
She barely needed seconds
She did not knoould happen later that evening or tomorrow or next week She did not knohat she wanted to happen Except this She wanted him She wanted this moment, in the darkened stables She wanted a heartbeat of passion that would last her through whatever was to come
He was enorht fro him into harsh, wicked shadow She could not see his eyes but i with barely contained passion
Perhaps it was not the casebut she preferred to believe that he could not get enough of her
She placed her hands on hi in the way that histhat there were less fabric between theers traced over broad, tense shoulders, to his neck, where she finally, finally connected arled her hands in his soft, golden curls, either to afford her better access or because he no longer had the strength to resist
She liked the idea of the latter
His lips were at her ear now, his breath cohted in the sound, so contrary to his normal, cool countenance
“You do not sound bored”
He gave a harsh laugh and tortured her with a whisper at her ear “If I had a hundred years to describe how I feel right now, bored would not make an appearance”
She turned her head at the words, her gaze colliding with his “Be careful, Simon You shall make me like you And then where e be?”
He did not answer, and she waited for him to close the distance between them Marveled at his control when he did not His endless, unwavering control
She could not match it Did not try
She pressed her lips to his and gave herself up to his kiss
The moment their lips touched, Simon moved He inhaled deeply and wrapped his arth and scent of him—fresh lemon and tobacco flower
He pulled her closer, his grip strong and powerful, his hands setting her afla different about this kiss fro in Hyde Parkthat had been a kiss of frustration and fury, fear and anger
This kiss was an exploration
It sought and found, chased and captured It was a kiss that suggested they had an eternity during which to learn each other, and when his tongue ran rough-s wave after wave of sensation rocketing through her, she hoped they did have an eternity Surely, it would take that long for her to tire of this Of hiasped at the feel of him, so powerful, so wicked
He lifted his head at the sound, his shadowed eyes searching hers “Is this”
Her fingers stretched into his soft golden curls, pulling him back to her “It is perfect”
He growled his satisfaction at her answer,her head to the perfect angle, and taking herthat stole her breath As he tormented her with deep, luxurious kisses thatbut feel
Her legs turned to water, and he caught her, lifting her off her feet as though she weighed nothing at all She met his force with her own, desperate to wrap around hiled in silk and cotton She kicked out, nearly hitting him in the shin, and he lifted his mouth from hers, curious
“There is too owns,” she said, frustrated
He set her down and one strong, warm hand stroked down her neck to the wide bare expanse of skin there “I find there is the right ae of her dress, setting her skin on fire “This gown is theI’ve ever seen”
She pressed toward hi that it was utterly wanton behavior “I had ithis bottoht you would not be able to resist it”
“You thought right But, I a to see your point Entirely too on, revealing the pebbled, aching tip of one breast “So beautiful” The whisper was dark and velvet, and she watched as he traced a single finger in a circle there once, twice Then the finger aze “Yes or no?”
It was an i her with one fleeting moment to decide what she wanted before he took the lead once more and she tumbled, headfirst, into the world of which he was master
“Yes,” she whispered, her fingers threading into his hair and pulling him to her “Yes, Simon”
Soed in his eyes, and he lowered his head, taking her lips in a searing kiss before he tracked his lips down her throat and across the pale skin of her breast Her fingers flexed in his curls
Yes Simon
He was in control
He was ruining her for all others
And she did not care
His tongue brushed against the devastatingly sensitive skin at the tip of her breast, and she bit her lip, arching Acquiescing
“Juliana?” r />
If the barn had gone up in flames, she could not have beenher name
Si and ie of her dress to its proper place as he did so, and she scra in a circle to get her bearings as she said, “In—in here, Gabriel” She finally picked up the hard-bristled brush again, and said, loudly, “And she particularly enjoys it when I brush her flanks firmly”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you—what are you doing in the stables alone in the middle of the—” Ralston stepped into the stall and froze, taking in first Si to read the situation
Correctly
When he
Ignoring Juliana’s gasp, he storrasped the lapels of Si hi to appear casual Ralston spun the duke around, throwing hi the horses stabled along the corridor into a chorus of nervous whinnies
“Gabriel!” she cried, following therasp Simon’s cravat in one hand and deliver a powerful blow to the jaith the other
“I’ve wanted to do that for twenty years, you arrogant bastard,” Ralston growled
Why wasn’t Si back?
“Gabriel, stop!”
Her brother didn’t listen “On your feet”
Si jaith one hand “You received the first one for free, Ralston”
Ralston’s shoulders were tensed, his fists raised and ready for battle If he was feeling anything like Juliana had been feeling when she left the house, he would not stop until one or both of the eyes and tensed ined it would be both of them
“I shall pay the fee for the rest with pleasure,” Ralston storhton blocked the next blow and sent Ralston’s head snapping back with a wicked hook
Juliana winced at the sound of flesh on flesh and, without thinking, intervened
“No! No one is paying any fee! Not now, not ever!” Juliana pushed between the match
“Juliana, get out of the way” Leighton’s words were soft and dark
“Speak to her with such faain, and I’ll see you at dawn,” Ralston said, furious “In fact, give ht now”
“Because we’ve had enough scandal for one evening, Gabriel,” Juliana answered “Even I can see that”
And like that, the fight went out of him
She did not lower her hands until he lowered his But when he did, she said, “Nothing happened”
He gave a little huaze over her head She saw the et I have not always been an oldhas happened Ladies do not look like you do when nothing has happened Men like Leighton do not happily take punches when nothing has happened”