She gave an inelegant snort. “You’re a duke. You have scores of people at your beck and call to cater to your every whim.”
“Maybe I’m bored of all that subservience,” he mocked. “Maybe I long for someone to argue with and tell me I’m a scoundrel.” He tilted his head, watching her. “If you’re worried about any of the guests at the party recognizing you, don’t. It’s a masquerade. Nobody will know who you are unless you choose to reveal yourself.”
Livvy’s resistance was wavering. She was exhausted, not just from the events of the day, but from everything that had happened over the past weeks and months. How tempting would it be to just allow herself to relax?
Not that shecouldrelax in Devlin’s company.
She worried her lower lip with her teeth, trying to decide, and his dark gaze lingered on the movement in a way that made her pulse pound.
“Of course, there’s always the alternative,” he drawled.
“Which is?”
“That I make you my duchess.”
Chapter Five
Livvy blinked, convinced her ears deceived her.
“I’m sorry. Did you just say, ‘make you my duchess’?”
“I did.”
“Are you . . .proposing? To me?”
He lounged in his chair, the model of masculine relaxation, but there was an odd tension in his frame that suggested he was more interested in her answer than mere curiosity.
“I realize receivingtwoproposals in one day is quite unprecedented, but I like to think I’m slightly more appealing than your Uncle Hubert.”
“But . . . you don’t want to marry,” she said stupidly. “The wholeTonknows it.”
His lips curved at her obvious shock. “I haven’t entertained the idea for a few years, it’s true. But your current situation has made me reconsider.”
“What do you mean?”
His fingers tapped his lips again. “We were just discussing convenience, weren’t we? Dukes are expected to marry. The matchmaking mothers won’t give me any peace until I do. Choosing a duchess would get them off my back forever.”
“That’s—” Livvy protested, but he cut her off.
“And becoming a duchess would solve most of your problems, too. You’ll have somewhere to live, be welcomed in society, and you can continue your work for King and Co., if that’s what you want. I wouldn’t dream of standing in your way in that regard.”
Livvy grasped the mantel for support. “I don’t understand. You can’t possibly want to marry me. There must be a dozen women who’d jump at the chance to—” She paused and glared at him as a terrible thought struck her. “You feel sorry for me, don’t you? Well, I don’t want or need your charity, Your Grace. I can?—”
His snort of laughter stopped her mid-rant.
“You think I’m asking you out ofpity?” His gaze roved over her face, then dropped lower, to her throat, her breasts, her waist. “I’m not that noble, I’m afraid. If it were just about the convenience of having a wife, you’re right, there are any number of women I could choose for the role. But you have the notable distinction of being the only one I want to take to bed so badly that I’m willing to marry you for it.”
Livvy’s mouth fell open in shock. Heat scalded her skin. Surely he was joking?
“I’m afraid uncle Hubert was right,” Devlin continued, a laugh in his voice. “Lust really is an excellent motivation.”
Livy reassembled her scrambled wits and managed a scornful snort. “Oh, yes. You lust after me so much you’ve somehow managed to resist me forsix whole years.”
“It was more of a trial than you could possibly imagine.” His tone was just light enough that she couldn’t tell if he was mocking her or not. “But thankfully fate has intervened.”
He crossed his legs and watched her closely. “Thereisone small problem, however. I know how good we could be together. I want to worship you with my body, exactly as the wedding vowssay.” He paused, noting the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her breathing became erratic.
“But Ionly want thatif you want it too. I don’t want obligation, submitting to your husband out of duty. Or because you’re worried about your financial future if you refuse. I want you kissing me because you feel like you’ll die if you don’t. Because you can’t sleep for thinking about my hands on your body, my lips on your skin.”
