Nora could hear him clearly, despite the tightness in his voice, but all she could think of was why he had that expression on his face as he stared down at her. It was only slightly unfamiliar, but there was an edge of the danger she had noticed earlier, along with some sort of disturbance.
He was definitely angry. But… why?
She couldn’t understand it, could not fathom a reason why he would be wearing such a look as he scolded her because of something that should make sense but did not really.
Godric stepped closer to her and Nora felt her thoughts fall apart pathetically, leaving her mind blank as she stared up at him?
“Why must you insist on being so difficult?” he questioned in a low murmur.”
“Why are you so angry?” she managed to retort.
“How could I be anything other than that when you were about to do something so foolish –”
“But I did not,” Nora cut him off. “If I had danced with him again, then you would have grounds to complain. But I didn’t, because you interrupted us. So why are you so upset?”
Somewhere at the back of her head, she had put it all together. The anger, the heated gaze, the way he had looked at Lord Gainsbury as he walked away.
Godric was jealous.
The very notion filled Nora with a satisfied shiver, but she would not be fully content until he admitted as much.
The duke did not answer, but Nora was prepared to push him further to get the response she was seeking.
“Why are you angry, Your Grace?” she asked in a sultry voice, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Godric inhaled sharply and reached out to her, the back of his fingers lightly caressing her neck as he leaned in until they were only a breath away.
“As long as I am here, you are mine, Nora. Mine to protect, mine to torment, and mine to punish,” he said lowly, his fingers lightly curling around the side of her neck and his thumb gently pushing her chin upward so she couldn’t look away from him. “What if he dared to touch you? What if he dared to put his hands on what was mine? Did you expect me to simply watch and let it happen?”
His words filled Nora with a thrill of words that left her feeling dizzy. Her gaze lowered to his lips for a moment, and a wave of desperation rushed through her as she yearned to kiss him. The corner of his lips quirked up slightly as though he knew exactly what she was thinking and it was all she could do not to demand that he kiss her.
To her relief, he leaned in, and her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. But a sudden roar of laughter from people outside caused him to pause. As she opened her eyes, he pulled away, his movements slow, slightly reluctant.
He started to turn away and in a fit of panic, she called out,
“Wait. I would like to ask something of you.”
Godric hesitated. “What is it?”
Nora inhaled deeply. “Can you teach me how to defend myself? I was… I was really worried that the man I danced with might have been a rake. The thought of things going wrong in your absence… It would greatly put me at ease.”
He was quiet for a moment, then he said, “All right. I will send word after I have decided when we are to meet.”
Nora nodded and watched him walk away, feeling strangely fulfilled.
As his carriage came to a stop, Godric looked out of the window, sighing at the sight of a gentleman’s club with patrons going in and out of the entrance.
He had hoped for a quiet rest of his evening but the summons he had received from his uncle told him that such plans were now far away from him. Begrudgingly, he disembarked and went inside, nodding nonchalantly at the greetings he received.
Once he was inside, a server came over to lead him to the table his uncle was already sitting at, nursing a glass of whiskey.
“Good evening, Uncle.”
Luther looked over the rim of his glass at Godric as he took a sip before raising his drink in the duke’s direction.
“Evening, Godric. Take a seat.” Luther prompted, pouring some whiskey into the empty glass in front of his own.
As Godric sat down, he could hear a particularly excited group of people ranting and cheering, a few tables from their own. He had tried to ignore them at first, focused on the drink that had been set in front of him, but then he heard a familiar voice groan in upset.
