He kept his gaze on her as he began to approach her in fluid, strong movements, like a predator stalking its prey.
Isabella’s heart hammered against her chest with every step that he took.
Who is he?
She did not know him, and she was here alone with him. Yet that hardly stopped him from getting as close as he could get.
“Perhaps you did not hear me. I asked what you are doing here.” The firmness in his voice, mixed with the faint smell of mint and sweat and the nearness of him, made Isabella’s head spin, but she forced herself to respond.
“I-I was intrigued by the sound. I didn’t realize that a person would be working here. I wouldn’t have come otherwise,” she said, trying to keep her tone steady.
His dark eyes lingered on her a fraction. “You are a guest, are you not?” he asked, a full brow raised.
Isabella nodded, her pulse racing.
“So, it is right of me to assume you know basic manners, isn’t it? You do not wander around places you are not appointed to. This is a private space,” he stated in a cool tone, his eyes fixated on her with an intense gaze that took her breath away.
He is so handsome.
She shuddered a little as her eyes dropped to the muscles still visible through his shirt. “I apologize. Again, I didn’t mean to intrude or disturb your work,” she said softly, and with a deliberately casual movement, she made to turn and leave, his next words halted her motion.
“Was it my grandmother?” he inquired, his brow still rigid with concentration.
“I beg your pardon?” She met his gaze once again.
He took one step forward, forcing her to take one back.
“I’m asking if my grandmother sent you here. To me.”
“Your grandmother?” Isabella asked, only for the words to dawn on her a moment later.
It was no wonder the man spoke with so much confidence and authority; of course, he would.
For he was none other than the Duke of Everthorne himself.
Her eyes widened. He was the one person the ton was most curious about, with discussions about him buzzing across every ballroom and drawing room corner. Yet, here he stood, right before her in the flesh.
“Your Grace, I…” she paused to catch her breath. “Your grandmother didn’t send me here. I have barely spoken to her this evening.”
“Is that so?” he muttered, arms crossed over his chest like thick wooden barges. “For someone who wasn’t sent, you’ve come a long way from the ballroom.”
The accusing tone of his comment made her head tilt to the side. “I do not know you, Your Grace. Had you not mentioned your grandmother, I would’ve thought you a servant of the family.”
A small, self-deceptive lie. She hadn’t believed him to be the Duke of Everthorne, true, but a servant? Not even close. If shewere honest, there had been little room for reason at all the moment her eyes fell on him.
That bare chest, the taut muscles flexing with each movement… it had entirely robbed her of coherent thought.
A faint, unwelcome blush crept across her cheeks at the wanton images her mind refused to suppress. She chastised herself silently, though the heat in her skin betrayed every scandalous thought.
“Even in this dim light, the color in your cheeks betrays you. More proof that you’re not telling the truth.” He accused in a cool tone that could freeze a fire.
Another silent shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. There was something utterly captivating about the sound of his voice, even if he was talking down to her. “I am not a liar, Your Grace, and the accusation leaves a bitter aftertaste,” she bit back almost instantly without so much as a hint of fear in her voice.
A dark chuckle escaped his throat, and her anger flared. “I have not called you a liar, but what you have said is a lie.”
“It is one and the same, and I wonder what about me has given you that impression, Your Grace. That I would come all the way down here simply to lie to you. Perhaps it would be best if you confirm with your grandmother if she did indeed send me or not.” She paused to catch her breath. “Heavens, I merely wanted some time to myself, then I heard the sound and followed it here.I have absolutely no reason to lie to you, and the fact you thought so, with no evidence whatsoever, is very telling.”
Silence met the end of her words, his dark eyes simply boring into her face, making her pulse gallop.
