His gaze locked on hers. Steady. Unyielding. He didn’t raise his voice; he never needed to. “You are allowed anything you wish, Lady Selina. But I choose my friends carefully. And Austin… is not harmless.”
Austin gave a bark of laughter, though he shifted the weight of his glass. “Harmless? I’m a delight.” He winked at Selina, though his eyes flickered warily back to Dominic. “Besides, the lady seems well able to defend herself.”
Selina’s lips curved. “Indeed. I have weathered sterner faces than His Grace’s. Years of finishing school, remember? Stone dukes hardly intimidate me.”
A faint sound—not quite a laugh—escaped Dominic. He leaned closer, his words quiet but cutting through the noise around them.
“Then perhaps you are braver than is wise.”
She flushed, though she did not retreat. Her eyes glittered, challenging, even as her fan trembled slightly in her hand.
Austin shifted, rolling his shoulders as if to break the tension.
“Careful, Lady Selina. He’ll scare you into silence if you’re not careful. The man has cowed parliament itself with a single look.”
Dominic turned his head just enough to pin his friend with a glance. Austin smirked, but there was a thread of caution in it now, before he left the two of them alone.
Dominic could not understand why he was feeling so irritated. He looked back at Selina. “You must be quite determined to catch yourself a duke this evening, my lady.”
Her smile quickly faded into a look of displeasure. “Believe me, Your Grace, I have as much interest in marrying a duke as they have in marrying me. You must be determined to make yourself the least-liked man of the evening.”
His mouth curved, humorless. “Careful, Lady Selina. You speak as though you imagine yourself immune to me.”
Selina exhaled softly, her voice pitched low. “I will not be cowed, Your Grace.”
He stepped the smallest fraction closer—not enough for anyone to mark it as improper, but enough for her to feel the full weight of him.
“We shall see,” he murmured.
Before she could answer, a voice rang out across the ballroom. The Velvet Duke, all charm and amusement: “You may as well dance, the pair of you, since you seem so absorbed!”
A ripple of laughter followed. Selina stiffened, color high in her cheeks.
She dropped into a swift curtsy. “Forgive me, Your Grace. I find I am suddenly quite fatigued.” Without waiting for dismissal, she swept away into the crowd.
Dominic watched her go, every nerve alive with the urge to follow. He did not move.
Austin walked back to Dominic, clucking his tongue and swirling his wine. “Heaven help her. You’ve frightened the poor girl half to death.” His grin flickered, knowingly. “And yet… she looked back. Did you notice?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened. He had noticed. Too much.
Austin watched him. “She is lovely, is she not?”
“I care little about her looks.”
But she is absolutely beautiful.
Six
Selina tore her eyes away from Dominic’s piercing gaze and made her way toward her sister, grateful for the brief reprieve from the weight of his scrutiny.
“What is the matter?” Christine asked, lowering her voice. “You look positively murderous.”
Selina leaned closer, voice barely above a whisper. “I do not know how I am supposed to marry that man. He is as vexing as he is handsome. And he has… a way of looking at you that makes your own thoughts feel too small.”
Christine raised an eyebrow, half amused, half exasperated. “Vexing? Is that the word you’ve chosen? I would say terrifying, though I suppose handsome makes it more tolerable.”
Selina smirked despite herself. “Terrifying implies he could be bested. I am not certain I, or anyone, could best him.” She shook her head, pressing a hand to her temple. “And then thereis the way his eyes seem to find every flaw, every hesitation. It unnerves me.”
