There!She could just make out his faint outline in the dark, before he slipped deeper into the shadows. Triana glanced about to make sure she wasn’t being observed, as she hitched up her dress and climbed over the railing. She jumped the short distance to the ground and hastened along the tall hedge. She tried to calm her pounding heart and focus on the task at hand, grateful that her soft, kid slippers barely made a whisper of sound on the perfectly manicured lawn.
She paused, anxiously searching the inky darkness until she pinpointed that tall silhouette again. Then she carefully continued her pursuit, but her heart slammed into her throat when his head suddenly whipped around. She feared that he might have sensed her presence, so she held her breath and pressed so close to the coarse greenery at her back that it dug into her tender flesh through the thin gossamer of her gown. She dared not move a single muscle until the threat of discovery had passed. After a moment while he appeared to thoroughly scan the area, he ascended deeper into the oblivion.
She let her breath out in a rush, and quickly resumed the chase — but muttered a curse seconds later when she realized the duke had abruptly vanished.
Drat!Well, he certainly hadn’t disintegrated into thin air, and there wasn’t any plausible way he could have turned back without passing her, so… where had he gone? She chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation, thinking of her next move, when she heard a light rustle in the bushes a few steps ahead.
Her lungs froze in her chest as she strained to listen, but when a small hare appeared, she released a disgusted breath. Unease quickly turned to frustration, which settled like a stone in the pit of her stomach. What a grand spy she was turning out to be! First she lost her intended target, and then she was scared out of her wits by nothing more than a harmless rabbit!
She turned back toward the manor house, intent on giving up this foolhardy quest, not realizing how far she’d gone. The merriment going on inside the ballroom was nothing more than a faint hum of activity; the twinkling candle lights a distant glow.
Triana knew something was wrong even before she felt the warning prickles of gooseflesh crawl up the back of her neck. A moment later, a strong hand clamped over her mouth at the same time that her assailant’s arm wrapped around her waist. A terrified scream hovered on her lips as she was spun around — until her eyes suddenly widened in recognition.
A sly smile curved the edges of the duke’s rugged mouth, the shadows all around them transforming his features into something predatory. When he leaned forward, she felt the warmth of his breath as it lightly fanned her cheek, sending a delicious shiver up her spine — and one not born of fright.
“Hallo, Triana.” That sensuous voice coiled around her, causing her toes to curl in her slippers. “I trust you won’t scream now?” At her nod, he slowly removed his hand from her mouth, although he had yet to remove his arm from the curve of her waist.
“Don’t you know how dangerous it is to walk in a dark, secluded garden without a chaperone? There are all sorts of unsavory types who lurk about in the hopes of taking advantage of a lovely, young woman such as yourself.” Chiltern ran a finger over her exposed collarbone, his silver eyes glittering treacherously.
Triana swallowed, her gaze never leaving his face. “You’ll protect me,” she whispered.
“You think so?” A dark brow immediately arched upward as his hand lifted to encircle the back of her neck. “And here I considered myself the danger.”
There was a rush of sensation as his mouth suddenly connected with hers. The unexpected, intimate contact stole Triana’s breath. The earth spun beneath her, yet she knew she was on solid ground.
So this is what is whispered behind closed doors— she thought dreamily, as Chiltern quite literally kissed her senseless. Her entire brain was unable to carry through a coherent thought. What had she come out here to find? She couldn’t remember. Where was she? She didn’t really care. What was her name?
Her mind was a total blank. The only thing that registered was this wonderful torrent of pleasure washing over her skin — through her blood — and the fact she never wanted it to end.
And that was all before his hands began to roam.
He gently brushed the side of her cheek with his thumb, caressing the soft area behind her ear, before teasing his way down her neck. This light awareness caused a strange glow to build inside Triana that soon burned with the scorching heat of desire. She had no idea her flesh could be so sensitive or responsive to another’s touch.
Tohistouch.
When his mouth left hers and began to trail a path along the same areas he’d touched, her knees begin to quiver. He left a scalding path of yearning everywhere his lips kissed exposed flesh. A pulsing need began down deep in her core. She wanted… something, she just wasn’t sure what it was.
Triana wanted to unsettle him in the same manner, so she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, tentatively running her fingernails up the back of his head and diving into that wonderfully thick hair. This definitely gained her a response, for he growled deep in his throat and urgently tugged down part of her gown. She gasped when his head dipped to sample the fare he’d uncovered to his hungry gaze.
She closing her eyes and clung to him as he feasted on her breast. She knew this was nothing more than a lust-filled possession, but she was helpless to push him away because nothing had ever felt so good — or so right.
It wasn’t until the sharp cry of an owl intruded that he seemed to come back to his senses. As quickly as it had all begun, he released her.
He ran a hand over his face and then muttered a curse, turning away.
“Gabriel?”
“For God’s sake, woman, cover yourself!”
Triana was still trying to come out of her passion-induced haze, when his harsh command jolted her back to the present. A flurry of conflicting emotions flooded her at his sudden vehemence — confusion, embarrassment, but most of all anger — as she hastily put herself to rights. “How dare you!” she spat, her indignation sparking hotly. “You were the one who took advantage of me!”
With a dark, humorless laugh, he set his hands on his hips and turned back around to glare at her. “Perhaps I should remind you that you shouldn’t have run off where you don’t belong. I had every right to assume that, since you were alone, you were looking for—” He grinned ruthlessly. “—alternate entertainment.”
“You despicable brute!” she shot back, furious, her fists clenched. “I could ask you the same question, for I doubt any intentions you had — after sneaking out of the ballroom — were free of corruption!”
He immediately stilled and she wondered if she’d gone too far. Taking a menacing step forward, he narrowed that piercing, silver gaze and it was all she could do not to back away from the lethal gleam in his eyes. “What I do with my time is none of your business. But rest assured I had not planned on this little tryst, so calm those tender sensibilities of yours. I wouldn’t have stolen your virtue.” Almost maliciously, he added, “In fact, I’m quite sure you would have given it rather freely.”
Triana, stunned by such blatant cruelty, did something she’d never even contemplated before. She raised her hand and let it fly of its own accord.Crack!
