While Theo had seen the result of that kiss, there was no reason for him to discuss what should be private between him and Lucy. All he knew was the agony of leading her on. There was no future with him, and yet he could not bring himself to fully regret what he had done. She was everything he wished he could have, but life was too complicated for him.
Theo continued to prod to no avail until laughter from another table interrupted their conversation. The sound was distinctively female.
In their much younger years, both Daniel and Theo would have exchanged knowing glances and pursued such women, the kindthey were allowed to have intimate relations with. There would be no promises of marriage or any sort of commitment.
Two of the women sauntered toward them. They were dressed in decent gowns, though they looked too tight and several Seasons old.
It did not matter here. Not really. Worse, he recognized them. The redhead was called Clara, and the dark-haired one was called Elena. These women had once offered nights without the expectation of romance. They were uncomplicated.
“Ah, the Duke and the Marquess,” Clara declared. “We have not seen much of you of late!”
“We were simply biding our time,” Theo replied, knowing full well his response did not make sense.
Again, it did not matter here. Nobody was fooling anyone.
Clara sat next to Theo, taking the empty seat as an invitation. The other woman, Elena, took a seat next to Daniel. Perhaps she was the answer to his problems. He needed a woman he didn’t care about to give him release tonight.
When Elena stared at him, a silent understanding passed between them, and he did not pull away.
“You need to forget for a few hours,” she whispered. “I can tell.”
“I do,” he replied, but his voice sounded hollow to his own ears.
Not much later, Daniel found himself in Elena’s small but tidy apartment, which was made of old timber and smelled of cheap lavender. A single candle illuminated her room. Shadows danced eerily above them.
With his coat discarded and resting on a chair, he stood in the center of the room. He needed this, he told himself.
Seemingly knowing what he needed, Elena wrapped her arms around him from behind. It was the touch of an experienced woman; he should know.
“You are so tense,” she whispered, her breath feathering over his skin. “You must forget whatever it is that ails you, Your Grace. At least for tonight.”
She turned him around, and he was like an obedient puppet who moved with her hands. She reached to unfasten his cravat, moving closer so that he could feel the heat of her skin.
In the past, this would have been easy. Daniel would have already pulled her toward him, not for a kiss, but to drag his tongue across her skin. But tonight was different. He went stiff as a board.
Everything was wrong about Elena. Her touch. Her scent. It wasn’t the soft, innocent scent of Lucy. Sometimes light and floral. Sometimes playful and citrusy. Elena’s scent was more heady and strong, layered with artificial musk. Her hands were too practiced, not the trembling hands of the woman he had kissed a week before.
When he closed his eyes, he only saw Lucy. She was not a flashy beauty, but one that you would look at longer as you discover more details. Even though she lived in a gilded cage with her brother, there was fire in her eyes. There was a fight in her.
Lucy felt right. Her lips were not too soft or too hard. Her body fit against his perfectly, arching with pleasure as he kissed her.
No, he could not do it. It felt like a betrayal, even though there were no promises made between them. She could have already dismissed thoughts of him after he had rejected her in his own cold way.
Daniel caught Elena’s wrists before she could undo his buttons.
“I am so sorry, Elena. I can’t,” he rasped, his agony plain in those simple words.
“Did I do something wrong, Your Grace?” Elena asked, pulling back to give him space. “I can make some adjustments.”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I apologize for wasting your time.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond. He fled her apartment, and even the cool night could not take away the confusion he felt. He was hot with desire, but not for the willing woman he had just left.
His mind and body had been completely and utterly captivated by Lucy Coulson.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Follow your heart,” Lucy whispered to herself, testing out her friend’s words of wisdom.
