Page 54 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

“Good evening to you ladies,” he said, trying his best to be his usual charming self in front of Emma and Danae, but the sight of Cordelia with another man had rattled him.

He wanted to get her alone, keep her to himself. Even if he was just a monster and she was the only pure thing in his life. Touching her, being with her was far better than sinking back into the past.

“Your Grace, what a gentleman you are,” Danae said, eyeing Cordelia’s cup of punch.

“I always aim to please, ladies. Always,” he said, making eye contact with Cordelia. “I would have gotten some for you as well, but it seems you have other gentlemen to thank for your punches.”

He nodded at the cups in their hands, and Emma shook her head. “We are strong enough to collect our own cups, Your Grace. But I –”

As if by magic, two gentlemen arrived at the same time to whisk Danae and Emma away for the next set, and then it was just him and Cordelia. He drank down his punch, put down the glass, and offered her his arm.

“Shall we?” he asked. “Take a turn?”

“Very well. What’s this sudden idea?” Cordelia seemed much more relaxed now as they wandered down the edge of the ballroom, nodding in greeting to those who passed. He hoped Cordelia noticed their expressions, a mixture of awe, surprise, and delight.

“A chance to show off my new duchess.”

“And me my new duke?” she teased back.

“Yes, exactly.”

“And you wish to keep me away from Lord Dempshaw.”

“As if my life depended upon it,” he said through gritted teeth, nodding at another acquaintance.

Cordelia laughed, and the sound made the blood rush through his veins. The more time he spent with Cordelia, the more she exited him in, in more ways than one. They were near the balcony doors, and he pulled Cordelia outside into the fresh night air, eager to take this chance.

“What are you doing?” she asked, but he noticed her breathless tone.

He took her glass and put it down on a nearby table, and then he pushed her back slowly against the stone wall of the balcony.

“I find that I am tired of being amongst a crowd.” Both hands were on her waist now, and she had grown more breathless too, biting her lip as her wide eyes looked up at him.

“We have only been here a few minutes.”

“A few minutes too long,” he said with a grin.

He leaned down, his heart beating faster as he neared her lips but then he felt her hands on his chest press against him.

“Nicholas, I want you to tell me about your father.”

CHAPTER 18

Cordelia’s wits were beginning to scramble, but she needed to ask him this before he kissed her, or she would lose all grasp of sense. Nicholas stiffened at her question, however, and when he pulled back to look at her, he was frowning.

“While I have heard all manner of bawdy talk and ways to lure someone into one’s bed, I have never heard this.”

A smirk hung at the corners of his mouth, and he had not moved away, his hands still about her waist, so she was hopeful that he would not shy away now. The sudden urge to know more about him had come upon her that evening. She wanted more, especially now that she knew she wanted him to kiss her and to touch her. But when she’d seen his gaze upon her as she’d descended the stairs that evening, she knew that there was more to him than what he let on. And then, with his kindness that evening to her, and to her family, she needed to hear more from him than flirtations and jokes.

She hesitated only a moment before she continued. “You have not spoken much of your family; I’ve only heard bits and pieces from Mrs. Wright. Helen also knew very little.”

“You asked Helen about me?” he asked her, a brow lifting. Cordelia blushed, and that only entertained Nicholas more. “You were curious about me even then, weren’t you? Swayed just like the other ladies by a handsome face?”

He was chuckling, and she lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “Hardly, Your Grace,” she said drily. “Only learning about my enemies, you see.”

He frowned again. “And is this what this is? Learning more about your enemies?”

His hands tightened on her waist, and Cordelia swallowed. No, she could not be swayed. He was attempting to distract her, but she had to push through, at least a little.