Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

A re you really doing this? Alice asked herself.

Barbara’s dare from earlier had crept up on her as she and the handsome stranger finally stopped bickering. He had been annoying and rude at first, but as their conversation drew to an end, she had begun to find him rather charming.

Then, when he suggested they remain strangers, she suddenly had her idea. Didn’t Barbara say a stranger was a perfect man to ask? One she didn’t have to worry about impressing or seeing again? And here he was! Still, she surprised even herself when she reached for the man’s wrist and asked him to wait.

“Yes?” he asked, his deep voice holding a hint of amusement.

Suddenly snapping out of it, Alice released his hand and shook her head. “Nothing,” she uttered.

“I don’t think so,” the man drawled, his white teeth glinting as he smirked. “Come, do not leave me curious,” he coaxed, his deep voice sending an odd heat to the apex of her thighs.

Calling on all her courage, Alice forced herself to speak. “I—well,” she stammered, finding the strength she had only moments ago.

She had felt just fine when they had been yelling at one another, but now that they were calm, she found her bravery waning. His left eyebrow—the one not covered by his mask—rose in curiosity as he waited for her to finish.

“It is clear that neither of us would prefer running into another person,” she continued. “I have no idea why someone like you would need to hide during a party such as this, but I for one am just thankful for the respite. We may share the space. If you are comfortable with it.”

The man looked back at her calmly, his mask hiding most of his features, so she could not read his expression.

“And you?” he asked after a while. “Would you be comfortable with it? A mere moment ago, you could not stand my presence.”

“Well, you were shouting at me.” Alice laughed, giving him a What-else-was-I-supposed-to-do sort of look.

At this, a charming smile broke across the masked man’s lips, touching his face with light for the first time. It caused a strange stir in her lower belly—something she’d never felt before.

“I suppose I was, wasn’t I?” he asked, a tinge of remorse in his voice. “But, to be fair, watching you set a sofa on fire warranted the… tension.”

“It was not me!” Alice half-laughed, half-sighed. She was not sure if she was amused or growing annoyed again.

“And you never answered my original question,” the man pointed out.

His stance had relaxed considerably, and even though he was quite tall—nearly double her height—he no longer seemed intimidating to her. In fact, like this, he looked quite handsome with his chiseled lips, strong jawline, and dark blue eyes that she found quite mesmerizing.

“Why do you need a place to hide at this party?” he asked again.

“My sister and father want me to marry,” she found herself blurting out, to her own surprise.

The man’s smile grew wider as his blue eyes glittered. “I believe you have to go out and actually interact with the gentlemen in order for you to find a husband,” he remarked sarcastically.

Frustrated by his tone and the effect it had on her, Alice suddenly hurled her book at his chest. To her surprise, it hit him square on.

Duncan looked down at his chest in amusement, as if the thing had been no more than a fly, and then looked back up at her with a smirk.

“ Ow, ” he said slowly, shaking his head subtly at her, as if disappointed in her actions.

“Oh, please,” Alice scoffed, refusing to feel bad for the big, hulking man before her. “Look at you, you could probably take a bullet to the chest and not even feel it.”

“I would rather not test that theory.” He chuckled, leaning down casually to pick up her book. “Now, out with it. Why are you in here if you are looking for a husband?”

“I am no longer looking,” she stated defiantly. “I have conducted the search long enough. I have found nothing. Therefore, I am done. It is just… my sister and father have not accepted that yet.”

The man studied her silently for a moment, his eyes unabashedly taking in every inch of her from head to toe.

“And the life of a spinster is what you want?” he asked after his perusal.

“Is it so awful?” she shot back defensively.

“It is not any worse than what I want, I suppose,” he replied with a shrug. “I too have no desire to marry.”

“You?” She laughed. “Why would you not want to marry?”

“The point of a marriage is to continue a bloodline—in my case, as well as a title—but I will not be doing that,” he explained in the same casual manner.

Alice was surprised at this. Isn’t that what all men wanted? An heir to continue their name and legacy?

“You look perplexed,” he noted when she said nothing.

“I suppose I am,” she admitted.

“Why? Surely you’ve met other men who didn’t want to marry before.”

She nodded. Of course. Most of her suitors had been bachelors in their forties or older, looking to settle down with a plump, quiet wife to produce an heir or two before their deaths. But that was it. They delayed marriage to deal with the responsibility of fatherhood later.

This man, though, did not want fatherhood at all.

It saddened her, though she didn’t know why. Perhaps it was a pity to know that there would not be a little boy running around one day with this man’s dark blue eyes, mussed brown hair, and sarcastic if not broody persona.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked curiously.

Alice drew her eyes up to his quickly, feeling the color drain from her face as she realized the direction of her thoughts. But when she saw the look of approval in his eyes as they dropped to her lips, she felt all the color return quickly. The room suddenly felt too warm, too small.

What was she going to say? Not the truth, certainly. Then, of all things, Barbara’s suggestion popped into her mind.

“This is, well, probably the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard,” she confessed, surprising herself by the words she’d just allowed herself to speak.

Something changed in the man’s smile. It was still there, but something… sensual had entered his expression.

“Now I am really curious,” he replied. His deep voice hit a raspy note at the end of his sentence, sending a bolt of desire to her core.

Oh Mother Mary, am I truly going to do this?

She felt her mouth go dry as she thought of him saying no to her suggestion.

“But,” she continued, trying desperately to control her sudden trembling, “if we are, as you insisted earlier, to remain strangers, then I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”

The man moved closer until their toes were only an inch apart, and she had to crane her neck to look at him from this proximity. Something about not being able to see half of his face sent a shiver of excitement down her spine, and she felt her heart begin to race. If his dark, handsome features weren’t enough, his scent was. It was not a cologne like the one most men wore. No, this was the scent of a place, of somewhere special. Somewhere where the ocean, woods, and wildflowers all bled together lovingly.

“I’m listening,” he replied, tilting his chin slightly.

“Would you kiss me?”

The words came out in a rush and not all seductive, but Alice had gotten them out. Not sure what to do next, she stared up at him, her panic rising as the silence began to stretch between them. Realizing she’d made a mistake and that she’d also probably just ruined her reputation and any prospects of marriage, she heard apologetic words begin to tumble out of her mouth.

“Please, Sir,” she begged, feeling her face turn hot as she reached for the door, “forget that I ever asked. I’ll go. Forget that we ever met?—”

Her words were cut off as she suddenly felt the stranger’s strong, large hands wrap around her waist and back her up against the wall. A small gasp of surprise was all she was able to muster before he slid his mask up just enough to reveal his lips, and then he kissed her.

Full, warm, unbelievably soft lips that tasted lightly of whiskey and honey coaxed her lips, showing her how to open and close them together with his. It was a kiss that stole her breath and made her stomach fill with yearning. She pushed at his chest, shocked at the sensation, and he pulled back immediately, his blue eyes glittering, searching hers as he took a step back.

For a moment, they held on to one another, panting and confused as they looked deep into each other’s eyes. Then, as if they both shared the same thought, they pulled one another back into a tight embrace, kissing once again.

Pleasure, shock, and an array of other new sensations swirled through Alice’s body as he showed her how to take their kiss further with his tongue. With gentle strokes and prods, he coaxed her mouth open, sliding his tongue teasingly against hers until she felt bold enough to do the same.

As if pleased by this, a low moan rumbled in the back of his throat, and he held her tighter as he deepened the kiss by drawing her tongue into his mouth, dominating her completely. The taste and sensation of his tongue inside her mouth unlocked something inside of her, and she felt her body completely melt between him and the wall.

When his kiss stopped and he pulled away from her lips, Alice forgot for a moment how to breathe. This is what her sister and Barbara didn’t want? What woman could not want this? This was amazing!

“Was that satisfactory?” the man asked, his voice sounding deeper, more gravelly than before as he locked eyes with her.

His hands were still gripping her waist, his thumbs drawing small circles on her corseted ribcage. Each time he did so, it sent pleasurable vibrations through her thighs, making her tremble.

“Yes,” she panted, completely transfixed by his presence.

She didn’t hear the turn of the knob, nor did she hear the creak of the door as it was opened. But when Alice heard the gasps of their fellow partygoers, her heart sank immediately, and the dizzying intimacy she’d just experienced vanished. As she looked at the faces that had just been teasing her earlier, she felt dread fill her, and she looked back pleadingly at the gentleman she’d just compromised.

“I’m so sorry,” she mouthed before pushing him away.

What had come over her? Had she seriously just done that?

“Would you look at this!” a lady’s voice blared through the growing crowd of onlookers. “It seems as if Princess Pastry Puff’s mask worked, after all!”

Shame colored Alice’s face as she looked for a way out, but when she saw her older sister’s face appear at the front of the crowd, all of the crimson hues faded to a sickly white.

Lydia’s blue eyes lit up with fury as she focused her gaze on her, and in shock, Alice stood perfectly still as her older sister marched toward her.

“We are leaving,” Lydia hissed through gritted teeth, before roughly gripping Alice’s hand.

In a strange, out-of-body experience, Alice watched her body be pulled silently through the laughing crowd and toward the front doors. Her mind told her to look for the poor gentleman she’d just compromised, but the numbness that spread through her did not allow her to. It was only when she’d climbed into the carriage with Lydia that she snapped back into her body with a jolting force. Feelings returned in a monstrous wave, overtaking her, and she immediately began to utter apologies as the carriage lurched forward.

“Hush!” Lydia snarled, giving her another look of disgust.

Alice shut her mouth immediately.

“Do you have any idea how hard Father and I have been working to find you a decent husband?” Lydia asked, crossing her arms.

Alice could see her sister’s fingertips gripping her forearms tightly, and she worried her sister would bruise herself.

“Yet you have turned them down one after another, insisting that you have a right to choose for yourself,” Lydia snapped. “And this! This ?! This is how you handle it?!”

“It is not what it looks like!” Alice tried to argue. “What I did was foolish, yes, but it was just a mistake.”

“Just a mistake?” Lydia looked up at the ceiling of the carriage as she let out a rather mad laugh. “Just a mistake. You are smarter than that, Alice Knight. Don’t you dare act so dumb! You know the implications of what you just caused!”

Alice stopped trying to defend herself as shame sank in. Her sister was right, whether she liked it or not.

“Why would you do this, Alice?” Lydia asked, giving her a pleading look. “Do you hate Father and me this much for trying to secure you a decent match?”

“No,” Alice sighed, feeling guilt rise within her. “I never meant for anything like this to happen. But, Lydia, you and Father also shouldn’t have forced me here tonight. You were able to make your choice, and I should be able to make mine. I don’t want to marry. Not anymore.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Lydia sighed, taking Alice’s hand and giving her a pitying glance. “Now you may have no choice.”

“No, I won’t.” Alice shook her head. “The man is no doubt furious with me, and with this scandal now, no gentleman will want me. I am so sorry, Lydia.”

For a moment, Lydia said nothing, then she let out a sigh as she slid into the carriage seat beside Alice and embraced her. “Furious or not, the Duke may still propose to you,” she said, stroking her sister’s hair. “Someone of his rank surely wouldn’t want the scandal. And if you liked his kiss, perhaps it could be a suitable marriage.”

“Wait a minute,” Alice blurted out, suddenly catching up with her sister’s words. She pulled away from her sister’s embrace and gave her a quizzical look. “The man back there was a duke?” she asked.

From his seat, their father let out a groan.

Lydia let out a small laugh. “You did not even know whom it was you kissed?” she asked. “Oh, Alice, darling, you truly are a wonder! The man you kissed was Duncan Banfield, the Duke of Baxter!”

“I mean, old boy!” Morgan laughed loudly, deeply amused by Duncan’s scandal. “I know I told you to find yourself a lovely little dove, but I thought you knew better than to get caught actually plucking her!”

“Watch your mouth,” Duncan growled, storming away from his friends and toward the fireplace. “It was not like that.”

He had no idea what the woman’s name was, but he was immediately displeased with his friend’s vulgar words. As a matter of fact, it was she who had asked for the kiss, but he somehow knew that she’d never go so far as to allow any man to just do that to her. She had been terrified if not deeply curious when she’d stammered out her request for a simple kiss.

Her ignorance of how the request had filled him with a deep need only made it all the more intense. It had taken over him so quickly that he’d lost his breath as his already half-erect shaft hardened to a painful degree. For a while, he simply had to focus on not losing control. His silence, no matter how brief, had made her doubt his intentions, and he hated that he made her feel even the briefest moment of embarrassment for her innocent boldness. She was not at all like Leopard Lady. They were incomparable.

He’d meant to kiss her gently. It was obviously her first one. She seemed so unlike him, completely soft and nurturing, while he was as unforgiving as metal. His fervor could crush her, and he knew it, and though he’d ached to possess her, he had bid himself to keep control. And he had at first. But then, that second kiss…

What the hell was that?

After having his world spun by the Lady in White, it had taken Duncan far too long to realize that they’d been caught. Somewhere in the middle of the drama, Morgan had appeared, grabbed him by the arm, and ushered him out of the party. They had run into Ezra and Ambrose just as they were walking to their carriage, and the four of them quickly retired to Duncan’s London estate, where Morgan was all too gleeful to fill their friends in on the social crime Duncan had just committed.

“Just a kiss? That’s not what I heard,” Morgan scoffed, helping himself to a drink.

“Damn the ton and damn what you heard,” Duncan retorted aggressively. “A kiss was all it was.”

“If that is all it was, then you have no need to concern yourself with this woman,” Ezra interjected, his voice cold and emotionless as usual. “She was probably trying to trap you anyway. The ladies in London and their mamas are known to play tricks like this all the time. Teach her a lesson and snub her.”

“She was not like that,” Duncan gritted out.

He rubbed his bottom lip as he recalled the look of hope in her eyes when he’d touched her. It was tinged with fear and insecurity. That had all been gone when they’d first pulled back to look at one another. Desire had made her pupils dilate, nearly swallowing the light in her green irises. Just desire, nothing else. Then, when they’d been caught, her lust had quickly turned into fear and mortification, not relief or triumph.

No, she had not done this on purpose.

“Well, I agree with Ezra anyhow,” Morgan said, his words starting to slur. “You do not owe her a thing.”

“Do not listen to him, Duncan,” Ambrose interjected heatedly, throwing him a glare at the same time Duncan did. “Intentional or not, the results of the situation are dire now,” he continued, turning his gaze back to Duncan. “I know if it were my sister caught in such a position, I would demand satisfaction as soon as the man she’d been caught with refused to propose.”

“As would I if I had a sister,” Duncan quickly shot back. “Do you think I do not understand the implications of this situation? She may have asked me to kiss her, but I was the one who agreed to it.”

“Do you even know the woman you kissed?” Ambrose asked next, being the voice of reason among them all.

“I do,” Morgan quipped before Duncan could confess that he did not.

“Well, do tell,” Ezra sighed, looking unbothered as usual.

“I heard them all talking about it at the party,” Morgan explained. “Her name is Alice Knight. She’s the middle daughter of a viscount. One-and-twenty, and on the marriage market for the third year now.”

Alice. It fits her . The name sounds as soft and sweet as she looked .

“Not bad,” Ezra mused. “Probably very easy to please, at this point. I don’t know, Duncan, maybe you should make an honest woman out of her, after all. Wouldn’t hurt for you to have a companion. That way, you could finally pop your cork and stop acting so aggressive.”

Though the conversation was heavy, Duncan felt a thrill in his belly, and he failed to hide his smirk. If only they knew what sort of dark, delicious things he indulged in to perform such a task. And there’d never been a shortage of volunteers. His mask, though annoying, did provide a certain mystique that seemed to draw in the type of women who liked the things he preferred to do with them.

Intense was not a strong enough word. But because of the ferocity, he learned to be more discreet than most. Even his closest friends were not aware of this part of him. And that knowledge scared him. The woman he kissed tonight didn’t deserve the beast he had trapped inside. She was too sweet, too pure.

If he married her—if she wanted to marry him—he could never let himself get too close to her.

“Even if I propose, she has to want to marry me,” Duncan pointed out, taking off his mask.

Knowing he could not reveal his secret concern, he showed off his obvious one. It was his silent way of saying, And she’s not going to once she sees this.

It wasn’t just the strange, sudden desire he felt for her or his scars that he was worried about either. Duncan lacked many things, but self-awareness wasn’t one of them. He knew how consumed he could get with a project. First with his father’s death, then with getting healthy again after nearly wasting away to nothing with alcohol and insanity. He could get obsessive, reclusive, in his own head too much. It was no life for a lady to be tied to, even one that intrigued him so.

But they had no choice. He knew this true and proper. As cold and demanding as many thought him to be, he would not let this woman ruin her reputation just for a brief moment of passion with him. Nor would he allow the rumor that he was stealing innocent young ladies into rooms alone and then leaving them to fend for themselves circle about the ton.

Duncan suddenly felt a stir of desire in his lower belly as he recalled the taste of Miss Alice’s lips in the dark study. He steeled himself against the feelings, refusing to allow himself to get worked up. Again. He told himself it didn’t matter. Even if they got married, it wasn’t like he would actually touch her. He couldn’t. All he could do at this point was provide protection. From the rumors. From the ton . From himself.

“I shall propose,” he announced, committing to the decision.

His friends all looked at him with nods of approval.

“I think that’s for the best,” Ambrose said, joining him to shake his hand. “Congratulations, old boy.”

“Thank you, Ambry,” Duncan replied, using his friend’s childhood nickname.

“Morgan, would you get me Miss Alice’s address?” Duncan asked, turning to his friend after Ambrose sat back down.

“Of course, mate,” Morgan replied, his usual sarcastic tone gone.

“Right then.” Duncan nodded. “It’s settled. I shall call on her first thing in the morning.”