Chapter Sixteen

S he'd done it. She'd mustered the courage to ask for what she wanted. Her hair began to fall as she was falling, she supposed, and Lexi tugged at the little feather-shaped enamel pins holding her mane in place. With a bouncing heart, she dismissed her coiffure and reveled in the prince-dentist's gentle touch. Her long hair was no longer tamed, and her scalp no longer burned from the pins that nailed the perfect hairdo onto her head. Instead, her insides burned, and she melted into his embrace. Even though she no longer looked exactly as she should, it felt all right. She'd sought Mrs. Dove-Lyon to free herself from the ton's scorn with a good match, but then she'd given her heart too easily and the match was not what she wanted. Freedom eluded her as much as the romantic kiss she longed for. But this kiss, and this moment, were perfect.

Her breath hitched when his tongue came into her mouth, but it was a pleasant surprise when she sucked gently as he explored her. He was warm and moist, hard and fresh like an apple just picked from a tree after a cool summer rain. She sighed onto his lips, trying to learn what to do. How should she respond for him to know how good— oh! His hands came to her waist, and he held her. Instantly, she melted into his grip, allowing herself to drift into the moment with a racing heart. He did something magical to her even though it was merely their mouths touching. It was her first kiss and it was everything plus more than she'd ever dreamed.

It was good that he steadied her, for the tenderness left her senses on fire. Giving in, she let the moment absorb her entirely. She followed his lead and let her tongue swish over his lower lip.

"Lexi." His voice resonated in the room even though it was but a whisper.

But she didn't want him to stop and tilted her head back. Ah… was that what Princess Leela… But she didn't have time to think about the book because she was now writing her own story. With one hand, Dustin now supported the back of her head. With the other, he led her right hand to his back.

"I want… I want…" she mumbled, but he didn't let her break the kiss.

Moments passed but a lifetime culminated when the prince-dentist broke the kiss off and beamed. Lexi blinked her eyes open, catching her breath. She felt warm and tingly at once, but a shiver ran down her back when his hand melted off her waist and he took a step back. Lexi could nearly hear their bond rip as if he had to peel himself away.

She had a sinking feeling that the look in his eyes was freezing over. Just as a cold wind could cool a warm summer day, something in his mind pulled him away from her while all she wanted was to remain close to him. Even though his embrace was new, and she'd only experienced it once, she could no longer imagine a life without it.

Why should she anyway? Who was to say she couldn't take a lover who was below her station? Men did it all the time and why should it matter anyway? He was a prince to her, her dentist-prince.

Her heart had cracked open after all this time and she wouldn't let it shut down again. She tingled at the thought of his hand on her waist. The heat and strength emanated from him, yet the precision of craftsmanship and medical care she knew she was capable of had her in awe of his healing skills as well.

Then he stepped back and turned and put his hand on the knob, and the moment was ended. The sound of nothing replaced a million thoughts in Lexi's mind.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a patient. He's waiting." Dustin opened the door and moved into the hall.

Lexi tried to still her now racing heart. How could the sensual moment turn so quickly into loss, and why did she fear that loss so terribly? She walked after him, step by step. He drove both hands through his hair but looked rather disheveled, mirroring Lexi's emotions exactly.

On second thought, he looked like he'd been caught robbing a bank. He refused to turn and look at her. He appeared to be running away.

"You cannot leave me like this!" She called after him just when he reached the door of the examination room. He turned around and looked at her. His shoulders looked smaller, sunken in, and the heat from his eyes had cooled. Did he blink away tears?

"I'm sorry. So very sorry." He went back into his treatment room and closed the door firmly behind him leaving Lexi to stand alone.

Sorry?

She wasn't sorry at all. The words she'd chosen for her first kiss were elation, ecstasy, and splendor, but there was no room for regret.

Still…if Lexi hated anything more than complacency, it was uncertainty. Nothing could be further from her nature than accepting a dismissal.

Sorry. Pah!

She squared her shoulders, opened the door, and followed Dustin into the room, where the young boy had received a new rolled-up cotton gauze and Dustin picked up a tool.

He couldn't believe how weak he was. What had he been thinking? Dragging her away into his room to do what, exactly? Chastise her for bursting into his treatment room? It wasn't even his; it belonged to Felix. Everything here but his little wooden case of gold balls was Felix's, who'd be back soon to reclaim what was his. Dustin was ready to pack what was left of his tools and gold to find another spot to treat patients. To perfect his craft. To help people who needed medical care dental… to get away. Not to kiss innocent girls. An earl's daughter, no less.

Who was he trying to fool? He was running without a goal. He had a target, Corrigan, but the University of Maryland would only be a detour. He had to do more than he'd planned, but what?

Yet the person he feared most never let him escape. The Duke of Duncan. It was him. And he couldn't hide from himself.

It wasn't so much that he was ashamed of what his father had done or how the family name had suffered but that he hadn't figured out how to fix it yet. He'd found plenty of people who needed this help, and instead of focusing on the more significant problem of the middleman's scheme, Dustin had hidden behind the treatments. The instant gratification of the small and overseeable jobs had distracted him and derailed him from the large issue he needed to fix. But it was difficult for a sole dentist without more to his name than his skill to fix much more than tooth after tooth. He needed the dukedom for additional firepower.

But how could he fix anything if he were to take up residence at Starcliff and be bogged down by the tasks of the dukedom? He'd probably be busy with whatever a duke spent his time doing.

No, John was the better man for the job.

Dustin didn't want the position. And yet, he needed it now.

He'd planned to go to Maryland and stop the madness of the lousy amalgam mixtures. If he managed to prevent the New World from catching the same disease of leaky fillings and harmful materials, could he save the smiles of thousands of Americans? Could he save face himself and return to the dukedom one day?

He picked up the mallet and held it in his hand. The sensation of the perfectly weighted little hammer soothed him. He loved precision. With a single blow of this seemingly small hammer, he'd pack a crinkled ball of gold foil so tightly into Herbert's freshly cleaned cavities the seal would be tight and prevent further decay for years, maybe even the rest of his life.

"Open up, please," Dustin said as he bent over Herbert to get back to work.

"You can't do that!" Oh no , Lexi had followed him. Again. She was relentless.

"Pardon me, I'm busy."

"You said that. But you can't do this!"

Herbert shrieked. "Me?" He mumbled with the rolled-up cotton in his cheek pocket.

"No, dear," Lexi came to his shoulder and gently touched him. "That, he can do. He must. He's the best dentist you'll ever have." Despite her frown, hurt washed over her features when she looked up. The rosy glow from her first kiss was gone.

He'd done that. He'd stolen it from her. He was terrible for her. As bad as he would be for the dukedom. He had too much to fix.

"You can't kiss me like that and then walk away." Her voice was soft and cracked, but Dustin admired the strength of her will. She certainly had more courage than he'd ever had.

Herbert's eyes grew wide, and he gawked outright, his eyes darting from right, where Dustin was, to his left, where Lexi stood. "You kissed the beautiful girl?" Herbert asked as he turned the cotton roll with his tongue and finally spat it into his hand. "Is she going to be your duchess now?"

Dustin's heart plummeted to the floor.

Lexi's eyes shot to his. The color left her face, and all that was left were her red-rimmed eyes. "D-d-uchess?" she stammered.

"Yeah, he's the Duke of Duncan. Father's filling his position because Uncle Dustin chose medicine—"

Another voice sounded behind them before Herbert could do any more damage with his explanations. Still, Lexi had heard enough; her expression was flabbergasted.

"How did it go?" John said as he walked into the treatment room.

Bollocks, Dustin thought. What was happening today? This wasn't a parlor; it was a medical office where procedures were supposed to occur. Not kisses and awkward family reunions.

When John came to the chair, he walked around to where the maid was sitting wide-eyed. When he surveyed the room and spotted Lexi, who instantly withdrew her hand from Herbert's shoulder but remained still, as if the news about Dustin's true identity had chilled her to the point of freezing, he straightened his back like a soldier getting ready to march into battle. "Thank you, Tanya. You are dismissed for the afternoon," he said without further ado. The maid rose and scurried off. With a click of the door, they were alone: Dustin, Lexi, John, and Herbert.

"What is going on here?" John's voice thundered through the room in a ducal tone. He was suddenly in command, and Dustin was ready to hand over the reins—not his instruments.

Dustin's mind raced. Where to begin? How could he explain that he'd abandoned the duke's son during treatment, his first no less, to steal the kiss of a well-bred lady, her first? Worse, his nephew had just given away he was the true Duke of Duncan… oh what a mess he'd made. His first instinct was to turn away, pack up his instruments and gold, and find another place to work. Maryland, for example.

"Lady Alexis, what are you doing here?" John spoke to Lexi while Dustin tried to sort his thoughts.

Wait.

John spoke to Lexi.

"How do you know her?" Dustin asked at the same as he noticed Lexi had turned ashen, her gaze cast low. She was submissive as if she knew she was in the presence of a duke.

"Why are you here, with Herbert?" John said as he crossed his arms and took a wider stance.

"This is Herbert? Your son, Your Grace?" Lexi asked, her hands folded demurely before her.

John gave a gracious head tilt as if he bestowed her with a gift of making the acquaintance of his heir—the next Duke of Duncan.

Dustin swallowed. The Duke of Duncan was his role, the one he'd never grown into and didn't want. But then a thought occurred to him. "How do you know my cousin?" Dustin asked Lexi despite the impulse to get out. Something was amiss, and if he'd learned anything at the bazaars in India, at the pub quarrels in Edinburgh, and even in the dormitories at Eton, it was to get out before the fists flew. Self-preservation was his prerogative, for he would be the Duke of Duncan and had to safeguard his bloodline except he'd somehow lost sight of the reason for his cowardice and had given up on the dukedom. That left him as nothing more than a coward. Enough of that!

Dustin sat on his stool. Suddenly, things were clicking into place, like a gold ball filling a deep cavity. He wasn't going anywhere today. No more running, not if Lexi was near.

"We had dinner last night. She's my betrothed," John said as if nothing were easier than to speak these words. But they were the hardest Dustin ever heard.

"I beg your pardon?" Dustin's eyes darted to Lexi. If she'd paled earlier, she was so white now she could pass as a loose pencil sketch of herself.

Lexi stood still, wringing her hands. "I… ahem … I recently found myself needing a husband and sought the services of a matchmaker. In short…I shall be his duchess."

"Mrs. Dove-Lyon is a bit more than a matchmaker; she's the quintessential queen of the night," John said, half-paying attention as he pushed the tool cart away and put the tray aside. Then he put a hand on each armrest and bent toward his son. "Let me see."

Herbert opened up as his father inspected his teeth.

John seemed engrossed.

"You are engaged to my cousin?" Dustin turned to Lexi, but he couldn't hide the hurt in his voice.

John shot up. "Are you going to be able to finish today?" His focus remained on his son. "It seems you have quite the Midas touch with my Herbert. It doesn't look so bad anymore, almost regal with all these flecks of gold."

Dustin's head was spinning, and he could barely follow. "Twenty-four."

"Yes, I know you are twenty-four, cousin, so what?" John said as he picked up a ball of gold foil from an alcohol-drenched cloth with the tweezers.

Nobody helped himself to his tools . Dustin growled on the inside. Not even the acting Duke of Duncan.

"Twenty-four direct fillings, John. Your thirteen-year-old son has nearly twice as many holes in his teeth as candles on his birthday cake. How is that possible?" He was so angry he no longer wished to hide the reproach in his voice.

Lexi's eyes grew wide, and he saw her moving her tongue inside her mouth. She was probably feeling for her new fillings. No worries, your secret is safe with me.

"You ask me? How dare you?" John raised the small oral mirror, but Dustin tore them out of his hand.

"This is for professionals."

"For doctors, hm?" John now stood before Dustin like a cocky rooster. "But you're not a real doctor, are you?"

"I am! It's not the title that prevents me from being one."

"And you accuse me of neglecting my child? How wonderful of you indeed, cousin, since you've never neglected anything, Duke of Duncan."

Lexi inhaled sharply, her eyes darting from Dustin to John and back.

"He's a child, John! Thirteen! What's to become of him? What was to become of him if I hadn't treated him today? Would you have sent him to a quack who destroyed his teeth with black amalgam? You're no better than the charlatans if you send your child to them! You're an imposter and good at it!"

"I'm so good at my job because you never cared for it." John waved grandly as if he searched for something to toss at Dustin. "Well, for once, you haven't even finished yet. And second, he was being groomed for the dukedom. He was next in line until you showed up. And she was supposed to be my new duchess. Since you got back, I'm just an imposter! And guess who's been investigating us! Her father , Dustin!"

Dustin's mind went blank. The slight about how Herbert's teeth had been neglected still boiled within him, along with his cousin's presumptive seizure of his tools. But then the worst: She was supposed to be my new duchess.

And then, her father was investigating the dukedom.

Dustin heard nothing but a shrill beep, so angry was he that he could snap the precious mallet in his hand in half.