Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Fight Or Flight

L eah felt the warmth of the Duke's hand as he pulled her through the trees. She was still a little stunned by his previous words. She had not thought of her own beauty, but the way he spoke had some truth to it, even if she could not work out why he was saying it.

"Where are you taking me?" Leah asked.

"It is not far," the Duke told her.

The trees moved by in a blur as she struggled to keep her balance. If not for the grip of the Duke, she would have fallen to the ground.

"I am losing my breath," Leah said.

"A moment longer," the Duke told her.

Half-running through the trees was scary, but there was something exhilarating about being so free.

They suddenly came to a halt, and the Duke quickly caught Leah when she almost fell before holding her steady and taking a step back. Leah felt the imprint of his touch on her shoulder.

"Where… where are we?" she asked.

"In my grounds somewhere," the Duke told her.

"Yes, but where have you brought me?" Leah looked around at the trees on all sides. "It is not so different from where we came from. Is there a stream nearby or some wildlife?"

"No, I don't believe so," Solomon said.

"Then what is different?"

The Duke had a roguish twinkle in his eyes as he looked around. "Don't you see?"

Leah became frustrated that she could not see what he saw, and her eyes rooted around feverishly like a pig snouting for truffles. There were trees in every direction, the same trees as a minute ago, and the ground was laden with roots and small bushes. The sky above, what could be seen between the trees, was bright blue and cloudless.

Birds sang, and a small breeze played tantalizing with the leaves around, fluttering them like green butterflies. It was certainly beautiful, but no more beautiful than before.

"You must inform me of what I cannot see," Leah said.

The Duke smiled and arched his back to stretch it. "Yes, there is something you can't see. Or someone."

Leah looked behind, and it finally dawned on her. "We are alone!"

"Yes, we are," the Duke informed her.

"So, that is what you are after?" Leah stated. "You thought you could trick me into laying with you because you said a few nice words to me?"

"I never said anything about laying with you, but if that is on your mind…"

"Oh, you really are awful, aren't you?" Leah demanded. "You bring me out here to lie to me so I will fall under your spell, and you can have me like the countless other women you have tricked."

"First of all, I have never tricked a woman into laying with me. If you must know, all the women I have been with have been very happy to be with me. Secondly, the number is not countless." The Duke ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know what you have heard, but I have had little time to concern myself with women. Yes, I have been with more women than the average lord in London, but that the number is far fewer than what you imagine." Solomon rubbed his chin with his thumb. "And third, I have not told any lies to you."

Leah paced back and forth between the silver birch trees, huffing as she moved. "You spouted all that nonsense about how I am the most beautiful woman in the world and tried to make me tell you how handsome you are."

Solomon laughed and raised his hands into the air. "Do not twist my words, Miss Moore. I asked you if you found me handsome, and you admitted you did. And I did not say you were the most beautiful woman in the world. I merely stated your beauty. Please do not become angry at me for telling the truth."

"Telling the truth?" she asked. "You brought me out here into the middle of nowhere, and for what? So you could get your hands on me?"

"Let's both be truthful, Miss Moore. I will ask you one simple question, and I want you to answer me truthfully."

"I…" Leah folded her arms across her chest.

"One question. Is that too much to ask?"

Leah looked around. She was sure it was another trick and dearly wanted their chaperone back.

"You can ask your question," she said, unsure if she would answer it.

Solomon smirked. "The reason I brought you out here into the middle of nowhere, as you put it, is to discover your reaction. Tell me what was on your mind the last two times we were alone."

"What? What sort of question is that?" Now that he had asked the question, all the previous thoughts and emotions came flooding back.

She could see his bare chest again and smell his musk. She remembered the look of desire in his eyes, and it excited her for a man to want her in that way. Her eyes had fallen on his bare flesh, and she wanted to see more.

I can't be honest with him. This is the trap! He wants me to admit to impure thoughts to bring me down to his level.

"We must return to the house," Leah said.

"You have not answered my question," the Duke reminded her.

"I didn't say I would."

The Duke smirked some more. "Then I shall take your answer as very telling."

"You can take my answer however you like, Your Grace. I don't need to answer to you."

"Why can't you admit it?" he asked. "I will admit that I desire to know you better. I am not ashamed of it. Admit that you undressed me with your eyes, and we can go back to the house."

"I did nothing of the sort!" Leah tried to contain her voice, but her frustration shone through. "You are telling blatant lies."

"Am I?" the Duke asked. The dead branches underfoot cracked as he stepped closer.

"Yes, you are, and I don't appreciate you coming any closer."

"Why is that?" the Duke asked. "Are you afraid that you will do something you enjoy?"

Leah scoffed. "No!"

"So, if I came closer like this"—the Duke took another cracking step—"you would not be tempted to do anything or have any impure thought about my unclothed body."

"We are to be married; it does not matter what I think about you," Leah said.

"It matters to me," the Duke replied. "If you are not thinking the same thoughts as I am, then you are not ready for what comes next. I shall not force you to desire me, but if you do, you must admit to me your desire. You must admit the desire I see in your eyes."

"I… I don't know what my thoughts are," Leah admitted.

"Because I am only thinking of your unclothed body," the Duke told her.

The thought of the Duke's naked body firmly implanted itself in Leah's mind. A shiver of delight ran up Leah's spine. She wanted to step back to ward off his advances, but she did not want that. Yet, if she did not, it would only goad him into more.

"So, this was your goal coming out here," Leah stated.

"What if it was?" the Duke asked. "Tell me you don't want this, and I will leave you be."

Leah breathed heavier under the Duke's gaze. She had become a wide-eyed doe before a hungry wolf. She looked into his eyes and tried to speak, but she was rooted to the spot. His eyes were hungry for her. It was an excitement she could not deal with.

"I… I will admit to some desire," Leah muttered.

"Tell me you do not want to explore your desires, and I shall escort you back to the house. Admit what you truly want and I will make you feel things you have no felt before."

"The maid will find us," Leah said.

"And what if she does? What will people say? That we can't be apart? That we sneak off to be together before our wedding?"

"It is not right. It is not what people do." Leah tried to think of a better reason why they should not do what they were about to do, but she drew a blank.

Is it His Grace that excites me or the wrongness of it?

The Duke took a final step forward, and she could smell him again. She breathed in with a shaky breath, the aroma intoxicating. Her eyes flicked down to his chest, and she knew she wanted to see his chest again, to touch it once more. She wanted him to touch her.

"I have never paid much attention to what people do or what they think," the Duke told her. "I know what I want, and I know how to get it."

"Perhaps we should…" Leah said.

"Perhaps we should what?" The Duke's fingers found her chin, and he lifted her head up a little. He moved a finger up to her cheek and caressed her soft skin.

"I… I don't know," Leah admitted. "I am scared to know what it feels like."

"But you want to feel it?" the Duke asked.

"Yes," Leah whispered.

She felt things she had never felt before. It was different from the previous two times alone. She had been caught up in the frantic nature of it all, and she had been swept away by his sheer masculinity. This time, it was not the excitement or the situation that caught her up. It was the Duke. As she looked into his eyes, she wanted him.

"Only a taste," the Duke said. "I shall not claim you just yet. Many claim I am not a gentleman, but that does not mean I am a wild animal. Unless you want me to be, of course." The Duke let out a subtle growl as he moved his head around to her ear once more.

The soft growl rumbled right through her, and she reached her arms out to the side, finding a tree to her right. She placed her palm on the hard bark, checking that she was not dreaming. She could feel the roughness. She clung to it.

"A kiss," the Duke whispered.

The suggestion flowed into her like warm water, filling her from the inside.

"A kiss?" she whispered.

"A taste of what is to come," the Duke said.

He does not want to take me completely. Perhaps there is more to this than I believed. Perhaps he does like me.

Leah could not hold back the passion growing inside. She needed to feel what it was like and leaned forward quickly to peck him on the lips before pulling her head back in shock.

The Duke took Leah's free hand and interlocked his fingers with hers. His other hand found its way to her cheek, and he held his warmth there. He stared deep into he eyes with a look that mirrored her surprise.

"I don't know what came over me," Leah gasped.

The Duke smirked. He pressed Leah to the tree behind, lifting her hand above her head. She became open to him as if he had unlocked her.

Leah felt her lips part slightly as the Duke came ravenously for her. She let out one last breath before his lips claimed hers. They locked together for a moment before he devoured her. She opened her lips more and welcomed his roving tongue.

The Duke pressed his body to hers, pinning her to the tree. He bated heavily through his nose like a wild animal. Leah could not move, nor did she want to.

Her tongue instinctively tussled with his, and she tasted him. She feared she would be lifted from her feet and drift off into the air.

The Duke moved his lips over hers a final time before he removed his tongue and moved back enough to unpin her. Hunger was in his eyes, and Leah had no doubt the same was in hers. She wanted to devour him as much as he had devoured her. She wanted nothing more than to?—

A crack startled her.

In a flash, the Duke did not have her hand anymore. He stood three feet to her left, but his warmth and smell still lingered on her.

"Your Grace!" the maid gasped, lost for breath. "I lost you for a moment."

"Where have you been?" Solomon demanded. "I daren't return to the house without you for fear of what everyone might think. We cannot have a situation like this before the wedding. The scandal of it!"

Leah brought her hand to her lips to cover her smile.

"I apologize, Your Grace," the maid said, bowing her head.

"It is of no matter now," the Duke said. "You are here now, and that is all that matters. We shall return to the house for some food. I suddenly find myself very hungry. Miss Moore? Have you worked up a hunger?"

Leah took a moment to compose herself before removing her hand from her mouth.

"Yes, I could eat," she replied.

"Good," the Duke said as he led the way back through the trees.

Leah and the maid soon followed. All Leah could think about was the kiss and when she would be graced with another.

I cannot believe what I just did! What he did! How can I be so entranced by a man so infuriating?

Leah didn't want anything more than to repeat what had just happened, and it caused her to distrust her own feelings. Her values and the Duke's did not align, but she wanted nothing more than to kiss him again.