Read A Duchess in the Dark for Free Online Page B

not at all,” he said. “Your curiosity is quite natural.”
    He pushed off the desk again and took a step toward her, prepared to alleviate that curiosity with a gentle brush of his lips against hers. Desperation to taste her again flooded him. He wanted to feel her lips beneath his, inhale her fresh, flowery scent.
    “My sister will be looking for me.” She took a step back. “Please don’t talk to James about this, not yet.”
    He didn’t answer. He wouldn’t make promises he didn’t intend to keep. If she thought he’d step aside, she’d be woefully disappointed. Their tryst had changed everything. No way in hell was he going to step aside for Wallingford.
    *  *  *
    Last night’s dalliance with Ashton meant nothing, if one looked at the situation rationally. And she certainly had no grounds for feeling the slightest bit guilty. Heavens, no! Strictly speaking, she’d already been with him intimately, so it wasn’t as though she’d committed any great crime—or any greater crime, rather. Last night was most innocent in comparison. Until that last bit, which had snatched the very breath from her lungs.
    Good God, she was a harlot. One kiss from those perfectly sculpted lips and she’d been lost. More than that, she’d felt a sense of rightness in his arms, a sense of belonging that frightened her more than she cared to admit.
    Daphne lay in the grass beneath the giant willow, listening to the tediously unvarying voice of Miss Katherine Wallingford, Edward’s sister, as she slurred her way through Hamlet . Daphne longed to snatch the book out of Katherine’s hands and pitch it into the lake. Instead, she resigned herself to thinking about Edward. Sweet, pliant, forgiving Edward.
    But when her eyes closed, it was Ashton’s face that drifted into focus—his pale-green eyes and those tempting lips, drawn up into a devilish smile. She could still feel his hands on her, the warmth of his touch, the electricity of his kiss.
    More than once she tried to push thoughts of Ashton out of her mind, but the more she tried, the more frequently they appeared.
    A bell rang, signaling the guests to lunch. Groggy, she stood and brushed out her skirts, then headed to the white awning tent that had been erected for an al fresco lunch on the lawn.
    As she approached, she realized the men had already returned from shooting and were milling about the tent. She spotted Edward immediately. He looked dashing as usual, in a pair of tan breeches, an eggshell waistcoat, and a blue jacket. And he was laughing at something his companion was saying. Her eyes drifted to the man speaking—Ashton!
    Oh, good God. What were they discussing? Did Ashton intend to tell Edward about their tryst?
    Daphne narrowed her eyes and made straight for Edward and Ashton, who at that moment, parted company to find seats at the table with the rest of the guests. Edward sat at the far end of the table, and as luck would have it, there was an empty chair beside him. With unladylike quickness, she rushed to claim the chair beside him. She slid into it with a triumphant smile, snapped her napkin open, and smoothed it onto her lap. When she looked up, several of the guests were staring at her.
    “My favorite chair,” she said by way of explanation. If they harbored suspicions about Daphne and her attachment to Edward, then it would hardly matter in a few days when they announced their engagement. Now he only need ask.
    “That was an interesting spectacle,” a deep, resonant voice said from the empty seat beside her. Not quite so empty, after all. Like a stalking leopard, Ashton had somehow managed to slip into the seat unseen and now lounged casually to one side, pinching the stem of his wineglass between his fingers.
    “There are several unclaimed chairs. Must you choose the one next to me?”
    His lips quirked into a wolfish grin. “It pleases me to be in your company, Miss Hayward. Is there anything wrong with that?”
    Yes, plenty. She could name