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wild thrill. Two grown men, and one of them a duke, no less—fighting over her. She watched with interest as Darius took another swing, his muscular arm stretching out with explosive power as he landed another blow to the duke’s stomach.
    An unwelcome heat began to warm her veins. Seeing Darius Manning, half-naked and sweaty, muscles bulging and flexing, was unfortunately quite arousing. Especially when she was the cause of such behavior.
    But then, the memory of his ill treatment of her made Serena huff in annoyance. In fact, she hoped the duke managed to land a few more blows against Darius, because he certainly deserved it, and more.
    Though he obviously thought winning this fight would win him the courtesan as well, she had no intention of accepting Darius’ offer, no matter how generous it was. The man was arrogant beyond all to think that she would have forgiven him for arousing her passions and then leaving her so abruptly in the lurch that night at Telford House.
    Perhaps it was time for Darius Manning to learn the meaning of loss, himself.
    He looked up at her then, his blue eyes burning with animalistic fire. Then, as if simply the sight of Serena filled him with vigor, he lunged at the duke, hitting him with three fast, hard blows in succession.
    The crowd gasped as the duke went down like a sack of potatoes onto the floor. He’d been knocked out cold.
    Serena covered her mouth with her hands in shock.
    Major Price lifted Darius’ arm in the air and shouted above the noise of the wild crowd, “The winner—having knocked out his opponent—I give you the Earl of Kane!”
    A throng of gentlemen crowded around Darius, shaking his hand and congratulating him for winning the match, and some of them a lot of money. The duke, however, was carted away by his cronies, still unconscious.
    As Darius wiped his sweat-soaked skin with a linen napkin, Serena noticed blood on his knuckles. There was also a small cut above his eye that was beginning to bleed.
    He had bled for her.
    Had he actually thought that would impress her? If so, he was going to be very disappointed.
    But she was completely unprepared for his next action.
    As Major Price paid out the winning bets, Darius made his way through the crowd toward Serena. Still bare-chested and breathing hard, he ascended the staircase two steps at a time. No one interfered with him, not even Erasmus.
    Lord Kane stood in front of Serena, the naked skin of his chest glistening with perspiration. His eyes glittered dangerously as he raked his hot gaze over her silk-clad body.
    As if it were his right. As if he had already won her. Oh, the man was beyond arrogant .
    He stepped closer and reached out a thick, battle-scarred hand to tip her chin up, letting his gaze linger on her mouth.
    “I will call on you tomorrow,” he said, his voice husky and low.
    He held her gaze for a few seconds more, then turned and headed down the staircase toward the billiard room without so much as a backward glance.
    Serena narrowed her eyes. One thing was certain, Darius had succeeded in teaching the duke a lesson tonight. But what Darius didn’t know was that he was in need of a lesson or two himself. He was not King of the World, and she was not his subject.
    And Serena Ransom, London’s newest courtesan, would be happy to enlighten him in that regard.
    * * *
    The next morning was full of excitement at Lady Devlyn’s mansion. Serena had been speechless when shown the salon. The previous evening it was full of salivating men. Now it was filled to bursting with bouquets of flowers from her many admirers. Tall, fragrant roses in colors of magenta pink, palest peach, deep red, sunny yellow, and pure white filled crystal vases. Bright bouquets of freesia, daisies, carnations, and a myriad of other flowers Serena didn’t know the names of decorated the opulent room as well. And it was all in honor of her.
    Each bouquet had a small white card attached.
    Bliss handed one to Serena. “Oh, do hurry