Earl of Sussex (Wicked Lords of London 0.50)

A hand brushed her back and she turned smiling broadly, expecting to see Luke, but it wasn’t him. The Marquess of Crummell stood appraising her. “My lady,” he grinned back, not realizing it wasn’t a smile meant for him. “I must confess, your greeting fills my heart with joy.”

She bit back a sigh. She couldn’t very well tell him that it hadn’t been meant for him. “I’m glad, my lord.” She took a half step away. “If you will excuse me.”

He reached for her hand. “I’d like to ask for a dance, if I may.”

With a tight smile, she offered her card to him and he placed his name in not one, but two places.

Drat. It would limit her time with Luke. Her opportunity to sneak away with him and allow him…

Her thoughts ended because he was there, behind her. She felt rather than saw him, but she knew it was Luke by the way her body tightened, filling with a tension she couldn’t name.

His warm breath blew across her exposed neck. Goosebumps rose on her arms and she longed to melt back against him. But it simply wasn’t proper. Not that what she planned was proper.

Without a word, he took her dance card and wrote his name for three dances, all in a row. Crummell spluttered. It was scandalous. Without a formal commitment, it wasn’t done.

As Crummell had placed himself for the next set, he offered her his elbow. “Might I sit with you while we wait?”

Her eyes darted to Luke. He watched her with unwavering attention, his dark eyes smoldering. She had so much to say to him. The longer she’d thought about the events from the day before, the more she wanted to throw herself into his arms. He’d saved her and her sister. She wanted to apologize for being such a fool, kiss every inch of his face as a thank you, and then beg him to touch her…everywhere. Merciful heaven, she was supposed to be testing his resolve. Would he make love to her and then leave her? She wasn’t sure it mattered. He had her heart now. Even if he rejected her, would she want to take it back?

She started at the realization and her eyes widened. She was in love with him.

He moved closer, blocking Crummell. “Answer the man. He asked to sit with you.” The intensity was still heating his gaze but a small smile played at his lips.

“Oh, I apologize. I was distracted and I…” Her voice trailed off. What was she to say? I was distracted by the heated gaze of the other man we are talking to? I only just realized that I more than lust after him? I am, in fact, in love with him?

“She doesn’t want to sit with you, Crummell.” Luke’s eyes never left hers.

Crummell straightened. She only knew it was true because the top of his head peeked over Luke’s shoulder. “I will report your behavior to her father, sir. Indecent. You will have to answer for it and—”

“She is to be my wife.” Luke turned to face the other man but she caught his gaze hardening before he did. “Don’t bother collecting your dances.”

“That is absurd.” Crummell spluttered but she saw him shrink back down. “The duke shall most certainly hear about this.”

Tabbie suppressed a grin. She would have liked to have told Crummell to be gone but a woman couldn’t be so openly confrontational. Crummell stormed off and she moved closer to Luke, her cheek just brushing his sleeve.

He turned back to her, his expression soft. “We need to discuss a few things.”

Her insides flipped and her shoulders hunched. “We do,” she murmured.

They began skirting the crowd, moving to a more private location. It took several minutes and fear built inside of her as she trailed behind him. Once the space opened up, he stopped moving and twisted his elbow toward her so that she might slip her hand through it. The feel of his heat and strength through his clothes calmed her fears.

What was she afraid of? He’d just declared they would marry. Was she afraid of losing her maidenhead? No, the prospect filled her with excitement. Her feelings? With every passing moment, she grew less concerned that he would hurt her emotionally, though it still nagged at her.

She would still follow through with her plan. Because it was sound. It really did give her the opportunity to discover if her future husband would lose interest after intimacy. The fact that she wouldn’t have to wait for his touch was an added benefit.

So what was making her tremble so? Then she knew. If her father found out about any of this, he’d lock her in a tower until she was too old to marry at all.

“What are you thinking?” Luke’s eyes were searching her face as they moved closer to the terrace doors.

So much swirled in her head, she didn’t quite know where to begin. “Yesterday, I was so foolish.”

But he only winked as he swept her though the doors, mindless of the complete lack of decorum in taking her outside unchaperoned. At least the space was filled with other partygoers. “Tabbie, it is not the last time I will have to untangle you from some scrape you have landed yourself in, I suspect. It’s part of what makes you interesting.”

“I don’t mean to cause such trouble.” She bit her lip as she assessed his profile next to her.

“But somehow, you always do.” It wasn’t his voice that answered, it was her father’s. He’d snuck up next to them without her even realizing.

A tremble shook through her. It wasn’t that her father was a villain, or even mean spirited. It was that he held her future in his grasp and she was near powerless to redirect him. As a duke, he expected to be obeyed.