Why a Marauding Marquess is Best (Romancing the Rake 4)

She shook her head, he’d promised her a dance at least.

“If anyone can change his mind, you can,” Cordelia said next to her ear. “Of that, I’m sure.”

She shook her head. “I hope you’re right. I’ve gone and grown soft on him.”

Cordelia winked. “He’s soft on you too. Just look at him.”

He stared up at her, his face soft and his eyes intense, his gaze unwavering. They reached the bottom of the stairs and he held out his elbow to her. “May I escort you into the ballroom?”

She slipped her arm from Cordelia’s and into his, her breath catching in her throat. Her father grinned as they waited for the rest of her sisters, greeting guests as they began to arrive.

She could barely concentrate as Dane’s hip brushed hers, the small touch starting a riot in her body. Juliet attempted to remember the name of the husband and wife that were entering. They lived in Haversham. He was a merchant. But her normally good memory failed her.

“Good evening, Mr. Kent,” her father called. “So good to see you.”

Kent…Juliet attempted to commit the name to memory but Dane’s hand brushed her fingertips and her thoughts scattered again.

They made their way into the ballroom, a crush of people lining the walls and filling the dance floor as a lively six-piece orchestra played. “Juliet,” Ophelia said from her right. “How did you get so many people here?”

Juliet shrugged. This party had been everything she’d focused on for the past several days but she’d hardly thought about it the last two days. “There are so few events that nearly everyone I sent invitations to accepted.”

Her father chuckled. “True. But still well done.”

“I made you a promise to dance,” Dane said close to her ear. “Would you fill me in on your dance card?”

She gave a nod, her cheeks heating. Then she looked down, picking a spot later in the evening. A dance she knew to be a waltz. “I’ve filled you in for the third set.”

He nodded, his finger lightly massaging her elbow. “Third it is.”

Her sisters began to scatter, talking with friends or dancing. The heat of the room already making her cheeks flush. “It’s grown quite warm in here.”

“That’s how parties such as this go,” he replied. “The best thing to do is step outside.” Dane started weaving his way through the crowd.

She looked back to see her father engaged in conversation, only Cordelia and Charlie remaining by his side.

Biting her lip, she let Dane lead her through one of many large double doors that led out into a large garden.

She’d loved this garden and had played here all her life. As the sea air hit her skin, she drew in a deep breath. “So much better.”

He chuckled. “Your party has only just begun and you already wish to escape.”

She squeezed his arm. “It’s so odd, but the things I thought I wanted are turning out to not be the things I need at all.” The question, however, remained. Would she get what she needed now that she knew her true desire?

* * *

Dane looked down at Juliet, her profile just lit from the candles glowing throughout the ballroom. Desire rumbled through him as he took in the sweep of her eyelashes, the gentle slope of her nose, the full, tempting curve of her lips. “That I understand completely.”

Two days ago he’d arrived here intent upon saving Chase from what he was certain was a coerced match. Now…now he was on a completely different mission. One to discover if he’d been wrong about love all these years.

The idea frightened him far more than he cared to admit. Had he been wrong? Could he find a woman who not only shared his life but stole his breath?

Looking down at Juliet, he wanted to believe that it was true. That love could exist and also that she might be that very woman. Checking quickly about them, he started moving again, intent upon finding a shadowy corner. He only had a few minutes before he needed to get Juliet back inside but, somehow, he needed to touch her again. Kiss her lips and hold her close. As if that touch would provide answers to his questions.

“Let’s go over here,” Juliet murmured, pointing into the darkness.

He squinted, trying to see where she pointed but she began tugging him and soon they were on a dark path. As the moon came out, it shed just enough light for him to see as the path opened into a little spot that held a bench. A privet lined it, creating an intimate little room within the garden. “Is this another of your favorite spots?” he asked as he sat on the bench, pulling her down into his lap.

She gasped but slid willingly into his arms, her own circling his neck. “Yes. We played here often, whenever the tide or the weather didn’t grant us access to the beach.”