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

Chase grabbed his sleeve and began pulling him toward the garden. “We need to talk.”

He pulled his arms from Chase’s grip. “I don’t want to talk.”

Chase looked back at him. “I’d let you just go but I have a feeling you’re about to make a very big mistake.”

Dane snorted. “You couldn’t possibly know that.”

“Really?” Chase crossed his arms. “I know that Dashlane is dancing with Juliet. And I know that you’ve a tendency to mistrust feelings. And I also know that you’ve kissed—”

“All right,” he said, realizing that a conversation was inevitable. “We’ll talk.”

Chase turned and headed out to the garden. He’d been out here just a bit ago but his feelings couldn’t be any more different.

“You have kissed her, haven’t you?” Chase said, turning.

“Yes,” he answered, not bothering to lie.

“And you plan to marry her.”

It wasn’t a question. His cousin was a duke and he didn’t ask lots of times. He demanded. Five minutes ago, his answer would have been different. But now. His gut churned. “I considered the prospect.”

Chase stood straighter. “Well cease considering. I’m not giving you an option.”

Dane clenched his fists. “I overheard Adrianna say that Juliet was scheming to become my w

ife. I won’t be manipulated like that, Chase. Never again.”

Chase let out a long breath. “I doubt very much that Juliet is trying to manipulate you into a proposal. Why don’t you tell me exactly what Adrianna said?”

A little doubt niggled in Dane’s stomach. Somehow, he’d had the same doubt. “She called Juliet a schemer.”

Chase’s head bobbed back and forth. “She does tend to concoct little plans. And they do often bring people together. But they’re the most innocent of plans. They involve lost cats and this dance.”

Dane’s stomach dropped. “She planned this dance to try and catch Dashlane.”

Chase winced. “A harmless crush on the wrong man because she had absolutely no experience.”

“You think.” Dane pointed a finger. “You don’t know that for certain.”

Chase stepped closer. “Here’s what I know. When she does make some plan, it couldn’t be any more obvious. She gets theatrical, her voice rises, anyone who knows anything about her can tell she’s devised a plan. It’s the most innocent scheming in the history of deviance.” Then Chase smacked his arm. “And you’d better not allow Tiffany to ruin what could be a wonderful future.”

Those words hurt. He raked his hands through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut. Chase had a point. Was he painting Juliet with Tiffany’s brush? That thought hurt more than he cared to admit.

Chapter Eleven

Juliet tapped her toe as she dropped her arms at her sides, then she lifted them to hug her middle before dropping them again. Where was Dane?

The third set was about to start. The one that Dane had agreed to dance with her. Only he hadn’t arrived.

Couples were pairing as gentlemen came to collect their partners and then return to the dance floor. She waited, shifting again, and craned her neck about. He was a head taller than most men and easy to spot but she didn’t see him anywhere.

The first strains of music started and she looked to her right to see him enter the ballroom from the garden. But rather than come collect her, he skirted the edge and then disappeared out into the entry. Her heart rose into her throat and she placed a hand at the base of her neck, trying to control her emotions. He wasn’t going to dance with her?

Disappointment washed over her. Why?

The single word reverberated in her chest. They’d just kissed for the third time in the garden. What was the matter?

Chase entered the ballroom from the same door Dane had just come through. For a moment she debated going after Dane but she had no idea where he might have gone. Instead, she crossed the room to find Chase.