Must Love Dukes Read Online Free

entered the carriage after her, sitting on the seat to her left. She widened her eyes a fraction but said nothing. He supposed the gentlemanly thing to do would have been to sit opposite her on that large, empty bench seat, but he wasn’t feeling very gentlemanly at the moment. Too many sangarees would do that to a man.
    “Oh…um…I’m not sure where to go from here.”
    “I find that I’m not ready to return home, either,” he agreed.
    “Yes. That must be it. Too much fun and all.”
    “I’ll instruct the driver to take a turn around the park for a bit while we come to our senses, shall I? I can’t very well deliver you to your home in this condition anyway.”
    “To my home, yes. I couldn’t possibly go there just now. I didn’t realize how much I’d consumed until I stood up when that man grabbed me. By that time, the fight was all around me and…” She looked down and instantly went into alarm. “Devon! Your hand! You’re bleeding!”
    “That does tend to happen when you punch a man in the face. It’s only a scratch.” He inspected the back of his knuckles with a frown. “I believe I removed his tooth, if that brings you any comfort.”
    She pulled open the reticule at her wrist and retrieved a small square handkerchief. “Give me your hand.”
    When he hesitated, she held out her hand and motioned for him to comply. Something in the tilt of her head and the look in her eyes made him wonder if she had played nursemaid before. He had been bandaged as a boy too many times to count and knew the look of efficiency and experience at once.
    Who was she and who had she cared for before?
    An odd sense of jealousy bit at him, which was completely irrational since he had only met her today. Whoever had benefited from her care in the past was irrelevant. Bringing his mind back to the present, he offered her his hand with the bloody knuckles.
    As she began to wrap the handkerchief around his hand, tying it neatly at the corners, he could not pull his focus from the feel of her fingers on his palm. The light, glancing touches made him want more. He cleared his throat. “I cannot imagine what gave him the idea that he could take such liberties with you. That oaf in the tavern, I mean.”
    Her face flooded with color as she looked down at herself in an assessing manner. “I don’t know, either! No man has ever tried to do anything like that. Although I have never before squeezed into one of Mama’s old dresses.” Her mouth closed abruptly, and her eyes widened as if she realized she had said something inappropriate.
    “This isn’t how you usually dress?”
    “Heavens no,” was her only response, clearly closing the door on the subject. “There you are. You will want to clean that and bandage it properly when you get home.”
    The handkerchief was wound and tied neatly around his hand with a perfect knot in the center. He couldn’t imagine that he could do a better job of it once home. He tended not to bandage his scratches anyway. Life aboard a ship had taught him that fresh air and sunshine healed better than any bandage. He shrugged off the advice and lifted his gaze to Lily.
    His eyes lingered on the view of exposed pale skin her dress offered before meeting those clear blue eyes. Her breasts were displayed like delicious cakes in a baker’s window. He kept his eyes on hers but could not seem to control his fingers as they greatly desired to dip into the cake frosting before him and take a large lick.
    “I rather like your dress.” He ran his fingers over the row of lace that trimmed the deep neckline, skating one finger along the creamy skin it exposed. He watched as she swallowed and looked back into his eyes. She did not flinch or pull away as he had expected her to. Even when foxed, ladies tended to attempt an air of propriety, in his experience. But Lily was not like other ladies. That much he knew.
    “Did he bruise you here? When he grabbed you?”
    “No,” she whispered.
    “Good. I