Must Love Dukes Read Online Free Page B

heard for the next few minutes was the gentle clip-clop of the horse’s hooves hitting the cobblestone road. He did not want to leave her on some doorstep and have this day end.
    “I want to show you my gallery this evening. Come home with me.”
    She sat watching him for a moment with pursed lips. “What if someone sees me? Sees us…alone…in your gallery?”
    “I live alone and have well-compensated servants. I’ll show you the findings from my travels.” Please say yes , he pleaded in silence.
    She took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving his. “Yes. To see your plantings and artifacts, I will come.”
    Devon released the breath he’d been holding as a smile spread across his face. He would not have to leave her. Not yet.

Two
    Her hand slid across the sheet to remove the hot blanket placed on her during the night. Why was her pillow fluffed so high? When had her bed become this soft? Nothing felt right. Just then her hand encountered the thickly muscled forearm wrapped around her body.
    “Blast it all.” Lillian murmured the pained whisper into the darkness. “What have I gotten myself into?”
    The sinewy man at her side shifted in his sleep, sliding his hand across her skin to rest his warm fingers over her breast, anchoring her to the bed and pulling her closer. She inhaled a quick breath as the previous night’s activities came rushing back to her mind in sharp relief. Bond Street, the tavern, the drinks, Devon. That was his name, was it not?
    Yes, Devon Grey, that was it. The way he kissed her lips, her body, and, oh my, she had allowed him to… She glanced down to confirm the disturbing fact that she had on not a stitch of clothing.
    How had she let this simple plan go so horribly awry?
    The warmth of his body seeped into her spine, his deep breaths fanning over her hair where it spilled onto the pillow behind her. Something hard ground into her back. Mortification flushed her cheeks at the thought of what it must be. Before last night she would have thought he slept with a pistol, but this morning she knew differently.
    She needed to be gone from this place soon, away from his sinful kisses, away from the reckless behavior he encouraged and the risk of falling back into his arms again. She had already allowed things to go too far. Who could blame her? But an evening together was all that could ever be between them. This was certainly why it was not advisable to drink large amounts of liquor with a man.
    Lillian shifted in the largest movement she dared, a minute shiver, moving away from the man at her side. When he did not stir she wiggled again, sliding gently to the edge of the bed. Kicking with one foot, she tried to untangle her bare limbs from the sheets. Yet they held her, binding her to his bed. With another swift thrust, she found herself falling to the carpeted floor. Landing on her hands, she winced at the sharp pain stabbing through her wrist and mouthed a silent “ouch” in the darkness.
    After hanging there by her ankles with the cool morning air chilling her skin and her rear exposed to anyone who happened to be peering in the windows, she pulled her legs free and began to crawl toward the foot of the bed. This was certainly a new experience, creeping out of a man’s bedchamber before dawn in the buff. She’d claimed to want more adventure in her life, but somehow this was not what she had in mind.
    The sound of a carriage rolling down the street quickened her pace. Soon the muted glow of daylight would spread, spilling its warmth across the city. She must get away before one of Devon’s household staff caught sight of her. They would certainly be up soon. She gained her footing and rounded the corner of the poster bed, still crouching low—as she imagined was the proper way to sneak about a strange man’s room in the dark. Lillian spotted her chemise where it had landed in a heap by the door.
    Rounding the far side of the bed, she searched for her corset. The floor creaked