The Heart of a Duke(94)
She stopped her pacing and lifted her chin, recalling the letter sent to Daniel. It is time. Come home and claim your destiny.
Tonight was hers. Time to say yes . . . to everything.
Before her courage failed her, she snatched the oil lamp from her bedside table, fled her room, and never looked back.
She hurried down the dimly lit stairs to the guest quarters. Reaching Daniel’s door, she paused, nerves stealing over her. It was nigh on midnight, and she was standing poised to knock on a man’s bedroom door. The pounding of her heart renewed her courage. Brett’s accident reminded her again that she could have lost everything she held dear. Tonight she planned to claim it so that she would never harbor any regrets.
She knocked. Her heart jumped in rhythm with her rapping knuckles. Just as her courage wavered, the door opened, and there stood Daniel.
He was so handsome, he stole her breath. His shirttails hung loose and the top buttons at his throat were undone, revealing a tantalizing strip of bare skin.
“What? What is it?” Daniel said, worry clouding those vibrant green eyes.
“I . . . ah . . . I . . .” It was one thing to be ready to surrender everything, it was another thing altogether to initiate it. She had brought her family back from the brink of despair, kept Taunton Court afloat, and was helping to solve a decades-old mystery. But she had never seduced a man before.
Excitement gripped her.
Daniel gave her a curious look, then peered into the corridor. Once he assessed no one else was afoot, he caught her hand and drew her inside, closing the door behind her.
The click of the lock echoed in the silence.
His hands on her shoulders, his eyes roved over her in concern. “You are pale as a ghost, Julia. It was a lot to learn today, and I understand if you need time to consider how involved you want—”
“You cannot rid yourself of me. Do stop trying.”
Surprised, Daniel blinked, then his eyes softened and he smiled. “Good, because I do not intend to.”
She nodded, her body warming under his touch. She released a breath, struggling to formulate a plan of how to proceed. She was good at planning.
But not at seduction . . .
“What is it? Shall I get Emily?”
“No!” Good lord, that was all she needed. A witness to her transgression—or her bungling attempt at it.
“All right.” He nodded. “Why don’t you sit.” He guided her over to an emerald brocade chair that engulfed her. Lifting the decanter on the table beside it, he poured a sip into a crystal tumbler. Her lantern was exchanged for the drink as Daniel folded her fingers around the glass.
She glanced at it blankly. “What is it?”
“Ah, no idea.”
He bent, and his head dipped close to hers as he assessed the contents. His thick, wavy brown hair was inches from hers. His familiar masculine scent teased her, sandalwood soap and Daniel, and she shamelessly inhaled.
“Smells like port.” He straightened, and brushed aside a tousled strand tumbling over his forehead. “Probably well aged, a tad sweet, and too expensive to drink.”
She lifted the glass and sniffed. Like a waft of smelling salts, the sweet odor snapped her back to her purpose. Wrinkling her nose, she placed the glass onto the table and stood. “I am all right now.”
“That is good,” he nodded, his hands on his hips.
He stood wearing a bemused expression, clearly awaiting an explanation. Her eyes strayed to the tumbler, and she wondered if she should have fortified herself with the liquid courage after all, then dismissed the idea. She was no coward.
She cleared her throat, lifted her chin, and delivered her words without preamble. “I have come to give you my answer.”
“Your answer?” His lips twitched.
“But first you . . . You have to ask the question properly.” She cursed her stuttering. She never stuttered.
Baffled, Daniel rubbed his neck. “All right. Remind me what the question is?”
Incredulous, Julia simply gaped at him, then started for the door. She had changed her mind. He was an obtuse idiot and she was done with him.
“Wait, wait.” He caught her arm and spun her around. “I am beginning to understand. Forgive me.”
He was laughing at her. He stood dangerously close to her hand, which was itching to slap him.
“So will you—”
“If you want an answer,” she cut him off, her eyes narrowed in warning, “I would think very carefully before you continue.”
Aware of her indignation, which must have been emanating from her in waves, Daniel dropped his hands and stepped back. “I understand. You are quite right. We should do this properly.” He bobbed his head, but then looked hesitant. “So you want me on bended knee?”