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The tense and shocked expression on his face elicited a soft giggle from her lips, but she swiftly sobered up and stilled.

Oh God, what had she just asked of this gentleman she had only just met? She had always dreamed of being brave enough to challenge a social norm like this one, but she had never imagined the aftermath. Here it was.

“Oh, my dear God, I am so sorry to—” Arabella began, panic overtaking her quicker than she could comprehend.

But she was interrupted by the Duke quickly pulling her away from his door and down the back half of the guest hall. The part of the hall that was unoccupied. The part that was unlit and devoid of servants, as there was no one to tend to.

“Where are you going?” she asked, wondering what he was planning to do.

The Duke jiggled a doorknob of one of the unoccupied rooms and found it unlocked. He pushed the door open and gently ushered her inside.

“What on earth are you doing?” Arabella asked, throwing etiquetteoutthe door. Then she added, “Your Grace.”

The Duke walked up to her and stared down at her with a heat she had never seen before. He lifted his right hand and ran a tender fingertip down her arm, making goosebumps spread all over her body, so much so that it became uncomfortable yet intoxicating.

“Do you even know what you just asked of me?” he asked, growling almost, his voice deeper and huskier.

“Well, I?—”

“I don’t think you do,” he continued, the hand on her arm now resting firmly on her hip.

I don’t think I do.

The Duke’s left hand reached up and tilted her chin so she was looking him in the eye. He was impossibly close. So close that Arabella could feel his breath tickle her lips.

He’s so tall and… intense.

“Because if you did, you would not have asked so innocently,” he growled this time.

Both his grip on her hip and chin became firmer, her body more in his command. Arabella’s heart was beating so hard and loud that she wondered if he could hear it.

“You’re breathing so fast,” he murmured, his eyes darting down to her heaving chest. “Are you nervous?”

“What do I have to be nervous about, Your Grace?” she asked, her doe eyes searching for an answer in his.

When his lips hovered a hairsbreadth from hers, her brain began to fizzle in and out. What was this feeling? She felt a weird mix of anxiety and burning desire coursing through her, making her knees wobble.

“If I had it my way, you wouldn’t be nervous. You’d be excited,” he answered, cocking an eyebrow as his gaze traveled back up to her eyes.

Arabella took a deep breath as quietly as she could and said, “I do not recall saying I was nervous, Your Grace.”

“Are you excited, then?” he purred.

He was standing so close to her that his words sent vibrations through her chest.

He leaned closer, and she forgot to breathe. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how to breathe.

She felt his breath near her mouth and knew that it was only a very small distance that separated them. If she leaned forward, she’d be tasting his lips.

Her heart was pounding loudly now, and the only thing her mind registered was the heat coming off him in waves.

Before either one of them could move further, the small, squeaky voice of the estate’s biggest gossip piped up, “My Lady?”

ChapterFour

Oh no.

Arabella was out of his arms in a split second.