Page 80 of Her Heartless Duke
“Stop it, darling! You are going to ruin all of Jane’s good work!” she chided him, lightly slapping at his hand that had wandered to encompass one of her breasts.
“We can always stay in Anderleigh Hall tonight,” he coaxed her. “I could throw a much bigger ball than this one to celebrate your re-entry into the social scene asmyDuchess.”
“I do detect a hint of smugness in your tone,” she laughed. She turned in his arms and linked her hands behind his neck. “But youknowhow important this ball is to me particularly.”
“Of course, I do,” he grumbled. “If not, I would have you back in our bed, nude and—”
“Really, Isaac!”
He laughed lowly and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her jaw. “I love how I can still make you blush, my love. From your cheeks down to…all the other most delectable places…”
And when she turned an even deeper shade of pink, her breath coming out in small gasps, Isaac was feeling rather proud of himself indeed.
Needless to say, the Duke and Duchess of Langley took much longer to arrive at Lady Willow’s ball than they had earlier intended to.
“You are absolutely incorrigible,” she hissed at him from under her breath.
“True,” he replied with a broad smile. “But you love me anyway.”
His wife’s eyes softened, her soft lips curling into a smile. “Always and forever.”
“Good God, the sight of the both of you is enough to turn one’s stomach!”
Both of them turned around to find Daniel looking at them with a lazy smile. He raised an eyebrow at Isaac.
“It has been a long time since we last saw you, Langley.”
“Likewise, Lancashire.”
“And how have you been treating my sister all this time?”
“You mean to ask how I have been treatingmy wife?”
“Really!” Olivia exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. “After two years and you two still get into the pettiest of fights! I should think thatyou, of all people, should have grown up by now, Daniel!”
Isaac merely smiled as he let his wife take his brother-in-law to task at the entrance of Lady Willow’s palatial home.
“Are you going to let my sister defendyou, Langley?” his best friend asked him incredulously.
“Yes,” Isaac responded without a hint of remorse. “Who am I to stop her when she is doing an excellent job of it? Besides,” he smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist, “I would never dream of disturbing Olivia when she is in such a mood. I am not as much of an idiot as you are.”
“And you really should stop baiting him as well,” she admonished him. “Do not think that just because we are married, I am going to spare you!”
“In all things, I concede to your wisdom, my love,” he grinned at her, drawing her closer to him.
From the corner of his vision, he saw his best friend rolling his eyes at the both of them before he neatly sidestepped them.
“In that case, I shall go on ahead of the both of you,” Daniel declared. “And go get a room—you do not need to shock the rest of us with your scandalous displays of affection!”
Isaac merely laughed as Olivia shook her head at her brother’s indignant exit.
“I think that my dear brother-in-law needs a wife for himself,” he mused.
Olivia cast a sideways glance at him. “You think so?”
“I know so,” he replied confidently. “A wife does wonders for one’s disposition—as long as he marries the right one, of course.”
As his wife burst out in laughter, Isaac could not help but think that it was still the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. She was still smiling widely when they finally made their way into the ballroom.