Page 1 of Seven Nights with the Wicked Duke (Regency Beasts #3)

" A re you sure this is not too improper a costume?" Cecilia asked again, pulling at the hem of the short skirts she was wearing.

"I promise you, Cecilia," Lily, her friend and daughter of the Earl of Windham, assured her. "You will be among the most covered up."

"I do not know why I struggle to believe you," she murmured pulling at the hem of her skirts to cover her thighs.

Lily swatted her hand.

"Stop squirming," she told her. "You look beautiful. Do you not want to experience something other than stiff propriety for once in your life?"

"I do but…"

"If you need any motivation to continue, remember what Magnus did to Boxworth," Lily stated. "You remember how angry you had been, and how heartbroken."

She had wept into her pillow when Lord Boxworth, whom she had been pursuing, had suddenly said he wished to discontinue their friendship because her brother had threatened him. She had been sore with rage and the damned man had not even been remorseful.

"You can do much better than a pup from a family of no consequence," he had said, not even looking away from his paper to look at her.

Stubborn, haughty oaf.

She understood his protectiveness because they only had each other to rely on since their parents had passed and having to take responsibility of her, he had taken his duties much too seriously.

"I can never forget it," she said, pouting. "And he has been more insistent on securing a match with Lord Haversham, who is positively a bore. He is not even giving me the option of deciding my future."

Lily gave her a look that showed she understood.

"You need this one night to make a decision for yourself."

"With a little pressuring from my friend," she interjected.

"That is beside the point, and stop interrupting me," Lily scolded. "You want excitement and I am giving it to you. I promise you, your reputation will be unhurt after just one night of fun."

Cecilia hoped that was true but swallowed any further protests on her tongue. She would trust the girl's judgement even if she wasn't comfortable looking like someone who worked in a brothel. Her friend was dressed much the same as her but much more at ease.

They were in a hansom on their way to the Solstice ball, apparently one of the hottest events of the year even if it wasn't posted in the newspapers.

Lily had suggested it when Cecilia had begun one of her usual rants of being tired of the sheltered life her brother Magnus, the Duke of Blackmore, intended for her to live.

From the moment she had heard the particulars of the secretive ball, she knew it would be the perfect way to rebel his hold on her.

The Solstice ball was apparently organized every spring and winter solstice but no one knew who organized it or where it would be held each year. It had an exclusive guest list who were sworn to secrecy so there would be no surprise guests who would put a stop to it.

Lily had refused to tell her how she had secured an invitation but she had extended it to Cecilia since she was allowed to bring a guest. It had been easy convincing her brother she was going to the Newtons’ ball with Lily so he would not suspect what she was truly going to do.

When she had been shown her costume for the evening, which was apparently a requirement, she had wanted to change her mind but Lily had used manipulation to get her to change and to don the mask.

"Imagine how good you would feel doing something so scandalous when Magnus expected you to be nothing more than a good little debutante."

Her anxiety had stood no chance at those words.

Her annoying brother had been pressuring her lately to decide on a suitor to pursue, but when she did decide, he would intimidate them or threaten their families and she was sore tired of his behavior.

"We're here, Helena," Lily said excitedly as the carriage came to a stop.

They had decided on monikers for the evening so they would not be recognized and the name Helena had always fascinated her. Lily had decided she wanted to be called something other than a flower and had chosen Diana.

She looked out of the window at the nondescript house that they had stopped in front of. No one would suspect the riotous activities going on inside. She couldn't even hear anything outside.

Were they in the wrong place?

"Are you ready?" Lily asked.

"I certainly hope so," she answered biting her lip.

"Live a little, Helena. What is the worst that could happen?"

She could be discovered by her brother and locked away in her room for the rest of her life. She didn't say anything but took her friend's arm.

"Let us indeed live for the evening, Diana," she said with a smile.

"Let us indeed," Lily cried, leading them to the door and knocking.

Standing outside the door, Cecilia's heart pounded an unsteady rhythm yet she squared her shoulder so her nerves would not show and when they went in, he had to remind herself of Lily's warning not to stare. That had not stopped her initial reaction to seeing so much bare flesh in one place.

She had thought her outfit scandalous because her legs were exposed but there were bosoms of all sizes exposed as well as thighs.

Loud, discordant music was playing and guests were socializing in no order.

It was chaos, organized and beautiful and she couldn't help but admire how the air was more relaxed than anything she had ever seen.

She noted it wasn't just Englishmen present. She heard notes of French and Italian in the room as well as languages she couldn't even recognize.

She spied a few hands straying up thighs and the more she looked, she noted that there were couples kissing or doing other scandalous things in full view of the room and no one looked bothered in the least. Her cheeks were inflamed at the sight of unabashed affection.

The air was heady with something she couldn't place that warmed her blood in a way she had never felt and she almost seemed to sway on her feet.

"Did I not tell you you would hardly stand out for being scandalous?" Lily asked with a smile, handing her a cup. "I think we are odd because we are the most covered."

She sniffed its contents before taking a sip because she had not even noticed when the girl moved to procure it.

It was wine, she was glad to identify, but sweetened with subtle notes of spice.

As she swallowed, it warmed a path to her belly and eased the tension she had not noticed she was holding on to.

She sipped slower with realization.

It was a drink to lower inhibitions, and while she hoped to participate in the festivities, she did not want to make a mistake she would regret forever.

"You should be careful drinking that," Lily warned. "It is stronger than it tastes. I do not want to have to explain to your brother how you got intoxicated at the Newtons’ ball when everyone knows they water down their wine."

She nodded and swayed to the music.

"Are you ready to begin ticking off your list?" she asked again.

"I think so." Cecilia answered even if she did not know where to start.

Lily had encouraged her to make a list of all the things she had been saying she wanted to experience before she finally resigned herself to her fate.

For someone who was famous for helping girls make good decisions in picking husbands, her friend was full of scandalous ideas.

Her friend had developed the reputation when she had used her knowledge on the scandals or bad habits of the gentlemen in the Ton to help Lady Greta escape marriage to Lord Arnold, who had a drinking habit.

The list sat like a weight underneath her corset and reminded her of all the naughty things she had written down.

While she had been taught to expect that her husband would teach her all that she needed to, she doubted if Magnus was allowed to pick she would experience anything remotely close to what she had read in the books she had purchased in secret.

They had been detailed on what happened between men and women who desired each other and described how it felt, so much so that she had warmed while reading them. So far with all the men her brother had attempted to secure matches with, she had felt nothing more than resounding numbness.

The item on her list she wanted to tick off that evening was sharing a kiss with a stranger, and while she had perused the room, she had not seen anyone she would want to share a kiss with.

How does one even decide what stranger she should kiss?

"Have you seen anyone you're attracted to?" Lily asked.

"Not yet," she answered.

"Let us dance first. You might meet a gentleman there and if you're lucky, he will be handsome behind his mask."

She didn't get a say in the decision before she was pulled to the makeshift dance floor. She laughed and spun unabashedly with her friend and soon they met gentlemen. But while the conversation flowed freely, there was no attraction.

She turned to the refreshment table but her eye caught a lone man leaning on one wall watching her. Her heart caught in her chest to have realized he was staring at her even past the sea of bodies swirling around her.

He moved off the wall, coming to his feet and his height amazed her.

He was over a head taller than everyone in the room and his posture while confident had a feline grace as he stepped closer.

The tiger mask he had chosen for the evening was a good compliment to him. he both fascinated her and scared her.

His dark costume was well tailored and heightened his dangerous appeal. If he was interested in her, she was intrigued by him. Her reaction to his regard attested to the fact.

She wondered briefly if he was coming to meet her and was amazed at how he was undeterred from his path even as ladies tried to gain his attention.

Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and her pulse beat so loudly in her ear that it drowned out the music around them.

She didn't think she was capable of words if he tried to speak to her.

When he was close enough for her to look into his eyes, he winked at her and brushed past her but not quick enough that she missed the imperceptive tilt of his head.

He wanted her to follow him, but could she really?

She felt breath return to her when his sandalwood scent finally retreated but there was a warmth that bloomed inside her she couldn't explain.

She had met other gentlemen and danced with a few but none had set this attraction to them in her. Even Lord Boxworth, who she had once dreamed of kissing, seemed paltry in comparison to him.

She turned to see him disappear into a corridor and turned back to Lily who seemed lost in conversation with her own dance partner, an equally tall gentleman in a Fox mask.

Cecilia wanted to seek advice but she didn't want to disturb the conversation she was having.

Her friend was laughing and playing with her hair as she conversed and it wasn't very often her friend found men entertaining.

What could happen if she actually went?

Another worry she had was that he could be an aristocrat. He held himself with an undeniable air of self-importance that only members of nobility seemed to have naturally.

If he recognized her and chose to expose her, she could be ruined. And yet…

The dark promise in his eyes called to the curious side of her that pushed her to write the scandalous list now picking at her skin.

Biting down her fears and the voice of reason screaming at her, she moved towards the corridor, holding her breath.