Page 3 of The Duke’s Hellion (Duke Dare #3)

S am arrived at the house party early that Saturday morning with Chris in tow.

The two had planned to arrive together, mostly for Sam’s sanity.

Sam assumed Chris was being a good friend and helping him out.

If he had other motives, well, Sam could guess at what (or who) that might entail, but he pretended to let the man have his secrets.

“Do you think we’ll see much of James at this house party?” Chris asked as the two men found comfortable spots to have a quiet drink.

Sam scoffed at the question. “Doubtful. The man is head over ears in love with Joan. Pfft. With their recent engagement, we’ll be lucky to see them for meals. That man will be sequestering that woman every chance he gets.”

“Of course, you’re right. And I don’t think she’ll be fighting him on that at all. What with the way she looks at him.” Chris’s hands rubbed the sides of his armchair before he added, “I’d be the same way with a woman.”

“I, for one, would not.”

Chris laughed. “Every man says that until he meets the love of his life.”

“First of all, not every man says that.”

“Only the self-proclaimed bachelors then?” Chris supplied as a replacement.

“Yes, better. But second of all, that’s quite the statement to make.”

“What? That she’s the love of his life?”

“Yes.”

“Well, she is, isn’t she?” Chris queried.

“I suppose…if you must call it that.”

“I must. If James can believe in love, anyone can.”

Sam merely shrugged his shoulders in reply. It was true. James claimed to not believe in the existence of love, and then—poof—Joan, and the man was transformed.

“In fact, he doesn’t just believe in it, he found it.”

“Rather quickly, no?”

“Are you saying you question its authenticity?” Unflappable Chris gave him a side look.

“Not at all.”

“Good. His love happened quickly. Love can be like that. It isn’t always that way. Some love burns slowly. Takes time to build, catch, and blaze its path.”

“God, you’re speaking as if from experience.

” Sam eyed his friend. Surely the words coming out of his mouth were not mere conjecture, but this time it was Chris who gave the noncommittal reply.

He didn’t see much point in prying for further information, knowing Chris would share in his own time.

“It’s a good thing we chose to come early as we have a chance to relax before the chaos of guests starts. ”

Chris nodded along distractedly, already lost in his thoughts. Probably about some slow-burning love that Sam knew next to nothing about. He had an inkling…but…he wasn’t sure, so he allowed himself the pleasure of being in his own thoughts.

Being early meant Sam could get comfortable, surveille his surroundings, and take the offensive with newly arriving guests. Though it should be noted that the offensive he took looked rather more like a defensive… since he (and Chris) were essentially in hiding.

Unfortunately his hiding place—that of the library—was quickly discovered. No sooner had he closed his eyes to permit contemplation(or a short nap), than an interruption in the form of two ladies appeared.

Mimi and Nobi walked into the library unaware that he and Chris had already laid claim to the space. True, it was quite a large space, and two people really couldn’t claim its entirety. But they certainly made a valiant attempt.

“Oh,” Mimi scowled at him. Expected. “It’s you.”

“It is I.” Something about her caused an upset stomach, and he couldn’t help mocking her. “And that is you.”

Mimi crossed her arms. “What are you doing here?”

A scolding hiss flew from Nobi’s lips, “Mimi!” Meanwhile Chris’s shoulders shook in what Sam could only assume to be mirth.

Since Chris’s head was in a book, Sam was the one to reply. “We’re reading. I assume you have come to do the same thing.”

“As a matter of fact, we’re on our way to do some archery.

” She tugged on Nobi’s arm before her sister could reach up and grab one of the books she was eyeing nearest to her.

“We were just on our way out.” Mimi spoke matter-of-factly despite everyone’s awareness of the detour through the house they would have had to take if they were actually about to partake in archery activities.

What a silly chit to resent him so much that she would tell such a bounder.

Though…archery… he pondered, tapping his chin. That did sound tremendously more diverting than reading a book when it was such a nice day. As much as he enjoyed reading, he much preferred any and all competitive activities.

Chris sat next to him flipping the pages of his book.

He didn’t seem all that interested in the conversation.

Then again, now that Sam studied his friend’s movements, Chris was flipping those pages a little too quickly to be reading and comprehending any text his eyes might be perceiving.

Every so often Chris’s eye wandered up and over the edge of the page and caught a glimpse of Nobi.

Well. There was always that.

Sam needed the challenge provided by an archery activity, and Chris needed…whatever that was about. Ignoring Chris’s possible reactions, and with his mind made up, Sam stood and announced, “We’ll join you.”

Chris dropped his book. Nobi fumbled with the spine she was tracing. Mimi, the statue, didn’t wince.

With a glare, she replied, “You weren’t invited.”

A second chastising from Nobi permeated the air, “Mimi, really!”

“That’s all right. We’ll join you anyway. We could use the activity. Come.” Sam grabbed Chris by his bicep and pulled him to standing. “Let’s go.”

After sneaking another glance at Nobi, Chris shrugged his shoulders. The four of them exited the room and made their way to the targets.

“I trust you know where they are and we’re not blindly following you to nowhere?” Sam asked Mimi.

After a contemptible harrumph, Mimi answered, “Of course I know where I’m going—”

“It’s just that your first attempt led you to the library.”

“Yes, well, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Life is about moving past them.” She stated with such a glare that Sam couldn’t help laughing.

On the inside. He didn’t yet want to disclose the fact that she could make him laugh, despite their numerous previous encounters in which she did exactly that.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chris whispered beside him as Mimi stormed ahead.

“Competition is always a good idea.” Sam swept Chris’s hand off his shoulder. “Besides, I love a challenge.”

“I know.” Chris replaced his hand on Sam’s shoulder but with a firmer grip this time. “But are you sure you want the challenge of her?”

“This isn’t about her.”

“Right.”

Sam scoffed. “This is about the archery, my good man. I’m about to win at something.”

“Are you in the right frame of mind to do this? Right now? With her?” Chris canted his head to the lithe blue-eyed blonde sashaying her hips to the targets. Not that Sam noticed all of those attributes. Consciously.

“I’m always in the right frame of mind. You would think you would know that about me.

I’m not James. I’m not reckless.” He spat out the words.

Even though he loved his friends—yes, he was comfortable with the word love—he was honest enough to label them for what they were when needed.

And for some reason Chris was confusing him with James.

Sam was competitive. Not impulsive. He wasn’t the kind to jump the seven-foot stile to prove a point when everyone else rode around it.

But he was always the kind to pick up a weapon, aim, and release. And he was usually the kind to win.

And there was nothing akin to the feeling of winning. Of being his best. Though he didn’t feel his best at the moment, there was nothing stopping him from achieving that. He only needed to focus his thoughts. Remove the distraction of Chris in his ear and Mimi in his eye.

“Are we doing this?” Sam shouted, intentionally moving quickly toward Mimi. From the corner of his eye he saw Chris shake his head, and he was pretty sure he heard a whisper from Nobi.

“It’ll be all right,” or something equally reassuring.

And yes, it would be all right. Nothing was going to happen. It was a simple game—competition.

Nothing could go wrong.

Only a few moments later, Sam was taking aim, focusing on the target thirty paces away.

He should be able to hit this. It was easy.

He just needed to breathe. A deep inhalation only confused him.

Vanilla and sugar infused itself in his nostrils.

That was not the scent a man needed when he was concentrating.

Then again, a man also didn’t need the worry of a threat on his life or livelihood taking up residence in the back of his mind either.

If a thought was going to take up space, it should at least do some farming, be productive, and pay its way.

No, not these thoughts today. Rudolph and Mimi, equally aggravating but in the most polar opposite of ways.

He huffed out a breath and released the bow.

Dash it. He hit the very perimeter of the target.

“Nice shot,” Mimi teased. And what he wouldn’t give to…what…he was grasping at straws. What did he want to do to her? Nothing drastic…just shut her up. The only way to do that was to beat her.

“I have another shot,” he ground out.

“You’ll need it,” she rejoined with pursed lips. And as he set up his next arrow, she had the audacity to call out to Nobi and Chris. Loudly. “Aren’t you two joining us?”

“No, we have decided to sit this round out,” Nobi answered at a more respectful decibel than her sister.

Sam stole a quick glance over to Nobi and Chris huddled together, whispering at the outskirts of the field.

They weren’t touching, but he could see Chris leaning in.

What was it about those two? They were old friends, yet there was always a peculiar tension between them.

Sam shook it off. He didn’t have the patience to consider his friend’s problems. He had enough of his own that he was trying to avoid.

And he wasn’t even sure his thinking was logical at this point.

All he knew was that he needed to hit the target. He needed a win. Right. Now.

He took aim. Lifted his elbow. Pulled back on the bow. Narrowed his gaze. Release.

Zing!

Thunk!

The beastly arrow missed the bullseye again. By far too much.

“Bah!” Mimi couldn’t suppress the sound. Or so he assumed noticing her hand covering her mouth. She withdrew her fingers and said, “I thought you would be a challenge for me.”

Apparently she hadn’t been trying to suppress anything. The blasted chit said whatever was on her mind. And Sam, not usually an angry fellow, felt right furious in the moment.

With gritted teeth, he formed a few polite words. As many as he could muster. “Let’s see you try.”

Mimi laughed. “I could do better blindfolded.”

“I doubt it.”

With a toss of her hair, Mimi called back to Nobi. “Do you think I could do better than that if I were blindfolded?”

The helpless shrug of Nobi’s shoulders and her pitying eyebrows said it all.

“I’ll go retrieve my arrows and you can take your turn.”

“Don’t bother. They’re not in my way,” she tossed out and flicked him an annoying little grin.

“Just shoot,” Sam ground out.

Mimi took aim.

Bullseye!

Without a pause, she withdrew a second arrow. Load. Aim. Shoot.

Bullseye!

The smirk on her face when she turned to face him boiled his blood. Her eyes were closed. “I only closed my eyes, it’s not as though I doubled the distance. I didn’t want to humiliate you completely.”

“Ha ha.”

“Oh. You don’t believe me?” Mimi stood with a hand on her hip.

Wait. Was she actually claiming that she took those shots with both of her eyes closed?

Her depth perception, balance, and everything would be skewed.

It was impossible. No. She wasn’t saying that.

She couldn’t be saying that. She couldn’t be that much better than him.

Well, him at his worst, really. But still.

A no-eyed woman was a better archer than him? It couldn’t be.

“Duke,” she nearly shouted, and he could hear the venom in her voice. “Are you calling me a liar?”

Speechless. That’s all that he was. What should he say to that? Prove it?

“Shall I prove it?”

Thank God she supplied the words for him.

“Stand here.” She motioned for him to stand beside her while she took aim again, lifted her bow and stretched it taut. Her body was preternaturally still, holding the shape of her shot. Closing her eyes, she let the arrow fly.

For a moment, Sam couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was a hellion to be sure. Wild. Furious. Even reckless, perhaps. But when he slid his eyes over to the target, without much motivation if he was being transparent, he saw what he was loath to imagine.

Bullseye. Times two.

Damn it.

“There’s something off about you today,” she said as though what she just did wasn’t the most impressive thing in archery he had ever seen. Mimi eyed him from toe to head. The perusal made him quite uncomfortable. What was she looking at? Worse. What was she looking for?

Argh. He knew she would be the kind to notice the smallest anomaly.

Though, really, his aim was not the smallest anomaly. They were actually quite obvious anomalies. Why had he agreed to this challenge again? Right. He needed a distraction. Well, this was as good as it was going to get right now.

With a scowl, he said, “If you beat me at my worst, it’s nothing.”

“Of course you would say that because I won.”

“You really think I was on top of my game just now?” he growled.

“I can’t picture you on top of anything right now.”

And oh, he could picture himself atop many things at the moment, but that was really veering toward dangerous ground.

“You think that right there was a display of my best?”

She scrunched her nose and conceded with a murmur, “Doubtful.”

“Exactly. And that’s why I’m grumbling. But I will say this, if you do beat me at my best, I’ll celebrate for you.” He had celebrated a woman’s triumph over him before, he could do it again. Surely. Even if it meant celebrating her .

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“And I’ll do it when you actually beat me.”

Harrumphs expelled from both of them. And they stormed off to retrieve their arrows.