Kiss the Duke Goodbye (The Troublesome Trio Book 3) by Tracy Sumner

Author:Tracy Sumner [Sumner, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lowcountry Romance Press
Published: 2025-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

WHERE A MAN MARVELS AT HIS EXTREME GOOD FORTUNE

More than play.

Knox turned her statement over in his mind as he followed Clarissa up a narrow staircase, his blood dancing frenetically beneath his skin.

More. Than. Play.

To calm himself, he tried to think of other things. One corner of her runner needed repair. Her banister was shaky. There might be a leak in the roof. He cataloged the tasks he could complete on his next trip. She had no man about the place and an admittedly modest staff. He was useful, very, for a society nob. Good with his hands like her cobbler. However, Clarissa wasn’t his mistress and never would be. He had no jurisdiction here. Even if he offered, which he’d considered a time or two on those random visits to her shop, she’d sock him in the lip.

Watching her exquisite hips swing while she strolled down the corridor, he decided to reflect on the color of her nipples (unknown) and the thatch of gorgeous flaxen hair between her thighs (known) instead of the impossibilities of his life.

His female fascination was offering him exactly what he’d wanted.

Time.

He meant to take it.

Halting her, Knox pulled her into an embrace not far from one he’d employ if dancing the waltz. The kiss was light, her lips opening beneath his in surprise, then passion. He backed her into the wall, running his hands from her shoulders to her waist before tucking her tightly against him. “I love kissing you,” he murmured against the corner of her mouth, “when I’ve never appreciated the act this much. You are divine in every sense.”

She nipped his bottom lip, launching air in a spiral through his lungs. “You were in a hurry for other things, Your Grace.”

He cradled her cheek, watching her steely eyes glaze and glisten. “There isn’t anyone else. Not in my heart or my mind. It’s as if you’ve magically erased my past. I…” He halted, unsure how to tell her without telling her too much when she still meant to kiss a duke goodbye.

Falling in love with Clarissa Marlowe would be a very cruel thing, indeed.

As if she knew what he was thinking, she took his hand and led him to a door at the end of the hallway. If he’d known nothing about her, this room would have told all. It smelled of lilies and hyacinth, the fragrances he’d often caught on her skin. Moonlit and nothing but lit the chamber, revealing bonnets in various stages of completion scattered about the space. It wasn’t messy so much as spirited, like the woman. The curtains were without frills, the furniture sedate and steady, but the vases lining a shelf were splashes of color.

The bed was the most inviting he’d ever seen. Stacked with pillows, rose-colored silk draped over the tester frame like moss, the counterpane a darker shade of crimson, bold and elegant.

He paused in the doorway, where she glanced at him over her shoulder.

It was true. He was nervous. This slip of a woman had a lofty duke twisted in a knot.

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