Never Desire a Duke (One Scandalous Season) by Dalton Lily

Author:Dalton, Lily [Dalton, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781455524006
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2013-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

I found four in the basement from which to choose,” the duke announced, lining the bottles up beside one another. “Each very old, but I think this one may best suit our purposes. May I have your opinion?”

Sophia approached, standing on the other side of the table. She felt safer doing that, placing some piece of furniture or fixture between them. Not that he would reach out and grab her, but she had started against all good sense to wish that he would. They were having altogether too much fun together.

Accepting the bottle he offered, she held the opening below her nose and sniffed. The strong scent of spirits momentarily dizzied her.

“Oh, come now,” he chided with a grin that made her heart jump in her chest. “You’ve got to taste it.”

She stole another glance at him. The light from the stove painted his features in contrasting strokes of gold and shadow, defining his imperfect warrior’s nose and broad cheeks framed by three days’ worth of unshaved whiskers. For the hundredth time in the past hour, she noted how handsome he was.

“You know that I don’t make a habit of drinking brandy,” she answered playfully.

Yes, of course, he would know from before. They’d known each other so well. But then in the end—they hadn’t. She tried to remind herself of that.

“But is it because you don’t like spirits?” He smiled at her, a flash of white teeth. She’d become quite obsessed with his lips, the one on the top being rather thin, but the bottom one, full and sensual in contrast, a rather perfect pair. She’d always found him attractive, but somehow now that they were estranged, he had become even more so.

The more fascinated she felt by him, the more irritated she became.

“As a mannered lady, I’ve little exposure to spirits,” she retorted. “No doubt the ladies with whom you are familiar make a regular practice of—”

“Shush, goose.” He reached to press a fingertip to her mouth.

She blushed and pulled away, embarrassed by the unexpected touch and his use of an endearment. He’d never had a special name for her before. Just Sophia and darling and dearest. Why now?

He splashed a bit into the first of four little beveled liquor glasses. “Neither of us will feel any effect from this inconsequential bit, if that is your concern.”

“Of course not,” she scoffed, staring at his lips. Heavens. To think she’d kissed them just yesterday, and with such passion. “I wasn’t saying so.”

She sipped carefully from the first cup. Though she did her best to do so without any reaction, her throat tightened against the liquor’s fiery path. She cleared her throat and softly wheezed her next breath. He did the same with the next three brandies, pouring a sample from each and setting the bottles down behind their representative glass. Soon, they had sampled all four. Or so he believed. She had dumped the last two samples into the refuse bucket beside her feet.

“Which one do you believe is the best quality?” he asked.

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