The Ice Duchess: Prequel to the Duchess Society Series by Tracy Sumner

Author:Tracy Sumner [Sumner, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-21T18:30:00+00:00

His rash declaration a short hour ago rolled through his mind.

That you could make a list of what you want to know, what you want to do, how to touch me, how I should touch you, and I’ll eagerly strike each off…

He lifted the glass to his lips, certain his decision to dive into a brandy bottle following Georgie’s departure would solve no problems, although it was taking the sting out of the evening’s closure. In the distance, thunder rumbled, and the acrid scent of an approaching storm churned and sizzled. He smelled burning pine and, somehow, her. Which was impossible as he sat on Markham Manor’s stone steps in a puddle of slush that had chilled until he could no longer feel his buttocks.

He wanted to be nothing but part of the night, silent from the roar in his mind, the ache in his heart. He wanted neither dukedom nor love, messy entanglements, childhood affection traps, eyes the color of lapis, the tug of slim fingers through his hair, lips that felt familiar but should not, or the weight of despair over a pledge he should have made years ago and hadn’t the courage to.

He’d mucked up everything.

He’d known Georgie had an attachment to him when they were children, though he’d considered it infatuation. Charming, until he started to return the sentiment.

And now…she didn’t want a husband, feared taking a lover.

Did he want to be simply an experience even if he persuaded her? Her teacher in lovemaking but nothing more, which did make his cock twitch to envision, he wasn’t denying.

He shuddered, the glass quaking in his hands. One more minute of this excruciating bliss, then he’d return to the house before he expired from the cold. Check on his father, whisper words of encouragement and promise, lay his hand on an unresponsive brow, and question why he didn’t feel more for the man when the man had never endeavored to feel more for him.

Dex smiled without joy, brandy a lingering burn. Maybe he’d threaten to marry the next suitable, no matter how repellant she or her family. Put Georgie to the test. A dare like none he’d placed before her. A true wager.

Her heart for his soul.

What would she do if he asked another woman to marry him while knowing he wanted her?

What would she do?

Nothing was a strong possibility.

He huddled into his coat, not his best, it had gone with Georgie, but good enough to keep out the worst of the foul weather.

He didn’t want her gratitude or her compliance. He didn’t want her to come to him because she’d decided she might like to be a duchess, a title he gave two figs about himself. Or because she was curious about what he could show her about the physical side of life, which from her stunned expression after he’d kissed her, was likely a lot.

He wanted her to come to him because she trusted him in the way she once had. Like a close friend she also happened to be frantically in love with.

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