The Duke was standing in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted to one side. It was a relaxed, casual pose, and yet the way he looked at her was anything but casual. The deep midnight of his eyes burned and he radiated a subtle, sensual energy that made the air around him crackle. 

He looked like a man who’d never heard the word ‘no’ in all his life. Unluckily for him, ‘no’ was the only word she had.

“There's no reason why I should stay,” Anna clasped her shaking hands together in an effort to still them. “I’m not marrying you.”

His gaze flickered, his mouth curving slightly, and she had the disturbing thought that far from putting him off, her insistence was only inciting him further.
“But you haven’t heard my proposal yet,” he said mildly. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“I don’t need to hear it. I already know that my answer will be no.”

“Of course. But you can hardly tell your father that you heard me out when you haven’t, in fact, heard me out…. Anna.” 



A LADY FOR A DUKE

He’d given her so much over the past week. Shown her what her passion could be like when she wasn’t fighting it, when she could be herself and not worry about being demanding or loud or difficult. And she couldn’t deny that she very much wanted more of that for herself. She also wanted to give something to him in return. 


So what did it matter if she felt a little uncertain and doubtful about continuing what they had in France when they got back to Haerton? There hadn’t been anything bad about it. No, it had been the opposite. So there was no reason to let those doubts stop her, and there was no reason to be afraid. And after all, it had been a long time since she’d felt as happy as she was when she was with him. She didn’t have to give it up, not yet. 


“I’m not afraid,” Anna said quietly. 


“Yes, you were. I could see it in your eyes.” 


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