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

It was the money he'd offered her before they got married, and she noticed that he'd doubled it too. Although why he did, she couldn't fathom. It was probably because of the baby, she told herself. Knowing Cedric, she knew he wanted his child to be taken care of. 


Well, she didn't need him, she told herself in her anger. At first she didn't touch the money, but soon she realized that she would need it if she really wanted to start over. If she really wanted to move on with her life and go to university. If she wanted to get herself a job. If she wanted her child to have a good life, without depending on Cedric, then she'd have to suck this up and move on. The money was hers anyways. Well, except the extra he'd sent. 


49