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

“No problem,” Cedric said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his slacks. If he could have had his way, he’d be with Anna right now, doing the same damn thing. “I just need to talk to him for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” 


“Not at all.” She reached up, rubbed lipstick off Collins' smiling mouth with her thumb, then turned and picked up her purse off the table. “I’ll let you guys talk. I’ll see you later at my place, honey?” 


Collins' eyes gleamed. “Oh, yeah.” 


She was gone a moment later, leaving a trail of perfume behind her. 


Cedric looked at Collins. “So, SHE is your girlfriend?” he asked, feeling quite silly for the time he called Collins one of Anna's boyfriends. 


54