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

“You’re wrong,” he argued. “I’ve made plenty of commitments and if you’d just listen—” 


She interrupted him. “No, Cedric. You avoid it, so you never have to bother.” She shook her head. “That’s not how I want to live my life.” 


“Anna, don’t go.” Three words that sounded as though they’d been forced from his throat. It was too little, too late. 


“Goodbye, Cedric.” She told him, and walked away. 


Two days later, Cedric was still stunned. 


No one had ever told him off the way Anna had. No one had ever been so right about him. He’d wanted to argue with her, to refute everything she’d said to him, but she’d pegged him perfectly. 


53