Chapter Six
Charlene groaned when the music stopped, and she made her way back to her friends in a daze. They stared at her wide-eyed, Maddie fanning her face furiously. This time, she did groan. She’d practically fled the dance floor the moment the orchestra’s last note struck.
Just feel my body.
Her heart hammered within her breast, her breath coming out short. The heat of his hand on her waist lingered, a strange, discomforting feeling.
Relax, his soft timbre whispered in her head.
Why was he so nice to her? She’d distance herself from him and hadn’t even been there for him with his father’s death, and also… the same blood that pulsed through his hateful brother pulsed through him. That could never be changed.
She had not forgotten the promise she’d made to herself—never again, she had sworn, would she entangle herself with a Cross. So, why had she agreed to dance with him?
They were all the same.
He wasn’t her orchid.
He was just some plant in some pot.
No steady fern.
Her hands shook as she adjusted her mask again, praying it concealed the heat radiating from her face.
“Char,” Maddie said, her gaze flicking beyond her before meeting her gaze again. And then she felt it. His presence. She didn’t need to glance over her shoulder to confirm.
He had followed her.
She turned, her eyes locking with his.
“It’s only proper to escort a lady back to her friends,” his gruff voice came.
“Also, let me know if you wish to continue our discussion.” And with that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her to blink after him.
Continue their discussion? What discussion?
A personal affront, perhaps. An embarrassing offer.
And the worst part, it was awfully tempting, too.
I can give you lessons to improve your dance.
Oh. That discussion.
I want to be friends.
“Proper. Pah!” Ashley muttered. “He didn’t escort his last dance partner off the floor. He left her in the middle of it and came straight to you!”
Charlene blinked. He had? She hadn’t even considered it.
“Tell me I’m hallucinating,” Maddie said. “You didn’t just waltz with him, did you?”
Charlene groaned, running a hand over her forehead. “I did. And no, you’re not hallucinating.”
Ashley raised a questioning brow. “And how was it to dance with the devil? Was his dancing just as devilish?”
“It was dreadful,” she admitted. One might even say it was a little corner of Dante’s Inferno. “I was terrible.”
Ashley waved her comment away. “Don’t worry too much about it. You never excelled at dancing. And he seems to excel at it a bit too much.”
Still… did the blackguard really have to point it out?
Charlene’s cheeks burned as the entire dance flashed through her mind.
Just feel my body.
Those four words…
Why did they make her body feel so hot? And why did they replay in her head like a careless whisper that wouldn’t die down? Hah! It was a careless whisper from him! One laced with wickedness and sin.
She had felt his body, every inch of it. Broad shoulders, strong hands, and eyes that burned with something unfathomable. In fact, now that she thought about it, he moved like a predator on the prowl.
Gah! Charlene! Haven’t you learned your lesson with those Crosses before?
“Why?” Maddie asked, her fan snapping shut. “Why would you dance with him?”
“Do you think I had a choice?” Charlene muttered.
“Well, yes, we do think that,” Ashley said slyly. “You could have said no. Yes. No. Choice.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Charlene said. “Even I don’t know why I said yes.”
Ashley chuckled. “Is he your rare orchid?”
“Of course not!” Never.
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t look so enchanted.”
Enchanted? “Don’t jest. I look nothing of the sort!” The word grated against her pride. She wasn’t some wide-eyed debutante swooning over a rogue. She knew better. She had been burned before, had vowed she would never be burned again.
But there was something about him she couldn’t ignore.
“All right then,” Ashley concurred. “I was just jesting.”
And then it happened again.
Her eyes found him.
He stood near the refreshment table, his tall frame cutting an imposing figure. He spoke to the same gentleman as before, his expression composed, but he sported a smile that was both faint and dangerous.
As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head. Their eyes met again across the distance, and Charlene’s breath caught. His smile deepened, a slow, deliberate curve that sent a shiver down her spine.
Her fingers clenched around the edge of her skirt.
She averted her gaze before she did or said something horrifyingly embarrassing.
“Shall we step outside?” Maddie asked, her tone gentle. “You look like you could use some fresh air.”
“No need,” Charlene said quickly. “I’m going to look for a gentleman to dance with.” She would practice. But who said it had to be with him?
Also, she needed to escape those burning eyes.
And stay far, far away from him.
*
“What are you grinning about?”
Adam’s smile slipped as he turned back to Jack. “Nothing.”
“That didn’t look like nothing,” his friend said. “So, the woman you danced with right now…”
“Yes, Lady Charlene.”
“Are you sure that is wise, given what happened a year ago?”
Adam didn’t know. That night had been scorched into his brain and was a standing nightmare for him. However, he didn’t want to let that night define him, or her. He didn’t want to relive that night forever in his dreams. He wanted to create better memories. With her.
They had been friends once. No matter the discomfort he had felt, no matter how much he’d longed for more, he was happy to just be in her life.
I want to get back to that.
“It’s best to keep your distance from her.”
Adam scowled. “Why?”
Jack shrugged. “If my source is correct and your brother is returning to England, it would be best to have her far removed from your family.”
Adam clenched his fists at the mention of his brother. The idea of Charlene becoming tangled up with David again made his stomach churn. Surely David had other interests while away and had forgotten about Charlene.
I can’t even stop thinking about her.
But he didn’t want to admit that was reason enough to keep his distance. What if Jack’s sources were wrong? What if his brother never returned? He’d already lost too much of her; he didn’t want to lose any more. Besides, he could handle his brother.
He had once before.
“She might not want to be entangled with the Crosses either,” his friend pointed out.
Oh, Adam knew she didn’t. He wouldn’t have wanted to, either. But the thought of Charlene being lost to him forever had left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was downright unpalatable.
As duke, however, he had more power.
Perhaps even sway.
That ought to count for something. Even if it was just a little something.
He sighed. “She’s not the type to hold grudges,” he muttered, more to convince himself than to argue with Jack. But he knew, deep within, this wasn’t about grudges.
Jack raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Is she not? You think it’s that simple?”
Adam shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not about simplicity. It’s about—” He broke off, not sure how to finish that thought. What could he say? But damn it, he didn’t have any experience mending such broken fences.
Jack didn’t seem to need any more prompting. “Adam, my friend, in my experience, when a woman has been hurt to that degree, you should either let it go or be prepared to grovel for the rest of your life, and in your case, you’ll be groveling in your brother’s stead. Do you really want to do that?”
Adam paused.
“Let’s not forget,” Jack went on. “You share the same face.”
“And that’s all we have in common.” Adam’s jaw tightened, the familiar ache of frustration gnawing at him. True. No matter how much he wanted to, that was one thing he couldn’t change. “I don’t want it to be easy.” He let out a slow breath. “But I can’t let it end like this.”
“It ended a whole year ago.”
“Exactly,” Adam said. “So let’s start something new. Something fresh.”
Jack was silent for a long moment, studying him.
“I’m not saying you can’t try. But you have to be prepared that she may not want anything to do with you. You may be hitting your head on a brick wall with no result.”
“Then I’ll hit my head against a brick wall.
But I won’t stop trying.” Adam reached into his waistcoat pocket.
The faint crinkling sound reassured him.
The apology he’d written for her was still there.
And perhaps he could finally deliver it now.
“I need to speak to her again.” Adam let go of the paper.
He’d carried the burden of the unspoken and undelivered apology for far too long.
He’d allowed too much to happen before his eyes, but as duke, he wouldn’t be so lenient with David.
And he’d most certainly protect Charlene from him.
He’d find David and send him away. Most importantly, he’d speak to her again.
“Well, don’t look now, but your little bird just fluttered off to another man.”
Adam’s head whipped around, his body stiffening as he watched Charlene smile up at another man. The man smiled back and held out his arm, which she took before he led her to the dancefloor.
It’s just a dance.
A dance didn’t mean anything. Nothing more than a polite social ritual. Liar. It didn’t mean something until it meant something. Then a dance was the most intimate thing in the world. The way she met his eyes, the way she let him take her hand, the way her body swayed…
Adam cursed.
Her dancing with someone else after being with him stirred something deep inside Adam that he had no desire to confront. A primal, almost instinctual possessiveness that would serve no purpose or benefit. So, he shoved it back into its cage.
“Not looking too well there, old chap.”
“Be gone,” he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening as he stood rooted to the spot, watching her glide across the floor with another man. Blast it. It was merely a dance. She had every right to enjoy herself.
But the damn thing gnawed at him. No dance was ever just a dance, even if it meant nothing.
It was at least a fleeting moment of flirtation.
He knew that much. He sensed it with this dance.
He could see it in how she held herself and allowed that man to guide her with an ease she hadn’t permitted with him.
“Is that Henry Grafton?”
“Her brother’s friend from Oxford, yes.” Jack’s voice broke through the haze of annoyance building in his mind. “Don’t cut in.”
“Cut in? Don’t talk nonsense. I would never do that.” I would take over.
“Tell that to the look on your face.”
“I’m wearing a mask.”
“You still have that look,” Jack said with a shrug, his tone dry. “It’s bleeding into the very air around you.”
Adam wanted to argue, but there was no denying it—Jack was right.
Again. His legs were practically wired to spring into action at any moment.
But damn it, watching Charlene smile and dance with another man, all while the same feelings of longing, guilt, and regret twisted in his chest, made him want to pummel something.
He wanted to be the one to hold her, to share the intimacy of a dance, to be near her again.
“Patience.”
Adam stiffened. “What?”
“If you’re going to try to walk the path of establishing a relationship again, be patient.”
He snorted.
“I am patient, thank you very much.”
“Doesn’t look like it from where I am standing.”
Well, being patient and feeling patient were two different things.
But Adam didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Because in that moment, as he watched Charlene, he knew the truth.
Patience was a trait for the calm. He didn’t have any calm at the moment.
Not in his head. Not in his heart. Nor did he know if he could drag some forth from somewhere much deeper within.
And that might just be the very thing that would break him.