Chapter: 10Olivia watched as Derek tipped the shot back without hesitation. His throat moved as he swallowed, jaw flexing once before he lowered the empty glass and set it down with a soft clink against the table.He caught her staring. One brow lifted. “What?” he asked, amused.She hadn’t realized she was staring that openly. “I don’t know,” she admitted truthfully. The alcohol loosened her tongue just enough to make her a little reckless. “I guess I’m trying to figure out what’s going on in your head. What exactly are you planning?” She tilted her head slightly. “Is this your new way of trying to get to me?”The air changed and Olivia felt it instantly. Like a drop in temperature before a storm. He stopped smiling, and suddenly, dangerous, charming Derek was back. Olivia knew she'd made a mistake. A huge mistake, she thought while everything inside her shuddered and those dark eyes of his seemed to…turn to steel. It was as if he’d put on a mask, Or worse, a voice in her suggested, taken one of
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Chapter: 9They all watched her finish the drink.The tequila burned on the way down, sharp, and punishing, but she welcomed it. It gave her something solid to focus on. Something that wasn’t Derek sitting inches away. Something that wasn’t Jack not calling.Before anyone could comment, she reached for another shot but she didn’t get far. Derek’s hand came down over hers. His fingers wrapped around her hand completely, dwarfing it. Warm. Solid. The pad of his thumb pressed lightly against her knuckles as if anchoring her there.A current shot straight up her spine and her breath caught in her throat.His palm was broad. Hard. Calloused in a way that suggested he used his hands for more than just signing documents. His fingers were long — of course they were long. He was tall, built, everything about him scaled larger than life. What the hell did she expect?It didn’t stop her mind from betraying her though. From wondering — vividly, and traitorously — what those hands would feel like elsewhere.
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Chapter: 8There was a pause, then Tessa exhaled and lifted her shot glass again. “Fine, Liv,” she said loudly. “I agree. We'll drop it for now, but only because you definitely need to loosen up and have some bloody fun.”And just as she said it —A male voice cut smoothly into their space. “I can definitely help her with that...”All three of them turned.He stood beside the booth like he’d been summoned by the word fun itself. Tall. Broad shoulders under a dark button-down rolled at the sleeves. A drink in one hand. The other casually tucked into his pocket. His jaw sharp under the low amber lighting.And that smile. Lazy. Confident. Slightly wicked. But it was his eyes that mattered. They weren’t on Tessa, or on Isabella. They were glued on Olivia. Steady. Assessing, and definitely Interested.Derek Hawthorne.__________For a split second, the noise of the bar dimmed.It didn’t actually fade — the bass still thudded, glasses still clinked, laughter still burst from nearby tables — but inside
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Chapter: 7“That,” she said slowly, “is exactly what I need.”Izzy whooped softly. “Knew it.”“I’m in the mood for something strong,” Olivia admitted. “Very strong. Possibly with a lime. Or three.”“Say less. Tequila it is.”“Oh God,” Olivia groaned, though the heaviness in her chest had lightened by a fraction.“Nine o’clock?” Izzy continued. “The Velvet Hour. Dress hot. Or comfortable. Or emotionally chaotic. Whatever vibe you’re feeling.”Olivia glanced down at herself — rumpled blouse, skirt slightly creased from a full day of viewings. Emotionally chaotic sounded about right. “Nine’s perfect.” She said, “Good. And Liv?”“Yeah?”“You don’t sound fine.”The softness in Izzy’s voice made her throat tighten again. “I’m not,” she admitted quietly.A beat of silence.“Then tonight,” Izzy said firmly, “we fix that. Or at least numb it.”Olivia let out a breath that felt like it had been lodged in her lungs all day.“Thank you, Izzy.”“Always.”They hung up, and the apartment didn’t feel quite as s
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Chapter: 6“Because you’re clearly not listening when I talk to you and tell you that it's not about you… you come in here, acting like—”“Oh, for God’s sake.” Olivia turned away, pacing once across the immaculate living room. Her heels clicked sharply against the hardwood. “Not about me? Seriously? All I want is for you to just show up,” she said, spinning back toward him. “That’s it. Not promises. Not five-year plans. Just… show up. Why is that so hard for you to do?”“I do show up.”“When it suits you.”“That’s not fair.”“Stop saying that!” Her voice rose, cracking slightly at the edges. “This is how I feel, Jack and I'm trying to communicate it to you. You don’t get to decide what feels fair to me.”He stared at her like she was someone he didn’t quite recognise.“You know we've had a lot of talks, but you’ve never complained…Sounded like this before.”He was kinda right. In the past they'd had several talks, but she'd always tried to make it more of a conversation than a full blown argumen
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Chapter: 5Gosh… This was wrong. She shouldn't be feeling or thinking this way about another man touching her. She loved Jack, right? Then why did she feel this way… This excited about another man touching her? When was the last time she felt this excited about Jack's touch? “Fun?” he questioned softly, interrupting her thoughts, his hand following the contours of her neck and her head almost lolled back into his palm of its own mutinous accord.“Not this sort of fun.” She trembled; fear, excitement, all manner of urges melting away the need to break free.“You’re going to have to clarify, because I’m talking about sex, nothing more, nothing less.”Sex. Even hearing him say it had her tummy contracting over the ferocity of her need as her confession burst from her lips. “And so am I.”His brow became a fierce V, his eyes sparking with something akin to surprise, disbelief, something more…but then it hooded over as he asked, “You’re afraid of keeping it casual?”She shook her head. If only that
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A LADY FOR A DUKE
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.”
Baca
Chapter: 28Anna wanted to deny it. She wanted to give the impression that all was well. Isn't that what a newly, happily married woman would do? A woman lucky enough to be married to the Duke of Springbrook should be overjoyed. What could she possibly have to be worried about? It wasn't like she could tell Collins anything even if she wanted to, so Anna shook her head and managed another smile she was sure didn't reach her eyes. “I'm fine,” she told him, “Just getting used to my new life as a married woman I guess,” But Collins obviously knew her too well and he didn't look convinced, “And where is your husband tonight?” he pressed,Anna sighed at the mention of Cedric, avoiding Collins' questioning gaze and focusing instead on the glass on the counter. “I already told you that I don't want to talk about him”“Why not?”“Because I don't want to,” Anna replied, “That's the reason why I came here in the first place. To take a break from the Duke and from Haerton so can we just not bring it up,”
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Chapter: 27Besides, wasn't she the one who had told him to cancel the honeymoon he'd been planning? Her soft mouth tightened because she refused to give way to the feeling that he had abandoned her. After all, she wasn’t a child and she might be in a strange environment, but she would soon get used to it. She would manage fine without him. By the looks of it, she didn’t have much choice.Juliet chatted all the way downstairs about where they were going to go shopping, while Anna scanned her lavish surroundings with all the apprehension of an ordinary person suddenly waking up to find themselves lost in a royal palace. But the instant her insecurity was ready to rise, she crushed it flat and refused to acknowledge those feelings. Haerton castle was going to be her home, no matter how short it was going to last, and the last thing she wanted was to be a duchess who lacked self-esteem. He'd left a card for her to shop with so he clearly wanted her to use it. She had no idea what kind of party they
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Chapter: 26“The staff will introduce themselves to you properly tomorrow morning,” Cedric told her as he led her upstairs, then added as she turned and met his gaze, “You look tired,”“I am,” Anna replied softly, unable to say anything else. “It's been a long, weird day,” Cedric nodded in agreement, “I agree that it's been a long day. I wouldn't say it was weird, but I guess I understand why you would say that,”They stopped in front of a door, and he released her. The fiery part of her seemed to be absent tonight, he observed. He could still see the desire in her eyes as she looked at him, but she also looked a bit…Scared. As if she was worried about something. Was she worried that he wouldn’t keep his word and hold off their wedding night until she was ready?Cedric couldn’t blame her. He wanted her. That was the truth and just the thought of being alone with her in a room filled him with a need he never knew he was capable of feeling towards a woman. She'd looked stunning in her wedding dres
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Chapter: 25A lump rose in her throat. She’d loved her father, but he hadn’t loved her. He’d never said it to her, hadn’t ever demonstrated it to her. She’d been the baby he hadn’t wanted, the child that had ruined his career. A lasting reminder of what his beloved wife had wanted and didn’t survive long enough to have. He’d done his duty by her, given her a roof over her head and food on the table, ensured she had a decent education, and as soon as the Duke’s money had arrived he’d left. Perhaps he was right, though. Perhaps it didn’t matter. Perhaps it was fine that this was all for show and that none of it was for her. Nothing ever had been, after all.Well, not quite nothing.There was one thing that was for her and he waited for her by the altar, exquisitely dressed in a morning suit of dove gray. The man who might not love her, but did want her, and certainly enough to demand a wedding night from her. That gave her some courage as she walked towards him, as did the look in his midnight eyes
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Chapter: 24He did have her try on numerous wedding dresses before finally approving some white silk and tulle concoction, accented with gilt thread, that Anna told herself she didn’t care about. Yet at the same time, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was conscious of a strange ache somewhere deep inside her.She’d never thought a husband and children would be for her, and yet here she was, about to commit herself to both. That it wasn’t real, she knew. But that didn’t change the small ache inside her, the tug of longing for something…more.But that was dangerous, so she ignored it.In between wedding-dress fittings and investigating degree programmes at various universities, she found herself casually looking up Cedric on the internet, despite telling herself that she really didn’t need to know anything about him.Apparently though, some part of her was desperate for information, hungrily combing through search results for anything interesting. There were lots of news reports of his pa
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Chapter: 23Cedric had not expected such candor. Hadn’t expected his own reaction to it either, and it was clear from the look on her face that it had cost her. But he couldn’t imagine her hurting anyone. Yes, she was fiery and yes, she’d lifted a hand to him, but he had provoked her. And the electricity between them surely hadn’t helped. She didn’t seem a woman liable to flying off the handle, though, not when she’d seemed very cool around him—when he wasn’t provoking her, of course. What had happened to make her think it was an issue? And why did she call herself difficult? She hadn’t seemed difficult to him. A woman of deep passions, perhaps, but not difficult.He wanted to ask her questions, find out why she thought these things about herself, but he didn’t want to make her distressed or agitated more than she already was. Perhaps there would be some time later, when they were on honeymoon. You don’t need to know. Why would you want to? Cedric shoved that thought away. “Anna, I handle extrem
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Masuk
