The Heart of a Duke by Samantha Grace Page A

might be sulking over her
victory.
    Well, wasn't that too bad? She wasn't going to
throw her game to soothe Langley's ego. He'd just have to get used
to losing.
    Unfortunately, she seemed to be losing in the
game of Corner the Duke. Langley wasn't even aware they were
playing, and the blasted man still managed to evade her. She folded
her arms and sighed.
    "How am I supposed to make him
kiss me if I can't catch him?"
    The sound of choked laughter had her spinning
around, nearly slipping off the settee in her haste. How mortifying
to be caught in the truth.
    Jacob stepped out from behind the open door,
giving it a shove with his fingertips that had it swinging shut on
silent hinges. His gaze glittered with amusement, at her expense,
of course. All the warmth that had been in his eyes that afternoon
as he watched her play pall mall was quite gone.
    "Looking for Langley?"
    "I certainly wasn't looking for you," Elle
muttered, pleating the material of her skirts between nervous
fingers. The man was constantly in her way. Making her feel things
she shouldn't. Causing her to behave in ways that would turn Mama's
hair pure white. He was surely the very Devil.
    Picking up the snifter of brandy she now saw
that he had been pouring when she had invaded the duke's study,
Jacob wandered to where she sat and dropped down next to her. He
crossed one long, elegant leg over the other and studied her over
the top of his glass with lowered lids.
    "Looking for trouble is what
you're doing. Entering Langley's study with the intent to catch him
alone?" The smile that slid over his lips was no smile at all,
laced with something bitter enough to make her heart ache.
" Tsk, tsk, Lady
Eleanore. I didn't realize you were so bold."
    Her stomach fluttered at the dark
velvet caress of his murmur. Elle rubbed her lips together,
suddenly feeling out of her depth. She was more than aware of
Jacob's reputation with the merry widows of the ton , but he would never touch her as
long as she was betrothed to his cousin. His sense of honor would
keep her safe.
    Safe.
    Her marriage to Langley would be quite, quite
safe. He would never look at her like he could perfectly imagine
her without a stitch of clothing. He would never make her skin heat
and tingle with the anticipation of his lips on hers. Their union
would never produce this odd feeling of breathlessness in
her.
    She shifted on the cushion, and the gypsy
locket bumped gently against her chest. The metal was warm and
silky smooth against her skin. As she studied Jacob, she absently
lifted the heart on its chain and tucked it into the low scoop of
her neckline.
    His eyes followed her movements, then flicked
back to hers, something indefinable swimming in the golden green
depths of his gaze.
    "It was not boldness that pushed me to search
out the duke this evening, but desperation, I fear." A smile
wobbling on her lips, Elle rose. She moved to stand in front of one
of the tall bookcases that lined the walls, pretending to study the
titles of the thick, leather-bound volumes. What she needed to
confess would not be easy. "Perhaps it was for the best he was not
here. I've been asking myself a question now for some time, and I
now realize I've been looking for the answer in all the wrong
ways."
    "That sounds... ominous."
    She turned to look at him, amusement sparking
through her at the wary tone in his voice. "That would depend on
how one looks at it, Mr. Farrish."
    "I think, seeing as we will be family within a
month and we've always been friends of a sort, you might call me
Jacob instead."
    "I don't think we will, actually."
    His brows drew together, and he set down his
crystal tumbler with a precise click on the side table. "Won't be
friends?"
    Elle drew in a deep breath, tension breaking
free in her chest.
    "Won't be family."
    Jacob blinked, looking nonplussed. Opened his
mouth, then shut it again. After a moment, he unfolded himself from
the settee, standing to face her.
    "Is this a joke?"
    She shook her