To Tame a Scoundrel's Heart (A Waltz with a Rogue Novella Book 4) by Collette Cameron Page B

impossibility, he wanted to be that damned lucky bastard.
    Mr. Needham chuckled and smoothed one side of his sandy mustache. “So I see from the beleaguered looks the duke keeps sliding me. Release the poor chap else he flees before dinner, and I have to explain to your mother why the table is a guest short.”
    After a final reassuring, finger-numbing pulse, she rushed to her father and kissed both his cheeks. “Have you heard from Major Domont?” she murmured softly.
    “Not yet, my dear.” Needham patted her shoulder, his gaze compassionate. “Be patient. He’ll return as promised. He adores you.”
    “Of course he does. How could he not?” An attractive brunette swept into the room, fairly beaming. “Don’t fret about the major. The army doesn’t keep to our schedules. He’ll be along, darling.”
    Greatly resembling Katrina, except for her violet eyes, Mrs. Needham dipped a graceful curtsy. “Your Grace. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to learn of your good fortune, albeit it doesn’t portend well for your unfortunate sisters.”
    Nic bowed. “It is an honor to see you again, Mrs. Needham.”
    Once the greetings had been exchanged, Katrina strayed to peek out the window. Her shoulders slumped the slightest bit, and irritation toward a man he’d never met welled within Nic. True, the major’s military duties might have delayed him, but it only took a moment to jot a missive and send it off to the woman you’d professed to love and promised to marry.
    If Katrina waited for him , he’d not dally, but return at the first opportunity. Hell, he’d never leave her.
    Ever ? Not even to take to the sea again ?
    A mule’s kick to his ribs wouldn’t have cramped his lungs more, and his breathing stuttered. No, that commitment he couldn’t make. He loved the sea, and she wasn’t a mistress who took kindly to sharing her men. If he closed his eyes and held perfectly still, he could feel her seductive rolling and swaying beneath his feet.
    Nonetheless, he’d been damned disappointed to learn Katrina was practically betrothed. She’d quite captivated him in his short visit with Aunt Bertie. Nic hadn’t minded her delicate hand wrapped in his the least and admitted he’d contemplated kissing her before her father barged in.
    Good thing Needham had interrupted.
    Nic needed her assistance—and her mother’s too, of course—and he’d be a sailless, rudderless ship if they refused to further his cause because he’d foolishly overstepped the bounds. Even dukes couldn’t always have what they wanted.
    “Please forgive our daughter for her forwardness, Your Grace.” Sending Katrina a doting glance, Mrs. Needham indicated he should have a seat on the settee beside her. “She possesses a tender heart and at times, forgets herself and what’s acceptable.”
    Katrina’s gaze meshed with his, and she cocked a shoulder. “I do. I try to remember all the rules, but when I get excited, they rush out of my head faster than water over a fall.”
    “It’s of no import.” Nic rather hated rules too, and now he must adhere to an entire litany of the wretched things. He sat, and his attention again gravitated to the portrait dominating the tastefully decorated room.
    Katrina’s clear blue eyes, containing the perfect blend of merriment and innocence, sparkled from the canvas. Her skin glowed like the marble statues he’d seen in Rome, and her lips perfectly matched the pink peonies she held—wherever had they acquired the blooms this time of year? A rich shade between pecan and sable, her glossy hair had been twisted into an intricate Grecian style, intertwined with pearls. More pearls as well as sapphires adorned her ears, throat, and the wrist of the hand clutching the peony bouquet. The jewels enhanced her eyes and the exquisite blue and white gown she wore.
    A gown which revealed tempting cleavage.
    Look away.
    “The likeness is superb,” Nic muttered at last, praying no one noticed his husky