Dancing with the Duke (8 page)

He was a virile, handsome man with a body any
sculptor would worship and carve into stone. She’d seen it all,
every wicked inch of him. The thought of that body being pleasured
by some other woman made her ill.

“Do you or the gentleman need anything else,
my lady?”

“Perhaps the cook has some broth. But please
make sure it is tepid, not hot.”

Miriam set down the tray of ice and curtsied
before exiting the room.

He rubbed his temples, then when Miriam was
gone, he turned back to her. Though he whispered the word, “Water,”
his eyes said something else.

She plopped another ice sliver into his
mouth. He sucked on it, watching her still. She felt a flush run
down from her ears to her belly. If she didn’t know better, she’d
have thought his fever was catching.

A foolish part of her longed to demand if he
had a mistress, but she bit her lip. That was not the first
question she should ask him. And he was so weak, it was better if
he didn’t speak at all.

She put her hand to his mouth. “Do not try to
speak, sir. You are weary and hoarse.”

He opened his mouth and before he could
argue, she fed him another ice chip.

“You have a fever and you need to rest.”

His forehead was still warm. It could be a
long night if his fever didn’t break. But he was at least alert for
now, which was a good sign.

She stood up, intending to move aside the
blankets and leave him with the sheet, but he reached for her
arm.

“Don’t.” Under his stare, she froze again.
“Do not. Leave.” Though the words were gravelly and low, it was a
command, not a plea.

“Very well.”

She pulled aside the blankets, careful not to
touch his thighs, and moved a chair close to the bed. The mere foot
of space between her seat and the bed seemed much farther. Every
little movement made her aware of the hard chair beneath her and
the cool air brushing over her skin.

She missed the heat of his body next to
hers.

* * *

A Marquess for Christmas
is available
now at all major ebook retailers. To learn more about Vivienne and
her books, you can visit her website:
http://www.viviennewestlake.com
.

Dear Stranger

Landing a Lord series

Dancing with the Duke

Loving the Marquess — January 2013

Beguiling the Earl — summer 2013

Hathaway Heirs

Lady Hathaway’s Indecent Proposal — late
spring 2013

Suzanna Medeiros was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Her love
for the written word led her to pursue a degree in English
Literature from the University of Toronto. She went on to earn a
Bachelor of Education degree, but graduated at a time when no
teaching jobs were available. After working at a number of
interesting places, including a federal inquiry, a youth probation
office, and the Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario, she decided
to pursue her first love — writing.

Suzanna is married to her personal hero and
is the proud mother of twin daughters. She is an avowed romantic
who enjoys spending her days writing love stories.

She would like to thank her parents for
showing her that love at first sight and happily ever after really
do exist.

There are so many people I’d like to thank.
First, thanks go out to my wonderful beta readers — Aida Amaral,
Maureen Frew, Maria Medeiros and Maaike van der Leeden — and to
Charlene Roberts for your unswerving belief in me. Any anachronisms
in this story (namely, one waltz at Almack’s in 1806, which I
included because I felt it suited the plot) are my own.

I’d like to thank my family for their
continued love and support.

Thank you to all the wonderful writers on the
Romance Divas forum.

But most of all, I want to thank my husband.
Being married to someone who spends a great deal of their day
daydreaming and trying to capture those dreams on paper isn’t easy,
but he has supported my need to write from day one. I love you,
Neil.