The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables Book 2) (35 page)
Read The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables Book 2) Online
Authors: Darcy Burke
Lucy looked at Andrew and sighed. “Such brilliant efficiency. I’m almost afraid to tell them we won’t be needing their services just now.”
“I’m not,” Andrew said. He glanced at Tindall but didn’t really take his attention from Lucy. “Please excuse us, Tindall.”
“Just so, my lord.” The valet departed quickly.
“Thank God I convinced him to decline Clare’s offer,” Andrew said as he sent his hat sailing into the corner.
Lucy untied her bonnet just as Andrew swept it from her head. “He’s quite a good valet. I can’t believe you were going to let him go. And to the Duke of Desire, no less.”
“The Duke of what? Never mind, it suits him perfectly.” Andrew spun her around and began to disrobe her. “Although I might’ve gone with Debauchery.”
“Ivy calls him that sometimes. But back to your point, I’m so glad you asked Tindall to stay.”
“As you know, I worked very hard to keep everyone from becoming too important to me. It’s precisely because he was so indispensable that he had to go.”
She understood. They’d talked at length about his fears and the nightmares and attacks that had plagued him since his family had died. Their first night back at Darent Hall, he’d had another nightmare, but instead of retreating from her, he’d talked about what he’d seen and what he’d felt. Then she’d made love to him, and they’d both agreed that it was an excellent way to deal with things.
“Just think, if I hadn’t dressed up as a man and gone to a gaming hell, we’d both be living our sad, lonely lives.”
He removed her dress and started on her corset. When that was on the floor, he turned her around. “I’ve become rather impatient. You do the rest.” He began stripping his own clothes away.
She arched a brow at him. “First person naked gets to be on top.”
He goggled at her, then laughed. “No fair! You have a head start, thanks to me.”
She shrugged as she kicked her shoes off.
He swore and tried to remove his boot without sitting down, nearly falling down in the process.
“Don’t hurt yourself!” She tossed her petticoat aside. “I need you to be able to function.”
He sat on a chair and worked his boots and stockings off. “Oh, I can function, or don’t you remember how I
functioned
after the balloon descent?”
“I remember everything about that night. Shall I demonstrate?”
His eyes darkened, and the muscle in his jaw flexed as he swallowed. “Yes,
please
.”
He tore the rest of his clothes off as if they were aflame, and Lucy had to rush to beat him. In the end, she won, and he prowled toward her, scooping her up and tossing her on the bed.
She giggled, but sobered at the look of stark desire in his eyes. She knelt up and reached for his chest, stroking the now-familiar flesh. “On your back, my lord.”
“Whatever you command, my lady.” He kissed her first, hard and deep, his tongue sweeping against hers in delicious, arousing strokes.
He lay on his back, and she straddled him, caressing his cock as she held him to her entrance. Her breath was coming fast, and her anticipation was fever hot. “I’m quite ready,” she rasped.
“Take me,” he said, piercing her with his hungry gaze.
She did, riding him until they were both gasping for breath and completely sated.
Falling on top of him, she kissed him before sliding to the bed and snuggling against his side.
After a few minutes, when they’d both regained their breath, he stroked her back and kissed her forehead. “I take back what I said. Every man should marry an independent woman. Too bad, men are mostly stupid.”
“That’s true. We just need to find one—for Aquilla.”
“What about Ivy?”
“She won’t ever marry.” Lucy traced her fingertips over his chest. “A pity since it’s such a wonderful estate.”
“You say that
now
.”
“As do you.”
“Indeed.” He abruptly rolled to face her and smiled. “Thank you for coming after me that day.”
“I realized you loved me—you just needed a little help working it out for yourself.” She smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “As it happened, you got there all on your own.”
“I worked so hard to fill my life with adventure and distraction in order to keep love out. You, however, finagled your way in, and there was no distraction in the world—not even jumping out of a balloon—that could compare.” He kissed her, his lips lingering against hers. “I love you, Lucy, my wonderful, exciting, sharpshooting Duchess of Daring.”
A happiness Lucy had never imagined threatened to burst through her chest. “And I love you.”
Thank you for reading! Want more of
The Untouchables
? Grab the next book,
The Duke of Deception
,
here
.
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading
The Duke of Daring
. I hope you enjoyed it!
Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my
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Reviews help others find a book that’s right for them. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative. I hope you’ll consider leaving a review at your favorite online vendor or networking site.
The Duke of Daring
is the second book in The Untouchables series. The next book in the series is
The Duke of Deception
. Watch for more information! In the meantime, catch up with my other historical series: Secrets and Scandals and League of Rogues. If you like contemporary romance, I hope you’ll check out my Ribbon Ridge series available from Avon Impulse.
I appreciate my readers so much. Thank you, thank you,
thank you
.
Books by Darcy Burke
Historical Romance
The Untouchables
The Duke of Deception
(fall 2016)
The Duke of Desire
(coming soon)
Secrets and Scandals
To Love a Thief
(a novella)
League of Rogues
Contemporary Romance
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is
(a prequel novella)
Ribbon Ridge: Love on the Vine
So Good (summer 2016)
So Right (coming soon)
So in Love (coming soon)
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I want to thank my readers for embracing this series. I’m so thrilled you found
The Forbidden Duke
and hope you enjoyed
The Duke of Daring
.
I couldn’t do anything without my amazing team, which includes my fabulous cover designer, Carrie Divine and the spectacular editing team of Linda and Toni. You all make my job easier and more fun! Thank you also to Danielle Gorman who is so often a voice of sanity in my crazy schedule. I appreciate your assistance so much.
Other critically important members of my team include my writing friends and partners Elisabeth Naughton, Joan, Swan, Erica Ridley, and Rachel Grant. You make me laugh, share my frustrations, and inspire me every single day. Thank you for being such wonderful co-workers and awesome friends.
The biggest thank you of all goes to the team members I simply can’t live without—my beloved family. I love you unconditionally and with the power of a million goat screams.
Copyright
The Duke of Daring
Copyright © 2016 Darcy Burke
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1944576029
ISBN-13: 9781944576028
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Book design:
©
Darcy Burke.
Book Cover Design: © Carrie Divine/Seductive Designs.
Photo copyright: Couple © Novelstock, Inc.
Photo copyright: Background © FairytaleDesign
(Ma
ł
gorzata Patrzyk)/Depositphotos.com.
Editing: Linda Ingmanson.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
About the Author
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge. Visit Darcy online at
http://www.darcyburke.com
and sign up for her new releases newsletter, follow her on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/darcyburke
, or like her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/darcyburkefans.