Page 8 of My Dangerous Duke

“I heard you were a rake,” she told him, pressing harder against his chest. While he had stopped his kiss, he had not let her go. “I can now see why it is said. Now tell me what this deal is you have with my father. Why me?”

She pressed against his chest again, harder this time, and Xander complied with letting her go. He took a step backward,looking slightly shaken, and ran a hand through his mussed, dark hair before straightening his jacket.

“We will have plenty of time to talk about it when we are wed,” Xander said finally, his deliciously deep voice laced with restraint. Eleanor’s jaw dropped as she looked at him in shock.

“What?”

Xander nodded and took another steadying breath before his devilish grin returned.

“Yes, I believe I will be amenable to this arrangement after all,” He stated confidently, his eyes slowly raking down her figure. “As for our arrangement, if you really do not know, you should ask your father.”

“Your Grace, what does that mean?” Eleanor implored, starting to grow annoyed with how possessively he was looking at her. “And would you stop looking at me like that? It is most… unsettling!”

At this Xander laughed suddenly, dipped in place one more quick kiss on her lips, and then moved around her toward the door.

“Get used to it, Honey,” he stated as he opened the door. “I will be your husband soon and I rather enjoy looking at you.”

Chapter 4

Eleanor stood in her father’s study, stunned and more confused than ever as Xander shut the door behind him. What in the world had just happened?

“Eleanor!”

The boom of her father’s voice jolted Eleanor out of her thoughts like a lightning bolt, and she jumped out of her frozen state to scurry to the door and crack it open. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw the duke and her father standing but twenty paces away. The handsome devil wore a wide smile on his face as he shook her father’s hand, infuriating her instantly, but what he said surprised her even more.

“Yes, once again, Langley, my apologies, but I must be off. As I just said, have your solicitor draw up whatever it is that you want in terms of wedding arrangements and I will see to it that it will be taken care of,” Xander stated, his dominant tone steamrolling poor Victor like the weaker man he was.

“Why, thank you, Your Grace,” Eleanor heard Victor say in awe, “It is quite a change from earlier temperament. Perhaps, moving forward, we can have a better understanding of one another.”

At once, Eleanor saw Xander’s smile drop and a fierce look returned to his eyes as he gazed down impassively at Victor.

“Make no mistake, Langley, we will never be friends,” Xander stated, his tone full of disgust.

Eleanor’s eyes quickly jumped back to her father’s face and saw it was riddled with guilt.What is the meaning of all this?

“But I am a man to make the best of any situation,” Xander continued matter-of-factly, “So here aremydemands of the wedding, and Langley, when I tell you I will not be moved on these things, I mean it. I will only be pushed so far.”

“Name them,” her father all but stammered out, seemingly growing excited.

“While I have had an aversion to marriage, my grandmother has not. She will be thrilled to know that I am to be wed, and shewillinsist they be a part of certain things. You will let her, and you willneverbring about how this deal was formed. If she asks how Miss Eleanor and I met, you shall say we met at the Starburst Ball, which is all the truth she will need.”

“O-of course,” Victor stammered, nodding his head so quickly that his jowls jiggled. “This shall be a wondrous day for all-”

“I am sure it will be,” Xander quipped, cutting Victor off. “But I must be going. Busy day as always, as you see.”

Eleanor watched her father once more stumble over parting pleasantries as the duke strode away from him and down the hall. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Victor chuckled, nodded his head, and smiled triumphantly to himself.

“Well done, old boy,” he murmured aloud to himself as he began to walk back toward the drawing room, “Well done.”

“How was it, Your Grace?” Jared, Xander’s valet asked as he got into his carriage.

“Beyond interesting,” Xander stated curtly as he took his seat, “And we have much to do.”

“Right away, Your Grace,” Jared replied quickly. With swift, effective motions, the man rapped upon the ceiling of the carriage, pulled out his lap desk, put on his spectacles, and drew out his pen and paper. In truth, Jared was much more than Xander’s valet; his responsibilities were spreading further in both his personal and business life. Servant or not, Xander treated him with great respect.

“First and foremost, I need you to pen a missive to my grandmother, alerting her that I shall be married,” Xander began, stating it as if he were stating the mere weather. Jared’shead shot up as the carriage began to take them to the duke’s next appointment.

“What blessed news!” Jared exclaimed, “Congratulations, Your Grace!”