Duke of Decadence
Page 14
Taber gave her a greasy smile, his eyes wandering all over her. “Miss Carrington.” He stepped closer, the odor of him filling her nostrils and curling her nose. He stank of old cigar and body odor, his hair slicked back.
“Mr. Taber,” she replied coolly. Her uncle had planned to marry her to this man before Devonhall had stepped in.
“I wondered if I might have the pleasure of a dance.” His gaze traveled over her body again, lighting with greedy desire.
She shivered. Then he reached out a hand, his nails overly long in a way that made them resemble talons and touched her bare shoulder. She stepped aside. “Apologies, but my dance card is full.”
Her uncle made a noise of dissent, tightening the hand on her other arm. “Then why are you standing here?”
“I am waiting for my escort, though you may have frightened him off,” she replied, notching her chin higher. She refused to be intimidated by her uncle. He had no sway over her.
He yanked at her arm, causing her to lose her balance and lean closer. “Listen to me, girl,” he hissed in her ear. “You may think that you can get away from me, but I am still your uncle and you’ll do as I say.”
“I won’t,” she fired back.
Mr. Taber sneered. “It’s all right, Henry. I like a filly that needs to be broken.”
That made her start. The words were so coarse and deep down crass that she attempted to take a half step back. And Eliza never ran from anything.
But this man was dangerous and so was her uncle. Her stomach rolled as she considered the idea of intimacy with him. A shiver ran down her spine. She couldn’t. She would not allow this man to touch her. Ever.
Eliza and Isabella had decided that the best way to keep all the sisters safe was to marry each of them to a respectable man and so they were attending every party they could gain an invitation to in order to officially enter the marriage mart.
As soon as her sisters were married…she’d be free of her uncle and his schemes forever.
Of course, in the meantime partaking in society meant her uncle could easily find them. Her sister and new husband usually attended but they’d taken an evening for themselves. A miscalculation. Eliza would have to tell them that Devonhall needed to be with them at every event. She nearly sighed. Bash had taken on a great deal of responsibility when he married her sister.
She looked back at Menace, clearly visible on the terrace.
Despite his title, the Marquess of Menace was not on the list of potential candidates. He was a man no respectable woman should marry.
Not that Eliza was all that respectable. In the period between her mother’s passing and her sister’s wedding, Eliza had done a great many things that would have caused her to be ostracized from society, but she regretted none of them. She’d do them all again to save her sisters.
She’d managed to keep her virtue but her innocence…that was long gone. She knew things about the world now and there was no going back.
“If you’ll excuse me, Uncle. I see my escort.” And then she yanked her arm, with a quick jerk, out of his grasp. Because she needed to escape this conversation.
And much as Eliza hated to admit it, Menace could help.
So as the fake Aunt Mildred patted her sister Emily’s arm and pointed to a major she wished for Emily to meet, Eliza stepped backwards and slipped out onto the terrace. Away from her scowling uncle and the leering Mr. Taber. She’d die before she married that man.
Menace stood with his back to her, staring off into the darkness.
Even she had to admit that his shoulders were devilishly broad as he stood with his arms crossed.
His dark hair waved back from his face in a careless windswept look that highlighted his strong jaw and piercing green eyes. Not that she could see his features now. But the memory of them haunted her more often than she cared to admit.
She drew in a steadying breath, trying to decide where to begin. She looked back to see Mr. Taber still watching.
“What do you want, Eliza?” Menace asked, not turning to look at her.
She stopped, still several feet away. The cad. How had he known it was her? Still, she was strangely relieved to be out here with him and not still in the ballroom. “What are you doing here? I never see you at these sorts of events.”
“Because I never come,” he replied. Then he turned to look at her. A half wall flanked the terrace and he rested his lean hip against it, looking casual and masculine and rakishly handsome. “And you answered a question with a question.”
“So I did,” she murmured, moving closer again. But not too close. The man was distractingly appealing. He radiated the sort of heat that made her flush and he smelled like…leather and pine and male musk that scattered her thoughts. Rakes were so good at that. And he was the best. “I was hoping to ask you a few questions. Privately.”
She heard him let out a sharp breath, his back straightening up. “No.”
Drat.
Eliza suspected that her brother-in-law, the duke, had warned Menace to stay away from her. Which suited her just fine. She didn’t need a rake making her already complicated life even messier. In fact, she’d like to avoid men and marriage all together.
Her sisters all had a rosy view of their parents’ marriage, one that drew them to the union. But as the eldest, Eliza knew better. Her father had been gone for long stretches, casting most of the work onto her mother. Work, her mother had then relied on Eliza to help complete.
The truth was, Eliza didn’t need a husband and she wasn’t sure she wanted one either. Not when she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But the sooner she got her sisters married, the sooner they’d be out of her uncle’s clutches. “You don’t even know what questions I might ask.”
He shook his head. “I know exactly what questions you’re going to ask. Ask them of your brother-in-law.”
Eliza held in her huff of frustration. She had…multiple times. Bash, in a misguided attempt to protect her, kept telling her not to worry. The men were handling it. She didn’t need to be coddled or protected, she’d been the protector her entire life. “Well, I’m going to ask you. Has anyone found any direct evidence of wrongdoing on my uncle’s part?”
Menace grimaced as he turned to face her, his eyes wandering down her frame. She knew the look. Men often gave her such glances. The difference was the effect his had on her. Heat prickled along her skin.
“Besides when one of his henchmen shot Bash’s driver?”
She stepped closer. “Thank goodness he recovered.”
Menace shrugged. “I agree except the shooter swore it was an accident and where there was no death…”
She frowned. “No wrongdoing.”
“Nope,” he replied, leaning his backside against the wall and kicking out his feet. “I know he sold your house. But that’s it and that was completely legal. Are we done now?”
She moved closer still making certain to add a bit of sway to her hips. He noticed. “Nearly.” She gave him her most angelic smile. The one she used when she needed something. “The mystery man who keeps appearing. Do we know who he is yet?”
A man had raced in and rescued her and her sisters when their uncle had attacked their carriage, but no one knew who he was. They did know that their father had a secret partner and they’d wondered if their mystery man was one and the same but so far, they had gotten no proof.
“Why are you asking me all of this?” He gave her a level stare.
“Because,” she started, then paused. She was close now, close enough to touch him. Her fingers flexed. She shouldn’t want to reach out. She should only be calculating whether or not she should touch him to get the information she needed. “Bash is under the misguided impression that he needs to protect me.”
Menace raised his brows. “How foolish.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “I don’t need protection. I—”
“You practically threw your sister at him in order to gain his protection if I recall.”
He h
ad her there. But Eliza had noticed the attraction between the two when she’d suggested her sister get involved with the duke. “Isabella did need help. Emily and Abigail need him too.”
“But not you…” he murmured.
His voice had dropped so low the sound made her shiver. He’s a rake, she reminded herself. “Not me.”
“But you need my help now?”
Her chin notched up. “Not help. Just information.”
He quirked a one-sided smile that did strange things to her insides as he let out a chuckle. “An important distinction to be certain.”
“What is the harm in giving me a few facts?”
“I don’t know you well enough to know if there is harm in it or not. You seem like you could be dangerous.”
She raised one shoulder. Female pride coursed through her. “I take that as a compliment.”
He pushed off the wall which brought him closer to her body. So close that she could feel his heat. Her dress came off her shoulders exposing a fair bit of skin including her rather ample cleavage. Which was currently covered in goose pimples.
He brought his hand to her shoulder, large and warm, his fingers fanning out so that his pinky rested just about the swelling flesh of her right breast. She shivered at the touch despite herself.
He dropped his chin lower, angling his sharp green eyes to meet hers. “You shouldn’t.”
Eliza did what she knew she shouldn’t. She’d manipulated a fair number of men, but none were as dangerous as this one. He was confident, in control and he made her forget her principles every time he drew near. Still, she moved closer, allowing her breasts to just graze his chest. “There must be some way I could convince you.”
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Want to keep reading? Marquess of Menace
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Want to read the entire series?
Earl of Gold
Earl of Baxter
Duke of Decadence
Marquess of Menace
Duke of Dishonor
Baron of Blasphemy
Earl of Infamy
Viscount of Vanity
Laird of Longing
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About the Author
Tammy Andresen lives with her husband and three children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up on the Seacoast of Maine, where she spent countless days dreaming up stories in blueberry fields and among the scrub pines that line the coast. Her mother loved to spin a yarn and Tammy filled many hours listening to her mother retell the classics. It was inevitable that at the age of eighteen, she headed off to Simmons College, where she studied English literature and education. She never left Massachusetts but some of her heart still resides in Maine and her family visits often.
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When a Marauding Marquess is Best
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When to Dare a Dishonorable Duke
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Lords of Scandal
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Marquess of Malice
Earl of Exile
Viscount of Vice
Baron of Bad
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Earl of Dryden
Too Wicked to Woo
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How to Reform a Rake
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Never Kiss an Earl at Midnight
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Wicked Lords of London
Earl of Sussex
My Duke’s Seduction
My Duke’s Deception
My Earl’s Entrapment
My Duke’s Desire
My Wicked Earl
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Brethren of Stone
The Duke’s Scottish Lass
Scottish Devil
Wicked Laird
Kilted Sin
Rogue Scot
The Fate of a Highland Rake
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A Laird to Love
Christmastide with my Captain
My Enemy, My Earl
Heart of a Highlander
A Scot’s Surrender
A Laird’s Seduction
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Taming the Duke’s Heart
Taming a Duke’s Reckless Heart
Taming a Duke’s Wild Rose
Taming a Laird’s Wild Lady
Taming a Rake into a Lord
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Taming a Rogue Earl
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Fairfield Fairy Tales
Stealing a Lady’s Heart
Hunting for a Lady’s Heart
Entrapping a Lord’s Love: Coming in February of 2018
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American Historical Romance
Lily in Bloom
Midnight Magic
The Golden Rules of Love
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Boxsets!!
Taming the Duke’s Heart Books 1-3
American Brides
A Laird to Love
Wicked Lords of London