It's In The Duke's Kiss: A Danby Regency Novella

by Julie Johnstone

  “Yer mother was a warrior?” She could not keep the surprise from her tone.

  He nodded as he tied the boar’s legs together. “She was a fierce one who defended her father’s castle and his life by picking up his sword and killing his enemies when he was too injured to do so. Ye made me think of my mother when ye told me ye wanted to be seen as an equal.” He stood and faced her. “Come then. Let’s find the others.”

  She nodded, followed Lachlan to the horse he had tied some distance away, and swung up behind him.

  “Hold tight,” he ordered.

  She circled her hands around his waist, feeling the hardness of his body. Her insides turned like swirling water. She’d long heard the whispers that the high, sweet singing of the fairies floated on the wind the day Lachlan had been born. People—well, lasses—said he’d been blessed by the fairies. She’d scoffed at that, but now, as she stared at his broad back and thick burnished hair tied at the nape of his neck, she wondered if it was true. She wanted to reach up, let loose his hair, and slide her fingers into it. Oh, she was wicked! He had to have some sort of magic within him because he had captured her heart with a kiss. Now all she had to do was capture his.

  Lachlan had watched Bridgette from a distance throughout the feast to celebrate her victory, considering if he should go talk to her. Had he imagined her response to his kiss? He didn’t think he had, yet she’d not looked at him once all night. In truth, it almost seemed she was avoiding his gaze. Just as the thought filled his mind, his younger brother Graham sat down next to him at the same instant Bridgette’s gaze turned Lachlan’s way.

  The hum of voices around him disappeared as his eyes clung to hers, analyzing her reaction. Her lashes didn’t lower to conceal a thing. Yearning—he was almost certain—smoldered in her bright-green eyes. Intent on learning the truth, he stood, but Graham’s hand clamped on Lachlan’s arm.

  “Did ye hear me?” Graham asked.

  Distracted, Lachlan shook his head but glanced down at his brother. “Nay. Can this wait?”

  “A lass has my heart,” Graham announced.

  Lachlan frowned, torn between the wish to go to Bridgette and the desire to stay and speak with his brother, who rarely sought him out for advice or confidences. He glanced across the room to where Bridgette had stood, but she had moved away and was speaking with his older brother Iain. Lachlan looked down at his brother who stared up at him with a face full of expectancy.

  Family first, he thought, sitting once more.

  “What lass has yer heart?” he asked.

  Graham offered a grin. “Bridgette MacLean. I’m going to marry her someday.”

  Before Lachlan could control his astonishment enough to gather his wits and form a reply, Bridgette’s voice rose in anger over the dull roar in the great hall. Silence suddenly fell, and Lachlan glanced to where she stood facing her brother.

  Forgetting Graham for the moment, Lachlan stood and made his way across the great hall to the men gathered around her and Alex.

  Her head was tilted back to look up at Alex, and Lachlan could see the beat of her heart under the creamy skin of her neck. One look at her hard expression and fiery eyes told him she was angry, and a protective instinct, greater than any he’d known before, flared in him.

  “It was nae luck that I killed the boar!” she snapped.

  Alex stared down at her with unconcealed disbelief. “’Twas luck,” he replied with the obstinacy of a leader who was not used to being questioned. “I’ll nae chance ye being killed by allowing ye to hunt with us again. Yer request is denied.”

  Frustration flashed across Bridgette’s face. “But Alex—”

  “Nay!” her brother interrupted in a sharp, unyielding tone.

  Bridgette’s gaze circled the men around her, and Lachlan suspected she was searching for help from her clansmen. No one stepped forward, though Lachlan was certain the men knew she was the superior archer. It was not his place as he was not part of her clan and she was not his woman, yet he found himself moving toward her as if pulled by some invisible thread.

  He stepped to her side and faced her brother. “I was with her, ye ken.”

  Alex nodded, his gaze wary yet not closed to hearing what Lachlan had to say.

  “It was nae luck. Yer sister is a better shot than any man I’ve ever seen. Ye’d be a fool nae to allow her to hunt with ye and yer men.”

  “Lachlan,” Alex spoke, his voice tinged with anger. “Ye overstep.”

  “Perchance I do,” Lachlan agreed. “But I’d rather overstep than stand by and watch an injustice.”

  Alex’s gaze narrowed, but a hint of amusement danced in his eyes. “Are ye saying I’m serving my sister an injustice?”

  “Aye. Her shot was nae luck. If there was a woman in our clan that could shoot as yer sister can, I’m certain Iain would allow her to hunt,” Lachlan said, flicking his gaze to his brother and hoping he’d not misjudged.

  “Lachlan speaks the truth,” Iain said.

  Alex nodded thoughtfully. “So be it.” He glanced to Bridgette. “Ye may hunt with us.”

  Bridgette flew into her brother’s arms and gave him a fierce hug. “Thank ye, Alex!”

  Her brother returned Bridgette’s hug, then set her away and pinned Lachlan with an unblinking stare. “If anything should ever happen to my sister on a hunt, I’ll nae forget that ye’re the one who convinced me to allow this.”

  “I’ll nae forget, either!” Bridgette said happily as she gave her brother a reproachful look.

  Alex turned away with a snort, and the men who were gathered around disbanded, but Lachlan stood unmoving, as did Bridgette. They stared at each other for a long spell, and the air between them felt as it did right before a lightning storm—charged with a great tension. She moved toward him, and he felt an eagerness akin to the anticipation of a great battle. It built within him as she paused so near that her heather scent swirled around him.

  “Do ye like to dance?” she asked.

  It was only then that he realized the minstrels were singing and playing the lute and that people had started to dance. He was about to tell her that he’d like to dance with her when Graham came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. His eyes locked with Lachlan’s and pleaded. Lachlan swallowed and called upon the will that had seen him through many battles and tournaments. Deliberately, he set his awareness of her and his newfound desire for her aside.

  “I dunnae dance.” He looked past her to Graham. He heard Graham’s earlier admission in his head, and he recalled in a flash the countless times he’d hoped his relationship with his brother would improve. Now was his chance to make that happen. “But Graham dances,” he said simply.

  With that, he offered a hasty incline of his head and turned to depart the great hall. Family first, he repeated to himself as he strode out of the room, all the while fighting the desire to turn back to Bridgette, take her in his arms, and think only of himself and the yearning that was spreading through him like a fast-growing vine.

  Also Available

  Scottish Medieval Romance Books:

  When a Laird Loves a Lady, Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts, Book 1

  A need to belong drives her. A longing to forget compels him. Fate may send them into each other’s arms, but only love can mend their hearts.

  An Outlander

  Raised by a tyrannical father, Marion de Lacy yearns for the comfort of belonging to a loving family. So when her father announces her betrothal to an evil knight in exchange for his help to overthrow the king, she concocts a desperate scheme to avoid the marriage: feigning her own death and then fleeing England. But when her plan goes terribly awry and she’s captured by the knight, not even her careful preparations could ready her for the Scottish barbarian who rescues her and then informs her that he’s to marry her by edict of her king. Certain her father will defy the king’s orders and wed her to the knight if she refuses the Highlander’s hand, Marion agrees to marry the strangely compelling but obstinate l
aird of the MacLeod clan.

  A Highlander

  After the death of his beloved wife, Iain MacLeod has no desire to marry ever again. Yet when he finds himself obliged to do so to secure the freedom of his childhood friend and king, he reluctantly travels across England to collect his unwanted bride, expecting to find a cold Englishwoman. Instead, he discovers a fiery, bold beauty who is fiercely loyal, protective of those she loves, and defies him at every turn, challenging his certainty that his heart is dead.

  Ensnared

  Following a hasty marriage and perilous journey to Scotland, Marion harbors no illusions that her new husband loves her. Still, her heart cannot resist the noble, brave warrior, and she cannot suppress the hope that she has finally found where she belongs. However, the harder she tries to fit in with the clan and gain Iain’s love, the farther away her dreams drift. Iain is more than willing to give his respect to his courageous wife—her kisses and caresses even ignite his blood and demand his passion—but he refuses to give up his heart. That is, until enemies near and far threaten to take Marion from him. Now the demons that haunt him can only be conquered by surrendering body and soul to Marion, if only it’s not too late…

  Regency Romance Books:

  The Dangerous Duke of Dinnisfree (A Whisper of Scandal Novel Book 5)

  Justin Holleman, the Duke of Dinnisfree, is used to being wanted—in bed, for missions, and even dead. As a spy for the king, he’s protected his country more times than he can remember, gaining enemies along the way, but he failed to defend himself from the past that hardened his heart. Instead, he became an expert at shutting people out. Yet now, in order to save the king, Justin needs to let go of his old ways and let someone closer to him than ever before. He approaches the mission with his classic cold calculation, but his fiery new ally upends his ordered world and entices him at every turn. Suddenly he’s in danger of compromising his assignment and losing his heart, two things the rogue swore never to do.

  Desperate to protect her parents from poverty, among other things, Miss Arabella Carthright unwittingly becomes a pawn in a dangerous political battle when she agrees to aid an enigmatic stranger. Having learned long ago to count only on herself, she’s surprised when time and again the duke actually aids her. But when his true assignment becomes clear, Arabella realizes the aristocrat she’s come to care for poses the greatest threat to those she loves.

  As Justin and Arabella face their feelings and their web of deception falls away, they must decide how high a price they are willing to pay for love and loyalty.

  After Forever (A Whisper of Scandal Novel Book 4)

  A year after her husband’s tragic death, all Lady Julianna Barrows wants is to be left alone and forget that most of her heart went with him when he passed. Instead, she finds herself the subject of many a matchmaking scheme and lurid offer to ease her widowhood, as well as save her fading fortune. Desperate to avoid having to remarry, she takes on a position as a tutor, only to discover that the man she’s helping unexpectedly stirs her heart and passion.

  Nash Wolverton boxed his way out of the London slums and into immense wealth, but he couldn’t care less about Society’s approval. Except he has his by-blow daughter’s future to consider. To ensure her acceptance into Society, he’ll endure anything—including procuring a tutor to transform him into a gentleman so he can secure a suitable, boring wife.

  Yet what he wants changes the moment he hires Julianna. She may be a lady, but she’s far from tedious. Bold and compassionate, she is nothing like the women of the ton. Suddenly, she’s elicited a simmering desire in him, and even a longing to love and be loved that he always thought out of his reach. Knowing what he planned to settle for can now never be enough, he vows to win her love. But as the walls she’s built begin to crumble, Julianna’s fears threaten to tear them apart and she alone must decide if protecting her heart trumps breaking Nash’s.

  Dancing with a Devil (A Whisper of Scandal Novel Book 3)

  A lord chained to his past…

  Lord Trent Rutherford’s past has left him guarded and jaded and perfectly content to spend the rest of his life moving from one meaningless affair to the next. Until he meets Lady Audrey Cringlewood, an innocent beauty who makes him question everything he believes. His devilish demeanor guards more than a wounded heart. Behind his swagger lie secrets he’d rather forget than face, but the price of forgetting may be his second chance at life.

  A lady determined to shape her future…

  Audrey Cringlewood longs to marry for love, not convenience. After several months of flirtatious banter, secret smiles and one very unforgettable kiss, Trent Rutherford, the rake known as Sin, proves himself the man of her dreams. Audrey suspects she understands the pain he hides behind his devil-may-care attitude, but when the truth comes to light, is her love enough to heal all wounds or will the secrets Trent guarded so carefully tear them apart forever?

  Conspiring with a Rogue (A Whisper of Scandal Novel Book 2)

  In order to save the man she loves from the enemy bent on destroying her, Lady Whitney Rutherford sheds her identity and escapes her past, making a new life for herself as Mr. Roger Wentworth, missing person locator extraordinaire. But when Whitney’s best friend from her old life comes up missing and there is every indication the girl was taken by the debauched members of a secret club, Whitney dons a new disguise and infiltrates the club, determined to unravel the mystery and save her friend. She never expects to encounter Drake Sutherland, the man who still has her heart. In the dark world of pleasure and sin, Whitney must play a dangerous game and one wrong move could mean the death of her friend or the destruction of the man she loves.

  Bargaining with a Rake (A Whisper of Scandal Novel Book 1)

  For eleven years, Gillian Rutherford has dreamed of escaping her family’s dark secret and living a normal life. Now, faced with an unwelcome marriage that will chain her to London and the secret slowly killing her, she’s desperate to save herself and the sister she adores. Salvation comes in the form of an American shipping tycoon, and all she must do is seduce him into marrying her. But Gillian’s scheme hits a snag when she makes a bargain with a notorious rake Alexander Trevelle, Lord Lionhurst. He’ll help her win the hand of his American friend, if she’ll assist him with exacting revenge against her unwanted fiancé. But the price of the pact may just be their hearts.

  My Enchanting Hoyden (A Once Upon A Rogue Novel Book 3)

  A bargain born of desperation ignites into passion as one lord’s quest to save his family leads to the discovery that he can never settle for less than love.

  Forsaken, abandoned, and duped, Miss Jemma Adair has no other recourse but to request her grandfather’s help to avoid living on the streets. His asking price? She must marry a neighboring lord’s odious son. Thankfully, there is a way out of her dilemma—ensuring the rake never asks for her hand. But what is Jemma to do when her ally is an all-too handsome silver-tongued lord with a penchant for poetry that makes her question giving her heart to another man?

  Philip De Vere, Lord Harthorne, wishes to marry for love, but inherited debt and family obligations force him to seek a wealthy wife. Yet experience has taught him that ladies of the ton prefer rogues to gentlemen with a poet’s soul. But when an unrepentant hoyden claims to know a thing or two about how to make a man a rake, Philip finds he cannot resist Jemma’s offer or her.

  My Seductive Innocent (A Once Upon A Rogue Novel Book 2)

  Miss Sophia Vane, a wallflower of sorts, makes an unlikely match when she weds Nathaniel Ellison, the rich and wary Duke of Scarsdale. What starts with an unexpected friendship soon blooms into a fiery passion. But a betrayal plunges Sophia into the thorny world of London Society and entangles her in a labyrinth of manipulation and jealousy that will test the strength of her marriage. Behind her husband’s sudden icy facade, Sophia believes dwells the caring, passionate man she loves. To break through the barriers and reclaim their happiness, they must do more than simply cast away their pride.
They must fight for their very lives.

  My Fair Duchess (A Once Upon A Rogue Novel Book 1)

  After years of playing the rogue to hide a dark family secret, the Duke of Aversley feels tainted beyond redemption and cynical beyond repair. Never does he imagine hope will come in the form of a quirky, quick-witted lady determined to win the heart of another aristocrat.

  Thanks to a painfully awkward past, Lady Amelia De Vere long ago relinquished the notion she was a flower that had yet to blossom. But when her family faces financial ruin and the man she has always loved is on the verge of marrying another, she’ll try anything to transform herself to capture her childhood love and save her family—including agreeing to participate in a bet between her brother and the notorious, dangerously handsome Duke Of Aversley.

  Bound by the bet, Amelia and Aversley discover unexpected understanding and passion beyond their wildest dreams, if only they can let go of their pride, put trust in each other and chance losing their hearts.

  What A Rogue Wants (Lords of Deception Book 1)

  Lady Madelaine Aldridge might be the worst lady-in-waiting to ever grace King George III’s court. An oddball who prefers archery to embroidery and honesty to deception, she earns the dislike of the Queen, the cruelty of the other ladies-in-waiting and the advances of a lecherous scoundrel who wants to seduce her. Her father is threatening an arranged marriage unless she finds a proper husband—a task that seems hopeless until Lord Grey Adlard rides into court.

  Grey Adlard lives up to his reputation as a dangerous rake when he proposes Madelaine meet him in the stables for a tumble. Yet when she needs a protector the most, Grey offers his services and vows he wants to court her. Wary yet intrigued by the mystery he presents, Madelaine slowly allows Grey to capture her confidence and then her heart.