A few groans were heard, but mostly by the men hoping for a second round of the game.
“To bed for everyone.”The authority in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.She couldn’t wait until she kissed him again and he used his authority over her.But he would have to be the one to make that move.
She smiled to herself.
“Everyone out,” Michael was now directing all the guests to leave the room.As if they were a herd of sheep, everyone began to squeeze through the doors.Michael stood sentry at the doorframe and Astrid hung back.She was just about to leave the room when she noticed a loose thread on her bodice.
There were innocuous moments in life that held the power to completely alter one’s path.Shatter a reputation.It could be subtle or it could be dramatic.This was both.And if, if perchance, Astrid had known the catastrophic outcome of such a tiny gesture, she wouldn’t have done it.But there was no way of having such forethought.
So she did what any reasonable person might do, she reached down and tugged on the loose thread to remove it from her dress.
***
“NIPPLE!”THE DRUNK CAD shouted.Michael wanted to strangle him.His hands were balled into fists and he bit back the overwhelming urge to punch a hole in his face.Or the wall beside him.His anger was tiny bits of burning ember prickling all over his entire body.His overall temperature had risen to that of a volcano about to erupt.Did the man have no honor?He was drunk, obviously, but was there no filter at all?The first clue should have been him being the last one to touch Astrid.The second clue should have been him crawling on the ground for the final move of the game.The third clue, plain and simple, was the man’s obnoxious face.The face that Michael was glaring at in hopes it might explode.
Everyone was out in the corridor, or so Michael thought.At the last second, the bumbling idiot who had moments earlier been crawling on the floor, decided to turn around and bump into Astrid.The abrupt collision led to chaos.
“Nipple!”the addlepated idiot screamed again.He needed to shut the hell up lest he wake the rest of the house.The idiot was leaning heavily against the doorframe for support and leering at Astrid’s turgid nipple.
Michael stole a look at Astrid, but instead of seeing her face, his eyes dipped south and he saw her wild honey colored nipple.He was a monster for wanting to ravish her in front of everyone.What that nipple did to his cock…he was throbbing.The ache for her was overpowering.It rendered him senseless.He could still feel her lips on his.Kissing her blindfolded in a room full of people had been the single more erotic moment of his life.Her body wriggling against his, adjusting herself, was nearly his undoing.
Thankfully the drunk idiot finally did something useful.He laughed.No, it was a guffaw.A vile, vociferous, vulgar guffaw.Michael had never consciously loathed a person before, but he felt as close to it as he’d ever been.But the hideous guffaw brought his attention back to the gathered crowd.
A handful of the lingering guests, mere feet away, popped their heads back in through the doorway.
And Astrid was bright red.
What the hell was Michael doing just standing there?Frustrated at the delay of his reaction, he tugged her into him, to shield her from their curious stares.
“You two!”The drunk man wagged his finger at them.“I should have known something was going on.Weren’t you the first to find her in the game?I wonder how hard she made that.Or should I say you?”Another awful guffaw.“What a little seductress.”He opened his arms out wide, palms up, and in mocking cried out, “God, when’s it my turn?”
Seductress?The word struck a chord in him.As if it snapped him out of a dream.As if the water he had been temporarily holding flowed through his hands.
It was not unusual for women to try and trap a duke.He had been wildly impulsive.Reckless.The last time he had acted recklessly had fatal results.Inwardly, he chastised himself for past and present mistakes.
How had Michael not seen that?She had volunteered to be the Echo in the dark.She had kissed him.And now this?
What the devil was she thinking to make a move on him right then?Yes, they had kissed.And there probably would have been more at a later time.After he proposed.But now…everything had changed.Now he saw her for what she was.A temptress.
Guests were gawking.Astrid was trying to stuff her breast back into her dress.And Michael…he was aghast.There were no other words for it.
It was beyond improper for her to make such a move.In front of people.So close to people who could actually see what was happening.There were no blindfolds now.His impression of her had been all wrong.She was not a down to earth, sweet woman.She was a flirt.A wanton woman.A woman not suitable to be his duchess.
Yet, she was a woman with no brother to protect her, so at this moment, he was the only gentleman willing, and sober enough, to keep her from further harm.
Chapter 5
ASTRIDHADNEVERBEENso embarrassed before.Her nipple was on display.She was horrified.The worst part was that it felt as though time had slowed down and all of her thoughts and movements were lagging.
If only that drunk idiot hadn’t called attention to it, perhaps no one would have noticed.Instead, multiple pairs of eyes had firsthand knowledge of the distinct amber color of her areola.
If Michael had been the only witness, she might have recovered quickly enough for him to not even notice.She could have turned away and set her dress to rights.But in the chaotic string of events between pulling the thread, the drunken announcement, and the heads popping in, she had nowhere to turn without an audience.Her body rounded to the place that felt most safe.Michael.
It was his eyes that were on her body.His gaze taking in the sight of her nipple.The chill in the air doubled with the intense desire she saw in his eyes drew her nipple taut, and she knew he caught sight of her aroused state before she tucked herself back in her dress.
With mortification, she finally found her voice.About to say something to the curious crowd, Michael stepped up.He pulled her close to his chest so that her back was facing the onlookers.His arm was latched around her.Safety.
“There’s nothing to see here.Go to bed.Now.”His ducal tone held the authoritative sway to move the mass of people back into the corridor and off to their rooms.What few grumbles she heard were lost on her ears.They didn’t matter.Only Michael’s opinion of her was of any consequence.
