Free The Duke's Blind Temptation by Paige Cameron Page B

are very pretty, Your Grace. Excuse me, my mother will be waiting.” She tried to hurry past him, but he caught her arm. “Ellie, I know much has changed since the last time we saw each other. Let me explain, and please call me Rafe.”
    “Your Grace is your proper title. You don’t need to give me any explanations. I understand a duke requires a completely different bride than an earl. I did refuse your offer. As I said before, you have no obligation to me.”
    This time he let her walk away.
    Come after me, her heart called to him. Please, don’t forget me.
    However, when she finally glanced back, he had walked in the opposite direction almost out of sight.
    Her mother frowned on her return. “We must leave. It is very late and will be dark before we arrive home.”
    “Stay the night with us, Lady Upton,” the duchess said. “I’ve already had a room prepared, one for you and one for your daughter.”
    “It is too much of an imposition.”
    “Not at all. You can leave early tomorrow, well rested, and the trip home will be much less stressful. I’ll send one of our grooms with a note to your husband.”
    “Then thank you. How can I refuse such a lovely invitation.”
    “Mary,”—the duchess motioned to one of the maids—”show the ladies to their rooms. Dinner is at eight.”
    Her mother took Ellie’s arm, and they followed the maid up the sweeping staircase. Ellie vacillated between pleasure and discomfort. She’d see Rafe one last time. Still, he’d probably ignore her and lavish attention on the lovely Lavinia.
    “Ellie, we will speak later,” Mama said as the maid went to show Ellie her room farther down the hall. “Come to my room at half past seven. We will talk.”
    “Yes, Mama.”
    The maid went down the passageway and around a corner before stopping. When she opened the door, Ellie gasped at the furnishings. A bright red and gold carpet spread across the large area. On one side stood a bed with a canopy. The bedspread and canopy top were white with red and gold threads running through the material. The window curtains matched. A slight breeze blew the drapes inward.
    Ellie walked to the window and looked out. Her room faced the back of the house. In the distance, she saw a large lake with white swans gliding across the water. Beyond that, a thick coppice of trees edged the meadow.
    “’Tis one of the most lovely rooms,” the maid said.
    “It is, indeed, beautiful. Thank you.”
    “Do you need anything right now, my lady?”
    “If you’d undo my gown, that’s all I’ll need until time for supper.”
    The maid came behind her and loosened the gown. Ellie heard the soft click of the lock as she left. A wave of tiredness swept over her. All the emotions of the day and no sleep last night had left her exhausted. She slipped out of her gown and lay across the turned-down bed. In seconds, she slept.
    A faint noise roused her. Shadows hid the corners of her room. The smell of cut hay blew in the open window. She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and heard the lock click on her door. Sitting up, she brushed her long hair out of her face and watched as the figure walked to the nearest candle and lit it.
    Rafe turned and smiled. “Now you can’t run away from me before we talk.”
    With determination, he strode to the bed. His gorgeous blue eyes swept over her, leaving a trail of fire. Ellie glanced down. Her chemise barely covered her breasts and left her long legs bare. She started to pull the covers up.
    “Don’t. After all it’s not the first time I’ve seen you undressed.” His sensuous mouth curved upward. He lifted her foot, and his finger slid over her instep. He leaned down, and his breath whispered across her toes, and then he placed his mouth on the curve of her calf. “Lay back and close your eyes.”
    Ellie did as he said. Without sight, all her concentration went to what he was doing to her body. His hands massaged her leg, and his mouth followed with light,