Free Dueling With the Duke (Brotherhood of the Sword) by Robyn DeHart

She sauntered over to him and took the drink from his hand before he had taken a sip. She put the glass to her lips, lifting her eyes to his.
    The heat in his gaze was enough to burn her skin. This was a dangerous game she played, she realized with alarming clarity, far different from anything she’d done with her husband. She gulped down some of the amber liquid, then set down the glass. With feigned bravery, she put one hand on his chest. “I might have walked away from my fascination with the stars, but that vow of yours, to walk away from the pleasures of the flesh… That is the true pity.”
    To her surprise, he closed the distance between them, pulling her to him. His hands cradled her face, but the kiss that followed was anything but gentle. Gabe’s soft lips slanted across hers; his tongue beguiled and tormented her.
    He had turned the tables on her, seducing the seductress. She leaned into him, kissing him back and reveling in the sensations his lips created. Desire, as unfamiliar as it was unmistakable, bubbled to life low in her belly and pooled outward. She slid her hands up his chest and plunged them into his hair. No sooner had she melted into his lips than he abruptly let her go.
    “Enough!” Gabe said, his tone lined with intensity. “I will not have you try to manipulate me. Your feminine wiles will not work on me.”
    She tried to calm her breathing, resisted the urge to reach up and touch her lips to see if they’d been forever changed by such a kiss. She turned away from him, willing herself to appear unaffected, too.
    She had been a willing woman in his arms, yet he’d remained unmoved by her, something she hadn’t ever experienced. Since she’d been a small child, she’d been able to get what she wanted simply by batting her eyes and smiling. Of course, none of that had worked on her family when it came time to her pursuing her dreams. No, she’d been forced to marry a cruel man who’d proceeded to parade her around London as if she were nothing more than a pretty brooch.
    “What is it that you want, Lilith?” he asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You wouldn’t try to seduce me simply because you desire me. You’re after something. What is it?”
    Why was she so transparent when it came to him?
    She shuddered. She should run, grab Isabel, and get the hell out of there. But it was that thought of Isabel that kept Lilith’s feet planted firmly to the library floor. She needed protection, and a level of protection that Lilith simply couldn’t provide. It was time to ask for help, something she was loath to do, but desperate means called for desperate measures. “Can we strike a bargain? A truce, perhaps?”
    He leaned against the sideboard, his long legs perfectly encased in his black trousers. He wiped his spectacles on his shirtsleeve, then nodded toward her. “Go on.”
    Gracious, had he always been this handsome? She frowned. “You obviously need me, or think you do, for something involving Thornton,” she said. “Perhaps you have resources that would assist me. We could trust each other, for this brief amount of time, to get what we need. Then we move on,” she said.
    He shoved off the sideboard. “Will you give me access to Thornton’s belongings so I can proceed with this investigation?”
    She nodded. “I will.”
    “And in return?”
    “Protection for Isabel and myself. No questions asked.” She inclined her head. “Other than those involving Thornton, of course.”
    “No.”
    “What do you mean no?”
    “There is more. You know why Isabel needs this protection, and it is not simply because of Thornton’s wrongdoings. I require more information.”
    Lilith eyed him, but said nothing. She risked much to trust him even this much, but to give even more.
    “I cannot adequately protect you if I do not know the entire story,” he said.
    She inhaled. “Very well. You help me find out who Isabel truly is. It is obvious that someone is after her. I feel strongly that