The Duke's Runaway Princess Page 0,22

actually follow through on her mind’s desire to catch his attention.

What was she thinking?! She tore her hand away from her blouse, blushing at her rampant sexual thoughts. She couldn’t believe that she wanted the man to be attracted to her. He was completely the wrong kind of man for her and she should be thankful that he wasn’t interested.

Good grief! She’d really veered off course on this one!

Not only was he not interested in her, but even if he were, Rashid would never approve of him as a husband. Although, it was a known fact around the village that the current Duke of Huntington was not the marrying kind so thoughts of marriage were a ridiculous waste of time. He was a bonafide, tried and true bachelor. Too many women had ventured down the path of trying to get the man to the altar. In fact, she’d been sitting in the coffee shop a few days ago listening to a conversation at the nearest table where a group of elderly ladies were intently discussing all the ‘fancy’ women that had decorated the man’s arm. All the women, including the most recent Elise, never lasted more than a couple of months at the most, and only for a weekend fling if they were truly unlucky. The Duke of Huntington, it was declared, would never marry because he enjoyed playing the field so much.

Zarah suspected that they all knew why he was like that, but no one would mention the man’s background to her. Anytime she tried to bring it up, they quickly dismissed the subject as just vicious gossip, which was ironic since so many of the villagers relished recounting all of the Duke’s lady loves that had prowled the village streets over time. Apparently, the ladies he brought home for a weekend fling were fair game for gossip and speculation while the Duke himself was protected, with no one saying a mean or disrespectful comment about him. In fact, just the opposite. Anytime she asked about his mistresses, they changed the subject to ‘what a fine man The Duke was’ or relating all the philanthropic activities Derrick participated in or sponsored. It was almost as if they were trying their hand at matchmaking, which was ridiculous since they’d just been discussing his playboy reputation.

Right now, she simply wanted to avoid him. He was dangerous and no one ever accused her of being stupid. Reckless and rebellious sometimes, but never stupid. One didn’t put a hand into the mouth of a hungry lion and expect to come out unscathed, she told herself and forced her feet to finish the walk up the drive to the house.

Her hand was actually shaking when she lifted it to knock on the massive wooden door. The booming noise from the black, cast iron knocker reminded Zarah of the man himself. He was huge and dark, sinister almost because of his secret past that no one would discuss. There were sides to him that the darkness hid but when he spoke, it attracted everyone’s attention.

The door was quickly answered but not by the housekeeper who had answered the door last week. Instead, Derrick stood there, looking down at her with those mysterious, green eyes, causing her knees to start shaking as well as her hand. In fact, her whole body was trembling with awareness and something that made her stomach clench with tension.

“So you decided to brave the lion’s den, eh?” he asked with that irritating amusement that always seemed to be lurking in his green eyes.

“Excuse me?” she asked, her breath just a bit too breathless for her peace of mind. And the analogy had come so close to what she’d been thinking a moment ago. Could he read minds as well?

Derrick noticed her dilated eyes and her rapid breathing. All the signs were there and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she admitted that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. She was driving him crazy with this hands-off attitude but he had a plan to break through that façade and find the real woman underneath.

“I saw you standing at the end of the drive. I knew you were debating whether to come the rest of the way to the house or run for the hills.”

She shook her head, trying to appear confident and professional when she felt neither. If she’d known he was watching her, she might actually have run for the hills.