No Duke Will Do - Eva Devon Page 0,15
even as she longed to place her hand atop his.
“I’m not,” he said. “And I’m not going to save your brother either, but I can at least assist you two in finding a new way, so that you’re not completely marred by a man like your father. We should not all be controlled by the evils of our fathers, or the bad men in this world.”
“Are you not a bad man, then? You seemed full of portents at your club.”
“I’ve done bad things,” he confessed without remorse. “More than you could possibly understand, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to stop people from being hurt.”
“Then, yes, I promise—”
A crashing downstairs cut through their reverie.
Heath tensed, looking back over his shoulder. “Your father is home.”
“Yes,” she whispered, flinching. “He is.”
The sound of two female voices drifted upward.
“I don’t think he shall come up tonight,” she said, full of dread.
“No,” Heath agreed. “He clearly has a distraction. Would you like me to stay? I can sit in the corner of your room.”
“And watch over me?” she asked, stunned.
“Yes,” he said. “I can watch over you. I can make sure no harm comes to you.”
She leaned back on her elbows.
It was a mad thing.
Richard Heath, owner of a notorious gambling club, offering to watch her as she slept.
She should be terrified of him, but she was not. She recalled the soft touch of his hand in his office and, now, the soft touch of his hand upon her face. She nodded. “I would like you to stay.”
“Then, I will. I can at least protect you from the damage I have done.”
“Oh, Mr. Heath,” she sighed sadly. “No one can truly protect me from the damage that has been done. But you’re right. We can find a new way forward.”
He nodded, pleased. “You’re very wise for a young woman of the ton.”
“I’m not like most young women of the ton,” she agreed, all the grief and pain of the years, threatening to rise. “I too have seen things.”
His face grew hard. “I’m sorry for it.”
“Don’t be,” she said. “It has led me to know you, and it has given me the opportunity to become stronger.”
He said nothing then as he stood from the bed and strode to the chair in the corner then sat. She eyed him. Her entire body alive, longing for him to join her, but she would not ask. That was not what their relationship was to be. It never could. A young lady like herself should never even entertain such a thought!
She knew that, but she hungered for it.
Irrationally, she wanted him. She wanted it in a way she never had understood before.
She knew she would never have love, but perhaps she could have something different. It could be the best path she could choose. Her mother had chosen love.
So many women chose love and were destroyed by it. But she could have a relationship with this man that would make her stronger, better, more interesting, and wasn’t that what she wanted for herself?
Suddenly, she found herself saying, “You don’t have to sit over there.”
“Yes, I do, Mary,” he said, using her given name with stunning ease. “You don’t know what you’re asking to entreat me into your bed.”
“You’ve warned me already,” she said.
“Yes, and I’m still warning you, and I still believe that it would be a great mistake.”
“You think I would be a great mistake?” she asked, her head a tangle of thoughts.
“I think I would be a great mistake for you,” he stated.
So, she said nothing and laid back on her bed, knowing she would not sleep the whole night, but she would feel safe. . . completely and frighteningly alive in his presence.
Chapter 6
A cacophony of voices burst through the darkness.
Heath drove a hand through his hair.
What the devil was he doing here?
He did not know, but he knew he had to be here.
It was the only place he could be. He did not understand what had compelled him to put himself so firmly into Lady Mary’s life, but whatever it was, he had to stay. So, when she bolted upright in her bed, her entire body tense, he knew some momentous thing was happening.
“It is my brother,” she whispered. “Robert is downstairs.”
Heath remained silent.
The arguing that ensued caused them both to listen attentively, but they could not make out the words through the thick walls. There was only the clarity that there was anger, frustration. Her father was shouting. Heath knew that voice. He