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“He reached out and gently wiped away a spot of dried mud on her cheek that she hadn't known was there. "If I were as bad as you were led to believe, would I have left my bed last night so you could sleep in peace?"
The light touch of his fingertips on her face now, and the memory of how she had writhed beneath his skillful caresses last night brought a scarlet blush to her cheeks.
She looked away; he lowered his hand to his side.
He was silent for a moment. "You are in no danger, Kate. I am not going to hurt you. I know you are afraid, but look at my actions if you doubt my words. I saved your life, didn't I? That must count for something."
She looked up slowly, her gaze skimming the chiseled symmetry of his muscled abdomen and the powerful swells of his chest until she met his steady gaze.
The look in his gray-blue eyes seemed sincere, and she desperately longed to believe in him. He might be her only hope.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“He hit me, you know," she announced abruptly.
Rohan turned and stared at her with sudden, great stillness. "What?"
"Oops," she said mildly. "I wasn't going to tell you that."
"O'Banyon. Hit. You."
She shrugged.
"In the face?" he demanded.
"He slapped me because I was fighting him."
"I see." Rohan stared straight ahead, every muscle tensed. He suddenly looked very much like an expert assassin. "Well, he won't do that again."
"What are you going to do?"
One lifted eyebrow said it all.
"Oh, it didn't hurt that much! I'm fine. There's no need for anything excessive."
"Stay out of it, Kate," he said politely, then he shook open the note with cool and steady hands.
She looked askance at him in curious satisfaction.
She could almost taste the justice that she had hungered for constantly since her abduction. But now that she knew it was all but guaranteed, somehow, it didn't matter so much anymore. Just knowing that Rohan was willing to champion her was enough.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Reaching the bottom of the ladder, she turned around, but had only taken a few steps down the swaying passageway when her path was blocked by a large, formidable silhouette: Rohan stepped out of his cabin and stood waiting for her.
He loomed in the darkness ahead as she approached, his angular face cast in shadow, his black shirt hanging open down his sculpted chest.
Kate felt an instantaneous awareness of him in her most primal core, but she hesitated before the fevered intensity in his stare. "I-I thought you went to bed."
"Can't sleep."
She did not need to ask why. Who could sleep after the night he'd had? She stopped in front of him, wondering what to say. His hungry gaze stayed fixed on her, and something in his silvery eyes made her heart begin to pound. "What did you think of what my father said?"
"I don't want to talk." As he reached out and cupped her cheek, Kate swallowed hard, but she hardly had to ask what he wanted to do. She could feel the heat of his need coming off him in waves.
She drew in her breath as he ran his hand down from her cheek along the side of her neck. He threaded his fingers into her hair, moving closer as he drew her toward him. He bent his head and claimed her mouth, his lips, burning, silken, against hers; she quivered with temptation as he consumed her tongue. The fierce demand in his kiss threatened to overwhelm her.
"I want you," he whispered, breathing heavily.
His bold advance jarred her somewhat back to her senses. "You must be joking," she uttered, yanking away from him and trying to hide her mad desire behind a mask of self-possession. "I'm not your harlot anymore."
"You said you love me. Prove it," he murmured. He captured her hand and brought her palm to his loins, making her feel the massive evidence of his sincerity.
She bit her lower lip, striving to reason against passion. Letting her palm linger on his rigid shaft a heartbeat too long, she withdrew her touch, determined to get around him. "Rohan."
"Sleep with me," he ordered in a whisper, too proud to beg, but then again, he'd never have to.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Rohan took a seat on the old, thronelike chair in the center of the great hall and drummed his fingers on his sword's hilt in kingly impatience.
After all, the sooner he finished here, the sooner he could go unwrap his little "present." His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he permitted himself to think about her briefly. Even now, his instincts were wide-awake with a very male awareness of a woman in his house.
Waiting for him in his bed.
He had wanted her gone from the great hall in case stronger measures were needed to remind his unruly tenants of his authority. He did not wish any female to witness his capacity for violence.
Besides, he did not need the distraction of those beautiful breasts clamoring for his attention. He'd get to know them better soon enough, every silky inch of her.
His people knew what he liked; he was decidedly pleased with their peace offering. This luscious young token of their apology left him feeling much more disposed to forgive. Indeed, the prospect of spending the next few nights in this abominable stone crypt of a castle suddenly looked a good deal more agreeable.
Coming out here to the middle of nowhere, he had expected to have to go without his daily dose of sex, a real inconvenience for a man of his elemental nature. He had a rule, after all, against poaching on the locals.
He wanted to be feared, not hated. But, hell, if they were going to offer her up on a silver platter, far be it from him to refuse such a delicious-looking morsel.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“In that moment, he had not known which he had wanted more: to gather her onto his lap and comfort her, or to lay her down and ride her into mindless, sweaty ecstasy.
He cast off the question with a restless shrug, deciding to do both as soon as he was done here.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Rohan shrugged off the chill, but such eerie thoughts made him all the more glad they had brought him the girl. On so foul a night, it would be good to have a warm body beside him in bed. And beneath him, and on top of him...
He cleared his throat, eager to get his hands on her.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Her gaze traveled over his beautiful back, that glorious expanse of smooth skin she had caressed so eagerly last night--- to her shame.
She wished she couldn't remember at all, for what could be worse than to desire a man who meant one's destruction?
Yet she could not deny her awe at his leonine beauty, all dangerous power, his massive, sculpted size balanced by effortless male grace. Her wistful stare followed the sweeping line of his lean sides and stone-carved arms as he warmed his hands beneath the hearth fire.
Between his broad shoulder blades, his sable hair hung in a thick, glossy queue. Kate watched a droplet of rain run off his wet hair and roll down his back.
As he rubbed his hands together, she was riveted by the complex play of chiseled muscle that flowed through his upper body with the simple motion. She was especially entranced by his fortresslike shoulders and those incredible arms, whose raw strength had saved her life. She looked away, feeling a bit faint. Never in all her days had she seen a physique like that on a man.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Rohan was staring into the flames and savoring a brandy. The sensual way he cupped the rounded snifter in his palm caused a completely unexpected shudder of wild longing to run the length of her entire body, for his tender hold on that globelike glass brought back hazy memories of his attentions last night to her breasts.
And when he raised the glass to his lips and took a slow, leisurely sip, Kate had to close her eyes for a moment to steady herself. Dear God.
His butler announced her in a formal tone. "Your Grace: Miss Madsen."
Kate flicked her eyes open, but her cheeks were already burning when the duke looked over.
He cast her a dangerous smile, and a giddy weakness crept up her body, starting at her knees. She tightened them reflexively and gave her quivering legs the silent order to move, and by all means, to forget the feel of his forbidden caresses running up her thighs.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Her throat interested him greatly, the lovely arc beneath her dainty earlobe, the milky skin, the silken cascade of her perfumed hair...
His mind drifted, the wine warming his senses. It had now been three days since he'd had a woman, and he had not forgotten the way she had felt beneath him last night. He still wanted her in spite of himself.
Her lips' dewy roses beguiled him, along with the teasing sparkle in those emerald green eyes beneath her black velvet lashes. The candlelight brought out a golden luster in the depths of her light brown hair and danced along the delicate lines of her bare shoulders.
Was it wrong to want to lick the caramel sauce out of her splendid cleavage instead of drizzling it politely on the cheesecake? He did his best to keep a tight rein on his dangerous hunger for her, even as his hands tingled with yearning to caress all her creamy, glowing skin.
As he took another large swallow of port, he contemplated the fact that there was one sure way to find out if she was really as innocent as she would have him believe.
If she was a part of her forebears' sinister conspiracy, it was unlikely that she was a virgin. He was keenly tempted to verify her status for himself by luring her into his bed and finishing what they had started last night.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Kate. You know I'm not going to let anything happen to you, don't you?"
Chastened by his patient tone, she met his steady, blue-gray gaze, and instantly regretted her sarcasm. She nodded in reluctance, then looked down at the simple touch that joined them. His right hand gently covered both of hers where they rested, anxiously clasped, on her lap. His hand was so much larger and more hardened-looking than hers.
In the silence, she relived those horrible seconds on the cliffside when his right hand, so gentle now, had stopped her from falling to her destruction.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Rohan was battling invisible foes, wielding the large, lancelike weapon she had seen in his hand that first night in the great hall. His long hair flowed around his shoulders, wetted with the sweat that streamed from him and made his body gleam with rippling, raw power. He was bare-chested, wearing only loose black trousers that draped his compact buttocks and muscled thighs gracefully.
His bare feet were silent on the flagstones as he lunged, leaped, and spun about, the torchlight flashing crimson on his long, wicked blade.
Kate watched, riveted by the play of shadows and gold torchlight that slid over his sweat-slicked body, gliding across the sleekly muscled contours of his back and massive shoulders, his powerful chest and chiseled abdomen as he thrust, swung, jabbed, then spiraled up to parry an imaginary blow, only to gouge again with precision perfectly balanced with killing force.
His blade sliced through the air with naught but a deadly whisper, each slashing arc of his weapon, like his honed body, under his exquisite control.
In constant motion, he wove through the changing patterns of his regime with a beautiful---an almost otherworldly---prowess, a creature of elegant savagery.
He attacked again with a low war cry, but then suddenly went motionless, standing in a sure-footed stance below her, his chest heaving.
Slowly, he looked up, as though he had felt her there.
Kate found herself looking into the eyes of a predator; she held absolutely still.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Bravely, Kate went closer, joining him beside the table. "Here." She set the dragon book on it while Rohan dragged his fingers through his hair, shoving his long, sable locks back from his face. Tendrils of his hair still clung to his hot, damp skin.
The heat radiating from his big, hard body and the musky male scent of him had a maddening effect on her senses, which she strove to ignore.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“You will come back to the castle with me."
"I don't belong there. I don't belong anyplace."
"You belong with me," he replied without the slightest hesitation.
Her chin trembled as she held his gaze. "I-I'm not your responsibility."
"Yes, you are. You are mine. They gave you to me, remember? And I want to keep you. Come here," he ordered softly.
She lifted her arms and stepped into his embrace without another word.
He hugged her close, his heart pounding. "Listen to me. I don't want you to worry for one instant what will become of you, all right? I'll look after you. Whatever you need. You have my word, Kate. You're not alone, do you understand?" he whispered as he held her.
After a moment, he felt her nod against his chest.
"There's my brave girl," he murmured, brushing a kiss to her forehead.
It was at that moment that it dawned on him what he was going to do when they returned to the castle. The thought shocked him as it struck, igniting his heart, even as it filled him with an odd relief.
Of course.
She was already under his protection. By now, anyone outside the castle no doubt assumed she was already his mistress. They already wanted each other so badly. He saw no reason now not to offer her his carte blanche.
Yes. She must become more securely his.
It was not his way to keep any one particular mistress to service his needs. But if Kate were his, then he would not have to worry about her, even beyond all this business with O'Banyon. He would know exactly where she was, that she was fed, clothed, protected, and provided for.
Admittedly, it might come across as utterly ruthless of him to make such an offer at a time like this---as though he were coldly taking advantage of her at the moment of her greatest vulnerability. But he was not motivated by lust.
At least not entirely.
Obviously, he could not marry her---not with his curse, and her Promethean blood. But if Kate was his mistress, then he could watch over her, and if anyone ever tried to hurt her again, they would have to deal with him first.
Besides, he knew by now how her mind worked. If he were simply to make her a promise of financial help, she wouldn't take it. She was too proud. Hell, with her independent spirit, she would abhor any offer that she interpreted as charity. So, let her work for it.
God, he had dreamed of making love to her since that first night when Caleb Doyle had brought her to the castle for that very purpose.
Even now, she felt like heaven in his arms. If she was willing, he knew one sure way to comfort her when they got her back to the castle. He could make all her tears and sorrow melt away...
Cradling her in his embrace, Rohan pressed another possessive kiss to her brow.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“In light of his own new acquaintance with Kate, Rohan suddenly did not find Max's romantic agonies several months ago quite so droll as he had at the time.
But he chased Kate fiercely out of his mind once again, determined that they should detect no change in his demeanor. And she had changed him. He knew it down to the core of his barbaric soul. She made him... what was that foreign word---? Oh, yes.
Happy.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“When he reached the music room, he leaned in the open doorway for a moment and smiled as he studied the alluring arrangement of his darling mistress reclining on the light green settee.
Dressed in a pink gown with striped satin skirts, Kate was idly thumbing through her mother's book, open on her lap. She had loosed her soft brown hair; it flowed over her shoulders in crimped waves from her earlier chignon.
"There you are," he greeted her with a glow of appreciation in his eyes. "And don't you look pretty as a picture.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“That low, velvet voice alone was enough to stir her desire. He smelled of horse and leather and his own subtle musk that she had become as addicted to as opium-eaters to the smell of their pipe smoke. As he bent closer and gave her an affectionate little cuddle, she but her lip with a vague pang of want. "Miss me?" he breathed in a seductive tone by her ear.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“I'm not interested in your charity, Duke! Remember yesterday?"
The dolt had surely had not forgotten her hurling his money at his head.
"As for you, Papa, you forfeited the right to pick my husband when you had Charley lie to me and tell me you were dead. So, kill each other if you like. You're both fools, as far as I'm concerned!"
With a furious sob, she ran the rest of the way to her cabin, leaving the two oddly similar men behind in an awkward, stymied silence.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke

“Marry me," he said.
Her eyes widened. "What?" She nearly fell off the horse.
"Marry me, Kate," he repeated. He swallowed hard. "I need you in my life. Please. Say you'll be my duchess."
"Rohan..."
He took a step closer. "I know I said some boorish, stupid things that day in the music room. You were right. I was scared. I didn't know how it could be between us, but I see it now. And that night on your father's ship, I acted like a brute, telling you to prove your love by sleeping with me. It was wrong."
She shook her head. "You needed me."
"I did. I still do. I always will. I don't know what I'll do if you say no." He lowered his head. "I know you've reason to be wary. That I can be a thoroughgoing bastard sometimes. I've had too many women in the past, but, God, I don't want that anymore. And it is true, I, er, kill people now and then, but just to safeguard England. And if you can live with that---" He shook his head with a tempestuous fire in his eyes. "On my word, I will be true to you, and I will love you until the end of time."
Kate had lost the power of speech. Indeed, she could barely breathe. Tears rushed into her eyes.
Lord Byron himself could not have uttered more romantic sentiments.
"There can be no other for me, Kate, but you." The Beast walked over and stared hard into the depths of her eyes; sitting on the pony's back, she was on eye level with him for once, and the whole tumult of his soul was there in his eyes, discovering love for the first time, setting his heart free at last. "You... make me feel things I've never experienced before. You've been so patient, and I've been such a fool."
"No, you haven't," she breathed, wonder-struck by him. Was this just a dream?
"Stay with me always," he implored her in a confidential whisper. "And love me... as I love you."
"You---love me?" she echoed, her chin trembling in the most embarrassing fashion.
"With all my heart," he vowed in a soft but fierce tone, looking as deeply moved as she. He touched her hair, tucking a windblown lock of it behind her ear. "Kate, you and I were meant to be together. I'm still superstitious enough to know when I have found my destiny. It's you. You're the one who broke the curse.”
― Gaelen Foley, My Dangerous Duke