Midnight Masquerade (2 page)

Alastair Cedric Bancroft, the Duke of Blackstone.

He was more than a duke, more than a god. He
wa
s friends with both of her
brothers, and had known her for years. If he found out she was here alone, he’d scold her for an hour before taking her bac
k to Gideon’s house and tattle
on her.

With g
olden blonde hair, and bright blue eyes Alastair stood out from the majority of men around him. He was hands down the finest specimen she had ever seen, and by far the most gentlemanly of them as well
, much to her annoyance
.
There was a side of the Duke of Blackstone she had never been privy to over the years of knowing him.
He was a notorious rake and flirt, but never with her, he always was overly protective.
She knew there was more to him,
a side she had not been blessed to witness
, the sexual side of him that he had kept hidden from her
.

Her brother Luke was best mates with Alastair, which meant this mesmerizing man treated her with the utmost respect, and kept her at arms length. He had never flirted with her; he had never saw her as anything ot
her than the Somerset
s
’
little sister.

A sense of satisfaction rolled over her as she eye
d
the
Golden Duke
, she could tell her body impressed him.
It was about bloody damn time he looked at her like she was truly worthy, she was not a little girl anymore. She wanted to affect him, just as much as he affected her.

He
was the man
she came to observe tonight, she
would have bet her favorite stallion that he’d be here toni
ght, it was elemental for
him to feed his desires
,
yet not fall into a marriage trap
, this place was perfect for his sexual hunt
.

She had prayed
all day
she’d be able to view him in a totally new environment outside the staunch ballrooms of London
.
Lord did she get her wish, here he was, and she was speechless.

At twenty-eight years old
, Alastair and
her
two
brothers had
made
name
s
for themselves after they left Eton
so many years ago
. They had taken to London like ducks to water, wooing an
y and all ladies in their way.
Unable to participate on the front lines of the Napole
onic war, Alastair had ran the War O
ffice and central intelligence unit for England
for years
.
He had served his country well, he was loved by his country and every red-blooded woman in Christendom.
He was on the King’s
Counsel
, a heavily decorated military man, head of all the English spies and the
last
unmarried duke of their generation.
Unlike her brothers, Alastair had been the last of
their
group to find a wife.

He was so tall compared to her
, standing directly in front of him she came up to his chest, which was a delightful view as well.
He smelled delicious, she wanted to inhale his scent and sigh with pleasure every bloody time she saw him.
His entire body was a delight to look upon actually
, which she did on a regular basis. With her brothers working
under him in the War Office, and being his close friends, she got to see much more of him than most women did, just not in the way she wanted to
.

Biting her lip, she ran through her options as he kept his foot firmly pressed upon t
he edge of her feathered train.
Standing alone in the darkened garden, she reflected on the man before her.
Alastair had been loving
ly
crowned the
Golden Duke
by the Ton ages ago, he was the one man who refused to fall under a women’s spell.
His peers had fallen one by one to the sweet song of courtship, all finding wives, content
,
and many with children, but not Alastair. No, he never let any woman get close to him, no attachments,
and no
promises
-
that
was his way.
He was the last rouge of his group, the most elusive of all.

Slightly changing her voice to avoid recognition, she knew Alastair might not know who
she was
yet
, but if she didn’t take precautions he’d find out instantly. She had known the
gorgeous
man for years now. She had danced countless times with
the Duke of Blackstone
on a weekly basis
,
he had been welcome at her family’s homes before she even entered society.
On top of that, he had one of the most excellently trained minds
in his line of work, a genius detective
whom her eldest brother worked with
-
she had to be careful.

If she spoke, he would know her instantly, just as she had recognized
his velvet voice.
With a sweet Scottish brogue
she had perfected years ago
, she replied to the rad
iating man standing before her,
“I am no angel, and you
S
ir
are no gentleman for stepping on my gown.”

Tugging slightly at her fitted train she smiled as he cocked his hea
d and grinned at her
.
God his smile made her weak in the knees.
With her
well-designed
mask that covered everything but her jaw line and mouth she knew her face was securely concealed from the towering sex god.

“Apologies my pet, apologies
,
but what is a young
,
obvious
first-timer
doing out in the gardens alone at such an event? Waiting for our young stud to show up are you?” He asked in the most velvety tone that swirled with m
ischief and sex.

Turning closer to him, uncaring of her delicate gown crushing against his hard body she lifted her crystal flute and downed the rest of the bubbly expensive champagne before answering, “I am not awaiting a lover, far from it, and yes, this is my first time at such an eye-opening event
, how could you tell? Is it because I have too many clothes on?
” She saw no reason to lie about it being her first time her
e, it made no difference to the
character she was pretending to be.

Running a finger down her bare shoulder all the way to her fingertips, he lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles sending shivers down her spine.

“You look ravishing my dear, an ethereal
innocent
goddess in a
palace
of whores.”

“
It would take a god to recognize a goddess, would it not?” She wh
ispered, feeling his soft kiss
upon her bare hand. Her heart was pounding at his words, his nearness.

“Would you care for an escort? I’d love to show you the ma
ny joys this place has to offer, I do not think I could let my little angelic goddess free upon the tainted ones inside.
” Alastair offered, pulling her closer as he took his foot off her skirt as she moved towards him.

Caught in his spell, she had never seen this side of him in all her years of knowing him. He had always been the epitome of
a
complete gentleman to her; it had been quite frustrating actually.

Alastair had helped both of her brothers retrieve their wives when they were involved in
separate
kidnappings,
he
had even been shot helping Luke rescue Genevieve from that crazy Irish traitor bitch
over a year ago
. In all that time, the weddings, the
house parties
and b
alls he never overstepped his
boundaries
with her.

When she joined London society at eighteen years
old
, she had become infatuated with Alastair. Her best friend Hero still teased her to this day about how she had fallen for the
Golden Duke
.

Over the years she had felt his overwhelming protectiveness, passing it off as a trait of
him
being close to her older brothers
she
assumed that Alastair thought it was just part of his duties of being Luke’s best friend. As time passed, the older she got
,
the more she began to feel, or rather
,
be
came
curious about.
He had always been a gentleman, but what if she was the one to push that boundary with him? Would it ruin their friendship, or would it become something more?

She had no shortage of suitors to test out her curiosity, yet none of them had elicited the same reaction she had when she was around Alastair. For the past four seasons, she had honed her skills to perfection. She could flirt like a high priced mistress, or she could have a detailed political discussion with any royal present. Yet, she had never been brave enough to properly flirt with Alastair like she had so many other powerful men.

Knowing there was no one else she’d rather have by her side tonight at this highly sexually charged atmosphere, she stepped closer so her breasts were pressed against his body as she looked up and bit her lip, “How can a lady turn down an offer from such a helpful man,
please
,
show me all there is to see.”
Feeling empowered, she ran a hand up his chest and leaned on her t
ip toes pressing a kiss upon his
bare jaw. His face concealed behind a black domino mask
, she saw the excitement in his blue eyes
. The moment his hand touched her hip she felt herself grow wet
as he ran it entirely too low on her ass and squeezed.

“How much would my lady like to see?”

His implication was not lost upon her. Feeling him take the empty crystal glass from her hand, he tossed it in the grass a
nd
looked down at her with his Aegean blue eyes.

Swallowing, she ran her other hand inside his jacket around to his muscular back and molded herself against his hard frame as she answered, “Shall we see where the night takes us?”

“I like that answer. Now, by what fake name shall I be calling you tonight my dear?”

His question made her laugh, “You may call me Claudette my good sir, and what rakish name shall I call you tonight since we are being painfully honest?”

“You my little angel may call me Liam, I’ve always liked that name. I think it’ll suit me just fine tonight. Shall we Lady Claudette? I hear the band striking up a waltz, would you fancy a dance?”

With a graceful bow, she looked up from her mask and smiled at her friend.
Lord how different he was now that the shackles of names and titles were tossed,
he appeared so free of judgment and responsibility.

“I would most assuredly like to dance with you Liam.”

“My name sounds lovely upon your lips angel.”

“Your
fake
name is quiet delightful Liam, I shall take great enjoyment out of saying it all night.” She teased as she took his arm, standing shoulder to shoulder with him she felt right at home. He was a familiar place to her, a safety zone. With him at her side she knew she could navigate the night without strange horny men drooling over her as sh
e walked inside.
Feeling him leane
d down to her ear; she closed her
eyes as he spoke.

“Maybe I’ll have you screaming my
real
name by the end of the night angel, we are after all seeing where the night takes us are we not?”

Turning to look at him, she couldn’t resist, letting go of his hand she slipped both hands under his jaw and kissed him like she had wanted to do for so long. The sexual tension between the two the past six months was palpable.
He might not know who she was but it did not douse the fires within her, she wanted him, badly.

His hands were on her in an instant. Pulling her up against his chest, he easily lifted her off the ground an
d held her with one hand under h
er ass cheek, his other hand cupping her corseted breast.

In all the years she had known him, he had never kissed her
on the lips
. Oh there were times that she could feel the tension crackle between them, so many times. Yet, the man
refused to cross that line. Throwing all caution to the wind she let go of his jaw and buried her hands into his silky blonde hair and moaned as he backed her into the wooden terraced wall of the arbor.