The Reluctant Duke

CHAPTER FOUR

‘WELL,’ Lucan bit out tersely, having climbed out of the Range Rover to pull on his heavy jacket, before moving round to the passenger side of the parked vehicle to open Lexie’s door for her.

Lexie’s heart was beating a wild tattoo as she slowly got out of the car to look up at the mellow-stoned magnificence that was Mulberry Hall as it towered majestically over the snow-covered grounds of the Stourbridge estate.

A house and estate Lexie was more familiar with than she wanted the man at her side ever to know.

She turned to look up at him challengingly. ‘Well, what?’

He raised dark and mocking brows. ‘It’s been my experience so far in our acquaintance that you usually have something to say about most things…’

Lexie deliberately kept her expression non-committal as she glanced back at Mulberry Hall. ‘I’m betting the electricity bills are high!’

Lucan’s bark of laughter was completely spontaneous. Something that seemed, surprisingly, to have occurred several times in the company of this particular woman. Rare indeed, Lucan acknowledged ruefully, for a man usually known for his grimness rather than his sense of humour.

Even rarer for Lexie not to have made some sort of cutting remark on the obvious and exclusive grandeur that was Mulberry Hall.

‘Shouldn’t we go inside? ‘ she prompted pointedly.

Lucan nodded abruptly. ‘Time to assess the damage.’ He took a firm hold of Lexie’s arm as he glanced up at the blue tarpaulin that had been fixed temporarily over part of the roof of the west wing of the house. ‘I wouldn’t want you to fall over and break a leg,’ he drawled mockingly when she frowned up at him.

‘In case I sue you? ‘ she taunted.

‘The way this year’s gone so far, it’s a distinct possibility!’ Lucan’s other hand reached out instinctively to steady her as she would have slipped on one of the icy steps leading up to the huge front door, the movement turning her slightly and bringing her into close contact with the hardness of his chest.

Lexie stopped breathing as she felt the warmth of his body envelop her. As she became totally aware of the hardness of his chest and abdomen against her breasts, his firmly muscled legs against her much softer ones.

Even the air about them seemed to still in recognition of that awareness. There had been another fresh fall of snow the previous day, and several inches now covered the surrounding countryside, seeming to surround them in eerie silence.

Lexie slowly raised her head. And then wished she hadn’t as she was immediately held captive by the intensity of Lucan’s dark and fathomless eyes. The stillness of that air about them became charged, heated, as Lexie found herself unable to look away.

Close to, like this, she could see that those eyes were a deep chocolate-brown surrounded by a ring of black. Dark and compelling eyes. Eyes that Lexie knew she could drown in. Deep and fathomless eyes that seemed to turn to the deep brown of hot liquid chocolate as she continued to stare up at him.

Eyes that Lexie suddenly realised were coming closer as Lucan lowered his head and that firm and yet sensual mouth came within touching distance of her own.