Duke In Love

Chapter Eight

GARRICK

A well-trained body reacted before the mind had a chance to wonder and reason when Garrick reached out to catch the woman that had bumped into him. He would not admit to how fast his heart had been racing just moments before. No one that worked for him would stay silent for as long as this woman had, and Garrick had to wonder if an intruder somehow managed to sneak onto the grounds. When he found a woman there, he felt relieved for a moment.

The relief did not last.

Before she even met his gaze, Garrick felt taken aback by the perfection of the woman's dark brown skin. He could feel its soft texture when he pulled her back onto her feet, and it took everything in him to fight the urge to run his fingers up and down the length of her arms. Holding her there in front of him was enough, it had to be, because he did not know this woman. Touching her in any way other than the one in which he had already could prove troublesome in the near future, for both of them.

"Thank you," She said as she stepped away from him. "I apologise, I seem to have gotten lost amongst the flowers."

Even her voice sounded like perfection to him. It had this certainty to it when she spoke, as though she had the utmost confidence in herself, and the sound went straight to his... Damn it all, the woman merely stood there and, yet, she was exciting him.

Once she finally met his gaze, Garrick thought his heart must have stopped. For years, he had been told that the brown and green tones in his eyes made them beautiful and captivating. They certainly could be, and Garrick had seen women with lighter eyes that were very pretty. Seeing this woman, though, he felt like he was being pulled into her dark brown gaze. Her eyes seemed to shine in the light of the moon, sparkling as they looked up at him.

She continued speaking, but Garrick had a hard time hearing her. His eyes wandered to her throat, delicate yet strong all at once, and the way her collarbone stood out when she took in breaths. Garrick could not help that his gaze drifted further down, but her words brought him back to the present.

"...Sir?"

His brows knit together as he looked up at her, unsure of where he even stood for a moment. The woman had completely captivated him, to the point that his mind ceased all other thoughts.

He cleared his throat, then dipped his head briefly, "Apologies. I do not believe I have seen you before, Miss... Or is it Missus?"

Gad, Garrick hoped it was not. To find out that this woman was walking around his garden, married, would utterly gut him.

She cast her eyes down for a moment, then snorted a laugh, "No, I am not married. I merely got confused while getting some fresh air." The woman fixed her gaze on him once again, and her shy smile hit him right in the heart. "Everything looked so beautiful and, before I knew it, I had no idea where I was. The trip took a toll on my head."

"Trip?" Garrick asked.

"Yes, I arrived after dark with Viscount and Viscountess Park." She told him. "Sorry, I did not... I should be getting back."

The woman moved to walk past him, but Garrick took hold of her arm. "How do you plan to get out, when it is your lack of direction that got you to this point in the first place?"

He felt her stiffen under his hold, and she did not look back when she said, "My sense of direction is fine, I am just unfamiliar with this maze."

"Well, it just so happens that I am very familiar with it." He watched her, noticing the small curls along the nape of her neck as he hoped she might allow him to see her beautiful eyes once more. "Let me show you back to the house."