Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington

Chapter Twenty-one

It had only been a week since he had bid Noelle farewell, but to Pierce, it felt like an eternity. He hadn't planned on seeing her for yet another week but knew he couldn't hold out that long. The first few days she had been gone he had kept himself busy instructing the servants to freshen up the chapel and making preparations for their wedding trip to France, but he quickly realized that no amount of busyness could keep his desire to be with her at bay. He impulsively decided to return to London and surprise her, spending the entire trip fantasizing about how delicious it would be to hold her soft body in his arms and kiss her pert mouth, as he inhaled her fresh scent.

Due to their late start, they did not arrive in London until well past an appropriate hour to pay a call to the Brattondale's, so Pierceinstructed his driver to take him directly to his townhouse on Grosvenor Square for the night where he slept fitfully, much too anxious to be reunited with Noelle.

The following morning, Pierce was up early. Tucker had helped dress him in tan breeches and a dark brown tailcoat, his cravat expertly tied in the mathematical before he left the house whistling in anticipation for the day ahead. He walked the few blocks from his house to Noelle's, and when he arrived, the butler showed him into the drawing-room where he could wait for Noelle. He sat down on the rose-colored settee and smiled at the remembrance of the first day he had called on the Earl of Brattondale with the intention of meeting his future wife and the encounter with Noelle that ensued.

The memory of her in her white day dress, with her hair cascading down around her in untamed rivers of honey, made him even more eager to see her, to touch her. He looked up expectantly as Noelle and Estherwalked into the room, quickly coming to his feet and closing the distance between them. He smiled at her, his dark eyes sparkling with merriment.

Noelle watched as the duke smiled charmingly at her, revealing straight, white teeth. He was every bit as handsome as everyone had said he was, but she couldn't help comparing him to Soren, to the handsome American who had stolen her heart. The duke was taller and broader than Soren, but where his eyes held a gleam of wickedness, Soren'semerald eyes had always seemed to sparkle with barely contained laughter. As she stood assessing the duke and comparing him endlessly to Soren, her heart ached anew with the fresh grief of her loss, and she tried to remind herself that that part of her life was in the past and had to stay that way forever. It would be best if she forgot about Soren completely and embraced this new life, this new man standing in front of her.

Pierce reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, where he placed a soft kiss to the inside of her wrist, allowing his lips to linger longer than what was deemed appropriate. Noelle couldn't help herself, as she recoiled inwardly at his overly familiar touch. She pulled her hand back suddenly when she found she could no longer bear his touch. When Soren touched her she felt nothing repulsive, only tingly, like every nerve was on fire and alert to his every movement. When the duke touched her, she just felt flat.

Piercesquinted his eyes and looked at her, her aloofness bothering him greatly, especially after being apart for so long. He wished there was some way he could get Esther to leave them for a time so he could pull her into his arms and kiss her as he had been envisioning doing for the last week.

"Iknow I said I wouldn't be here for another week, but I found I couldn't stay away from you any longer, love."

Love? Apparently he and Hope had grown more comfortable than she realized. She knew she would have to set him straight, for she didn't want him to expect more from her than she was willing to give. "That'snice of you to come all this way to see me, but I really must get going, I have an appointment with my dressmaker and don't wish to be late."

Noelle'sattempt to dismiss Pierce confused him. Was this the same girl who had so reluctantly parted with him back at Ridgecrest Manor? He looked at her closely and noticed the way she avoided looking into his eyes, the way she stood with her arms crossed rigidly across her chest as if she was impatiently waiting for him to leave. Well, if she thought that was the case, she had another think coming.