The Duke's Revenge Read Free Page B

fight. Oh God! How she tried to fight. It
hurt and it scared her like hell.
    ‘ Nay, go away!’ she cried
out. Nay....
    She opened her eyes, her body shaking.
    What had she just witness? A premonition of
her future?
    Then she felt a strong, male presence behind
her. Her heart beat faster and louder--its drumming sound
intensified in her own ears.
    She turned.
    There, the very image
shocked her, sending her knees weak. He stood there, looking down
at her. And why did he look so familiar to
her? Then slowly she realized where she
had seen him.
    Maximilian stared at the young woman
standing beside his bed. He fisted his hands so tight that his
knuckles turned white.
    He wanted to throttle her. He wanted to kill
her. He wanted to do so many things to her that he didn’t know
where to start. All he could do at that moment was to stand there
and stare at her.
    Aye, she was beautiful with her damn
heart-shaped face and generous lips.
    His eyes roamed her, starting from her
small, black slippers up toward the hem of her pale, grey skirt to
her slim waist, up toward her breasts, and to her midnight black
hair. Her dress was old, and it covered her body like a nun,
showing only her hands that were clinching stiffly on the sides of
her thin, discolored skirt. He shifted his gaze to her face--the
face that haunted him every day and night. He thought time would
make him forget, and now, after eighteen years there she was in his
bedroom, staring up at him as if she hadn’t a clue as to who he
was.
    Ivy stared at that huge, angry man standing
so imposingly in the doorway. Saint Nicolas’s teeth, she hadn’t a
clue as to who he was. He stared at her as if striping her off all
her clothing, and she was naked in front of him, allowing his
critical eyes to examine her worth. She hated the way he was
looking at her. It made her stomach ache with a feeling she did not
understand. The color of his eyes, she saw, was a deep sky blue.
His flaxen hair dropped down at his forehead which made him look so
forbidding that she shuddered inside.
    He paced toward her.
    Her knees weaken. She gasped.
    He halted inches from her, glaring down at
her from his great height.
    She tilted her head back to stare up at him,
for the very sight of him fascinated her despite that anger,
loathsome look he was giving her. Her head barely reached up to his
massive chest.
    He was strong—he was magnificent—he was the
man in her premonition.
    She placed her shaky hands to her throat as
she gaped at him in wonder, in fascination, and in fear.
    “ What in God’s damn hell
are you doing in here?”
    His stare sliced her soul to pieces. So
sharp it was.
    “ I...I...” was all she
managed to get out.
    Max stared into her eyes. He realized that
they were a particular kind of violet that even the color of
lavender itself could not fit their description. They were clear
and profoundly emotional. In that flick of an instant, he knew he
could read her every thoughts through her eyes.
    My God, she was enchanting.
    That realization knocked the wind out of
him. She was not striking like most of his past mistresses were,
but soft as nature intended for her to be. Lord, he wanted to touch
her--but he wouldn’t for he hated her because she had destroyed his
life!
    “ I said what the hell are
you doing here?” he questioned her in a low heated
voice.
    “ I, I...was just looking
round...” she whispered. “I’m sorry, I weren’t supposed
to—”
    “ My lady, my lady,” Donald
called and then stopped cold when he saw the angry duke in the
room. “Err, your grace,” he said uneasily.
    Max turned to the butler. “You let her in?”
His tone was soft but chilly.
    Ivy shivered again at the mere sound of his
voice.
    “ I, your grace,
err—”
    “ It’s not his fault. I
came wondering around myself. He has nothing to do with it.” Ivy
bravely spoke though her inside was trembling like mad.
    “ What do you want around
here?”
    Ivy blinked. “I...” She tried very