Page 48 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

And so, she made another attempt. This time, it worked. Jane turned sharply, breaking free cleanly.

She exhaled in surprise. “I did it.”

A flicker of something almost like pride crossed his face. “Yes,” he said.

Something in that single word made her chest tighten unexpectedly. They stood too close now.

Jane didn’t step back. Neither did he.

The duke’s hand was still at her waist. He didn’t remove it. Jane looked up at him. He looked back. And then he pulled her in.

The kiss was sudden. Like restraint finally breaking.

Jane’s breath caught as he deepened it, one hand sliding to her back, holding her in place against the wall behind her. It was not gentle. It was controlled… until it wasn’t.

Jane responded instinctively, her fingers gripping his coat as if anchoring herself. A sound passed between them, something neither of them acknowledged.

The sound of a distant carriage as it passed brought reality rushing back. The duke broke away first. He stepped back as if distance could erase what had just happened.

“That was a mistake,” he said roughly.

Jane’s lips were parted slightly. “Indeed.”

His jaw tightened. “We shall forget it happened.”

Jane’s pulse was still unsteady. “I absolutely agree.”

Then, the duke turned sharply, guiding her back toward the carriage.

When he dropped her at her house, he did not leave immediately.

Jane hesitated at the door. “Be careful, Your Grace,” she said quietly.

He looked at her. “I always am.”

She stepped inside. Only once she reached her window did she look back.

The carriage was still there. The duke hadn’t left.

Their eyes met through the glass, and Jane’s entire body heated up, the memory of his lips pressed against hers, seizing her mind.

No. It had been a mistake.

She looked away momentarily, trying to gather herself.

When she looked back outside, the carriage had rolled away into the night.

Chapter Six

“The law leaves us no choice, Lady Jane.”

Jane stared at the solicitor, convinced she must have misheard him. Her heart had started hammering so hard she could hear only the rush of blood in her ears.

“No choice?” she repeated quietly.

The elderly gentleman shifted uneasily beneath her gaze. His leather portfolio rested against his knees, his fingers worrying the worn edge as though he would rather be anywhere else than the morning room at Wynten House.

“I’m afraid not.”