What Isabella Desires by Anne Mallory Read Free Book Online Page A

help but overhear your delightful laugh, and I had to find the lovely creature possessed of such a voice.”
    She turned to see Fenton Ellerby, with his charming smile and hawklike nose, holding out a glass of champagne. She accepted it with a smile and took a sip.
    “You flatter me, sir.”
    “No, it is you who flatter us with your beauty.”
    Ah, yes, she remembered now why she had avoided this type of gathering. Useless compliments and excessive flattery, all with one goal in mind.
    Of course, she had to concede that if the man uttering them had been dark-haired and golden-eyed, she would have been swooning in girlish glee.
    “Please, I must beg you to allow me this dance.”
    Isabella saw the new set forming. Calliope had warned her of the increased number of waltzes and the more vibrant nature of some of the other dances.
    She also saw two pairs of blue eyes and one pair of golden watching her. Calliope and James were standing alongside Marcus. A woman clung to Marcus’s arm, trying to gain his attention.
    She looked back at her new companion. Ellerby was a notorious rake and one of Marcus’s least favorite people.
    “I would be delighted,” she heard herself say.
    He led her onto the floor and the first strains of a violin caressed the air. He twirled her and she forced herself to relax. She loved to dance, but usually felt as if she were on stage. Closing her eyes, she pretended she was in Marcus’s arms.
    Marcus and she had danced together before, but she was always too constrained by propriety and too nervous at holding onto his broad shoulders and firm arms, so different from her own soft ones. Ellerby’s arms didn’t feel as strong, and he didn’t smell of spicy cinnamon and piano keys, but she imagined that it was Marcus’s fingers caressing her waist and claiming her hand. That it was he who wanted to dance with her and flirt with her and teach her all the naughty things he knew.
    Her head dropped back and she allowed her skirt to flare out. She felt free.
    She heard Ellerby’s breath catch, and a surge of triumph soared through her. Perhaps Marcus—
    A hand slipped to her rear, and her eyes snapped open. Fighting the urge to smack the man, she forced a smile and pulled his arm back into position. She might be here on a mission to snag Marcus, but she sure as Mary wasn’t here to fish for anyone else.
    “Lud, sir. Don’t you know that a lady likes to be romanced first?”
    A flash of surprise passed his features, and he suddenly looked more interested. “Like a bit of a game, do you? Excellent. I love a challenge.”
    His voice was low and meant to be sexy, and she had to admit that it probably would be to ninety percent of women—Ellerby didn’t have his reputation for naught.
    “I don’t know if my heart could take it.”
    “I’ll take good care of it.”
    She held back a snort.
    The final notes of the song tapered to a close, and she caught Marcus still looking in their direction. She wondered if he had watched them dance the entire time.
    She hoped so.
    She cocked a brow toward the refreshment area. Ellerby laughed lightly and placed a hand on her waist to lead her forward. They had barely reached the table when she felt his presence at her side. The side unoccupied by Ellerby. She felt her body instinctively lean toward the warmth on her right.
    “Ellerby.”
    Ellerby stiffened. “Roth.”
    “And is this lovely creature with you?”
    She couldn’t stop her fan’s movement as she felt the heat start from her cheeks and spread through her body. A lovely tingle that had her eyes at half mast. Yes, she had been right. All it took were the right words issuing forth from the man of her dreams and she puddled at his feet.
    Ellerby looked irritated. “I don’t think—”
    “Marie.” She held out her hand, cutting off Ellerby and causing a slow smile to curve Marcus’s lips. A predatory smile. She shivered. She’d seen it before, of course, but it had never been focused in her