When it was their turn, he repeated the move he’d done during their first dance, circling her and gliding his hand along her waist. His touch was firmer this time and lingered far longer.
She looked into his beloved eyes. “I think I might’ve fallen in love with you during that dance.”
“That’s precisely when it happened for me,” he said. “From that moment on, I was a different man. Just look at all the events I went to for the first time in years—just so I could be with you.”
She laughed softly. “Yes. It was rather telling in retrospect.”
They reached the end of the line, and he lifted her hand to his lips. “Thank you for giving me a life I love.”
She smiled up at him, love bursting in her chest. He’d given her a life she’d never imagined and a love for all time.
The end
Thank you so much for reading. Look for the next book in The Untouchables, The Duke of Daring!
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading The Forbidden Duke. I hope you enjoyed it!
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The Forbidden Duke is the first book in The Untouchables series. The next book in the series is The Duke of Daring. Watch for more information! In the meantime, catch up with my other historical series: Secrets and Scandals and Regency Treasure Hunters. If you like contemporary romance, I hope you’ll check out my Ribbon Ridge series available from Avon Impulse.
I appreciate my readers so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Books by Darcy Burke
Historical Romance
The Untouchables
The Forbidden Duke
The Duke of Daring
Secrets and Scandals
Her Wicked Ways
His Wicked Heart
To Seduce a Scoundrel
To Love a Thief (a novella)
Never Love a Scoundrel
Scoundrel Ever After
Regency Treasure Hunters
The de Valery Code
Romancing the Earl
Raiders of the Lost Heart (2016)
The Legacy of an Extraordinary Gentleman (2017)
Contemporary Romance
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is (a prequel novella)
Only in My Dreams
Yours to Hold
When Love Happens
The Idea of You
When We Kiss
You’re Still the One
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks to Erica Ridley for reading an early draft and being such a terrific friend. You are the wind beneath my wings! Thank you to everyone who helped with plotting in various stages: Elisabeth Naughton, Rachel Grant, Kris Kennedy, and Joan Swan. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and coworkers on this journey.
I am so in love with the cover of this book—thank you Carrie for delivering such beauty. You are an absolute pleasure to work with.
I must extend massive appreciation to Danielle Gorman for . . . so many things. You have helped me more than I dreamed—thank you!
More than ever, I am especially grateful to my family for their patience and support. I love you beyond words.
Copyright
The Forbidden Duke
Copyright © 2016 Darcy Burke
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1944576002
ISBN-13: 9781944576004
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Book design: © Darcy Burke.
Cover design: © Carrie Divine/Seductive Designs.
Photo copyright: Couple © Novelstock.com.
Photo copyright: Stairs © Stanislav Bokach/Depositphotos.com.
Editing: Linda Ingmanson.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
About the Author
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge. Visit Darcy online at http://www.darcyburke.com and sign up for her newsletter, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/darcyburke, or like her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/darcyburkefans.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Thank You!
Books by Darcy Burke
Acknowledgments
Copyright
About the Author