The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, #1)

by Tessa Dare

“I’ve been thinking, dumpling.” He flopped back on the bed and groaned. “Em-ma.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to call you Ash. It’s just not who you are. Ash is the dead, cold remnants after a fire. The parts that get swept away and discarded. You’re not Ash to me. You’re alive and blazing and more than a little dangerous. You always keep me warm.” Lest he grow too panicked at the praise, she decided to lighten her tone. “Besides, it’s too amusing to devil you.” “Amusing for you, perhaps.” “Let’s have a compromise. When we’re in the company of others, I will call you Ash or Ashbury. When we’re alone, you’ll allow me my little pet names.” “Fine. But you must confine yourself to an agreed upon list. No more rainbows and buttercups.” “I suppose I can do that.” He considered. “Here are the ones I’ll allow. ‘My stallion,’ ‘my buck,’ and . . . ‘my colossus of man-flesh.’” She laughed in his face at that last. “Let’s keep to the traditional endearments, shall we? Such as ‘my dear’?” “That’s acceptable.” “‘Darling’?” He made a face of disgust. “If you must.” She chewed on the pastry, trying to gather courage. “How do you feel about ‘my love’?” He stared deeply into her eyes, as though questioning her sincerity. However, she knew it wasn’t what lay within her that mattered—it was whether he’d allow himself to believe the words. The familiar shields overtook his expression, closing the door on possibility. “‘My stallion’ it is.” Emma was disappointed, but she decided not to press th...