Lady Delilah Dares A Duke By Sofie Darling -

"The wager is settled," he murmured, his thumb grazing the inside of her wrist where her pulse hammered. "But the dare... the dare is only just beginning. I expect a dance at the fair, Lady Delilah. And I won't let you win that quite so easily."

He tossed his hand onto the table, face down. "It seems," he lied smoothly, "that the luck of the Vanes holds true. The fair is yours, Delilah."

"My father was a man of sentimental whims, Lady Delilah," Arthur replied, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that vibrated in her chest. "I am not. The Hollow is private property, and I will not have half the village trampling the flora for the sake of cheap ale and ribbons." Lady Delilah Dares a Duke by Sofie Darling

The following is an original story inspired by the title and style of Sofie Darling's Regency romances, focusing on the tension between a spirited lady and a formidable duke.

The room seemed to shrink. To appear as the Duke’s guest was to signal an intimacy that would set every tongue in Mayfair wagging. It was a dangerous dare, but Delilah Vane never backed down. "Agreed," she said, extending a gloved hand. "The wager is settled," he murmured, his thumb

Arthur Sterling, the Seventh Duke of Ravenstock, was a man of iron rules and even colder expressions. He was also, quite inconveniently, the guardian of the estate bordering Delilah’s family home. For years, the two had engaged in a polite but pointed cold war over a disputed strip of woodland known as The King’s Hollow.

Arthur looked at the card, then at her. He held a King in his hand—the winning card—but he paused. For the first time, Delilah saw a flicker of something human in his gaze—a longing that went far beyond land disputes. I expect a dance at the fair, Lady Delilah

"It is a simple request, Your Grace," Delilah said, snapping her lace fan shut as they stood on the edges of a crowded London ballroom. "I wish to host the Midsummer Fair in the Hollow. It has been a tradition for decades, one your father never contested."