[h2]Esme[/h2]
 Esme continued to look around the room for one of the boys while continuing to fight with the hands of the man she was with. She wanted to slap him so badly but was worried that it would mess things up for the job they were here to do. Being the mansion's owner, she didn’t think it was wise to hit him and cause a scene, so she chose to endure it until she could get help from one of the boys. Esme knew Dravin wouldn’t step up to his father, tell him to stop, and then take her back from him. Dravin seemed like a good guy, but he didn’t have it in him to stand up to his father in any way, even if he thought what his father was doing was wrong. When her eyes finally landed on Duke, her gaze turned desperate for help as she locked eyes with him. When he answered her with a look of his own, she read it loud and clear, sighing inwardly with relief. Esme did her best to keep Duke in sight, watching him shove and push his way through the crowded room until she was turned and her back was to Duke. 

Esme felt Duke even before he leaned in close, wrapped his arm around her waist, then placed his hand on her stomach. She gave a soft smile as she spoke. “I’m sure he wouldn’t.” Esme replied before Duke tugged and pulled her into his chest. She followed Duke’s movements, nearly melting into him with relief and almost gripping his jacket. Esme was thankful Duke shaded her face with his hat as he walked her to the center of the room. She didn’t want to see the guy’s face anymore and was glad she would only have to be in the same place as him for the night. Tomorrow, she wouldn’t have to think of or see him again. Once in the center of the room and away from the man, Esme looked up at Duke as he spoke to her sweetly and looked over at the man. She sighed with a slight nod. “I’ll be fine, but I'm glad you showed up when you did.” Esme told him before he asked her several other questions, pushed her out, and spun her back to him with her back against his chest. Before she could answer his questions, he leaned his head in and whispered in her ear. 

She couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips at how tempting it was to take Duke up on his offer. The thought of Duke teaching the man a lesson about how no matter how much money you have, no woman should be treated in such a way was almost too good to pass up. But after thinking about it, she shook her head at his offer. Like Duke, she was aware of the eyes on them and the women whispering. Esme even caught sight of the woman Duke was supposed to take home, clearly unhappy with Esme in Duke’s arms instead of herself. It nearly made her laugh as she watched the woman slap her bodyguard on the chest and declare that she wanted to leave. Esme spun around in Duke’s arms to look at him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She then leaned in and whispered in his ear. “If that man were anyone else, I’d say go ahead and break him…. He’s the owner of the place. We don’t need that attention, even if you made it look like an accident.” Esme thought it was sweet that Duke would go and break a couple of bones just to make her feel better about the guy's actions. 

“Thank you for offering, though. I appreciate it.” she said warmly. She then kissed his cheek before pulling back to look into his face, a warm smile resting on her lips before it turned into a slight smirk as a thought crossed her mind. “But if you need to get it out of your system. I can point out a couple of other handsy asshats.” she told him. She’d honestly love to watch as the two got taught a lesson since it would be a little hard to do it herself in this dress. As she mentioned the two guys, she was reminded of the jewelry that she had slightly forgotten about, which was still down the front of her dress that they had put there. Esme needed to find time to fish it all out and put what she could in her wristlet before it became too uncomfortable. She was sure Duke had to have felt some of it when he pulled her chest to chest with himself. She surely did.