Accidentally Compromising the Duke (19 page)

She tipped and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. When he froze she whispered, “Oh, no you don’t, no more retreating from me. I am holding you to your promise to please me whenever I need, and I can assure you, after the delight I have partaken in, I will need to be pleasured a lot. I will gladly be your mistress and wife, and that way you can do all manner of wicked things to me without worrying about my sensibilities.”

He turned his head and unfathomable eyes ensnared her. Then they warmed…heated, and he gripped her tighter and claimed her lips.

The possibilities just got even better.

Chapter Eighteen

You can do all manner of wicked things to me without worrying about my sensibilities.

The husky dare was still rattling around in Edmond’s head, fueling his lurid imagination, which in turn had encouraged his cock to remain in a constant state of readiness. He could still taste Adeline on his lips. Sweet, addicting, and he craved more. Worse, he’d told his duchess he wanted to tup her until she trembled from exhaustion.

Edmond scrubbed a hand over his face. He was losing his damned senses. It did not escape him that he was more relaxed with his sexuality with Adeline in a few weeks than he’d been with Maryann in the years they had been married. Adeline challenged him to be unrestrained with his desires and he hungered to succumb to the cravings erupting from his soul.

If you’d not wanted an heir I would not be dying.

He gritted his teeth against the memory of the pained whisper. If he were to give in to the lust and Adeline fell with child… He sighed. How long would he hold onto this torment for? He had given huge sums to hospitals and spent many hours talking with the leading accoucheurs. It had almost become an obsession to try to discover what he could have done to prevent Maryann’s death, and he had been shocked to discover how common it was, and how little doctors and midwives truly knew. Thousands of women apparently died in England annually giving birth or shortly after, and that chilling fact had shook him.

He was growing to like Adeline and to put her at such a risk…he would be a selfish ass to even contemplate making love with his wife.
But there are ways to prevent conception
. His breeches tightened uncomfortably at the mere thought.

When he’d hatched his idea to marry, it was not a decision he’d pondered on for too long. He’d moved very decisively and truly had not given much consideration to what it would be like to have a wife underfoot at all times.

Adeline had been his wife for all of twenty-four days, and she already had him in knots. How the hell he had allowed himself to be trapped in such a state of need mystified him. But it was his own dammed fault. He’d known before he married her how attracted he had been to her dark beauty and the intelligence that glowed in her eyes.

Though the desires he felt now transcended attraction. He found he wanted to please her and bring her delight. It was by mere accident his daughters had mentioned Adeline had never been to a theatre or to the opera. Edmond wanted her to explore all London had to offer, and he wanted to be the one to experience it with her.

He hauled himself from the lake, the cold night air biting deep to his bones, but finally his damn cock had gotten the message. He slipped his shirt onto his still wet body and dragged on his boots, then walked briskly toward the house.

He would leave for London tomorrow for a number of meetings with Members of Parliament and the House of Lords. Adeline would enjoy society as a duchess. Perhaps. But he would extend an invitation, though she might very well decline because of its suddenness. It did not escape Edmond that a few weeks previous he’d wanted a young lady who was not interested in society and the frivolities it offered. Now here he was thinking of ways to throw Adeline back into the fray because it bothered him she’d not had a grand time during her seasons.

He was truly losing his damned mind.

…

Hours later, Adel gave up the pretense of sleep and lay on her back in the dark room staring sightlessly at the ceiling. Soft fire still lingered in her blood from earlier in the day. Dinner had been subdued; the dowager duchess had glanced from her to Edmond several times, a smile playing on her lips. Then after only eating a little, she had excused herself. Adel had been left alone with Edmond, and she had silently beseeched him to invite her to his chambers. The stubborn, dratted man had been unflinchingly polite and cool.

She hated the reserve she could see re-forming, the very notion had anger snapping through her blood. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she shivered. It would rain tonight, and probably for a large part of tomorrow, forcing them to spend the day indoors. She let one leg slip over the edge of the mattress, and then paused. Perhaps he would reject her if she tried to seduce him. Anxiety seared her, but she pushed from the bed, and hurried from her chamber. She didn’t stop until she reached his bedroom. Swallowing down the nerves, she knocked firmly.

There was no answer. Disappointment pricked her. Was he already asleep? She spun to return to her room and hesitated. What if he had not heard her over the rain and thunder? She tested the knob. It was surprisingly unlocked. She walked into his chamber and Adel regretted the impulse that had driven her to seek him out. She froze ensnared at one of the most primal, and lascivious sight she had ever seen.

The duke stood by the windows in his chamber…stark naked. He was…splendidly beautiful. His masculinity was overwhelmingly erotic in nature. Unable to help herself she hungrily drank in his posture, the graceful but powerful line of his body. Muscles corded his shoulders, back and thighs. Even the turn of his calves appeared chiseled. She could only see his side profile, and his head was tilted, the strong column of his throat working, yet no sound emerged. One hand was braced against the glass and she could see the tension in his frame.

His other hand was… She glanced down and had to swallow her gasp. Her cheeks flamed and the throb of heat between her legs was startling. He had his…his…member in his hand, stroking, alternately gentle then hard. She squeezed her thighs together hoping to soothe the throbbing ache in the flesh between the juncture of her thighs. She was at a loss how from simply looking at him, such wanton urges could stir in her blood.

She couldn’t stay to watch such an intimate private moment. Worse, she had the feeling he was thinking of his wife. A sob hissed from her in denial, but he did not hear.
Thank Heavens
. She decided to depart and made the error of glancing at his face. Adel faltered. His face was drawn into hard lines of loneliness and yearning—stark and agonizing. A low, tortured groan slipped from him and the grimace on his face indicated he was washed in intense feelings, and she belatedly realized it must be pleasure, and not pain as she’d initially assumed. A whimper of need clawed from the back of her throat and threatened to spill in the room, when he fisted the length jutting from him, and slid his hands up, then down the thick stalk, and her name slipped from his lips like a benediction.

“Adeline,” he groaned, the sound reverberating deep in his chest.

It was her! He thought of her!

She pressed her hands low on her stomach, desperate to still the flutter of desire erupting through her body. Her nipples beaded beneath her nightgown, and she ached between her legs in a way she struggled to understand. Drawn to him, it was as if her feet had a mind of their own as they moved closer. Her lips parted on a gasp when he rumbled her name once more and even stroked himself with more…vigor.

…

A soft sound of need filtered on the air, and caressed right around his cock. Without moving Edmond knew Adeline was in his chamber. He did not question the how, or why. Hell, he knew why. The hunger she felt was the same reason he had his length fisted in his palm, urging himself to release—something he had not done in years. As he stroked himself he imagined her…tasting her, sinking inside of her. Turning from her earlier was the hardest thing he had ever done, restraining himself when his body had cried out to take her and slake the tormenting lust.

It had finally occurred to Edmond; he had been a blasted fool, denying them what they wanted most, when he could bed his duchess without releasing inside of her. Though allowing such intimacy was a slippery slope that could well lead to the very thing he dreaded. He would have to be vigilant never to slide so far he lost his common sense. He’d acknowledged it would be impossible to stay away from her any longer. They were married, a state that could not be dissolved, and it had finally pierced him that this hunger would never go away, whether it be for weeks, months, or years.

He turned and his knees nearly buckled. Though she was clothed in a nightgown that covered her from head to toe, it was all the more provocative for he knew the sensual beauty it hid. The cravings he had suppressed for so long surged to life, burning away all resistance. She was raw, earthy, beautiful…unforgettable.

Her eyes widened and then lowered to his cock still fisted in his hands. Edmond
would
consummate their vows, though it had gone far beyond duty. It was a living need inside of him to brand her with his touch. He’d almost visited her chamber, but had restrained himself. The fever of lust that dominated him would make it impossible to be gentle with her.

She stepped farther into the chamber, then she made to remove her gown.

“Leave it on.” His order was harsh and she hesitated, hurt flaring in her eyes.

“I do not want to hurt you,” he all but snarled, hating the idea that she thought he was rejecting her again.

Her lips parted in soft subtle invitation. “I know there is to be some pain.”

Did she have to sound so sensually intriguing? “I cannot be gentle, Adeline, and by God you deserve to be worshipped, to be pampered and savored, not be taken without restraint.”

…

Thick, fierce tension swirled around them, and Adel’s heart was a furious flutter in her breastbone. “You have teased me in the most ungentlemanly manner for weeks. I assure you, I do not desire restraint but how you are now…passionate and without reserve.”

His jaw visibly flexed. “Come here,” he said, the gray in his eyes darkening dangerously.

The promise of carnal delights gleamed in the depth of his eyes, and it tugged her to him. They stood close, and his rough, deep breathing echoed in her ears. She glanced up, the lines of his beautiful face were taut with hunger. Without speaking he gripped the fold of her nightgown and drew it to her hips. Then he palmed her buttocks and lifted her high. She gasped, instinctively wrapping both legs around his hips, and his strong arms supported her with an ease that was thrilling. Adel had expected him to tumble her into the bed, instead he sank them onto the sofa so that she straddled him. She pressed her knees into the soft cushions bracketing his hips, and she twined her hands around his neck.

He kissed her jaw and throat, and she instinctively arched allowing him access.

“I cannot be patient.”

The sound of his voice was a whisper of velvet across her skin. “I do not desire control, Edmond.”
Please no control
. She’d had enough.

His lips brushed her forehead with acute tenderness, and she sighed.

He gripped her hips and she felt the tempered restraint in his touch. A simple caress, but it seduced and empowered her…for she also felt the trembling in his arms, the pounding of his heart against her chest. He craved her with a similar intensity.

He shifted one of his hands and trailed his fingers to her core, to that bundle of nerves at the apex, which brought her such pleasure. His touch was firm yet light as he stroked it, and then pressed, sometimes pinching. A moan broke low in her throat from the exquisite sensations. He lifted her slightly, and a hard pressure was notched at her entrance.

The feel of him was both shocking and wonderful.

Yet he did not press his advantage, only slowly continued to work her knot of pleasure with his fingers. Tension peaked in her belly, and she dropped her forehead on his shoulder, shivering.

“Edmond,” she gasped, when he pressed hard, and liquid heat rushed from her to bathe his fingers and length, which was poised at her entrance.

“I need you wet…so damn wet you’ll soak me.”

She bit into his shoulder, and he chuckled, low and deep, the sound rich, heated.

Then the hand gripping her hip tightened. He thrust hard and heavy inside her, and a soft cry exploded from her as he sank past her resistance, burying his length to the hilt. Her muscles strained and quivered around him, fighting to accept the broad length suddenly filling it, her breath puffing in harsh bursts. The pleasure-pain was a fiery cascade of sensations twisting through her, and she couldn’t prevent a whimper of feminine distress.

“Shhh,” he soothed with kisses along her cheeks, and down to her neck. “The sting will soon pass.”

She wanted to point out that the throbbing pain was more than a
sting
, but then he bit into the cord of her neck, then licked the spot he’d just tenderly assaulted, while stroking the pad of this thumb in a deliciously hard caress over her nub.

She almost jackknifed from him so intense were the sensations.

He nuzzled her neck. “Are you well?” his voice was gravelly with arousal.

“Yes…the sting is already passing.”

His eyes blazed with a fierce tenderness. “Good.”

Then he rocked her on him. He worked her on him, up and down slowly, stretching her to take his length comfortably.

“Grip my shoulders.”

With the softest of moans she responded to his urgings. His expression was a tight grimace of pleasure as he repeated his sensual motions. She cried out at the overwhelming sensations—it was bliss and agony in equal measure.

“I need more, Edmond,” she gasped, trying to increase the wet glide of his length.

He wrapped his arms around her fully, caging her in his embrace and took her lips. His flavor exploded on her tongue—coffee, brandy, and…the man himself. His kiss soothed and allowed her to focus on his taste, his scent, and not the throbbing ache deep in her center, or the vulnerability she felt being so completely cocooned by his strength. He curled his tongue around hers, stroking, licking, and sucking, consuming all her sighs and moans.