All I Want for Christmas Is a Duke (16 page)

Barely able to think, she arched against him, sucking his tongue deeper into her mouth. Wanting all of him. “Please,” she cried out.

His hand slowed its circling, and he teased her opening with his finger. “Please, what?”

“I want you.”

“Want me where?” he demanded.

The empty ache within her nearly drove her to distraction, and she could barely manage to reply, “Inside me.”

He grabbed her hips and turned her so she faced him. Leaning back, he ripped his linen shirt over his head.

The sight of his perfectly sculpted torso looming over her, taut and chiseled, drove her over the edge. All she could think of was him. “Now.”

Hunger tensed his features as he cupped her breast, bent, and suckled her nipple in his mouth. She drove her fingers into his silky hair as he teased and nipped and circled with his tongue, first one breast then the other.

“So beautiful,” he rasped against her flesh.

“Alexander,” she whimpered. How had she lost herself so utterly, so quickly?

“I have not tasted all of you.” And then he was kissing her stomach, moving down towards the juncture of her thighs.

When he traced his tongue over her folds, her hips jerked against him, and he wound his arms around her to keep her still. Lapping, tasting, swirling his tongue against her, she could barely draw breath.

Higher and higher he tossed her until she was certain she was about to crest but then he would move his mouth aside, kissing her thighs. “Now,” she groaned.

A low male laugh of pure satisfaction issued from him right before he undid the fastening of his breeches, shoving them down off his legs.

She parted her thighs, desperate for him.

But he didn’t thrust in immediately as she’d expected. Oh, no. He nudged the head of his cock against her wet folds, then slid it up and down over her passage, then back up to the tightening spot of her desire until at last she was clawing at his shoulders, certain she would beg him.

And just before she was convinced she could take no more, he thrust his cock against her opening.

She winced. Stunned. He was too large, and she was too tight. “Alexander?”

“Christ,” he gasped.

“I can’t…”

He hesitated, his cock barely inside her. “Do you wish me to stop?”

She paused then, looking up at him, at the tenderness mixed with passion on his face. Even now, he thought of her before his own need. “No. I want all of you.”

His chest expanded as he drew breath, and she reached back, gripped the tight muscles of his buttocks and urged him home.

The pain was short, intense, but then he was almost to the hilt. Her body struggled to make room for him, and she panted with the effort, knowing he would bring her to pleasure if she could just relax.

Even as she tried to accommodate him, she half feared she couldn’t, but then his fingers were between them again, his thumb masterfully stroking her. A ripple of pure pleasure promised itself in that touch and as she gave herself to it, he thrust in deep until nothing was between them.

Nothing could ever come between them again.

He rocked his hips gently, easing into her passage until she began to feel pleasure at his body deep inside her. She held onto him like a piece of wreckage in a storm. Lifting her legs, she locked her ankles around him as he stroked within and teased between her thighs with his touch.

With each sure stroke, he built her to a fevered pitch, and then he was angling her hips, his cock finding some place she’d never known existed and the world flew apart as she called out his name.

She drove her nails into his back as wave after wave pushed her higher, harder, threatening to tear her apart in ecstasy. He thrust one last time, shuddering above her, her name on his lips.

When he’d ceased, he rested on his forearms and stole her lips in a gentle yet possessive kiss. His lips demanding.

A marking.

They were the only words she could think of.

She held him to her, her fingers tracking the rock-hard edges of the muscles in his back. Whatever was she to do now?

No matter what happened, whether she stayed or eventually had to leave, she was his. And she would never be anyone else’s.

Chapter Nine

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

My True Love Gave to Me

Nights of Passion Burning Brightly

The next days of the Twelfth Night season passed in a dream and before Alexander knew it they’d reached the end of the twelve days he’d been given to seduce her. Oh, they’d made love every day. Often all through the night, but the actual act wasn’t the height of seduction.

He knew that. The seduction he now led was one of keeping her here with him. Gaining her trust, though she’d clearly had no reason to trust anyone in her life. How far he’d traveled in twelve days. Twelve glorious days in which he’d found that the true Adriana Flint was a woman who deserved admiration and praise.

It chilled him to his core to think of the ills that might have befallen her. Instead, those ills had led her to him. Thank God.

Alexander narrowed his eyes against the bright sun bouncing off the snow and could barely make sense of the peace or the joy he felt. In his entire life, he’d never given himself so freely to a woman. But in Adriana’s arms, he’d surrendered.

And he continued surrendering at every opportunity. Any moment that he could, he had spirited her away into shadowy corners, hallways, and snowy groves, to fill her with him. To mark her so she would think of no one but himself.

Christ, he burned with the need to claim her again and again.

Their bargain had turned into something far different than he’d ever thought. The woman he’d long watched had become his lover in every sense of the word, and it was almost unbearable to have to tend his guests as they went ice skating, sleigh riding, or singing through the icy trees over the twelve days of Christmas.

The only thing that gave him relief was that as Queen of Christmas, she was there through it all, not just when Georgiana was present.

But the truth was, he felt incredible joy when both his daughter and Adriana could be present. Now, through Adriana’s love and patience, Georgiana had become a child that others admired. The other guests had warmed to his daughter. In the past, they had stayed away from her, their eyes downcast lest they focus on her limp and give offense to him. Now, caught up in Georgiana’s and Adriana’s laughter as they tossed snowballs at each other, the lords and ladies took sides and threw their snowy offerings to the sounds of shrieks of glee.

The last snowball flew, and Georgiana collapsed to the ground, giggling. Adriana, her blond hair trimmed with snow, tumbled to the ground beside her little charge and began making a snow angel.

The other exhausted guests began the trudge back to the house for tea, and he studied them as they went. Only Lady Jane lingered, and she threw a knowing stare first his way then toward Adriana. There was no judgment in the young woman’s eyes. Rather, happiness. She gave a quick bow, then turned, her emerald green cloak racing after the others returning to Highburn.

As his two women nestled in the snow, flapping their arms up and down, making their angels, his chest swelled with unchecked happiness.

Once, he thought he’d almost known happiness with Georgiana’s mother. But this was so different. Lissette had been so young, so playful, so caught up in baubles and dresses and chatter.

Nothing like Adriana, who seemed to see straight through him to his very depths. He walked slowly toward them.

Her story. He’d been unable to shake it from his thoughts for long. It was a story of foolish hopes. How had Adriana seen through the facade he had built long ago to protect Georgiana from the harsh cruelty of others? But she’d seen it. In the story, he’d been the father of the little girl whose heart had been broken until her governess had come.

And that part was very true. It had been the first thing he had noticed about Adriana. Of course, he’d seen her beauty, but it was the way she had wound her way into his daughter’s affections that had garnered his true interest. And her love for Georgiana had been unmistakable.

He might have hated her for threatening their world with the secrets of her past. But how could he? To hate that part of her would be to hate the woman, and he didn’t hate Adriana… He… No, he couldn’t allow himself to think like that.

“Your Grace,” Georgiana called. “Come make an angel.”

Alexander crouched down in the snow, took his daughter in his arms, and whirled her around until her lips were parted with laughter. “I cannot, little one. I must go back to the house, and it is time you had chocolate and biscuits, don’t you think?”

Her cheeks rosy, Georgiana nodded. “But what about Miss Grey?”

What, indeed?

“Oh, I shall go with you of course and have tea with your dolls.”

Georgiana’s eyes shone in anticipation of sweets. “And you, Your Grace?”

His daughter addressed him with such solemnity it nearly broke his heart. Would she never call him papa? In Adriana’s story she had. Adriana’s version of events held so much love. Love among all three of them.

He caught a glimpse of Adriana’s hopeful face. He’d not seen so much hope in years, and his heart squeezed tight in his chest. What had he ever done to deserve such a look?

They didn’t matter now, the lies she had told him, because he understood why she had told them. And he admired her. Any other woman would be lying under some St. Giles gin sot waiting for her coppers. Adriana had found a respectable position and fulfilled it beyond any measure.

He raised a brow and considered Adriana’s story. There was a part of it he very much wished to reenact. “I should attend my guests.”

His daughter’s smile dimmed. “You must be a good host.”

He bounced her in his arms and locked gazes with Adriana. “But I have been a good enough host. I think I shall take tea with Miss Grey and your dolls.”

“What about me?” his daughter protested.

“Oh, what would tea be without you? Someone must pour out,” he intoned most seriously.

Adriana didn’t smile.

That surprised him. He’d thought his offer would give her pleasure. Instead she studied him rather like the rabbit that spots the hawk in the air. He shifted on his feet. “Have I made a mistake?”

She pressed her lips together as tears shimmered suddenly in her eyes. “Not at all.”

And the look she gave him nearly seared him to the bone. In that instant, he was lost and he didn’t give a bloody damn.

Chapter Ten

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

My True Love Gave to Me

A Bitter Taste of Truth

Adriana couldn’t hold back the sheer awe she felt. This was her dream come alive and yet the niggling suspicion that this was all just a dream of a dream kept trying to intrude on her happiness.

Alexander sat in a child’s chair, his knees nearly up to his shoulders. His dark hair was wild from the excursion, and he clutched delicately at the tiny teacup in his hand, listening most attentively to Georgiana.

He was such a good man. She’d always known that beneath his austere facade was a kind, loving soul. It’s why she had dared write that story and dared give it to him. Georgiana deserved the father that Adriana had never had.

Carefully, she set down her own teacup and stood. “It’s time for your nap, Georgiana.”

For a perilous moment, Georgiana’s nose scrunched up and she looked ready to protest, but then she glanced at her doll. “Josephine is rather tired.”

“Then Josephine must rest, too,” Alexander said. He placed his cup down, then swooped Georgiana up into his arms.

“Don’t forget Josephine,” his daughter said.

“Of course not.” Alexander easily cradled the doll next to his daughter and carried the two of them to her small bed. Remarkably gentle for such a big man, he tucked them both under the counterpane, kissed Josephine first, then just before he brushed his lips over Georgiana’s brow, he whispered, “I love you, little one.”

Georgiana yawned. “I love you, too, Your Grace.”

And in that moment, Adriana had a terrible thought. It hit her with more force than any physical blow. The air whooshed out of her and she started backing out of the room, waiting for him just outside the door.

What was she doing?

She was playing with Georgiana’s and this man’s fate. That was what she was doing. The truth of it sent her reeling. And it hurt. Good God, it hurt.

Alexander slipped out the door, closing it lightly, the sounds of Nanny bustling in Georgiana’s room muffled by the heavy oaken panel. He went to take her hand.

She stepped back.

His eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

The muscles of her throat tightened to the point of agony. She couldn’t speak. The horror of it. She forced herself to look up at him then gritted, “I am a very selfish person.”

Amusement danced in his eyes but apparently, he saw her intensity, and the humor vanished. “What is this?”

She turned and immediately walked down the hall, farther and farther into the shadows away from the center of the house. At last, when she stood, tucked into a small corner, she faced him. “What we’re doing can’t continue.”

Shock tightened his features. “Adriana—”

She whipped up a hand. “Please. I…I thought we could go on like this forever. That I could be a part of your lives, but if I stay, I will be the ruination of you both. When I made that bargain with you, I thought only of my own security.”

“Things have changed since that night. And I do not believe that there is a selfish bone in your body.”

How she wanted to laugh. For years, she’d thought of no one but herself. Every move she had made, every lie she had told, had been to secure her safety. “What will happen if someone else finds out who I am?”

He gave no ready reply.

She shook her head sadly. “You see? You have not even considered the consequences to your daughter.”

“What consequences?” he demanded, his big body taking up so much of the space.

Good Lord, he was so beautiful in his perfectly tailored black coat and ruby cravat. He belonged in a perfect world, not one marred by her past. “If someone were to link Adriana Flint to your daughter, she would be ruined.”

“I think you overestimate—”

“Do I?” Fear had taken root in her heart. Fear of destroying those she loved. Her parents had not given a tinker’s damn for her welfare. She wouldn’t do the same thing to Alexander or Georgiana. If she loved them, she had to put them first.

“You fear things that haven’t and may never come to pass,” he soothed.

She gazed up at the man who had awakened her body and heart, wishing that life could be as beautiful as the Christmas he had given her. But life was cold, hard, and unforgiving. “Are you willing to take that chance? To risk the scandal of my fraudulent behavior?”

His own gaze shuttered, cutting off his thoughts.

“Even you see the danger of it,” she said. She took a step back from him. “I think I should go.”

Before she could say another word, he grabbed her to him, plastering her body to his, winding his hands in her hair. “I won’t let you go.”

“Why?” she demanded, her blood humming in her veins, begging her to take back all that she’d said.

His dark eyes searched her face. “Because I love you, Adriana Flint. You. The author. The girl who survived the streets. The governess who reached out to my daughter. And the woman who seduced my soul.”

Tears stung her eyes. Oh God. It wasn’t fair. Her duke loved her. She’d dreamt of this moment. She’d written it because she’d had to live it in some way, but she’d known it would never happen.

Now, his body was hot against hers. Real. His strength pouring into her. And she couldn’t have him. At least she had the courage to tell him the truth. “I love you, too, Alexander.”

Wonder lit his features. Pure, unadulterated wonder.

It killed her that she was going to take that from him. In her novels, perhaps she would have found a way for them to be together. But this wasn’t a novel. “And I still can’t stay.”

His fingers tightened their grip on her. “Why?”

“Because I refuse to hurt you…or Georgiana.” She had to cling to what was right. She had to protect them as she’d never been protected.

“And leaving doesn’t hurt me?”

“It will hurt for a while,” she said numbly.

“I never took you for a fool, my love,” he said.

She grabbed his hands and worked them away from her body. With each movement, with each separation, she lost a little bit of her soul. “I’d rather be a fool than see you destroyed.”

“I’ve lost then,” he whispered. “Or have I won?” A dry, broken laugh came from him. “This started with me tossing you out into the snow. Now you’re leaving.”

“Oh, Alexander.”

His face twisted. “I never thought winning would come at such a price.”

“I am sorry.” She blinked to keep the tears at bay. If she cried, he might never let her go, her fierce, honorable duke.

“Promise me you will do nothing rash. At least stay for tonight’s Twelfth Night revels?”

She nodded. “I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye to Georgiana.”

“You’re going to break our hearts,” he said, his arms now stiff at his sides.

She lifted her chin. Determined. “No, I’m going to save them.”