The Decadent Duke (43 page)

“No, it was your beauty and your charm that captivated him. There isn't a doubt in the world that he'll make room for Francis at Trinity College, even if he has to turf out another applicant.”

“I controlled my inappropriate impulses to make a good impression,” she confessed.

“What were you tempted to do?”

“I wanted to hike up my skirts and go wading in the River Cam.”

“You're in luck. Part of the river runs through our property.” John pictured her naked in the water. “Perhaps I'll join you.”

"“Whatever would your tenants think of us cavorting like ...”

“Newlyweds?” He grinned. “The part I was thinkingof is quite secluded, if I remember. Perfect for a moonlight swim.”

The manor house on the estate was lovely. Its mellow walls reminded Georgina of the ancient university buildings. As she had done at Woburn, the new duchess charmed the staff, and they were eager to do her bidding. She selected a young maid to help her unpack, and with a few shrewd questions she learned that it was a smoothly run, happy household. The master bedchamber was not as magnificent as the one at Woburn, but it did have a fireplace and a large comfortable bed.

John went out immediately with the head steward, and didn't return until dinner. This gave Georgina plenty of time to tour the house, visit the kitchens, and then take a leisurely bath.

After dinner, the duke went directly to the desk in the library to go over the estate account books. Georgina went with him, selected a book, and made herself comfortable in a leather chair. Though she was reading, she was acutely aware of her husband's compelling presence. She noticed that his attention continually strayed from his accounts to watch her. She finally realized that John found it difficult to concentrate while she was in the room and decided to quietly withdraw so he could focus on his task and get it finished before midnight.

Upstairs, she undressed and got into bed to continue reading. Before she got to the end of the page, John arrived. Her pulse beat wildly. She hadn't expected him for hours. “Are you finished checking the accounts?”

“Nowhere near finished—I was distracted.” He removed his coat.

She smiled. “I could tell. That's why I left the library.”

“That only made matters worse.” He unfastened his neckcloth.

“How so?”

“The thought of you in bed stole my senses, and I was consumed by fear.” He took off his shirt and bent to remove his boots.

“Fear?”

“Terrified that you'd fall asleep before I had my way with you.” He plucked the book from her hands and tossed it onto the table. He disrobed quickly and turned out the lamp. The room was cast in dark shadows, relieved only by the flickering firelight.

Georgina was thrilled that he could not keep away from her until a disturbing thought stole to her.
He turned the light out again so he can't see me. In the darkness does he pretend that he's making love to Elizabeth?

As John's arms came around her, she stiffened.

His lips brushed her temple. “It shouldn't hurt as much tonight. I'll try to be gentle.”

After the first kiss, her resistance melted away, and she exulted in the feel of his hard, powerful body. She couldn't bear the flimsiest barrier separating her from his hot, naked flesh, and her eager hands helped his to remove her nightgown. The rough slide of his tongue as it feathered over her breasts heightened her desire, and when he licked and tasted her nipples, she cried out at the tantalizing sensations his tongue aroused. “Your mouth is
wicked
,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Do you
like
wicked, Georgy?”

“Like
is too timid a word to describe what I feel.” John smiled into the darkness, hoping she would not resist the sensual foreplay he longed to perform. He drew down the covers and pressed kisses on her belly. With his tongue he traced a circle around her navel, and when she clutched his shoulders and drew in a shuddering breath, he knew she was becoming highly aroused. He blew on the dark tendrils that covered her mons, and when she arched with pleasure, he ran the tip of his tongue along her hot cleft. Then he plunged into her honeypot and groaned.

Georgina was shocked, but at the same time thrilled. It felt like forbidden pleasure, but if so, it shouldn't be. The hot, sliding thrusts evoked dark, erotic sensations that were more exquisite than anything she'd ever experienced. John's lips and tongue worked their magic and awoke a sensual hunger that compelled her to be splendidly uninhibited as she writhed and arched up into his possessive, demanding mouth. She felt the flames rise, and with a blissful cry she reached her peak and dissolved in long, hot shudders.

John moved up over her and kissed her deeply. She tasted herself on his lips, and the intimacy of what he'd done to her melted her very bones. She felt the rippling muscles of his chest press against her breasts and realized with wonder that she was becoming aroused again. As he slid his tongue into her mouth, and began to thrust, she opened her thighs, tempting, luring, and commanding his marble-hard cock to work its magic.

John could not believe the generous response of his young, beautiful wife. She was a voluptuous woman, and he believed that soon she would fulfill his craving for a mate whose passion matched his own. He rose and sank into her forcefully, thrusting deeply, powerfully, penetrating her over and over, withdrawing almost completely, then smoothly sinking his hard length until he was gloved in hot velvet. Buried deep inside her he could feel the throbbing of his cock and her sheath as the rhythmic penetration filled her and thrilled her until they were both reeling from the surging wave of passion that engulfed them. His promise to be gentle was long forgotten by both.

Georgina felt a scream building in her throat. She thrashed her head from side to side on the pillow; then unable to control her fervor, she sank her teeth into his flesh and bit his shoulder.

In spite of his longing to make their pleasure last forever, her passionate bite catapulted him over the edge, and he surged like a tidal wave, pouring himself into her.

Georgina's body instantly responded, and she surrendered her will to his body's commands. As her climax exploded, a thousand slivers of silver spiraled through her belly, spread up into her breasts, then pierced her heart. As she lay motionless, clasped in his arms, she felt triumphant. It didn't matter that for John it was lust, pure and simple. That was more than enough for now. But for her, it was all-encompassing love, and she reveled in it.

John knew he had lost control, and hoped Georgina would not conceive. There were several reasons why he preferred not to impregnate her so early in their marriage. Apart from the fact that he already had three sons and was in no hurry to add to his family, he considered Georgina too young to be a mother. He could not dispel the underlying fear that childbirth would affect her mentally and emotionally, as it had Elizabeth.
Georgy is so deliciously tempting. I must use more control and learn to withdraw.

 
The next morning after breakfast, Georgina accompanied John and the head steward as they visited all the tenant farms on the Cambridgeshire estate. Dressed in her comfortable country clothes, she conversed with the farmers' wives and their rosy-cheeked children. She saw with her own eyes that they were thriving, and was glad that they were flourishing. Compared with the poor Highland families on the vast Gordon landholdings, John's people were prosperous.

Later, over lunch, John discussed with her his plans, to add to the livestock on the larger farms.

“It was so good to see the children laughing. Your people seem quite happy and content, John.”

“They are not
my
people; they are
our
people,” he insisted.

“With all my worldly goods I thee endow,” she said lightly.

“I intend to fulfill my wedding vows.”

She gave him a saucy glance.
Especially the part about honoring me with your body.
Georgina sighed wistfully.
How long will it take to fulfill your solemn vow to love me?

“I ordered a couple of horses saddled. This afternoon we'll ride out over all our acres.”

Side by side, they cantered past fields of ripening grain and sun-dappled hay fields ready to be scythed. They saw pastures filled with dairy cows, while others had sheep grazing on the hills. There were copses filled with beech trees and woods where rabbits and game birds flourished. They followed the river through the trees, and by the time they came to a secluded clearing, rain clouds had gathered. John looked at the sky ruefully. “I wanted to bring you here for that moonlight swim tonight, but it doesn't look like the weather will cooperate.” Just then raindrops hit them. “We can outride it if we hurry.”

Georgina lifted her face to the rain. “Why wait till tonight? I'm not afraid to get wet!” Laughing, she slid down from her horse and began to throw off her clothes.

John sat stunned. Was she actually going to swim nude in broad daylight? He watched her dance naked as the summer rain drenched her gleaming flesh. His heart began to fill with joy.
This is the vivacious, impulsive, laughing mate I've always longed for.
He jumped from the saddle and quickly removed his wet clothes. Then he made a dive for her.

She nimbly eluded him, and ran toward the river.

“Wait for me,” he ordered.

“Go to the devil, old man!” She jumped in and swam toward the opposite riverbank. Before she got there, she felt a tug on her leg and gasped as John pulled her under. They bobbed up to the surface, laughing and splashing. Suddenly the scudding rain clouds were swept away, and the sun came out, turning the surface of the water to shimmering gold. He captured her in his arms and lifted her high against his heart. She slid her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs about his hips. John placed his hands firmly beneath her round bottom and carried her from the water.

She bit his ear and whispered, “A guinea says you're going to have your wicked way with me.”

“That's one bet I'm happy to lose, Mistress Impulsive.” He sank down to his knees, then rolled with her until he had her pinned beneath him in the wet grass. When he captured her soft, warm mouth, it tasted of delicious laughter and sensual anticipation, just as it had in his dreams. It was heady intoxication to know that she wanted him as much as he desired making love to her. The reaction her eagerness stirred in him was a potent spur to possess her body and soul and lure her to surrender her essence to him.

After they made love, Georgina felt exultant as they lay sprawled, slick with rain.
It's broad daylight. This time John could not possibly pretend I was Elizabeth.

John, too, was elated.
Georgina is bubbling with happiness. Her vivacity and mischievousness have returned. Her sadness over losing Francis is far less acute—marriage has diminished her sorrow. And mine, thank God!

When they decided to get dressed, they discovered their clothes were still wet. John laughed as she grimaced and shuddered at the feel of the soaked garments against her delicate skin. He lifted her into the saddle; then the pair of them made a mad dash back to the stables.

The moment they reached their bedchamber they began to disrobe. When Georgina reached for a towel, he plucked it from her fingers. The thought of rubbing her dry sent fire snaking through his groin. “Let me do that.” He knew his need for this beautiful female was insatiable. He'd been starved so long, he could not keep his hands from her. The miracle was that Georgina welcomed him eagerly, lavishly, which in turn inflamed him as nothing else ever had.

“Playing in the afternoon has untold rewards,” she teased. “I've been longing to see you naked in sunlight, so I can explore every inch of your splendid male body.” She reached out and stroked a fingertip down the length of his upthrust cock, and laughed with delight when it began to buck. Suddenly, she was tempted to taste it, and since she usually followed her impulses, she slid to her knees and dropped a kiss on its impudent head.

John almost came out of his skin. He threaded his fingers into her hair and arched against her teasing lips. She grasped his shaft firmly with one hand and ran the tip of her tongue around the head of his cock, then sucked it into her mouth like a ripe plum. The hot, wet slide of her tongue aroused him to madness. With an iron will he fought the urge to push her to the floor and impale her. Instead, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. For the next hour he unleashed the fierce desire that had been riding him for months.

After dinner, John went to the library to finish the accounts. Each time his thoughts strayed to Georgina, he forced them back to the business of the estate. When he was done, and everything tallied to his satisfaction, he took the stairs two at a time. By the time he got to the bed, he had removed most of his clothes.

John looked down at Georgina and realized she was sound asleep. His mouth curved tenderly as he gazed down at his beautiful wife. He lifted a dark curl from the pillow and marveled at its silken texture. He knew he was the luckiest man alive. “I love you, little girl.”

 
While Georgina familiarized herself with the staff at Northampton, another vast Russell estate, John went out with the head steward. The next day, she and John rode out over the acres and stopped to visit each tenant farm. While John conversed with the workers, Georgina spoke with their wives. She sensed that there was an undercurrent and encouraged a couple of the farmers' wives to voice any grievances they were harboring.

She gained their confidence, and that night at dinner she divulged everything to John. “The head steward has been coercing some of the younger wives for sex. When one of the farmers challenged him, he turned the family off the land.”