Page 45 of Five Ways to Bed a Duke

“Richard, you?—”

“Humor me, Cathy,” he murmured, nipping her ear. “I want to know if you’ve pictured him kissing you. Will you grip his hair the way you did mine?”

“Don’t bring it up, Richard,” she warned.

Catherine put her hand on his chest and tried to push him back. She was already struggling to breathe in his proximity.

“Why? Are you bothered by the thought of Livingston kissing you? Or is something else bothering you?”

“Richard, please,” she begged, her resolve faltering.

“Answer the question, Cathy.” He nipped her ear again. “Do you want Livingston to kiss you?”

She groaned and did the last thing she’d ever thought possible. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

Her eyes popped open as shock filled her. What the bloody hell had she just done?

Chapter Fourteen

If Richard was shocked, he didn’t show it. He pulled her harder against his body and groaned against her mouth as he took her lips in a punishing kiss.

“Richard,” Catherine moaned in the brief moment he kissed her neck.

He palmed her buttocks and lifted her against his frame, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. He growled approvingly and then captured her lips again, pushing away the papers on his desk to lay her on it.

She buried her fingers in his hair, groaning at how soft it was, and pulled him even closer, as if she wasn’t already pressed so close to him.

“Catherine,” he moaned against her neck as his hands went to the laces at the back of her dress.

She gasped when her dress loosened and he pulled the neckline down to bare her breasts to him. She’d never been so exposed, so she moved to cover herself.

“No,” he warned. “Remove your hands and let me see you.”

She obeyed, leaning back on her hands. His eyes darkened as he took her in, emboldening her to arch her back and pushing her breasts forward.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, stepping closer to her and palming one breast. “It should be a crime to cover such perfection.”

She blushed as his eyes caressed her body, leaving a hot trail everywhere they landed.

“So you do blush as beautifully everywhere.” He chuckled darkly.

He leaned forward, kissing her collarbone, her neck, nipping gently that spot where her neck met her shoulder and then kissing up to her ear, nipping and licking while his hands kneaded her breasts.

A moan escaped her lips, and he put a hand over her mouth. At the crazed look in his eyes, she felt a moist heat pool between her legs, and her body begged for something she didn’t understand.

“You have to be a little more quiet, darling,” he warned. “I don’t want anyone interrupting us before we even get started. Alright?”

She nodded with his hand still over her mouth.

“Good girl,” he purred, patting her head.

He kissed her again, nipping her lip then moving back to her ear and down towards her neck as he gently pushed her down onto the desk.

When his mouth closed over one nipple, she could barely keep herself from flying off the desk. As if he’d been expecting her reaction, his other hand simply held her down by her hips, not easing up as he sucked and nipped and palmed her breast.

She’d never felt such a sharp stab of pleasure in her life, and for a brief moment, she knew that once this door had been opened by Richard, every other man would pale in comparison.

Was this how it was going to be?

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