Page 8 of Three Nights with the Beastly Duke

Lavinia looked startled, and for a moment, Arthur thought he had her. But then, a look of determination came over her, and she nodded.

“Very well, then,” she whispered, letting her body lean closer to him.

Arthur had intended the kiss to be quick, but as he felt her plump lips press to his, he felt something long asleep inside of him awaken. Lavinia’s breath quickened, and she brushed her lips against his again, as if she, too, wanted more.

Suddenly, his hands were on her waist, pulling her closer, and as he did so, Lavinia’s arms encircled his neck, and they drew into one another.

Her frame, tall and proud, suddenly softened against him, and a soft moan escaped her lips as he slowly traced his tongue across her bottom lip. He had meant for the kiss to be a punishment for her, to show her how awful he could be. But instead, he only discovered that he was now torturing himself.

Pulling away before he could fall even deeper into the pleasure of the kiss, Arthur felt shaky and strange as he walked silently toward the door. It was only when his hand was braced on the knob that he looked back at her, and nearly groaned. Her beautiful, pale cheeks were now bright pink, and her lips, swollen and glistening from his kiss, looked more tempting than ever.

“I accept your proposal, Miss Dennis,” Arthur announced, trying to get a grip on himself. “I will see you soon.”

Without another word, he opened the door and left before he gave in to any more of his body’s urges.

CHAPTERFOUR

“Where are you going?” Marianne asked, stopping her son in the hallway.

Arthur winced. He had been hoping to sneak out without his mother noticing. She’d been battering him with questions he couldn’t answer regarding the ball three days ago, and he was in no mood to try and explain the actual events of the evening.

“I have dinner plans with some newly made acquaintances,” he replied stiffly, pulling on the jacket his valet handed him.

“Ah! Would any of these ‘new acquaintances’ be your fiancée, by chance?” his mother asked, hope coursing through her tone. “I noticed you have not left the house to call on anyone.”

“She will be there,” Arthur admitted. But in truth, that was not why he was going to the dinner at all.

As promised, he would have three events with Lavinia, and this was to be the first. They had written one another discreetly and had agreed it was feasible. Rebecca was still averse to spending time with him anyway, and he was curious as to where this new deal would take him.

He hadn’t expected his body to react as strongly as it had to his kiss with Lavinia. He had meant to intimidate her into admitting that she thought he was just as horrid as everyone else thought him to be. But instead, it had shaken him to his very core.

Arthur had stayed faithful to his former fiancée when he had been off at war, but before that, before he had mether,he had been a different kind of man. A man who had had a voracious appetite for the sexual arts. He’d had cravings in his last ten years of celibacy. It was only natural for a human. But his pain from losing Grace had kept him from actually satisfying those hunger pangs.

Then, the other night, when he had felt Lavinia’s lips graze his, he had remembered. He had remembered how much he enjoyed being touched. How much he enjoyed touching a woman. An other-worldly beautiful woman, at that. And an ache had started within him.

Rebecca’s looks had startled him at first. He had expected her to have dark features similar to Lavinia’s, but instead of having the presence of the moon, Rebecca had the presence of the sun. Copper-haired and pink and soft—a perfect representation of spring. Any man would have felt blessed to be engaged to such a pure creature, but instead, Arthur had felt a stir of disappointment. He belonged to the dark. To the night. Where it was harder to see his face.

“Wait a moment,” his mother insisted, interrupting his thoughts. “I am decently dressed. Allow me to fetch my gloves, and I shall join you.”

“Mother, please,” Arthur pleaded, growing annoyed as he turned to look at her. “I am well aware of what it is I must do, and I am doing it against my own wishes, just as you asked. But I implore you, do not join me in my outings. Let me be a man of my own when I can.”

Marianne’s eyes glistened with hurt for a mere moment, then she righted herself and nodded, a small smile drawing across her face.

“You are right, of course. I have an invitation from Lady Berges for a Ladies’ Evening, anyway,” she replied resignedly. Her eyebrows then furrowed as she gave him a pitying smile and reached for his hand.

“I know this is difficult for you, darling,” she said patiently. “But one day, you will feel better about this. When your children come, you will understand what all this was for. They have a way of changing your point of view, children do. It is more than just a duty to fulfill. I know you don’t see that now, but one day, you will.”

Arthur let out a steadying breath as he took in his mother’s words and nodded. “Apologies for my outburst, Mother. You are right, of course. Forgive me for my shortsightedness.”

“No apologies needed, darling,” his mother assured him quickly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Now, off you go. Have a wonderful time.”

* * *

Lavinia searched the parlor of Brighton Estate once more, wondering if Arthur was truly going to keep his end of the deal. She was thankful he had accepted her offer, but the demand for a kiss had thrown her off greatly. What had been more peculiar, though, was how much her body had craved it ever since.

She had never been drawn to kissing a man before. Not like that, anyway. Timothy had kissed her cheek once when they had been children, but that had only felt like a brush of air. But Arthur’s kiss had not felt that way at all. Even though it had been surprisingly tender, it had forced a fire to sweep through every vein in her body, making her tingle and leaving her deliciously dizzy.

She was not pleased with the way he had demanded it or that he had been so brash with such a request, but she could not deny that she had liked it. Very,verymuch.

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