Page 30 of The Heiress Gets a Duke
Her lips parted, and this time he heard her gasp. As he wove around the chairs separating them, she took a step back until she came up against the bookcase. The soft flames of the fire lit up the rose of her cheeks and the interest in her eyes. They had fallen to rest on his mouth, much as his own gaze was eating up the sight of her soft lips. It was amazing how the simple reminder of their kiss had changed them both so fast.
Dear God, to have her in bed beneath him would be one of the greatest accomplishments of his life.
“That is hardly... That is no reason...” Her gaze moved back and forth between his eyes and his mouth as he came to a stop in front of her. Near enough to touch, but he did not dare take that path yet. “Are we like horses to you, then? Choose the mare you would prefer to breed and we all simply go along with your choice?”
He managed to swallow down his laugh, even as her words made heat pulse in his veins. “That is not at all how I see this, and it is hardly fair to assume as much when I am willing to negotiate.”
“Not fair?” The softness that had crept into her eyes was burned away by a new wave of anger. “You have some nerve speaking to me about fair play. None of this is fair. You decide you need money and then decide to marry to get it. Now you’ve decided that I will be your convenient bride, no matter how I feel about it.”
This time he could not hide his laughter. “I assure you that you are anything but a convenient bride. You are the most stubborn and infuriating woman I have ever met. None of this up to now has been my decision.”
Amazingly, she seemed mollified by that, and her posture relaxed by the slimmest degree.
Capitalizing on the moment, he added, “Until you.”
“Me?”
“The debts are my father’s. The family honor rightfullybelonged to my dutiful brother. My mother is the one who chose Violet.” He took the final step to reach her, closing the distance between them. The heat of her body warmed him as the fire could not. “I would have one thing that is mine. I would choose my own wife. I choose you.”
“Why me?” Her voice was quiet.
“Because I have never met anyone like you. Because I want to know you. Because you challenge me. People in my world marry for much less. For money, land, a name. I want you for you, Miss Crenshaw. That is far more than most people get.”
It was as honest as he had ever been with anyone. Her wide eyes stared up into his, and for a moment he thought he saw mutual understanding. As much as he had never thought of marriage before, now that it was before him, he wanted to share it with her. To spend the rest of his life learning her.
“Those are fine words, Rothschild. The only problem is that you are only saying them because I am packaged with the funds you so desperately need.”
He would have given his eyeteeth in that moment to deny that was true. “Nonetheless, they are true words.”
“Be that as it may, I will not be a pawn manipulated for money. When I do marry, it will be with a man who respects me for me and whom I can respect for his mind.” She pushed past him, and he closed his eyes at the jolt of attraction that tore through him.
“Did you not hear me, Miss Crenshaw?” He turned to follow her progress toward the door. “I very much want you for your mind. You will challenge me in ways no other could.”
She paused and glanced at him over her shoulder. The corner of her mouth turned up in a coy and infinitely attractive smile. “Yes, I understand that. Did you not hear me, Rothschild? I said thatIrequire someone whomIcan respect for his mind.”
He stared at her, unable to decide if she had just called him unintelligent. He was aware that his mouth opened and closed several times, but he could not seem to stop it as hesearched for the right words. No one had made him speechless before.
Taking advantage, she came back to stand before him. “You were right about one thing, though.” Her blush covered her entire face now, and she glanced down once before steeling herself to meet his gaze. “We are very good with kissing, and I would very much like to do it again.”
The sentence rattled around his head, trying and failing to coalesce into a coherent thought. Every time it tried to make sense, he would rearrange it again, unable to believe that she had said what he thought she said.
“To do what?” he finally asked, rather daftly, which rankled after her previous statement. “You want me to kiss you?”
If it were possible, her face became redder, but she stood her ground. Somewhere in the periphery of his vision, he became aware of her hands fisting the fabric of her skirts in nervous anticipation. She rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Why?” Was he really belaboring this? It was foolish and it was merely his ego needing to be assuaged, but he wanted to hear her reason.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said on a breath. “Kiss me.” She took hold of his head, her fingers tightening in his hair as she pulled him toward her. Her breath was warm with the faint scent of champagne when he covered her lips with his. It was a soft press of their mouths, hardly enough to be a proper kiss, but he could feel her trembling. He drew back enough to see her long lashes fall against her cheeks as she closed her eyes, and her lips parted in silent invitation for more.
It was an invitation he was powerless to resist. His mouth covered hers, this time molding to her lips with relish as his hands swept down her back to draw her to him. Her smaller frame fit against him perfectly. She made a soft mew of pleasure in the back of her throat and kissed him back. The soft and wet heat of her tongue answered the stroke of his, lighting a fire of need within him so strong that it raged out of control before he realized it was even there. Fierce desire swept down his spine, tightening hisgroin and settling low in the pit of his stomach. His mouth took everything she offered. Seconds, minutes, hours might have passed as he savored the sweetness of her mouth.
Drawing back to take a breath, she whispered breathlessly, “We should stop.” Her gaze was drunk with need as it met his, and her lips were slightly swollen and wet from the kiss.
“Why?”
A crease formed between her brows, and her eyes darted down to his mouth. Slowly, he leaned down, closing the distance between them as he took her lips again. Another soft groan vibrated in the air between them. This time she pressed herself more tightly along his front. Even through the layers of her skirt, he was quite certain she must feel how much he wanted her.
Overcome with the need to feel more of her, he lifted her against him enough to walk her backward to the bookcase by the door. Kissing her felt lush and extravagant. Her mouth was hot and wicked, demanding and indulgent. She was obviously inexperienced but eager to learn from him. When his teeth scraped against her bottom lip, she sighed in pleasure and then did the same to him. When he sucked at her tongue, she returned the favor, making his cock throb with the echo of what it must feel like to be inside her.
