Page 36 of Dukes Do It Better
Lordy, it was glorious. Instead of hurrying, he savored. The man actually slowed, going impossibly deeper, pressing the base of his sex against her, until that heat built again. Again? A shaking took over her inner thighs, and her body answered in the affirmative. Again.
With a relentless, steady pace, Mal pressed close, thrust deep, and carried her to bliss one more time before crying out against her neck and sinking his teeth into her shoulder. The light sting of his love bite made her clench around him and he answered with a moan.
“Holy shi—” he cut himself off with a groan as he rolled his weight to the side.
Breathless, she laughed. “Agreed.” Emma turned her head to study the dark sweep of his lashes against his ruddy cheeks. That talented mouth of his hung open, gasping for air, while a relaxed bliss softened his face. As if he’d poured out his tension, his worries, and the cares of the world. Earlier, on the stairs, the power to lure him to bed had been a heady thing, but this? The ability to bestow peace was beautiful.
“I’ll need a moment before I can walk,” he said, a smile tipping up one corner of his lips.
Emma rolled to curl against him, letting their feet tangle together. “My legs probably wouldn’t support me either.” She traced the line drawing of a ship across his chest, then followed the inked ocean waves to his shoulder and down his biceps to where they turned into a twirling forest of seaweed and sea creatures. The ink was simple in some areas, more intricate in others. Some of the tattoos were more faded.
“That was from when I made captain and took command.” He pointed to the ship on his right pectoral muscle, about three inches long, with tall sails open to catch curlicues of wind.
“And the sea monster under it?”
“Kraken. Always ready to take you under. To remind me to respect the sea; I’m never truly in control out there.”
That inherent humility was so appealing. Having seen more than one naval officer strut down Bond Street as if he owned the place, it wasn’t hard to admit she preferred Mal’s perspective.
The narwhal swam up the inside of one forearm, and a mermaid holding a pearl in her tiny outstretched palm resided on the other.
“The narwhal is my favorite. To think, such a thing swims the seas. It’s marvelous. Alton will be thrilled when I tell him.”
Mal raised a brow.
“Not about you having one on your body, silly man. Maybe I can find an illustration somewhere, since I know what I’m looking for. He is bound to love the idea of a unicorn whale.”
A lazy stroke of his fingertips along her spine nearly made her purr. “Mmm, feels good.” Emma sighed, content. The lax relief of her muscles threatened to turn into sleep, and she forced her eyes open.
“Will you tell me about your day?” Mal asked.
A sigh escaped, followed by a yawn. “The boys are recovered from their fish debacle, I’m happy to report.”
“Was it awful? Because it sounded awful.”
“Mmmmm.” His rough fingertips brushed a patch of skin on her shoulder and she shifted, silently asking him to linger there. “The truly horrific part happened while we were at the ball. By the time I got home, it was all over but for the snuggling. I didn’t sleep well, between worry over the boys, the hard cot, and then some bad dreams.”
“Will your brother arrive in the morning and challenge me to a duel over your honor, by chance?” He dropped a kiss on her shoulder, then flopped his head back on the pillow beside hers. “Not that I’d mind the chance to shoot him. I just want to plan my day.”
Emma snorted a laugh against his chest. “He’d choose swords, not pistols. You can clear that worry from your schedule though, because he knows I’m here.”
Mal jerked and stared at her. “You told him?”
Muscles tightened across his chest, and Emma couldn’t help soothing away the tension with her hand. “I won’t lie to my family. Lucky for us, his attention is focused on a situation with investors and a friend’s brewery.” In the end, Cal had returned cautiously triumphant from the meeting, having convinced the investor of the moral fortitude of Lord and Lady Amesbury. The damned blackmailer still had his money, though, so she had to wonder how much of a win it could be. “How about you? How did you while away the hours until I arrived?”
He shifted, then rolled to face her. “I dealt with my mother.”
Emma settled, tucking her hands between the pillow and her cheek. “You mentioned her, but I’ve heard from others she’s—”
“A dragon. She’s a dragon with a coronet. And she’s keeping me on land so I can marry someone especially fertile and sire strapping boys to carry on the Trenton title.”
Emma stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
He sighed, closing his eyes. “I know. It’s ludicrous. But the Admiralty is on her side for now. My ship is dry-docked for maintenance, but my window to get back in command of the Athena is closing. I hate to think of it, but I might lose her altogether.”
“You really love your ship,” she said, aware of a slight pang of jealousy over the way he spoke of the ship as if it were another woman.
Mal was silent for a moment, but not distant by any means. The weight of his gaze on her face might have been unsettling if not for him tracing the line of her eyebrows and then cheekbone with one fingertip. “My crew has become family. More than my blood kin have been over the years.”
