Page 65 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
Her heart fluttered again. He was gazing at her with such sweet ardor that she could barely stand it. Now that the passion was ebbing away, she felt oddly vulnerable. She didn’t quite know what to say to him at all.
Her eyelids were starting to droop. It was so very warm and cozy, lying on the floor in front of the fire with his arms around her, gazing into each other’s eyes.
I have lain with him. I am no longer a maiden. I still cannot quite believe it.
She shuddered. She had given herself to him… but he had also given himself to her. It had been mutual. She had felt the tenderness within him as well as the ferocity of his passion. It had been wild and fierce and tender, all at the same time.
She closed her eyes. She would just rest them for a moment. It had been a long, intense night. She burrowed deeper into his chest and rested a hand on it, feeling the hard contours and listening to his heartbeat before drifting off to sleep.
Catherine’s eyes fluttered open. She gazed around, completely dazed. She wasn’t on the floor in his study any longer—she waslying in her own bed. A single candle was burning brightly on the bedside table.
She glanced down. Her daring gown had been removed, along with her undergarments. She was stark naked beneath the thin white sheet.
She turned to the side and gasped. Thomas was lying beside her. And he was staring at her with such intensity that she could barely breathe.
“You are awake,” he whispered, his voice laced with amusement. “Come here.”
He reached for her and pulled her towards him. Catherine felt the long, hard line of his body against hers. He was completely naked as well. She could feel his hardness pressing insistently against her belly.
Her heart soared. He wanted her again. Her flesh tingled in response. She wanted him again as well. The desire shocked her with its ferocity. It was as powerful as ever, if not more.
She felt a little tender and sore between her legs as well as sticky and moist. Her sex throbbed as he started to kiss her neck, biting and nipping, his hands reaching around to clasp her derriere, squeezing it tightly. A stab of desire shot through her, and she clung to him.
He rolled her over in one seamless movement, so she was lying beneath him, and he gazed down at her. She reached up, caressing his face. He turned his head, kissing the palm of her hand intently. Catherine moaned, feeling as if she were melting, and she might actually dissolve into a puddle on the bed.
In one swift movement, he spread her legs with his knee and entered her. She cried out, clinging to him, her nails scratching his back. They started moving together in the same timeless rhythm, gazing into each other’s eyes.
The pleasure was building inside her again, slowly at first then with a ferocity that could not be contained. She dug her nails harder into his back. Thomas flinched, growling, biting her neck. They clung to each other, moving in unison back and forth. Catherine flung her head from side to side, almost unable to endure it.
When she climaxed, she cried out so loudly that the sound shocked her own ears.
Who was this wild, wanton woman lying on the bed, her limbs and body entwined with his, screaming his name? Where had she come from?
They hovered in the midst of heaven, clinging to one another, gazing into each other’s eyes, before finally letting go, falling to the bed.
Her heart was still racing, and she could barely breathe. She was sleepy again. So very sleepy.
Thomas pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear, “You are everything. I do not understand how I could have stayed away from you for so long…”
Catherine reached for his face, stroking it gently, too tired and replete to reply. She didn’t know what to say anyway. Words were beyond her at that moment.
She knew that tomorrow would be different. She knew he would probably be gone from her bed and distance himself from her again. But that was the future. They had this moment. They still had this night.
And for once, it was enough.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Oh, my Lord,” Catherine murmured, stretching luxuriously, her eyes fluttering open. “Whattime is it?”
She gazed at the ceiling. Something was different. Her body felt complete in a way that it had never felt before. And then, she remembered the night before. It all came flooding back into her mind—every caress, every impassioned kiss, the extreme pleasure that he had evoked within her, making her think she was flying into heaven itself.
And she was no longer a maiden.
Catherine gasped as she felt a stirring beside her. Her eyes flicked to the other side of the bed. She gasped again. He was still here! It was morning, and he had clearly slept beside her for the entire night.
She held her breath, staring at him. He was tangled in the white sheet, one muscular leg thrown out, hanging off the edge of the bed. His hard, firm chest was exposed. Her eyes feasted on it. She wanted to run her fingers along it, feeling those hard muscles, luxuriating in the feel of his skin.
Suddenly, his eyes opened, looking straight at her.
