Page 26 of Wedded to the Forbidden Duke
“This is indeed a marriage of convenience, my lady,” he said, his voice an intoxicating rasp. “I will leave you alone for as long as you wish me to. But in the night, when your thoughts wander to thoughts of me, know that I could take you to the heights of pleasure and make you scream my name.”
“You are an immodest scoundrel,” she said, though she found herself unable to infuse the words with the usual amount of bite.
He laughed. “You say that as though you are surprised,” he replied playfully. “You have done nothing since we met but accuse me of being a scoundrel.”
“And worse,” she countered.
“Really? I should like to hear what worse,” he said, eyes alight with interest.
“A rascal,” she said. “Libertine, immoral. And a rake, of course,” she said.
“You know,” he said, “I have never understood what is meant to be so immoral about being a rake.”
She laughed. “You cannot be serious,” she said.
“I am incredibly serious. What could be immoral about the pursuit of pleasure?” he asked.
“It is selfish, for one,” she countered.
He smirked. “Perhaps that is your assumption,” he said. “But I assure you, my lady—I pay a very great deal of attention to the desires of the women I am with. I have never had a woman in my bed who had not first begged to be there; and I have never had a woman leave my bed anything but satisfied. I should think they were all quite grateful, for all the experience I had gained.”
“You do not know that,” she said, though her voice faltered. “They could have lied.”
He took a step in. “It is very easy to lay with one’s words, my lady,” he began, his voice turning rougher with desire. “It is much harder—impossible, even—to lie with one’s body.”
Her eyes dropped down once more to his lips. “Is that so?” she asked. Her voice was nearly a whisper.
“Yes.” He nodded. “For example, if I were to be standing face to face with a lady, and I noticed her breath hitched every time I stepped in closer, or her cheeks and chest went a mostdelicious red any time I said something immodest, or I noticed her looking at my lips for an unseemly length of time—then, I would feel quite confident in saying that the lady in question wanted me to kiss her.” He tilted his head, pinning her with that intoxicating gaze. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
For once, Cecilia seemed to have no verbal response. Instead, she nodded, and angled her head upwards.
Ian took the invitation, leaning down to meet her lips with his.
When they kissed, she felt a burst of flame erupt inside of her, deep and burning. He pressed her against the wall, pinning her there with the length of his body against hers. Even through the fabric of their clothes between them, it only stoked the fire more to feel him so close. She pressed back against him hungrily.
Her lips parted, and his tongue entered her mouth, brushing against hers in a way that made her weak at the knees. Her hands roamed his chest, his shoulders, drinking in the feel of him. His hands similarly dragged across her body, sending sparks of pleasure up everywhere they traveled.
Ian began kissing her neck. She moaned at the feeling of his mouth, hot against her skin. One of his large, strong hands slid up to cup her breast. She could not help but arch her back, pressing herself further into his touch.
At the sound of the door opening, they broke apart.
Their butler, Barnaby, entered the room. “Apologies for the interruption, Your Grace. I am here to fetch Mr. Ainsworth’s pipe for him. It appears he forgot it at the table after dinner.”
There was a long pause. “Yes, of course, Barnaby,” Ian finally said, avoiding eye contact with the butler and Cecilia alike. “You will find it just over there. Thank you.”
“Of course, sir.”
After grabbing the pipe, Barnaby left the room.
Cecilia and Ian looked at each other for a long moment. The fire in his eyes mirrored the longing that burned deep within her. It was wonderful.
It was…terrifying.
Cecilia rushed out of the room.
Once safely in her own room with the door shut behind her, she collapsed against the door, her eyes shut and her chest still heaving. She pressed a hand to her chest and tried to steady her breathing. But it was almost impossible to hold back the memories of Ian’s mouth and hands on her.
What more would she have let him do if the butler had not come into the room?
