Page 41 of Wedded to the Forbidden Duke
Cecilia’s breath caught in her throat.
“Truly?” she asked.
He nodded. “I wanted you long before you walked down the aisle.”
“Oh,” she said. She could not think of anything to say that would properly capture the sense of overwhelming relief—and overwhelming desire, to know that the man she so burned for also burned for her, in return.
He cleared his throat. “But you were the sister of my best friend, of course. So I tried to push down whatever feelings I may have had, in order to preserve the friendship. But from the very first moment I saw you, Cecilia…” He shook his head. “I had thoughts about you that one might say a man should only have about his wife.”
“Not you.” He looked up at her, surprised, only to see a playful spark back in her eyes. “Rake that you are,” she teased.
He laughed. “Were,” he corrected. “I am an honest man, now. Just ask the bishop.”
As they stared at each other, the tension built between them, until Cecilia longed to close the distance, longed for him to undress her and press his body against her and pleasure her in every way he had a few nights before.
Thinking of that night, she bit her lip. Would it be untoward to ask what was on her mind?
And yet—she had planned this night so that they could be honest with each other. What was the point, if she felt she had to censor her questions around him?
“Why did you leave?” she finally asked. “The other day. After…” She trailed off.
Ian dipped his head to catch her gaze, smirking mischievously. “After what?”
She flushed. “After we spent the evening together,” she finally said. “You left so suddenly. Was it something I did wrong?”
“No,” he said, “shaking his head emphatically. “Not at all. You were perfect. I just had some business to attend to, and did not wish to disturb you.”
Yes.” She nodded, though the answer did not fully satisfy her. “Yes, of course.”
“And…” He sighed. “I was worried you may have regrets,” he admitted. “About the night we spent. I know we agreed at first that we would only have a marriage in name alone. No physical interactions. I did not wish for you to feel taken advantage of.”
“Not at all!” she protested. “I…” She bit her bottom lip. “I felt the same way about you,” she confessed. “That you felt about me. Since the first moment we met, I wanted you, in ways I did not even fully understand at the time. I never imagined I could feel that sort of…heat, before.”
“So,” he said finally, breaking the silence and the tension. “It seems we both were fools, to have such desires and avoid acting on them for so long. Pretending, all this time.”
“Yes.” She looked at him again. “But I suppose we do not need to pretend anymore, do we?”
He met her gaze. That irrepressible smirk began to curl up at the corner of his lips, rendering him even more deliciously handsome than before. “No,” he replied. “I suppose we do not. After all, you are my wife.”
“You are my husband,” she agreed.
“And since you have just confessed to wishing I would ravish you since the moment we met…”
That got a giggle out of her. “I said no such thing!” she protested through her laughter. “Merely that I found your appearance…pleasing.”
“Perhaps that is all you said,” he replied, drawing closer to her. “But it is not all you felt.”
“Oh?” she asked. Her entire body heated at the proximity to him. “And are you a fortune teller, now, that can read my mind?”
“Not your mind, Cecilia. Only your body.”
She smiled. “What, pray tell, is it that you think you can read in my body?”
Ian leaned in closer, closing the distance between them. “The way your cheeks flush deliciously, like so.” He cupped her face, running a thumb over her cheek. “The way your chest heaves whenever we are close.” His other hand came around her waist, pulling her in closer. “And the look you give me. The way your lips part, red and beckoning, as though you are asking me to kiss you.”
“I am asking you to kiss me,” she replied, a bit breathless already.
“I should like to do much more than kiss,” he said lowly, the heat in his eyes letting her know that he meant every word. “Much, much more.” His eyes flickered down to her lips. “But I do wish to…be certain again, that you will not feel…”
