Page 63 of Claimed By Her Forbidden Duke
“You come apart beneath my hands so beautifully, how could I not ruin you?”
His words, murmured against her lips, had her back arching as pleasure washed over her. His palm grazed a place just outside of her heat, a place that had her gasping, her knees buckling. But he held her tighter, caught her, and if not for that, she would have collapsed completely.
The pressure building was a thing she knew, but it had never felt so intense before, and she half feared how it might overwhelm her. But she held on to Edmund, her gaze on his, and she felt utterly safe. Ruined but safe.
“Edmund, I—” She broke off, embarrassed to confess she was nearing her peak already.
But he knew. Of course, he knew. He was always able to read her.
“Give in to it, Penelope,” he told her. He sounded desperate, perhaps as much as her, as if he craved to see her come apart as much as she wished to. “Reach your peak.”
And with several more thrusts of his fingers, and a hard, searing kiss, she reached her climax with a cry that he swallowed. His tongue swept into her mouth as if he could lick her moans, and they both shuddered.
Heat washed over Penelope as her walls rippled, and she gasped, shuddering through the pleasure he wrung from her. And Edmund continued pleasuring her through it all. His fingers didn’t let up, not until she was shivering, sensitive yet still yearning. Satisfied but greedy.
Slowly, Edmund pulled his fingers out of her and, with his other hand, reached up to stroke her cheek. “This blush of yours… it is ever so pretty.”
Penelope’s heart raced, blinking in a trance. How he could go from being vulgar to being tender was beyond her, and yet she ached for both.
“I…” she murmured, trying to recover her senses. “May I—” She cleared her throat, looking down at where Edmund’s prominent arousal was visible through his black breeches. “May I touch you?”
His eyes darkened, and a curse—something that sounded so much filthier than any of the lewd things he had said to her—escaped him as he went to unfasten his breeches as if his desire drove him to a desperate need. As if he fought that need but her question had made him snap.
How much resolve did he have, and how long had he harbored it?
But before he could reveal any of himself to her, a knock sounded at the door, making Penelope freeze. Edmund reacted in the same way, tensing beneath her hands.
For a second, all she could do was stare at him in horror. She had been so wrapped up in pleasure that she had not considered being caught, not really.
Heavens, her brother was merely down the hallway. Her friends—the entire ton.
“Edmund,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
Her reputation was tarnished enough; it had been reckless to completely drive it into a grave, for that would surely happen. All it took was one entitled person to open the door without waiting for a response and?—
“Edmund, are you in here?”
Edmund released a harsh breath and another curse. He drew back from Penelope, heat still simmering in his gaze. He helped her gently find her feet, and though her heart still raced, she felt calmer knowing that he recognized who knocked.
“It is my cousin,” he whispered. Then, louder, he commanded, “A minute, Benjamin.”
His hands were light, brushing over her legs to adjust her dress. Penelope blushed as she somehow felt more embarrassed by her clothing being fixed than anything else.
“But what about you?—”
Edmund cut off her question. “Another time.”
The curve of his smirk held a promise that stole her breath away as he moved towards the balcony of the library, pushing open the doors so she could easily flee.
“Besides, I have resisted enough of this over you.” He gestured downwards, laughter in his smile despite the fear of getting caught. “One more time is nothing.”
Penelope didn’t quite know what to do with that information, but she didn’t get the chance regardless, for he ushered her through the balcony doors.
“I will make sure that nothing of this comes back to you,” he promised, meeting her gaze. “I promise this will not ruin you.”
I fear I already am ruined. Not by the ton, but by how you touched me.
Penelope nodded, and Edmund jolted at another knock.
