Page 81 of Claimed By Her Forbidden Duke
“Edmund,” she whispered.
Those eyes opened, gray steel piercing through her. His pupils were dilated, and all she saw in them was pure, unhinged desire. Not for the first time, she wondered how often and for how long he had thought of her—wantedher—like this.
“Please move.”
He blinked away the vulnerable arousal, the way he looked as though he had finally quenched a thirst after so long of being parched, and that smirk was back.
“As My Lady wishes.”
She didn’t get a chance to think anything or to brace herself as he pulled out of her. And then, inch by inch, he filled her once again.
A broken moan escaped her, and it only made Edmund’s thrusts stutter as he settled into a gentle, steady rhythm. His hips rocked against hers, and Penelope could scarcely breathe or think—could do nothing but simplyfeel. She was overwhelmed as he thrust into her over and over.
It was not that she had not expected care from him—it was more that she hadn’t expected it to be so… attentive.
Penelope could only hold onto him, and he didn’t balk at how tightly she did so. No, he simply gave her everything and took all she had. Her breath fluttered from her parted lips. She was aware of their bodies moving in tandem.
She twisted towards his thrusts, greedy for more. When he pulled out, she followed, not wanting to part from him for long. The pleasure made her lose herself. All she knew was Edmund, and his name came in a steady, broken mantra.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, his voice breaking alongside hers.
His face was pressed into her neck, mouthing along wherever he could. The feel of his tongue on her heated skin only made her lose herself further. She clawed at his back lightly, needing to tether herself so she did not fly away from herself or the moment.
The sheer size of him against her, looming over her, made her feel utterly safe, and for a brief moment, she realized why ladies swooned against Grecian statues. She felt like somebody could make one of them in this moment, have it encased fore?—
The thought was struck from her mind with the next thrust. Edmund took her like he meant it—not careless, hard rutting like she had feared for her first time with a man when she began to realize whatthiswas. But this wasn’t anything she had heard about before. No, this… this was not just a means to a physical conclusion.
This was the journey itself, the languidness of coupling. The passion sparking between them could be felt, and she trailed her fingertips down his back as far as she could reach. She felt every tense muscle, every inch of him inside her and over her, and she knew this was not something that many people got to experience.
Her breathing quickened as she held on to him tightly. A great swell of a wave was rising inside her, and she was scared of it. She knew it was the same wave he had almost brought her to moments ago—the one he had properly brought her to in the library. A wave she herself had dived into through the secret hours of the night. But for him to bring her to that edge so intimately…
“Edmund,” she whispered, her voice broken and breathless. “Edmund, I-I do not want you to stop, but I fear this… this pleasure will rend me apart.”
He smiled down at her. “So let it, and know that I will catch every piece.” He sped up his thrusts. “Let me be the one to bring you there, Penelope. Let me claim your pleasure in such a way. Let me claimyou.”
Penelope quivered at the desperation in his voice, the way his breathing quickened as he chased their pleasure together. He moved his hand to her right hip, pulling her up to him so her back bowed off the bed, and the new angle had her gasping.
“Please,” she moaned. “Please do not stop.”
“I would never.” His promise came in a growl as he thrust into her with everything he had, and she took it, basked in the roughness. “Let yourself go, Penelope. Climax.”
The command itself did not make her come, but the safety in his promises had her tipping over the edge as his length slid into her one more time. And then she felt that wave drown her utterly, and she was sinking, smiling, perhaps laughing, but his name poured from her lips in sheer ecstasy.
For a moment, she floated out of her body, from the bed, as her back arched harder. Her nipples brushed his chest, the sensitivity making her gasp. She was aware of him thrusting into her shallowly, of the slight flush on his cheeks as he gripped his length.
And then Penelope was empty, her thighs aching, and Edmund’s fist moved over his erection. Gasping through the aftershocks of her climax, she watched as he reached his own, and realized why he had pulled out of her.
Edmund’s face tensed in pleasure, his mouth falling open, his eyes still on her until the last moment, when his climax swept them shut for a moment as he spilled. And then he was still, and the only sounds in the room were their harsh pants as Edmund slowly opened his eyes to look at her once more.
“Lie with me for a moment,” he murmured.
Now that her pleasure was ebbing, Penelope realized how long she had been there, in the escort’s house, with Edmund. Her eyes flicked to the window. It was still dark outside.
“We have time.”
The assurance came as if Edmund knew she worried. Of course, he would be mindful of that. Even as he gazed at her with longing in his eyes, as if he would happily take her again.
He repeated his request. “Lie with me.”
