Page 73 of The Duke's Forbidden Bride
“I—” She swallowed as he curled his fingers inside her. “I think of your chest. How… how broad it is. I think of how you stripped out of your clothes that night, practiced and bold. I think of how it felt to curl up against you, ever so warm. I think of your shoulders and arms, and how you look as though you could hold me against any wall, any surface, and not labor for it.”
“It is true,” Spencer purred as he kissed along her jaw to her ear.
He all but growled when she ran a hand up his chest, feeling the hard muscles beneath his shirt.
“Soon, perhaps I can bare myself to you. And be assured, Duchess, that when I strip you of your pretty gown—when I get that chance—I will take my time, and I will have you screaming my name and begging for mercy as I pleasure you.”
And it was that promise that undid her.
Eleanor scarcely understood how the pressure built and built, growing so strong that she felt as though she would spill over. It scared her for a moment, and she grabbed onto him, meeting his eyes again. But he only held her gaze, nodding, guiding her through it.
“It is your climax,” he explained. “Give in to it, Eleanor. Let me feel how you tighten around me.” His mouth grazed the shell of her ear, and she felt his erection pressing against her hip. “Let me know how you will feel around my cock when I sink into you fully.”
Eleanor’s mouth dropped open, and a loud moan tore from her throat as her body shuddered against him.
“That’s it,” he whispered, kissing her, sucking on her tongue. He pulled back, smirking. “You sound so pretty when you give me your release.”
Eleanor burned all over again even as she still trembled from the force of her climax. She felt as though she had left her own body, floating above it, and she was grateful for Spencer holding her as he slowly lowered her skirts. He fixed her dress as she came back to her senses, marveling at her first taste of pleasure.
And how she immediately wanted more.
“I imagine we are being missed.” That smirk was still playing on his lips even as he kissed her again.
The lingering affection surprised her, as if she hadn’t expected him to stay close. He kissed her languidly, as though they had all the time in the world.
Eleanor made a helpless noise in the back of her throat, her fingers sliding into his hair, moving down to scratch over hisbeard and brush over his mouth. He chased her hand with his lips, catching her wrist to hold her still while he kissed her palm.
“You have…” Her voice cracked when he nipped her wrist, her eyes flicking to his. “You have not been taken care of.”
He laughed quietly and stepped back, drawing her with him. “I am most fine, Duchess. I have plenty of images to keep me company later tonight. You may think about that when we return home.”
She understood the message as they gathered their masks and left the conservatory: he would not push her into full-on intimacy too soon.
“I will,” she promised.
She could not help pressing one more kiss to his cheek, right above his scar.
Spencer stiffened, but she asked anyway, “Will you ever tell me about this? About how it happened?”
And about the portrait of your sister?
His smile was tight, his demeanor shifting as they walked back into the ballroom. He avoided her question, instead muttering about finding Theodore, for they had meant to speak about an informant.
Eleanor tried to let it go. She felt a prickle on the back of her neck, as if she was being watched.
When she looked around the ballroom, she couldn’t see anybody looking at her, but she caught a flash of deep purple.
A mask caught the light, and a man who disappeared too easily in the crowd.
Chapter Eighteen
“Idid not think this was how I would spend my night, but?—”
“Heavens, Theodore, will you stop speaking?” Spencer huffed, glaring at his friend.
Theodore scowled right back before looking at Eleanor. “Your Grace, do support me here. Is this how you thought you would spend yournight? I am certain you imagined spending it in your townhouse, perhaps being seduced by your husband, having romantic poetry recited for hours and hours…”
“Do keep speaking,” Spencer warned, “and I will remove you from this carriage altogether.”
