Page 88 of His Duchess of Scandal
After spending a year holed up in the countryside, resigned to spinsterhood, and add to that the distance Charles had put between them… it must be hard to shed old beliefs, even if now she knew better.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. Your body, Hermia… it haunts me in my dreams. I dream of the curves I wish to hold again. I dream of your taste, for it lingered on my tongue for days after the party.”
He stepped back, moving to take off his tailcoat, but Hermia was faster.
“Let me,” she breathed. “I-I wish to undress you.”
I wish to admire you. I wish to take my time with you.
Last time, they had been acutely aware of other people at Bentley’s party, not far enough from their room for it to feel fully private. But now… now they had the entire night, spread out like a dark, promising blanket to tumble on.
“Then you may.”
The way his mouth danced on the edge of a smirk as he gave her permission, as if he recalled how she had enjoyed beingallowedto do something for him, enjoyed being under his control, made her dizzy.
Her hands shook when she reached for the lapels of his tailcoat, breathing hard, for she was finally allowed to touch him. Every muscle waited for her fingers, and she explored, feeling his confidence in the way he simply stood and let her. He had shown not one ounce of shyness or hesitation.
He was sure of her, and perhaps it was that certainty in the lines of his body and relaxed muscles that made her finally realize it.
Once his tailcoat was a heap on the floor, she undid the buttons on his black, velvet waistcoat. His eyes met hers, even darker than usual with intent. Her stomach clenched as she struggled with the last button, too entranced by his beauty.
She finally undid it with a nervous laugh, and he helped her take the garment off before letting her slowly loosen the knot of his cravat. She took her time with it, letting the silk brush her skin, biting back a soft moan at how it felt. All the while, he didn’t look away from her.
“You are doing well,” he murmured when she fumbled slightly. “Keep going.”
She did, and soon his cravat joined the other garments. She pulled his shirt open and pushed it down his shoulders, baring his upper body to her hungry gaze.
Already, Charles was half erect in his breeches, the black material not doing a great deal to hide his arousal. She was glad. She enjoyed seeing the effect she had on him.
“You are a man of such composure,” she said softly, as if taunting him. Her hands skimmed down the buttons of his breeches, purposefully brushing against his erection. A hiss was her reward. “And yet you cannot hide how badly you want me.”
“Do you wish to hear me say it?” His voice turned dark, almost lethal. “Do you wish to hear me say how badly I want you? Is that what you need?”
“Yes,” Hermia whispered.
Not because she felt vulnerable, not anymore, but because she wanted the power of knowing that she had been a spinster, yet she had ruffled the feathers of a highly respected duke.
What she wasn’t expecting was his low growl as he pushed her backwards so she plopped down on the bed. Her legs parted, and he was already ridding her of her gown as if he would die if he waited a moment longer. As if he couldn’t endure one moment more of not looking at her body.
He made quick work of the laces, her corset, and chemise, before leaving her naked and splayed on the sheets before him.
“Heavens,” he rasped. “You are correct. I cannot hide how badly I want you, nor do I want to any longer. I have displayed youon every canvas as much as I am displaying you now. Your body is the masterpiece my art can never quite do justice to. So, no, Hermia…” He unfastened his breeches and pushed them down. “I will no longer hide how much I want you. I have done that for far too long, but not anymore.”
Hermia’s eyes roved over his body as his did over hers. His shoulders almost blocked out the light behind him, broad and thick. His stomach was unfairly toned, making her mouth water, and his biceps were almost as thick as his thighs.
And right between his thighs hung his length, little more than half-erect now.
All she could think about was how it had felt inside her the last time, and how she had hungered for it while trying to quell her lust.
“My Ares,” she whispered, wetting her lips.
Charles followed the movement. He reached out to cup her face, smiling, soft amid their raging passion.
“My Aphrodite,” he murmured, stroking a thumb over her cheek. “Beautiful, lovely, and with that wicked tongue that I had my first taste of at the party… how could I not be besotted with you from the first moment, Hermia?”
She swallowed, overwhelmed by his affection. It was so overwhelming that she tugged him to her, letting his mouthpress to hers. Immediately, her lips parted to let him in, and he groaned.
The kiss swallowed her whole—Charlesswallowed her whole. Her release still lingered in her limbs, making her pliant, but she fell into him. Shetumbled, aching for every day she had thought about him after that night.
