Page 20 of The Duke's Treasure
“Of course.”
“Why do you smell like oranges?”
She laughed then, thinking of the soaps that she used, made by one of the women in the village.
“It is my own scent,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes but didn’t question her.
“You’re impossible.”
“It’s part of my charm.”
“Well, it makes me want to eat you up,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “All of you.”
Her breath caught in her throat. He couldn’t mean?—
But apparently, he did.
Mariana had thought she was finished, that now she was sated, that would be all for her. But then he began to kiss his way down her body, finding bits of skin through her dishevelled clothing. His mouth landed on her breast, her hip, the inside of her thigh, before he pressed his tongue against the core of her and licked her to the top, his tongue doing dangerous things to her, tasting, swirling, sucking, and all she could do was hold on to the light waves of his hair as he lifted her legs over his shoulders while he relentlessly brought her back to the edge once more.
When she wasn’t sure she could take any more, she finally decided that she would just have to show him what she wanted from him. She used her legs to kick him off her, shoving him down so that he was the one on the blanket. He looked up at her in surprise as she climbed up his body, before finding the fastening of his breeches.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his breath coming in a pant, and she grinned wickedly.
“You are taking too long,” she said as she freed him and straddled his hips. Intent on seeing more of him, she helped him undress the rest of the way, until she could see the solid, firm muscles that had been hidden beneath the fabric.
“I was right. You certainly do not look like an English duke,” she managed again, and he laughed.
“I do not act like one either.”
“Thank goodness for that.”
She trailed her finger over his muscles until she followed the path of soft curls beneath his waistband.
“You have a beautiful body,” she said, and he choked out a chuckle.
“Cannot say I have ever been called beautiful before,” he said, but still, there was an amazement in his eyes that told her he was not unaffected by her words. “You are the one who is perfection, Mariana.”
He watched her with hooded lids as her hand moved lower, wrapping around his cock, and heat went straight to her thighs. Even so, as much as she wanted him, she paused for a moment, and he lifted a hand to cradle her cheek.
“It’s all right, Mariana,” he said. “Nothing more needs to happen here.”
She hated that he could see this indecision in her, the brief lapse of confidence, and she squeezed her eyes tight for a moment.
“I want to,” she said. “I truly do. It’s just… I’ve only ever done this with my husband and he… well… it wasn’t exactly enjoyable with him.”
Understanding filled his eyes, and he nodded. “I am fine with whatever you want to do, love, understand?”
She nodded, her chest constricting at the care he was showing her, a man who had met less than a week ago. Somehow, it was hard to believe that she hadn’t had knowledge of him beyond that, for it seemed that she had known him for a lifetime.
He gave himself up entirely to her, allowing her to move at the speed she wanted to – and at first, she was slow, unsure, as she wrapped her legs around him again, rubbing herself against him. He groaned, and she continued until she lifted herself up and then sank down upon him.
He hissed as she moved up and down, shallowly at first, until her need for him overcame her hesitation and she began to move with purpose, finding that she was brushing against him just perfectly to cause her desire to build all over again. He reached up, his hands wrapping around her hips, and he began to move her harder, faster, up and down as she threw her head back and enjoyed all that he was doing to her.
She leaned over, her nails digging into his muscular upper arms as she rolled against him, and then he reached up and brought her head down to his once more, his mouth finding hers, his tongue plundering inside, and their connection caused her to lose hold on all of the control that remained as she plunged down on him harder, faster, until she exploded around him.
He lifted her up, coming overtop of her once again, and held her still as he thrust into her deeper and harder, her body seemingly on fire while she floated down from the high he had taken her to. Mariana liked to be in control, enjoyed the power she now had over her own life, but in this, for this period of time, she was happy to allow Edward to do as he wished with her. Her hands slid over his back as his muscles spasmed beneath her palms, which she flattened them over his bottom, squeezing and holding him tight.
Finally, just as his face contorted into ecstasy, he pulled himself from her and spent onto the rocky floor beside them before he returned to the blanket, lying down next to her, his breath coming fast.
