Page 19 of A Lady's Christmas
“I thought we would talk in the study.” He sits gingerly on the edge of the bed. His cock already fully alert to the woman of his greatest desire being in his bed.
“Should I leave?”
“No,” he says too loud and too quickly. “No. I want you to stay.”
A soft smile warms her face. “I think the ball was a success. Everyone seemed happy.”
“Yes.” He runs the back of his fingers from her wrist to her shoulder. “I wish I could have danced with you all night rather than the silly women who want only one thing from me.”
“They are only doing what they were raised to do. You’re a duke now. There will be women begging for your attention until you choose one of them to become your wife.” She stares at the fire and the flames shimmer in her eyes.
“What if they are not who I want? What if I want a different kind of life?” His heart pounds so hard, it’s a wonder she can’t hear it.
“You’re a duke. I suppose you can do whatever you like. A wife and a few mistresses wouldn’t be given a second look by society.” She keeps her attention on the fire with her hands folded in her lap.
“That is not who I am, Gwendolyn. I know you think the worst of me, but if you would give me time, I would prove to you that I am a gentleman.” He’d traveled the world and met with thieves and highwaymen, yet this was the most afraid he’d ever been.
Finally, she turns and looks him in the eye. “I’m leaving tomorrow. I don’t know what the rest of my life will look like, but tonight, I’d like to be in your arms. No talk. No telling each other about the past. I just want you to hold me and make me feel good. I want to make you feel good. One night, Theo. Can you give that to me?”
He would give her the world, the moon, and the sun if she asked it of him. This was more than he deserved. Standing, he strips out of his clothes and tosses them aside before lying on the bed, his arms open for her.
Getting to her feet in the center of the mattress, she lets her wrap and nightgown puddle at her feet.
No man could look at her and not think her a goddess. Tomorrow, he will tell her everything and beg her for her hand. Tonight, he’ll give her what she asks for.
Pulling her into his arms, he presses his lips to hers. Sucking her top lip between his, and then the bottom. When she touches her tongue to his, he groans and pulls her tighter, pressing his knee between her thighs.
She arches her hips to rub her center against his leg.
He caresses down her back until he reaches the swell of her soft bottom.
The gentle touch of her fingers on his chest drives him mad with desire. She traces circles as she explores his abdomen and then lower, touching the tip of his shaft.
He gasps, then moans as she wraps her small hand around him. Pressing his hand over hers, he guides her up and down as their hips clash in an ancient dance.
Panting as her center finds the friction she needs, she says his name against his lips.
With a shift of his weight, he eases her back onto the mattress and slips his fingers between her slick folds, teasing her most sensitive pearl until her body arches off the bed. The scent of her arousal mixed with the soft florals he always associates with Gwen is a thing of his fondest dreams.
She cries his name on a long keen as she comes apart.
Unable to resist, he slips a finger inside her to feel her orgasm pulse. Lifting his fingers to his mouth he tastes the sweet nectar, then kisses Gwen so she can know how good it is to love her into pleasure.
As he makes to move away so she can return to her bed, she clutches his shoulder. “No. I want to give you the same pleasure.”
The knot in his chest tightens. “Are you sure?”
“Please, Theo. One night is all I ask.” The fact that she’s begging is ridiculous.
How can she not know that he would do anything for her and that this is so much more than he deserves?
Covering her body with his, he gently spreads her thighs. Gazes locked, he kisses her slowly, making love to her mouth. He presses small kisses to her cheek, her nose, and her chin. “This may hurt for a moment, sweetheart. But only for a moment and then never again. Afterward, there will only be pleasure.”
She nods and her eyes glow with a mix of passion and fear.
Wishing he could take this pain for her, he notches at her sweet core and presses forward until he meets resistance.
Gwen gasps and closes her eyes tight.
