Page 28 of The Duke's Christmas Scandal
“But see, that is why I need you, Mrs. Dawson.” She swatted his arm, laughing. “To keep me from getting an inflated sense of my own self-importance as I rise in the world. You’ll keep me grounded.”
He dropped a kiss on her cheek. Her insides turned slippery and warm. She could hardly believe her good fortune. Her mother had always said,When you meet the right man, you’ll know. For years, Tavi thought she’d squandered her chance at love.
As it turned out, she needed to get lost in a storm to find the right man for her.
While they’d only been acquainted for a few days, Ian slipped into her life as if he’d always been a part of it.
Later that evening, Tavi led him to her bedroom. Compared to the rough conditions of the castle, it was a palace. Still, it was hardly suitable for a duke. Ian didn’t appear to mind. Their clothes fell to the floor amidst a flurry of more kisses. This time, there was no question of who would take the bed. They both would.
Tavi fell to her knees and stroked his cock, running her thumb along the underside the way he liked. Ian’s gaze turned intense. She squeezed her breast, offering it. Showing it off while she swirled her tongue over the tip. He groaned and tightened his grip on her hair.
“You’ve a wicked tongue, love, and you put it to good use.”
He dragged her up for a kiss. Ian dropped onto the edge of the bed, hooked his arm behind her knee and pulled her into his lap.
“I want you this way,” he declared roughly. “Your tits in my face while you ride my cock.”
Tavi squirmed. “And you say I have a wicked tongue, when you’re the one who says such filthy things.”
“You love it.”
She sank down on him in response. “It feels like I was missing a part of myself before I met you,” she whispered. “You complete me. Fill me so full I’m overflowing.”
“I haven’t, but I fully intend to, darling.” His hot gaze ranged from her breasts to her face, then back down. “This time, I’m not pulling out.”
“Good,” she said fiercely. “But you’d damn well better marry me before we have babies.”
He guided her hips up and down, setting a fast pace, racing to the finish. “I promise. I’m going to give you the biggest, gaudiest ring anyone ever beheld. An enormous ruby as red as your hair, with diamonds. Anyone who sees it will know you’re my wife, Tavi. My duchess. Our children will have lives such as we can only imagine.”
“Yes,” she hissed. “I want all of that. With you.”
He bent his head and sucked the column of her throat, grinding down. Tavi’s world contracted until he was the only thing in it. Hot fluid flooded her. Her entire body tightened as if trying to hold him inside her.
“God, yes, Tavi. I love the way you come on my cock. I love you.” Exhaling, he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “You are, without a doubt, the very best Christmas gift a man could ask for.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her throat and rolled them back onto the mattress. “A beautiful wife to remind me of my roots. No matter how high we climb in society, we’ll do it together.”
EPILOGUE
OCTAVIA, FIVE YEARS LATER
Tavi teetered on the tippy-top of a tall ladder.
“A little to the left, my lady.”
She gritted her teeth and stretched out her arm. She was never going to get used to being calledmy ladyoryour grace. She’d long since decided to treat it as a grand joke. “Duchess” was a role she playacted on occasion with her nice new friends.
Some of the aristocrats weren’t so nice. She’d learned to ignore them.
The gold ornament listed slightly to one side, but Tavi managed to get it in place. Perfectly adequate placement, if she did say so herself.
“Octavia Harkness Susskind!”
Startled, she lost her grip on the ladder. Her heavy emerald velvet skirts pulled her off-balance. “Oh—ohhh—OH!”
Tavi toppled into her husband’s arms, laughing.
Ian wasn’t quite as amused.
“I told you we should have chosen a smaller tree,” he grumbled.
