Page 81 of An Unwanted Widow for the Duke
Gerard’s lips pressed into a thin line. His face darkened, but he didn’t say anything.
“I-I am so sorry. I’ve been talking about my dead husband too much. You are now my husband. Besides, Robert had never cared for Lady Farnmont.”
“You were confident as to where his affections lay?” he asked.
“Yes, I was, and still am,” she replied firmly, walking toward where he was seated.
She met his eyes, and for a suspended moment, it was as if words weren’t necessary. They only spoke through the magnetic pull between them.
But then something inside her snapped. She didn’t think, didn’t calculate; she just acted.
Her hands gripped his lapels, pulling him to her, and she kissed him.Fiercely. She wedged her knee between his thighs.
She had waited for him to open the door between them, both the literal and metaphorical one. His walls. His shield. And she had never known the watchword. But now it didn’t matter. Desperation and longing eclipsed caution.
Gerard kissed her back with equal fervor. She let out a soft moan, a triumph of need and relief, as he pulled her down onto his lap. His arms enveloped her, strong and unyielding, drawing her close until her breasts pressed against his chest.
This closeness, this heat, was what she had wanted for days, though she had never allowed herself to admit it.
When they finally parted, gasping and flushed, their heavy-lidded eyes met, and the world seemed to narrow to the fierce, intoxicating intensity of their stare. Wilhelmina could still feel him everywhere, and a slow, dizzying thrill rushed through her.
“Wilhelmina,” he murmured, cupping her cheeks and pressing his forehead against hers. “I am not a man who enjoys being second to anyone. Not in my home, and not in a woman’s heart.”
She knew what he meant, and she wished she could tell him everything about Robert. But now wasn’t the time.
“Then be the first,” she whispered.
Her words echoed around them.
Gerard studied her, as if he were looking for any signs of hesitation. But she was ready. Shewantedthis. She had felt so lonely when he had avoided her.
Finally, he kissed her again, this time savoring her with his tongue and lips, while his hands slid down to her waist and squeezed.
“Are you certain?” he murmured, his lips brushing hers.
Wilhelmina hesitated, her throat tight, her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of his coat. She wanted to say yes, to surrender entirely to the heat between them, but a flicker of doubt lingered—a quiet warning she couldn’t ignore.
“I… I am,” she whispered, though the words felt heavy, almost foreign on her tongue.
Gerard’s eyebrows rose slightly, curiosity and concern flickering across his face.
“You hesitate,” he noted softly, cupping her jaw and tilting her face so she couldn’t look away. “You may tell me anything, wife. You know that.”
Her lips parted, a small shiver running down her spine at the warmth in his gaze. She drew in a shaky breath, gathering courage from the strength radiating from him.
“There is… something you must know,” she breathed.
He stroked her jaw, ever attentive, patient. “What is it? Tell me.”
She swallowed hard, searching his eyes for judgment, only to find steady reassurance. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
“I… I’m a virgin,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gerard blinked once. Twice.
His wife was a widow; how was she still a virgin? He tried to mask his surprise by trailing his lips down her neck to her collarbone. She quickly leaned into him, as if she could not get enough.
