Page 75 of Courting Scandal With The Duke
Only a panicked instinct had him leaving the sweet channel of her body the instant before he came undone. He spilled on the sheets.
They lay panting side by side.
Blackness enveloped him, no matter how hard he tried to remain conscious.
Barbara could not move. She could only breathe. Floating on warm bliss, she wanted to turn her head, to look at Xavier. Darkness descended…
How? she thought as consciousness seeped in. Howcould it be? So fast. So overwhelming. As if he had some power over her.
Nothing in her experience had prepared her for this.
The other night, she assumed she had drunk too much, been mistaken in what she felt had happened.
No mistake.
Her heart seemed to grow large in her chest.
A feeling of tenderness wrapped in longing overcame her.
A tear leaked at the corner of her eye.
Why?
What had this man done to cause her to feel such a mix of emotions? Happiness. Sadness. Longing for…
She dashed away the tear and gained enough strength to roll over on her side. Gazing at his face. At the haze of stubble already shadowing his square lean jaw, at the length of his lashes curved above his prominent cheekbone. The jut of his nose. The heavy eyebrows without their habitual frown for once.
He looked younger. Almost boyish.
She brushed the lock of hair back from his broad forehead.
And resisted the urge to kiss his full lips.
They were lovers, nothing more. He was her path to freedom from the need for another husband, though he did not know it.
In exchange, she was providing him with a little fun that some instinct told her he needed. Badly.
His eyes opened, bright blue and fully alert.
‘Did I wake you?’she whispered.
‘I wasn’t asleep.’
‘Ooh. You will be punished for telling fibs.’
He chuckled and with a small groan rolled onto his back. ‘You sound like my governess.’
‘Did you like your governess?’
She’d heard tales of privileged young men and their sisters’ governesses.
‘Good Lord, no. She was ancient. And had a mole on her chin which grew thick black hairs. She scared the hell out of me.’
‘Oh. Do I scare you?’
He pulled her close and tucked her into the crook of her arm as if she weighed no more than a feather. ‘Yes.’
Ouch. She had not expected that. It hurt.
