Page 34 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Leo brought his lips back to hers and slid his warm hand even higher until he was touching the folds between her legs. He stroked them with one finger for a moment, and it nearly took her breath away.
She threw her head back, unable to continue kissing him while she felt pleasure that intense. Thrusting her hips toward him, she leaned back on her hands on the carriage seat.
“Do you like this, little nun?” Leo asked, pausing his ministrations.
“Please,” Margaret panted. “I will not know what to do with myself if you stop.”
Leo kissed above the neckline of her gown. But his hand moved back to stroke her until he slowly slid one finger deep inside her.
Margaret gasped. This was not what she had anticipated, but she would do this all day long with him. Her hips rose to meet his hand while he expertly stroked her with one finger, then two.
“If you like this, I have other books to show you,” Leo laughed lightly against her lips. “A whole library, in fact. We shall explore all their pages.”
Margaret angled his face to hers and kissed him while he touched her, the sensation overwhelming her. Gone were the thoughts of an arranged marriage, of running out of the opera house, of her friends inside wondering where she and Leo had gone.
Warmth started to build inside her, a wave cresting in her chest and invading her thoughts. She could think of nothing but this moment, with Leo’s hands on her.
She moaned his name as quietly as she could, but it was enough for him. He stroked her one more time, and she felt pleasure beyond any she had ever known ripple through her. The more he stroked her, the more she shook until she felt she would shatter.
Margaret was exhausted in the best possible way.
As she caught her breath, Leo gazed at her intently. His eyes were dark with hunger, and she wondered what she might do for him so that he could feel at least a fraction of what he had just done for her. She had no idea how to go about that.
He rearranged her skirts, the rumpled fabric the only sign that he touched her where no man had before.
“Damn it, Margaret,” he muttered, dropping his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. I promised I wouldn’t touch you again.”
Margaret shook her head. “ButIasked you to touch me.”
“You do not know what you are asking for. I cannot ruin you. You are a nun-to-be, for God’s sake. And even if you weren’t…”
Margaret waited a moment to let him finish his thought, but he did not offer up any other explanation. She reached for him to put a hand on his upper arm, but he shrugged her off.
“Even if I weren’t what?”
“I do not want a bride.”
His voice was cold compared to the warmth that had sparked between them. Margaret felt it slip like ice through her dress and into her heart.
How could she pay so much attention to Leo when he was so clearly the wrong man for her? Perhaps she should pray more that the Lord would take away this temptation. Perhaps this was a trial she had to face before she took her vows.
“Let us go back,” Leo said, taking her hand. “Do not allow this to ruin a nice evening. The play is likely at its best part.”
Margaret nodded, realizing that she would make no headway on deciding what to do while the two of them hid out in the carriage. Leo would protect her, and she had to trust that her grandfather could not get to her. He was a mere earl, nowhere near as powerful as a duke.
They stepped out of the carriage, and Margaret took a deep breath as she had not been able to when she rushed out of the opera house. Leo offered her his arm again. This time, it felt a touch too familiar, but Margaret could find no reason not to cling to him.
“Thank you,” she told him.
She was unsure whether she was thanking him for showing her something that opened her mind or for his protection, but she was grateful all the same.
They slipped back into the box, avoiding Aaron’s stare. If he suspected what they had done, Leo could hardly blame him.After all, it was only a few days ago that he had told his friend how badly he wanted to break Margaret.
Now, he questioned whether he would be able to stop. Would he cost her the very thing she wanted to do with her life? She was destined to be a woman of the cloth rather than a nobleman’s plaything.
He did not miss the way Margaret looked around when they took their seats, her eyes darting this way and that. Whoever had frightened her must have departed while they were preoccupied, because she visibly relaxed at his side.
The play was in full swing. Leo tried to settle in and focus, especially knowing that this was the climax of the play. But the only thing he could think about was a climax of a much different kind.
