Page 85 of Her Beast of a Duke
“You should listen to her,” Phoebe said, very matter-of-factly. “Ladies know good things about fashion.”
Hermia and Charles both let out a laugh at that, as if Phoebe was implying Dukes did not know a thing about fashion simply for preferring their darker palettes.
“Duly noted,” Oscar laughed. “What color do you suggest?”
“Lilac,” the little girl said decisively. “It is my favorite color at the moment.”
“Phoebe, stop terrorizing His Grace,” Charles told her, but there was still laughter in his voice, and a smile on his face. Oscar had once heard rumors about Charles’s temper with his daughter, but there was no sign of that now. Only sheer adoration.
That pang of longing reared itself once more, and Oscar wondered if he himself wanted what the three of them had. He did not know if he did. He was terrified his own temperament would stop him from being a good father, and he refused to ever put a child through what his parents had done to him. How they had treated him, and he couldn’t take the risk that he would be any better.
Oscar drank again and caught his wife’s gaze. She cocked her head in silent question, but he smiled at her, a wordlessall is fine.She knew differently, of course, but they could not discuss anything in front of their guests.
Edmund looked between the two of them, and then back to Hermia’s family, his face thoughtful. Oscar could only hope that his friend wasn’t thinking the same as him and had an idea to bring up the subject of children. Thankfully, he didn’t, although Oscar knew that when the two of them met alone, he likely would.
The remainder of the dinner party made Oscar lapse into silence, but once their guests were gone, Isabella came back to him in the dining hall after waving off her family.
“Are you all ri?—”
Before her question could form fully, Oscar caught her waist in his hands and pushed her back against the table. He had already dismissed his staff, and now, all he wanted was to have his hands on his wife, to ignore the questions in his head, the doubts, and the worries that he might not be giving her everything she wanted. That she might be protecting him by not voicing those wants.
“I am perfectly fine,” he growled into her neck, desire already overtaking him. “Take me inside you.”
Isabella’s head tipped back as she fluttered out a shaky sigh, a coy smile already on her face as she tugged up her skirts. “I havewanted you all night. I enjoy the sight of you at a dinner table, dressed up, bathed in candlelight.”
“And I, you,” he told her, mouth still lingering on her throat. His hands already had his breeches unfastened, his length freed. He nipped at her skin, groaning when Isabella parted her legs. He found her already aroused, and slipping himself into her felt like being back where he belonged. Nestled into her, Oscar let himself go.
He thrust into her mercilessly from the first entry, and Isabella’s breathy cries filled the dining hall beautifully, the room echoing her moans. She gripped the table behind her, her eyes fluttering shut with pleasure. The table creaked beneath his movements, and he half feared he was being too rough with his wife, but when she opened her eyes, he saw the deepest arousal there. She gripped the back of his hair, pulling his face to hers.
Her teeth snagged his lip, meeting his wildness, and he groaned into her. He took everything he wanted and gave it all right back to her. Isabella took him, her body moving in tandem with his own, and he found he could not hold on to his release for much longer.
“Climax for me,” he breathed out, mouth enclosing the shell of her ear. He dragged his teeth down the skin just beneath her ear. “Give me your release, Isabella.”
Around his length, her walls tightened, and he thrust even harder, bringing them both to their breaking point. When Isabella released, her nails scratched over his head, and heshuddered at the slight sting of it, tipping into his climax with a loud shout.
After they parted, Isabella kissed him so hard he lost his breath, but when she pulled back, her expression was serious.
“Do not think this lets you evade whatever was on your mind. I could see your thoughts churning during dinner.”
“Everything is perfectly fine,” he told her.I want to give you everything you want, but I fear I cannot. That I am not. I fear my shadows are still too impenetrable, that I will deprive you of the light a family of your own could bring to your life. I fear fatherhood, but I fear not giving you enough in life.
“I do not believe you,” she said softly, kissing him again. “But I will not push. You can tell me when you are ready.”
Oscar only nodded. He didn’t think he would be. Opening up such a conversation was too vulnerable, and he had shared so much already. For this one thing, he could stay reserved. With one last kiss, Oscar slipped his hand into Isabella’s and led her back to her chambers.
He half thought about retreating to his own room to fall into his thoughts, but he found he did not want to do that.
Instead, he undressed at her side before slipping into her bed with her and pressing a kiss to her shoulder as they fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
The following week, Isabella stepped out of their carriage and looked up at Lord and Lady Howdley’s townhouse. Music spilled into the street from inside, where the ballroom would already be filled with guests.
Oscar offered his arm, and she took it, smiling up at him.
“For once, I do not feel apprehension about attending an event,” Isabella told him as they ascended the steps into the house. “I think I am finally comfortable knowing I will not be gossiped about.”
“You never deserved to be gossiped about, and I despise that you ever were,” Oscar said, his voice heavy with anger at what the ton had put his wife through. “If anybody dares to gossip about you tonight?—”
