Page 158 of Dukes Are Forever
And Adele was just as demanding, her nails digging into his spine as he rocked within her, the bedhead hammering the wall. He could feel her clinging to him as if to stake her claim upon him. Fusing their palms together, he pinned her wrists to the bed, meeting those glazed green eyes.
"I knew you were trouble the moment you ran into my arms," he whispered, fucking slowly within her. "You ruin me, but it feels as though there is redemption in ruin." Malloryn bit his lip as her body clenched around his. Sweet Jesus, she was close. "And I want nothing more than to let it consume me."
Adele threw her head back, coming with a soft cry.
He rode her through the aftermath, watching each and every unshuttered emotion cross her pretty face. And somehow, within that moment, he felt himself reborn like a phoenix.
Mine. Forever mine.
He came with a soft cry, collapsing down into the warmth of her arms, and burying himself there. Shuddering, he clung to her, feeling her chest lift with each surge of breath, her heart pounding beneath his.
Hands slid through his hair, her fingers massaging his temples, as he kissed her chin, her jaw, her lips. He eased his weight off her, though he didn't remove himself entirely. He wanted to stay within her body as long as possible.
"We're not going to lose," she finally whispered.
He bit her fingers. "You give me hope."
"I won't let him hurt you."
Malloryn shut his eyes. "I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you."
"And you have," Adele admitted. "Trapping you into marriage was the best mistake I ever made."
He couldn't help laughing. "I wish I could go back to that moment and tell myself not to be so bloody stubborn. We've wasted too much time."
"Well, you'll just have to promise me forever, so we can make up for it," she replied archly.
"Make up for it, huh?" He nuzzled at her throat, enraptured by the kick of her pulse against his lips. His cock was hardening again, and he felt the urge to explore her body. To revel in the simple affection of her touch. "You are very demanding."
"I'm a duchess, didn't you know?"
"My duchess."My hopes. My dream. Rocking against her, he felt her breath catch again.
"Didn't you call a meeting?" she whispered.
"The Rogues can wait. It will give them something to bloody gossip about. Besides, Charlie's not back yet."
And Adele laughed as he palmed her breast and bent his head to her nipple, the sound piercing straight through his heart.
Surrendering to his fate had never felt more right.
* * *
Dawn bloomed,bringing with it the hope of a new day.
And a certain sort of focus and determination Adele hadn't seen on her husband's face in weeks.
"Mowbray practically confirmed the metaljackets are the key to Balfour's attack," Malloryn began, the second all the Rogues were gathered around the table.
Adele frowned. "There are barely two legions of them left. The queen had most of them destroyed after she overthrew her husband, and maintained only an elite ceremonial guard."
"Jack?" Malloryn turned to the masked man who spent most of his days tinkering with his devices down in the cellars.
"Her Grace is quite correct. The populace disapproved of the metaljacket legions, and rightly so, considering they were once used to crush any dissenters. Her Highness had most of them broken down into scrap as soon as she took the throne." Jack leaned forward and sketched something on the sheet of paper in front of him with swift, brief strokes of his pencil. "What remains are the Firebird Legion and the Celestial Legion. The Firebird model is an updated, improved version of the spitfires that used to wreak havoc. Their flamethrowers no longer use Greek Fire, however.
"The Celestials are mostly ceremonial. Gold-plated and carry a saber attached to their mechanical arms. They're somewhat reminiscent of the Imperial Legion in China. Pretty and useless in a pitched battle. Too lumbering and slow, with no long-range weapons."
"Corvus said Balfour plans to tamper with the Firebirds." This from Malloryn. "He'll turn them against the queen."
