Page 29 of In Scandal with the Duke
“Never sayIhave surprised the unflappable Duke of Basil. Or did you believe I meant something else?”
The gleam that entered James’s eyes revealed him to be darkly amused. “I am not the kind of man you take to be your first lover. Or second.”
She took a deep breath and steadied herself against the feelings rushing through her. “Why not?”
“I want to do unspeakably carnal things to you.”
“Such as?” At his silence, Elizabeth lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “You presumed you would be my first. I am sure that there are other gentlemen who would be delighted—”
Her words cut off when he hauled her against his body with something seemingly dangerous in his gaze. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt surrounded by him. Her heart stuttered alarmingly, and her body flushed. He reached out and brushed the back of his knuckles down the bridge of her small nose. “You want to have fun for the rest of the season.”
Her heart started to skip and dance beneath her breastbone. “Yes.”
“You are the type of woman a man marries.”
“If I allow it,” she said softly.
“I will not marry you.”
She laughed. Elizabeth had never shied away from acting because of fear, and she could not do so now. “It is not marriage I want from you, James.”
His eyes gleamed with something that seemed almost savage, and Elizabeth’s heart drummed at the barely contained heat in his stare.
“You want to indulge in an affair.”
A knot of warmth unraveled just beneath her breastbone at the rough hunger in his voice. She held her breath, keeping the air tightly within her lungs, afraid to release it. Afraid to let go of the momentary calm before the storm of emotions that swirled within her rushed inside to fill her with chaotic desires. The intensity of her feelings frightened Elizabeth, for she knew she was venturing into uncharted waters. She released a slow breath, tipped onto her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth and said almost shyly, “Yes, only with you, James, only with you.”
That slow, enigmatic smile tugged at James’s lips. It was a smile that seemed to promise both thrilling pleasure and potential heartbreak. Elizabeth found herself caught in its pull, sinking too quickly and too deeply into whatever this connection was becoming with the duke. “What are you thinking?” she whispered.
He smoothed his face into an expressionless mask.
“Please … I … do not do that.”
“Do what?”
“Hide your thoughts. Instead of closing me out, be honest with me and tell me if I have overstepped. I apologize if I did.”
He touched her cheek. “You are …”
“Interesting?”
“Very much so.” An unknown sensation wrenched inside her heart when he tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth. Elizabeth shifted imperceptibly so their mouths brushed against each other.
Those beautifully silver eyes caressed over her face. “The pleasure you take from the simplest joy reminds me of a time when I was not so …”
“Cynical,” she whispered.
“I like seeing the delight and wonder on your face. I do not like this feeling of wanting to know everything about you, yet it lingers inside of me, and no rational reasoning suppresses it.”
A sense of awe filled her chest. Elizabeth closed her eyes, and as if controlled by forces outside of herself, her body tilted against his. He was a big man, tall, lean, and broad of shoulder, and she felt surrounded by his heat and strength.
Oh, be careful, she silently whispered to her aching heart.This is only a stolen season of doing what I want, nothing else.
Her mouth trembled against his, and she lifted a hand to lightly touch his jawline. She liked the want and need in his eyes, and something inside of her reached for him because she felt it, too.
Her lashes fluttered as he brushed kisses over her jaw, her cheek, and her temple. They were whisper-soft kisses. James’s breath feathered over her lips, and she instinctively licked at the seam of his mouth. He made a muffled sound, his arms closing around her like iron bands. He held her like that, his strength at once intimidating yet arousing.
He put his powerful hands very gently around her throat, the feel of him holding her so sensually domineering. She parted her lips, and his tongue plunged past them, wicked and alluring. He tasted … darkly male and tantalizing. Elizabeth was almost shocked by her eager responses and the liquid heat she could feel soaking her sex.
