Page 69 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
Her husband shrugged, a devilish express upon his face. "What is one more to get chins wagging? I wish to show you something."
Before she could offer any more protest, he urged her from the carriage. It was a great effort on her part with the long, flowing skirts of her wedding gown.
"James, where are we going? Whose home is this?" Melody demanded even as he held her hand and hurried her up a set of steps to one of the townhouses. The way he gripped the door handle and flung the door open startled Melody.
She opened her mouth to question him further but before she could do so he scooped her up into his arms and carried her over the threshold. "Welcome home, my love."
Melody gaped at him in astonishment. Never had she seen such a grand entryway with its high vaulted ceiling and its white marble floors, paintings and flowers and other small trinkets decorating the place perfectly.
And hanging right in the very centre of it all was the engagement portrait of them both that her father had insisted upon commissioning. She had seen it only as a work in progress over the last few months but now it hung in all its glory, and it brought a tear to her eyes.
"This…this is ours?" She gasped, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck.
James nodded. "It is and I could not wait to show you the home where we shall spend the rest of our lives together. Along with our place in the country, of course."
Melody's heart swelled so hard it caused her to weep. The house did not matter to her. What mattered were his words, his insistence that they would share the rest of their lives together.
And in her happiness, she kissed him.
The next thing that Melody knew, she was being carried up one side of the double staircase, the train of her gown flowing behind them as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.
“James, where are you taking me?”
As he reached the top of the stairs, James nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed the side of her throat, just beneath her ear before he whispered, “To the bedroom, my love. There is one final act we must take to make this marriage official.”
Melody was under no illusions as to what that meant. When she had asked Petunia about such things, her best friend had been entirely innocent to the knowledge, suggesting she knew very little, and when Melody’s mother had explained it all to her, she half-believed that was for the best.
Petunia ought to remain innocent until her own time came.
But for Melody, she was nervous and excited. Most of all, she was lustful. The heated sensation between her thighs had been growing for weeks and she could see why James was so adamant to get her to the bedroom.
It was clear that that though there wasn’t a single servant between the front door and the bedroom, they had been warned of the newlywed’s arrival, for there was a fire burning in the hearth when they arrived in the master bedroom.
And it was before that fireplace that James placed Melody back upon her feet, dropping into a crouch before her to lovingly aid her off with her shoes.
Step by step, he helped her out of layer after layer of her gown, his fingertips brushing her flesh in a way that made her quiver for more.
Every chance that she got, Melody removed an item of James’ clothing; beginning with his jacket, then his waistcoat, followed by his shirt, and then his undershirt. And as each garment was removed, they paused to share a passionate kiss; hands trailing over each other’s bodies in a desire to learn all they could about each other.
Melody explored almost every inch of the duke’s solid, muscular body, and before long he was bared before her in all his glory, leaving only several inches left untouched.
When she looked down at the sheer size of his manhood—having heard very well what he intended to do with it from her mother, who saw no sense in keeping her innocent as most ladies preferred to do with their own daughters out of embarrassment—Melody’s throat constricted.
She wasn’t at all sure that it was going to fit. Though her mother had warned her there would be some mild discomfort or maybe even pain, she thought that her mother had not prepared her nearly enough.
As if he sensed her fear, James stepped forward and rubbed the palms of his hands up and down her arms as if to warm her. The fire warmed the backs of her calves even as he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “I swear I shall be gentle.”
And at his words, Melody’s hands raised to wrap around the small of his back, urging him close to her.
The warmth of his muscular body against hers was intoxicating and as he cupped her face, kissing her gently, all fear washed away.
When his hands cupped beneath her buttocks and pulled her up into his arms, she squealed with shock and delight. Covering her neck in kisses, he carried her over to the bed and laid her down.
Coming down on top of her, he continued to kiss her, trailing his lips down over her breasts. Taking each nipple into his mouth, he sucked gently until she moaned with pleasure.
Continuing south, James stroked his tongue around her naval, causing a shockwave of tingling pleasure to shoot between her thighs. As if following that very sensation, he went further still, landing kisses upon her inner thighs before he dove between her legs and began to lap at the nectar he found there.
Melody’s shocked gasp turned to moans of pleasure and against her will, her thighs clamped onto the duke’s head. In response, his hands held her clamped there, his face never leaving her sex as he stroked her with his tongue, the tip dipping in and out until she was trembling.
