Page 54 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
Ferociously. Wildly. Throughout the entire night.
He did as she bid him. She stared at him. “I was thinking of inviting Reggie over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so you could discuss things with him. About Annabel’s husband, I mean.”
“Of course,” he nodded. He seemed less confused, less awkward when talking about practical matters. “Whenever you say.”
“And thank you again for offering to help,” she clarified.
“I told you, Catherine,” he whispered soothingly. “I want to help. I want you to be happy.”
His words were a soothing balm to her soul, his presence a comforting anchor in the sea of troubles that had been her life. With each exchanged word, the space between them seemed to shrink, until their faces were mere inches apart, their breath mingling in the air. Catherine could feel the warmth of Dominic’s gaze on her skin, igniting a fire inside of her she couldn’t ignore, even if she tried.
“Do you think we could be happy?” she asked, her voice barely audible in the heat of their breathing.
Her heart raced in her chest as she leaned in closer, her hand trembling slightly as it reached out to brush softly against his cheek. His eyes darkened with desire as he mirrored her movements, his hand coming to rest gently on her waist.
Their hips hovered tantalizingly closer, the promise of a king hanging in the air between them. But as their eyes locked in a silent exchange of longing, it seemed that they both hesitated, the weight of their unspoken desires holding them back.
In a moment of impulsive desire, Catherine closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to Dominic’s in a fervent, wild kiss. It began as a gentle brush of lips, tentative and uncertain, but it quickly escalated into something far more intense.
Their kiss ignited a wildfire of longing and desire that consumed them both. Their lips melted together in a dance of fervor and need, their breaths mingling as their tongues danced to a music only the two of them could hear. She grabbed his face, pulling him closer to herself, while his hand rested on the back of her neck, adjusting the ferocity of their kiss.
She was completely in his control. She couldn’t do a single thing, and she loved it. She never felt anything like it. Their kiss deepened, becoming madder and more ravenous with each passing moment. She felt his teeth nip at her lower lip, tugging at it gently. She moaned softly, only to have his lips crash against hers once again, suffocating her gasps.
His hand traveled down her neck, cupping her breast. Heat exploded somewhere between her thighs, a place only she had ever touched. She never knew that someone else could awaken something like that, so maddeningly powerful and all-consuming. The thin fabric of her nightgown gave way to his fingers as her pebbled nipple pierced through it, allowing his fingers to play with it.
“Oh…” she moaned against his lips, as he breathed in her need.
She wanted him more than she wanted anything else in her entire life. Heat unfurled inside of her and she knew that only he could extinguish that fire. She wanted to whisper to him to take her, to do whatever he wanted with her, but before she could dare even think such thoughts, he suddenly pulled away.
Her lips ached without the stinging of his tongue and teeth. She wanted more of it. But one look into his eyes assured her that there would be no more kissing.
“I… I’m sorry,” he said, pulling his hand away from her needy breast as if touching her had scorched him.
She shook her head silently. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing to apologize for, that she wanted this as much as he did, but he didn’t remain there long enough for her to say any of that. Instead, he got up, stumbling backwards, his hand at the back of his neck. He was avoiding looking at her.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, hastily, disappearing behind closed doors, leaving her yearning, and utterly confused as to what had just happened.
Chapter 27
Dominic had no idea what had happened. He was kissing his wife. That was what he wanted to do, what he had been yearning to do all this time, yet when he could actually do it, he felt like a scoundrel, like someone who was taking advantage of a sweet young woman who trusted him. He was disgusted with himself.
That was why he rushed out of her bedchamber, almost stumbling on the way out. He found his way back to his study through the dimly lit corridors, fully aware of the fact that sleep would not be gracing him with its presence. No. He had to do something with himself. He had to find a way to repair the broken man that he had become and somehow transform himself into a man who was worthy of kissing Catherine, of having her as his wife.
As he settled into his study, closing the door behind him, the weight of responsibility nestled heavily on his shoulders. He promised Catherine he would help. And he meant every word of it. Timothy would do his part, but he could also do his own. He started to meticulously sift through the documents and notes Timothy had provided him regarding Reginald, Annabel, and her husband. Each page was a puzzle piece in the complex web of their lives.
He knew that this would be the way to prove to Catherine that he was not the same man he was before he met her. He was no longer the selfish man who put his own needs before the needsof others. Perhaps Reginald would not believe him immediately, but he would find a way to win him over as well. He would help him in any way he could, and that way Reginald would also be certain that his sister had found a good husband.
“A good husband takes care of his family,” his aunt used to tell him when he was a small boy, as they rested in front of the fireplace every evening.
Sometimes, they would read. Other times, they would reminisce. And rarely, they would discuss the meaning of life, and what it meant to be a good man. Looking back now, Dominic felt that he had forgotten many of the life lessons his aunt had instilled in him. He had chosen to keep his father’s instructions, and those were that the end always justified the means. He believed that for a long time, choosing to live his life according to that adage.
But that was before he had fallen in love, before his heart decided that it didn’t belong to him any longer, but rather to someone else.
Now, that same heart was pleading with him to change his ways, to prove to Catherine that he was a trustworthy man who knew how to protect her, to keep her safe, cherished and loved. He wanted to do all that, and more, if only she would let him. But for that, he needed to gain her trust first, and then take her, then make her his in a way that a husband was to make a wife his.
Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, remembering the touch of her breasts under his fingers, the taste of her lips. His manhood roared with need, with desire, but he knew that he couldn’t do it now. He had to prove himself first, to show her that he was worthy of having her give herself to him.
His brow furrowed in concentration as he delved deeper into the details before him, his mind racing with a myriad of possibilities and potential solutions. He knew he had to find a way to help, to untangle the mess of their intertwined fates and set things right. As soon as he met with Timothy, he would explain to him the urgency of the situation. Timothy would understand. He would do everything in his power to find out where that man was hiding, and together, they would help Catherine’s brother.
