Page 73 of Falling Into Bed with a Duke
“If the choice is standing here watching a wheel spin and my coins dwindle or watching you, I choose the later. Besides, I’m assuming this is the exclusive game in the inner sanctum that is whispered about, but few are allowed to experience.”
She smiled brightly. “It is indeed.”
“Then I would be more than delighted to accept your invitation.”
“Who knows? You might even decide to play.”
THE private rooms were legendary. He wasn’t surprised Minerva possessed a key that granted her access to them, but it did allow him to understand why she might have instructed his driver to bring her here. With her mask hidden in the folds of her skirts, she could whisk through the gaming area and find solace in here. Even if he’d followed his driver that first night, she’d have been able to disappear before Ashe would have been able to catch a good glimpse of her unmasked.
Clever girl.
She led him up a set of stairs and down a darkened hallway. They passed a shadowed alcove. Grabbing her arm, he drew her back into it and latched his mouth onto hers. She didn’t protest or object. Merely wound her arms around his neck, pressed her breasts against his chest, drove him mad with her eagerness.
Why were they playing this damned game when this existed between them? Why weren’t they at his residence, in his bed? And why was it that he couldn’t get enough of her? Was it because she was the one who established the rules, the one in charge, the one who dictated the terms of their arrangement?
What arrangement? He was trying to keep his head, court her the way her blasted book said he was supposed to court her, but all he could think of was cupping her bare breast, kneading it, suckling on it. All he wanted was the freedom to glide his mouth along her bare legs, kiss her behind her knees, press his lips to her birthmark, tease and taunt her with his fingers and tongue. He wanted to be inside her, riding a wave of pleasure that was more intense than anything he’d ever experienced.
He dragged his mouth along her throat. “Come to my residence.”
“I’m not half-tempted,” she said on a sigh.
“Be all tempted.”
With a soft laugh, she cradled his face. “Doesn’t it frighten you? This mad attraction between us?”
“No. We should glory in it. It’s not always like this.”
“Is it not?”
He cupped her cheeks. “For me, it’s never been this intense with any other woman. Marry me, Minerva. We’ll have this every night.”
He heard her small gasp of surprise. “I don’t know that it’s enough to carry us through a lifetime.”
“But what a ride we’ll have until it burns out.”
“So you think it’ll burn out.”
He cursed the disappointment he heard in her voice. Part of him thought it had to. Part of him couldn’t imagine it. She wanted guarantees. He wanted to bed her again. But he wasn’t going to lie to her.
“Do you love me?” she asked.
He bit back a frustrated sigh. “I care for you very much. Love ... love is what made the Marquess of Marsden go mad. I know you yearn for it, but it is not all warmth and joy and happily-ever-after. This attraction we feel can carry us far.”
“I just don’t know if it’ll carry us far enough.”
He should give up on her. She wasn’t the only woman with a dowry. But dammit all, he wanted her. Her stubbornness, her willingness to go after what she wanted, even her belief in love. He’d never known a woman as complex, complicated, or intriguing. A lifetime with her would ensure he was never bored.
He took her mouth once more, rough and hungrily, just one more taste, one more nibble, one more sweep of his tongue. When he broke off the kiss, she staggered. He steadied her, grinned. “We could have that every night. Consider it.”
Taking her hand, he led her out into the hallway.
“You don’t play fair,” she said softly.
“This isn’t a game.”
“Is it not?”
It was the future of his estates, his legacy. He wished he could give her the love she wanted, she deserved. But he could ensure she didn’t regret marrying him. “I want you,” he said simply. “That’s not going to change.”
