Page 48 of A Virgin for the Duke of Thorns

She looked thoroughly displeased by the whole situation and yet absolutely tempting. That petulant pout she wore only made her lips even more enticing, calling to mind that kiss they shared in the Salisbury gardens.

The same kiss that had haunted him and kept him awake for many nights. If she had known how many times he had pleasured himself just thinking of that kiss, she would have been appalled.

In fact, if she had been privy to the many fantasies he had of her—in his bed, bent over his desk, draped over his sofa—she would be horrified, and rightly so.

Alice was nothing at all like the other ladies he had before her. She was an innocent seductress, a bewitching temptress whose every little movement sent desire coursing through his veins.

And right now, she was here with him. Alone. In his study.

“Please do not act as if this is only unpleasant to you,” he shot back through gritted teeth, intensely aware of the growing hardness between his legs.

He watched as she bristled, her breasts straining against the neckline of her dress as she glared up at him in absolute indignation.

“Well, I would not have participated in these games if you had not dragged me here!” she snapped. “I could have retired early in peace, away from you and your… your?—”

“Majesty?” he supplied with a smirk. “My absolute perfection?”

“Your sheer arrogance!” she hollered. “And your insufferable male?—”

Of course, his ‘insufferable male’ whatever was not going to allow him to merely stand there and allow her to heap abuse on his head. Colin roughly pulled her into his arms, his lips descending upon hers in a punishing kiss that silenced the torrent of insults she had planned to unleash on him.

Alice, he had learned, could be quite creative in that department, but he had also found an exceedingly effective way to halt her once she was in the middle of a particularly scathing tirade.

Almost immediately, he felt the anger seep out of her, and she melted into his arms, her lips molding into his as she subconsciously pressed her softness into him with a soft moan, further obliterating what was left of his self-control.

His fingers delved into her hair, sending pins raining on the carpeted floor as he angled her head to deepen the kiss. His tongue traced her bottom lip, tasting her sweet surrender as she opened up to him, her arms going around his neck as she clung to him.

Lady Alice Barkley was going to be the death of him—he was sure of it.

He trailed his lips along the delicate line of her jaw to her ear, reveling in the subtle shudder that coursed through her. He nipped her earlobe, drawing a sharp intake of breath from her that trailed off into an unmistakable moan.

She tasted so sweet, far sweeter than his fantasies. Her soft fragrance wrapped around him, ensnaring him, drugging him until all he could think about was her.

“Colin…” he heard her sigh.

He halted at that, his lips hovering over the spot where her neck met her shoulder. Alice had tilted her head to the side, exposing herself to him like an offering—and he took it.

He kissed her softly there, glorying in the soft mewling sound she made when he lightly sucked her skin before laving it with his tongue. He was certain he was going to hell for this, but there was something about the sounds she was making that seemed to urge him on.

His hand spanned across her chest, and her body bowed in an unmistakable response—she wanted this. Wanted his touch. Wanted him.

He groaned and squeezed the soft flesh through the trappings of her dress and her stays. She called out his name once more.

“Patience, little lamb,” he crooned, even as his every instinct called out for him to simply pull her skirts up and drive himself into her sweet warmth.

“Oh God, I feel like I am burning,” she moaned through her slightly parted lips.

He chuckled hoarsely and plucked at the buttons at her back, effectively loosening the front of her dress. His gaze hungrily devoured the soft swells of flesh above the lacy neckline of her chemise. He would have a taste of them, too, he decided as he swiftly did away with the laces of her stays.

Never before had he been so thankful for his past experience with undoing a woman’s undergarments. He could not have gotten rid of Alice’s stays quickly enough.

He dropped her stays carelessly at their feet before sweeping her off the floor entirely, earning him a surprised squeal.

“Colin! What are you doing?” she demanded as he stalked over to the great desk.

“What I have been dreaming of since that day you broke into Blackthorn Estate,” he muttered huskily. With a single sweep of his arm, he sent the piles of documents crashing to the floor before setting her on the table. “Now, where were we?”

To his surprise, she threw her arms around him and kissed him as hungrily as he had kissed her. She was vastly inexperienced compared to him, but what she lacked in skill, she made up for with sheer passion, and that, in itself, was a far more heady drug than anything he had ever encountered.

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