Page 45 of The Duke and the Runaway Bride

“Yes,” Edwin said plainly. “I am trying to reclaim my family business, and it was a business decision. I would have received a dowry no matter who I married. Does it bother you?”

“No,” Beatrice admitted. “I only wanted to know if she was speaking the truth. I believe it bothers her, and she thought it might bother me. I have a feeling she will do worse than what she has done so far.”

“I will be ready for her. If she tries to hurt us, I will not fail to take her down. Once I have my business in order, no one will pay her any attention. Lords and ladies of the ton like to gossip, but they like money and status much more. Soon, I will have both again. If today is anything to go by, you will get me there quicker than I anticipated.”

“I am at your service,” Beatrice declared with a curtsy.

The way she said it re-ignited his desires. She was at his service, which meant definitive things as a married couple. One of those things was the pleasure he had promised her, which would come later that night. However, he found out he could not wait that long anymore. The business prospect and his wife’s actions had stirred his emotions.

“I have an idea,” Edwin said.

“Hmm.”

“We have shown our faces, and I have a meeting next week. We are newlyweds, and if we were to sneak out publicly, it would get people talking about us needing to be alone. And I would not have to see Miss Jennings. I don’t care a jot about her, but I fear I will be unable to hold my tongue, and she would enjoy a public confrontation with me.”

“So, we sneak out together?” Beatrice asked.

“Yes.” Edwin nodded. “We don’t tell anyone why we must leave, but they will all believe they know why we are going back home alone.”

“And this time, it will not only be rumors,” Beatrice whispered.

ChapterSeventeen

Burning Desires

Beatrice stared into the Duke’s eyes, and she shivered beneath his intense gaze. He sat on the same side of the carriage with her, his body turned to face her. He had a hand on her cheek, and they were locked into position, both breathing heavily.

There was a silent conversation, both of them asking for what they wanted. Beatrice hadn’t expected her actions to evoke such passion within the Duke, and they had barely spent any time at the garden party before leaving. Beatrice did not mind that at all. She would get what she wanted, what she had waited a week for.

The Duke leaned in close and kissed her softly. Her body was begging him to take her right there and then.

He pulled back and stared at her again. Beatrice could not speak even if she wanted to, and he had not spoken since they climbed into the carriage. He didn’t need to say anything for her to know what he wanted. He placed his free hand on her other cheek and regarded her with a sweet smile.

The act might have been sweet, but the response it elicited from Beatrice was anything but. The longer they remained clothed and in sweet embraces, the more she lusted for him. She needed his body, and she could barely wait a second more.

When the coach halted, Edwin didn’t wait for the driver or footman to open the door. He opened it himself, grabbed Beatrice by the hand, and walked quickly toward the manor.

He started running as soon as they were inside, still tightly holding her hand. Beatrice laughed as they sprinted up the stairs and down the halls, the sound echoing through the manor.

Then they were in his room, and the door was closed behind them. Beatrice was not nervous anymore. She had been nervous for a week, but it all disappeared now that the moment had come.

She and Edwin stared at each other, both panting after running up the stairs and down the long hall. Her chest was heaving, and her heart was pounding against her ribcage.

The moment did not last long, however. They communicated without words, both coming together, the Duke’s hands cradling her head before their lips met. As they kissed, they ripped and tugged at each other’s clothes. Beatrice’s dress was quickly removed, and she kicked off her shoes. The Duke turned his attention to taking off his own clothes, and when the kiss halted, they both stood in their undergarments.

Beatrice had been in that situation before, with the Duke fully dressed the first time, but now it felt completely different. Edwin’s eyes raked up and down her shift-covered body, and she did not feel exposed. Back in Lord Pemberton’s room, she had been petrified and excited. In the Duke’s room, she was only excited.

The outline of her small nipples on the thin fabric was a testament to that. When she glanced down, she spotted the bulge in the Duke’s drawers, which only excited her more.

They took each other in. The Duke had seen her in this state before, but he looked her over as if he were seeing her for the first time. Beatrice’s eyes were hungry, roving over his body and finding it eerily similar to how she had envisioned him in her dream.

His chest was broad and sprinkled with thick tufts of black hair. His legs were thick like tree trunks, and his arms bulged like the foothills of the Pennines. His skin was slightly tanned, begging for her touch. It was overwhelming, and she wanted to touch every part of him.

Suddenly, she struggled to breathe, overcome by anticipation.

The Duke sprang into action, dropping his drawers and moving toward her at a startling pace. He grabbed her shift and pulled it over her heel, pressing his lips to hers, his warm body making her shiver in pleasure.

Beatrice wrapped her arms around him as they kissed, running her fingers up and down his bare back. She knew she would explode at the slightest touch, and it did not help that his engorged member throbbed against her thigh. She wanted to reach down and touch it, but she was afraid. She was not nervous about what would come, but she was unprepared. She had no idea what she might feel or what to do.

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