Page 42 of My Dangerous Duke

Xander shook his head, looking at her as if she were ridiculous.

“It simply means that you are no longer a maiden. And if I may be honest, I would have been concerned if youhad notbled.”

Eleanor did not need him to explain further to understand that her purity had been symbolized by it, but why had her mother not told her? Or her sister? Or her romance books? They wrote of the passionate kisses and fevered heartbeats, but none of this was in any of them.

“This is not right,” she pouted, feeling foolish both for her ignorance and for the way she was handling it. “How do you know more about this than I do?”

Xander looked over at her with a smirk and raised a brow, and Eleanor suddenly remembered. Her husband, the man who had just been so sweet and gentle with her, had probably done the same with many,manywomen.

“Right,” she whispered, lowering her eyes, a bright streak of crimson on her sheet dress holding her attention.

A moment later, she felt the back of Xander’s hand softly caress her cheek, then his thumb and pointer finger tilted her chin so that she would look at him. His silver gaze held a quiet strength; a surety.

“I have not been with anyone else since our marriage,” he told her, his voice heavy with truth.

“Have you wanted to?”

Eleanor did not mean to ask the question. It had been a day full of intense events, but this last one had made every fantasy, every dream she had had for the last month come true. She wanted to just savor it… but some recessed part of her brain spoke out before she could stop it.

For a moment, Eleanor thought she saw a hint of anger flutter through Xander’s cool gaze, but when she blinked it was gone, and he was giving her that same intense, soul-seeing look again.

“I have not,” he replied calmly. “Have you?”

“I do not want anyone touching me but you,” Eleanor blurted out.

Would you stop?!Eleanor yelled at herself. Had Xander’s fantastic lovemaking broken her ability to filter her words?

Xander’s eyes filled with intense possessiveness as Eleanor spoke her truth, making something inside of her shiver and gasp with need. When he reached up for her, she went into his arms willingly and was disappointed when he only placed her on her feet.

“Seems like we are both happy then,” he surmised, raking his eyes down her body as he pulled the stained sheet away from her. Eleanor trembled under his hungry gaze, feeling another stir of desire through the ache in her lower belly.

“Are we done arguing now?” He asked, his tone sultry as his left brow perked.

Eleanor nodded.

Xander smiled.

“Good. Come.”

He grabbed her hand, leading her the last few steps to the now-full bath, and helped her in. Eleanor sighed in relief as the lavender-scented warm water surrounded her, but when Xander moved to get in behind her, she tensed, took up as much space as she could, and asked what he was doing.

“You cannot get in!” She gasped, mortified.

“I thought we were done arguing?” He asked, moving her easily and sliding in behind her.

“But-”

Xander brought her back to his chest, pinning her there with one arm around her waist.

“No buts,” his deep voice commanded as he grabbed the washcloth with his free hand. “You had control earlier. Now it is my turn.”

Chapter 19

Four Weeks Later

“Yes, Jared, that is fine,” Xander said testily, wishing the man would hurry up. He felt another deep tug of pleasure as Eleanor’s tongue reached the base of his extremely hardened cock, and he rapped his knuckles on his desk to stop himself from moaning. When that failed, he forced out a loud cough and began to tap his pen on this desk.

“Everything all right, Your Grace?”

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