Page 56 of A Heart Disguised 1

Surrounding this centerpiece, the sitting area boasted plush chairs and divans fit for royalty, while flames danced merrily in the hearth, casting flickering shadows upon walls adorned with tapestries and art. But it was the floor-to-ceiling windows and doors leading to a grand terrace that truly stole my breath—offering an unobstructed view of Lunaria’s glittering skyline.

“My, my,” I quipped, my voice only slightly trembling. “Did Cupid sneeze in here?”

The duke’s lips curved into a smirk. “Cupid, my dear Robin, would be envious of what I have planned for you tonight.” His eyes gleamed with a mix of amusement and desire. “Though I must admit, your way with words never fails to entertain me. Perhaps I should find more creative ways to occupy that clever tongue of yours.”

His response, both playful and suggestive, filled me with a potent mixture of anticipation and nerves. It was clear that Duke Darius was more than capable of matching my wit, and the promise in his words made me wonder if I had, perhaps, bitten off more than I could chew.

When he set me down on the bed, every muscle in my body tensed, rendering me as pliable as marble. The duke sat beside me, his touch gentle as he stroked my cheek with an almost reverent hand.

“You look enchanting,” he said softly. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t wish to see you like this most days.”

“Oh? And here I thought you preferred me covered in mud and leaves,” I retorted, my wit a feeble shield against the intensity of his gaze.

His face drew closer until our lips were but a whisper apart. Panic fluttered within me. I placed a hand on his chest and nudged him back with all the strength of a leaf against the wind.

“Please,” I begged, “just give me a moment to—to catch my breath. I fear I might faint, and wouldn’t that be a disappointing start to our wedding night?”

The duke chuckled, a rich, deep sound that seemed to reverberate through my very bones. His hand cupped my cheek, thumb brushing gently across my lower lip. “Oh, little dove,” he murmured, his voice a blend of amusement and desire, “youwon’t faint. I intend to keep you very much awake and alert for every exquisite moment of what’s to come.”

His words sent a fresh wave of heat coursing through me, equal parts anticipation and trepidation. I swallowed hard, my wit momentarily deserting me in the face of his bold promise.

“Besides,” he continued, a mischievous glint in his golden eyes, “if you were to swoon, I’d simply have to revive you with a kiss. And while that would be delightful, I have far more… elaborate plans for our evening.”

My heart, already racing, seemed to skip a beat at his words. I was caught between the urge to make another quip and the growing desire to discover exactly what those ‘elaborate plans’ entailed. The duke’s confidence was both intimidating and irresistibly alluring, leaving me dizzy with a heady mixture of nerves and excitement.

As I opened my mouth, perhaps to offer a witty retort or to voice my curiosity, the duke seized the opportunity. In one swift motion, he closed the distance between us, his hand sliding to the nape of my neck. Before I could draw breath, his lips claimed mine in a scorching kiss—so fervent it threatened to consume us both. His tongue plunged into my mouth without preamble, igniting fires I hadn’t known lay dormant within me.

At first, fear was my dance partner—leading, guiding—but as the kiss deepened and his warmth enveloped me, fear’s grip loosened. Pleasure stepped forward—a suitor both bold and enthralling—and I found myself melting into him with a moan that bore my surrender on its breath.

His teasing strokes along my lips drew whimpers from deep within me; each groan was both an admission of need and an invocation for more. My body burned beneath his touch, every fiber alight with desire previously unspoken.

When he finally pulled away, I gasped for air, my head spinning as if I’d indulged in too much wine. “Well,” I panted,trying to regain some semblance of composure, “I suppose that’s one way to silence my witty remarks.”

The duke’s eyes gleamed with amusement and desire. “Oh, dove,” he purred, his fingers tracing the curve of my jaw. “I have many ways to silence you, and we have all night to explore them.”

The duke’s lips hovered over mine, his breath a warm whisper against my skin. “You taste so sweet, so intoxicating,” he said.

“Is that your sophisticated way of saying I’m like a particularly potent mead?” I quipped, arching an eyebrow. “Or perhaps you’re simply drunk on power. Maybe it’s the wine.”

His laughter was a low rumble that I felt more than heard. “If I’m drunk on anything, it’s the intoxicating effect you have on me. And it’s a spell I have no desire to break.”

Before I could formulate another witty retort, his lips claimed mine once more, devouring my words with a kiss that was both a blessing and a curse. The fervor of his embrace threatened to consume me whole, like a wildfire devouring a forest. I melted into him, my body yielding to the heat of his touch, his hard chest pressing against me—a solid wall of muscle that left me acutely aware of the differences between us.

His hand began a slow descent from my cheek, tracing a burning path down my throat. I stiffened beneath his touch, panic fluttering in my chest as his fingers drifted lower still, grazing my chest through the gown. My mind raced with fear, thoughts tumbling over one another like leaves caught in a tempest. Beneath the silken folds of my gown lay a secret as fragile as spun glass—the undeniable truth of my boyhood. My chest, flat as a winter plain, held none of the soft curves the duke surely expected. With each passing moment, each tantalizing caress, I teetered on the precipice of discovery. It was only a matter of time before his questing fingers unveiled the deceptionI had so carefully woven, shattering this delicate illusion like a crystal goblet dashed against stone.

Desperate, I tried to push him away, my hands pressing against the unyielding expanse of his chest. “My lord,” I gasped, breaking the kiss, “perhaps we should slow down? Even the great city of Lunaria wasn’t built in a day, you know.”

But he was immovable, a mountain unyielding to the wind. His kiss deepened, his tongue plunging further into my mouth with a fervor that made my head spin. A whimper escaped me, swallowed by his hungry lips, followed by a low groan that I scarcely recognized as my own. To my surprise and dismay, I arched into him, my body betraying my mind’s hesitation and seeking more of his touch.

I was buried beneath him, the weight of his body pinning me to the bed, a willing captive to his passionate onslaught. His thigh nudged its way between my legs, igniting a heat within me that had nothing to do with fear or embarrassment. It was a primal, urgent need that I had never experienced before, one that both thrilled and terrified me in equal measure. As his hard, insistent length pressed against my thigh, I realized with a mix of horror and exhilaration that I was responding. My own arousal grew, betraying me in the most intimate of ways, and panic flared anew. What if he felt the evidence of my desire? What if he saw it? The secret I had so carefully guarded was now in danger of being exposed by my own traitorous body, caught between the twin forces of lust and fear.

When he finally released my lips, leaving them sore and swollen, I whispered a fervent plea, my voice trembling like a leaf in a storm. “Please, my lord, extinguish the candles. I fear I might blind you with my dazzling beauty.”

The Duke of Lunaria chuckled, his golden eyes ablaze. “I am more than willing to be dazzled by your beauty. In fact, I insist upon it.” His gaze raked over me, hot as flame. “I want tosee every detail of you when we make love. Every blush, every tremor.”

I protested, my voice cracking with a mixture of genuine apprehension and feigned modesty. “But I’m… unaccustomed to such scrutiny,” I stammered, feeling the heat of a blush creep up my neck. “What if my inexperience disappoints you?”

“We are husband and wife now,” he reminded me gently, his hand cupping my face with a tenderness that belied his strength. “There’s no need for shame or fear between us. I want to know every inch of you, dove. And I assure you, your beauty could never blind me—only enchant me further.”

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