Page 42 of A Sinful Virgin for the Duke

A blistering thunderstroke caused her to jump. Frederick wrapped one arm around her shoulder.

His voice was as soothing as it had been when he’d calmed her down at the table. “Easy there. No need to jump out of your skin.”

Surrounded by his warmth, she felt the same security she’d felt before. “It is just thunder. We are fine.”

Still apprehensive, she looked over her shoulder but found that she came too close to his cheek for comfort.

Swallowing, she said, “you are a good man. How is it that you have not found someone to love?”

“I am not overly obsessed with finding such a thing,” he said. “What about you? I know you have lived in a place where such desires are forbidden, but you are still of the fairer sex. Do you want a husband?”

“You tease me, sir,” she shook her head. “I will not deny I have thought about it, but I doubt I will ever marry. What sort or lady would you like to be your wife?”

“Someone thoughtful and kind,” he said. “I would rather settle for a marriage of peaceful cohabitation than one of wild emotions. Unfortunately, the ladies I have met and kissed are only after a title and not much else.”

Hearing him mention kissing other women tempted Gemma to pull away but she did not, and pressed closer to his side. Maybe it was the darkness, maybe it was the closeness and intimacy, but she could not definitively answer why she asked, “have you ever kissed someone who was not after a title?”

“No.”

Her heart hammered and the boldness in her took over. “Would you like to?”

“Miss Bradford,” his tone was commanding, and it sent tremors down her spine. “Are you asking me to kiss you?”

Yes, dear God. I so desperately want you to kiss me again.

Yet, upon hearing it from his lips, Gemma felt completely mortified and pulled away, her skin burning from the tips of her hair to the bottom of her slippers.

Although she herself was a lady—or at least she used to be, before her mother abandoned her—she realized that, indeed, she was indirectly referring to herself.

Unable to look at him, she stood up and tried to run from the room, but his hand wrapped around her wrist and held her back.

She kept her eyes turned away from him, praying that a hole in the floor would open and swallow her whole.

“Gemma,” his tone was firm and unrelenting. When he spoke her name she could not refuse him. She turned around but kept her eyes focused on the floor. “There you are, darling. Look at me.”

“I cannot,” she whispered.

“Yes, you can and you will,” he ordered. “Look at me, Gemma.”

When she did, everything except Frederick faded away into nothingness. She was captivated by the heat of his muscular body, the enticing scent of his skin, the smoothness of his clothes and his proximity to her.

All the hairs on her skin rose and tingled and a swarm of razor-tipped butterflies flooded her belly.

Do it. Look at him.

With her decision made, she tipped her head back. His deep blue eyes gleamed in the dimness as he touched her face and held her chin between his index finger and thumb.

“Good girl,” his breath skittered over her skin.

Without warning his lips sealed hers. His passionate kiss was both a shock and a revelation.

In the lamp-lit darkness, his hard, firm lips kindled a dormant need within her. A hunger for something she’d never known came roaring to life inside her, and the feeling was astonishing.

Tingles of explosive pleasure shot down her body, every sensation heightened, and Gemma whimpered with delight as Frederick tilted her head, his tongue exploring her mouth and teasing her tongue into play, filling her with bliss.

As untried as she was in the art of kissing, she knew well enough to mimic his movements and eked out a deep groan from him. It sounded as if he was starving and someone had suddenly sat him in front of a buffet.

A responsive moan escaped from Gemma. He swallowed the sound, tilting her head back further as their lips caught fire. He tasted like coffee and rich whisky, both flavors dark and addictive. Her primal instincts took over and all thoughts but one abandoned her.

---