Page 46 of Wedded to the Sinful Duke

“Let’s see if I learned my lesson well,” she murmured as her fingers stroked him from root to the tip that was beading already.

He couldn’t believe the ease with which she was dominating him. He had never seen that in a woman, especially not in a woman he had to instruct himself. She truly was a siren. He had known that from the first moment he laid his eyes on her, and now, he was under her power.

“You know, you are fortunate I am here,” she whispered, her lips dangerously close to his tip, almost touching it. He could feel her hot breath spill all over it, but she wasn’t touching him, and it was driving him mad with need.

Hewasfortunate. He couldn’t have agreed more. Here was a wife that wanted to do to him everything he had been imagining in the darkness of his bedchamber, all of his wishes coming true.

“We have to get you cleaned off properly,” she purred again, and at that very moment, her lips locked around his tip.

She teased him with her tongue gently and slowly at first. He relished the sensation of the wet heat of her mouth. Then, she surprised him by taking him deeper. Nothing could have prepared him for that moment of her lips sucking him, obliterating every other thought apart from her. He couldn’t control himself. He sank his fingers into her luscious locks, sifting through them.

“Ciara…” he groaned her name as he realized that he wanted her more than he wanted any other woman and not only to be inside of her but to bewithher in every way a man could be with a woman.

She locked eyes with him, touching the corner of her lips with her thumb as she got up.

The thought almost sent him reeling backward, but a tidal wave of pleasure dissolved that thought and her grip over him tightened, bringing him to the edge momentarily.

She lifted her gown around her waist, ready to sit on his lap. Jonathan would have loved nothing more than to push everything off the table with his hand and ravage her, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. Only, the reason behind him was something that surprised him.

He quickly got up, taking the hem of her gown and lowering it to the ground. She looked at him, puzzled, a confusion he tried to soften by kissing her on the forehead, yet another surprising act on his part.

He never kissed anyone on the forehead. That was far too intimate.

“I thought… that we would fully consummate our marriage this time,” she admitted, sounding a little disappointed.

He smiled, cupping her chin with his fingers. “We should take it slow, Ciara. After all, you were in a convent,” he reminded her.

The truth was far from it. He could not see a single thing about her that spoke of her time in the nunnery. The truth was that the special dinner and the efforts she had gone through had made him feel… vulnerable.

He didn’t even know he had it in him. He knew that he needed some time to sort out his head. His heart had no say in anything. He refused to allow that. But the confusion persisted, and he knew that making love to her would only make him even more confused about everything. Time would make him see things clearly once again… time away from her.

“That is more than enough for tonight, siren,” he said softly. “You are proving to be a better student every time.”

She didn’t say anything to that. He knew that he had hurt her by refusing her wishes. But there was nothing else he could say without revealing more than he wanted to.

“Thank you… for this,” he said again, gesturing around them. “It was lovely. Goodnight, Ciara.”

He hastily left her bedchamber, locking himself up in his. As he thought, sleep did not come to him that night.

CHAPTER 22

The days following their intimate dinner passed in a blur for Ciara. She found herself engrossed in a myriad of tasks—supervising the household staff, attending to her correspondences, and making arrangements for social visits. She was yearning to speak to Adeline and tell her everything that had happened. Yet, despite her busy schedule, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Jonathan had obviously been avoiding her. They already took their meals separately, but even when they did pass by each other, his conversation was polite but guarded. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment each time he made a hasty retreat back to his study, avoiding her gaze. There had been almost a week since their last lesson, and she was longing for more time with him.

That afternoon, she was in the middle of reviewing the household chores in the drawing room, when the steward entered the room, after having knocked. As always, hisexpression was respectfully neutral so she could never quite guess why he had come.

“Your Grace, I beg your pardon, but you have visitors,” he announced.

Ciara’s heart leapt with excitement. Perhaps it was Uncle Brendan or Adeline. She had been craving the comfort of familiar faces and light-hearted conversation. In fact, she felt as if she hadn’t seen either of them in ages, and there was so much to talk about.

“Thank you, Arden,” she replied cheerfully, her mind already a swirl of topics to engross in. “Please, show them into the parlor. I shall be there shortly myself.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Arden nodded respectfully, disappearing behind closed doors a moment later.

She stood up, smoothing her skirts in anticipation. Of course, if it were Uncle Brendan, she wouldn’t be sharing with him the details she wanted to tell Adeline, but seeing him would be enough to ease her mind.

She made her way to the parlor, her mind already buzzing with anticipation. But as she stepped through the door, her smile faltered, and all the blood drained from her face.

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