Page 71 of Any Duke in a Storm

As he fucked her relentlessly she started to shake, squeezing his cock with her spasming inner muscles, and Raphael reached around to stroke the nerves at the top of her sex.

“Again,” he ordered.

Her reply was garbled. “I can’t.”

“The fuck you can’t. Take me like the good girl you are andcome!” And then she was shivering, sobbing into the sheets as his fingers and hips moved faster, taking control and choreographing every whimper and every quake into a crescendo that matched and met his.

Only when he felt her body start to seize and shudder,did he withdraw from the heat of her, pumping furiously into his hand. Vision going white, a wild roar broke from him as he emptied himself onto the sheets between them.

Holy hell. Coitus had never been like that, like a cataclysmic, earth-shattering event.

Raphael panted for breath, propping himself on one arm and running a slow hand along Lisbeth’s damp spine and the rounded globes of her arse. He leaned over to kiss her shoulder where she lay spent on her stomach. “Are you well, chérie?”

“Mmm.” Her voice was muffled in the sheets, but she rolled limply to her side to stare up at him with a languid, satiated gaze. “More than well.”

“Good.” He winked. “Girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are a devil.”

With a laugh, Raphael bunched the soiled sheets up beneath him and collapsed beside her on the bed so that they were facing each other. He swiped a damp tendril of wispy blond hair from her brow. “You’re so fucking perfect, Lisbeth.”

Something flashed in her eyes before she lowered her lashes, hiding her expression from him. “I’m not. There are things you don’t know about me.”

“We all have our secrets,” he said, leaning in to kiss each corner of her mouth.

“Raphael…” she began and then closed her eyes, lips going tight, the words she’d been about to speak sealed away. It hurt that she didn’t trust him fully, but her walls needed to come down on their own and of her ownvolition. If someone tried to tear them down by force, they would only go back up twice as strong.Shehad to allow herself to trust him.

“Tell me something true, Viking,” he whispered.

Those beautiful green eyes slid open, desire and despair and dread swirling in them, and for once, she let him see all the things she normally hid. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she didn’t have to, but that would be a lie. They both had things to do. He had to settle the score with Dubois, and he did not want her getting caught in the middle of that. He’d seen the way the other man had looked at her, and a snake like his uncle would hurt her without a qualm. And she had to go take care of her crew and theSyren. Their paths were meant to diverge, but that didn’t mean that someday they couldn’t meet again.

“It doesn’t have to be goodbye forever,” he said.

She smiled sadly at him and then sighed, her palm reaching for his. “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe we’ll see each other again.” She intertwined their fingers and squeezed. “Your turn. Tell me something true, Pirate.”

The words were out before he could recall them, “I’m falling in love with you.”

Lisbeth stared at him in mute shock.

“You don’t have to say anything back,” he said softly.

By God, she wanted to. Was that what she’d beenfeeling all along?Love? The breathlessness that teased her lungs every time he gave her one of his genuine smiles…the way her blockaded heart felt because of the way he saw her like no one else had. She’d never been in love with anyone before. Her whole life had been lived with the sparest of emotions, not because she didn’t feel things, but because feeling things meant distraction.

But for the first time in her life, she wanted to be distracted. He’d never pushed her, never pressured her. She had always controlled the pace and the consent for anything between them. Raphael had always respected the lines she’d drawn in the sand between them, but now she wanted to cross them all. Every piece of her wanted to lean in close, accept what he was offering, and let herself be held. Let herself be safe, cherished, and loved in someone else’s arms.Hisarms.

He’s in love with a lie.

Because everything about you is a lie.

The burgeoning hope inside of her flickered. A part of her wanted to confess everything. Tell him who she honestly was and the truth of her mission. Lay her soul bare and take whatever judgment he’d pass upon her. See if he could still love her after all of it. But could she give up Dubois for him? Could she walk away from all that she had worked for…for a chance at love.

Ifthis was even love. How should she know? God, she was so conflicted.

Love wasn’t tangible. Or predictable. Or fair.

People took chances with love and failed every day. Ifshe made that choice, gave up everything that she’d built for this man, and it was the wrong one, what would she be left with but regret?

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