Page 53 of Wedded to the Ruthless Duke

To her surprise, Philip didn’t keep pulling at the chemise. He stood behind her, bending down, his lips finding the space between the edge of her chemise and her neck. It was a soft and gentle kiss, startling in its tenderness.

“You are beautiful, Grace,” he whispered. “Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.”

How did he know? How did he know what I was thinking just because I held onto the chemise?

When his arms reached around her, he threaded their fingers together. Slowly, he urged her arms down from her body. It wasn’t demanding, far from it. The simple action, the softness of it, made a trust grow within her.

With him, I am safe.

She let her arms loosen at her sides then turned around to face him. His eyes were dark and hooded again. When he stared at her, he truly did seem to desire her in a way she had not thought would ever be possible for a man to look at her.

He took hold of her chemise once again though he waited this time, looking at her, watching for her assent. She raised her arms over her head, giving him that consent. He lifted the chemise off her in one swift movement, and with it, the speed that had been in him before was unleashed again.

He reached for her head, tangling his fingers in her hair and bringing her toward himself for a kiss. He pressed her bare body to his so that her breasts were flattened to his chest. It was a thrilling thing, the touch of bare skin together, though she could not indulge in it, for he was soon moving them again.

Grace was backed up, but rather than colliding with the chaise longue as before, she reached the bed. He laid her down upon it, leaning over her, so he still stood beside the bed. He hooked his hands around her legs and parted them, fast, drawing her to the very edge of the bed, so he could nestle his body between hers, reaching for her lips with his own.

The kiss was heated. She trailed her fingers down his chest then up around his back, exploring him, listening to her instinct of what to do. He seemed to love it.

When her fingers touched his chest, he rocked his hips into her, and when she curled her hands around his strong shoulder blades, he growled into their kiss.

Then he reached down between them. He slid his fingers inside of her again though this time, there was no fussy skirt to work around. He had complete access to her, sliding in two fingers, stretching her body. The feeling of pleasure erupted within her, making her moan into his kiss.

Then he pulled back from the kiss, just far enough so that he could watch her as he pleasured her.

“Philip,” she moaned his name, finding the sound falling from her lips repeatedly. “Please.”

Something lit up in his eyes. She had a feeling he rather liked it when she begged him in this way.

His other hand reached down to his trousers, and he unfastened them. He had to release her in order to lower the trousers down his hips and kick them away.

Grace lifted her head just enough so she could see all of him. Pushing aside her honey hair, which was now a mess, half falling across her face, she stared at him. The muscular legs went up to a perfect ‘v’ shape, and his length was far beyond what she could have imagined from all her reading on the subject of the anatomy of men. It was bigger than she had expected, standing to attention for her.

A little fear squirmed in her stomach. She didn’t want to stop, but she was now anxious about what was to come.

“Hold onto me,” Philip ordered as he bent over her again. Strangely, she had no objection to this particular order. She curled her arms around his waist and back, clinging onto him as he braced his hands on either side of her on the bed.

He brushed his lips against her own, the kiss soft, tentative, a mere tease as she felt his length begin to nudge her entrance. She raised her legs higher on instinct, desperate to know all of him now. Her movement seemed to change everything, for he slid into her fast.

The pain was sudden. She gripped around his chest hard, her head flinging flat back onto the bed. Her lips were captured by Philip in a firmer kiss.

She expected him to move, but he didn’t. He held this position, not rocking into her, just allowing her to adjust to his size. He pulled back a little from their kiss, moving his lips along her cheek and down to her neck where he kissed her again.

That sweet spot on her neck made the excitement grow. It was the same place where he had marked her on that carriage ride, identifying her as his own. Then she felt him playfully nip her again.

He’s doing it again. Marking me as his!

The pain was gone. With it, she rocked her hips into his experimentally, longing to know what more of this feeling could be like.

He drove his hands firmly down into the bed and raised himself up, no longer kissing her but watching her, watching what they were doing as he rocked himself into her repeatedly.

The feeling was much more intense than Grace had ever expected. It was the shock of pleasure, the intimacy, the way Philip looked at her as well as what they were doing which made it so overwhelming.

Neither of them stopped moving, not once. Her hands continued to explore him. Sometimes, her fingers trailed down his chest, other times, she gripped onto his biceps, needing to feel the strength hidden in his arms as he moved their bodies together.

His own hands were equally restless. He gripped her hair, toying with it sometimes, trailing it through his fingers. Other times, he held onto her hips, using them to rock into her more firmly. When one of his hands simply bore his weight against the bed and the other trailed across her breasts, she felt the pleasure grow tenfold.

He seemed to be adoring every curve of her. He squeezed her breasts, his fingers firm and exploratory. She squirmed underneath him, the pleasure of their connection growing exponentially now.

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