Page 56 of Wedded to the Scottish Duke

“Yer nights had been sleepless, sweetheart?” he whispered, his voice so deep now that she wondered how it was possible not to be seduced by that depth alone. “Sleepless because ye’ve been thinking of this?”

“Haven’t you already teased me enough?” she countered.

She knew she couldn’t have more, that if they crossed any more boundaries, she would be a truly scandalized woman, but she at least wanted her release. She wanted to shudder with him.

“Nearly,” he promised and bent down, kissing her deeply. His fingers stalled a little, but not for long, then he removed his hand from her core.

“But—”

“It’s still yer turn. I’m not taking my release yet.”

Then he bent down again and put his lips on her sex. As she sank back, ready to enjoy the pleasure, she was not prepared for the way two of his fingers entered her as he continued to lick and kiss her. The dual pleasure was completely overwhelming.

She clutched one of his biceps, the only one she could reach, marveling at how it felt through his shirt sleeve as he pumped his fingers inside her. That thrill was growing, making her body tighten, as the truth of what they were doing became clear in her mind.

She couldn’t stay away from him. It didn’t matter how wrong this was—she couldn’t stay away. She was willing to risk ruin, willing to risk anything, just to feel the Duke of Hardbridge’s touch again.

Then his fingers pushed deeper. She was tipped over the edge of that cascading pleasure, holding on to the chaise longue and his bicep as tightly as she could as he rocked her body. She didn’t want to stop watching what he was doing to her, but dazed, she saw stars from the sheer power of it.

She was still panting, unable to catch her breath as she became aware of him kneeling above her once again. She didn’t know what to say as she came down from her high. Her body was still tightly wound and very satisfied from what they had just done, but the way he was looking at her with such heat surely meant it could all happen again.

If he touched her again, she knew she would not say no.

“Your Grace?—”

“Keith,” he suddenly said. “My name, sweetheart, is Keith.”

It was so personal to use his Christian name, but that meant everything they had just shared was even more powerful. She was no longer transgressing with the Duke of Hardbridge, but with Keith, a man she could simply not stay away from.

He bent toward her, molding his lips to her own. She clung to his back, keeping him there for as long as she could. She could even feel his hard length near her. She shuddered, tempted to ask him to take her completely.

She felt his hardness closer now, near her entrance, as she wrapped her leg around his hip. They both gasped, breaking the kiss. If he pushed his hips forward now, they would be ruined.

“We shouldn’t…” she whispered.

“I know.” He sighed and then moved back. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to.”

“It also means,” she said firmly, watching as he rose from the chaise longue and tucked himself in his trousers, “this is the last time you may touch me.”

CHAPTER 16

Keith stilled.

“What did ye say?” He abruptly turned around to face Celia. She was already trying to put her clothes back on, but as he had ripped the skirt of her chemise, she held it in her hands quite helplessly before tossing it aside in the dressing room. “Sweetheart?”

“Please, please!” she begged suddenly, turning back to face him as she pulled her gown back on, doing her best to hide the torn chemise. “Don’t call me that again.”

“Ye know I can’t keep that promise.”

“You must,” she pleaded, turning and finding her shoes as she tried to tie the laces of her gown at the same time. “This is the last time it happens, Your Grace. The last time?—”

“Don’t call me that.” He shook his head firmly.

He couldn’t stand the thought of being called that now, not after what they had done and had come so close to nearly doing.

“It is your title.” Her cheeks were pink, but no longer from what they had done—rather, from a tense fury. “It has to end.”

“Why, exactly?” He raised his eyebrows, but she didn’t answer him. She just shook her head. “Celia?”

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