Page 46 of His Abandoned Duchess

“I see you, Amelia.” He held her stare unblinking. “I see you, and I tell you now in earnest. There is nothing on this great earth that has left me so transformed. You are a force of nature, and I ambut a leaf tossed about in your winds. You have enraptured me so, dearest Amelia, and I shall never be the same again.”

Richard pulled her lips to his, giving himself over to the mesmerizing embrace that he’d come to adore. Amelia was indeed the sun to his earth, and he orbited her as a grateful celestial body enamored by her light.

Amelia melted against him as Richard pulled her into his arms. The grace of her body pressed to his lit up his soul, and he would think of nothing more divine than the feeling of her lips on his. She sighed against his mouth, her hands on either side of his face. As Amelia hovered her lips above his skin, flashes of ghostly touches igniting an ember of desire, she touched her forehead to his.

“Take me upstairs. Let me see you.”

A spark of apprehension touched him, but Richard shook it loose, scooping Amelia up into his arms and heading directly for the staircase. He carried her up, dressing her skin in kisses as he climbed each stair toward his room. Arriving, Richard shut them in together, securing the door before guiding Amelia back to his bed, their lips tangling.

There were no words for the enormity of the sentiments surging in his chest, and he wished to communicate them all through his touch, his worship of her. Amelia lay back against the covers, and Richard’s hands went to the fichu still tucked into the front of her overdress. He pulled it free, dropping it to the floor.

“Richard.” The plea was soft, gentle, and Richard smoothed his lips over Amelia’s neck.

The ferocity of before was not present, though a deep well of passion bloomed. Richardneededevery inch of Amelia, every glowing sunbeam that traversed the stars toward him. The whole of the universe did not matter, save for this singular spec in time. If he were to perish, it would be done gladly for the moments stolen with Amelia.

Richard danced his caresses down Amelia’s body, finding the ties of her stockings at her knees and pulling them free. He retrieved the pin from the back of hair that kept it up and the bonnet she’d worn beneath her morning hat. They were all swept away with the demand to see his wife as she truly was—without frivolities or layers of muslin and lace.

Helping to remove the many pieces of her attire, Amelia lifted the smaller garments over her head while sliding others down her arms, leaving her in just her chemise. Richard proceeded through the motions of undressing simultaneously until he was left in nothing but his trousers, bare-chested and without shoes.

They had been so close before, but in their haste the previous times, neither Richard nor Amelia had ever beenfullynaked before the other. His heart hammered against his ribs as he studied the subtle curves beneath Amelia’s chemise. Her eyes roamed his face and chest, dropping to the flap of his trousers.

He grinned at her, moving onto his knees on the bed as he gathered the hem of her chemise in his hands and began towind it up her body. It was a journey of patient exploration, and Richard allowed himself to savor each slip of flesh that was revealed. At her hips, Amelia took hold of the shift and hoisted it over her head.

“Amelia,” Richard whispered, in awe of her beauty.

Her skin flushed a delicate pink, and Richard covered her with his body, kissing her once more. Amelia’s slim fingers came to his waistband, and she helped him unbutton the fabric and discard his unmentionables.

They were bared to each other, nothing and no one—least of all Richard—standing between them now. The freedom of this private moment infiltrated his blood, and the Duke let all the pretense and propriety fall to the wayside. Even more, he allowed himself to feel the depths of himself behind the raw arousal for Amelia, which was as potent as ever.

He admired Amelia. He was in awe of her drive and fortitude in spite of everything that sought to keep her down, including himself up until that moment. Richard had so little in his life that he felt attached to, so few people who brought joy into his solitary existence. Amelia provided both in kind, her very being enough to begin patching the chasm of his fractured heart.

Gazing down her body, Richard moved between her legs, kneeling in front of Amelia on his bed. As his eyes returned to her face, he could see the nervousness resting there, and he offered a small smile.

“You are exquisite.” He pressed his lips to hers, relishing in her taste. “Magnificence made real. Please…allow me to serve your needs. Allow me toshow youthe pleasure you deserve.”

Waiting for her words, Richard hovered above Amelia. There was a well of passion contained within the lovely darkness of her eyes, one he would gladly fall into. Still, she didn’t speak, instead taking his face in her hands and directing him to her lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and Richard gave himself over to the unyielding desire to take Amelia’s body to new heights.

Her lips partly eagerly as he swept his tongue across the seam there. Richard devoured her taste as they both threw themselves wholeheartedly into the caress. He ran his hand down from her cheek to her side, the velvety silk of her skin warming him with desire. She arched into his touch, silently asking for more of him, more that he was all too happy to give. He surged between them, his being crying out for hers.

Amelia was soft beneath his firm grip, the swell of her breasts pressing into his chest. Coasting his palm over her, Richard cupped a full curve in his hand, reaching with his thumb for the pebbled bud of her nipple. She hissed against his mouth, her breath fluttering over him as he worked her pert tip.

“Richard,” Amelia moaned, and he smiled against her skin before walking his kisses down the plane of her neck.

He held her in his hands, gripping solidly. Richard could not be moved from this space by anything, and he swelled in a desperate ache. Sinking lower, the Duke licked over the creamyskin of Amelia’s breast. Further and further down, he finally arrived at the bud he so sough, sucking it into his mouth.

Threading her fingers through his hair, Amelia arched up into him. Her legs shifted on either side of him as she reeled from the sensation. He continued, loving how she responded to him. Teasing her nipple with his teeth, Richard squeezed her other supple breast, then skated his hand down to her hip.

Her full curves were a gift to his grip, and Richard laved at her while he stole the opportunity to sneak his hand between them. Amelia’s thighs were slick with her need, and he groaned around her nipple in his teeth when he guided his fingers to her seam.

“My Amelia,” he muttered, not loud enough for her to hear, and then swept up across her center, making Amelia buck against his hand.

He needed more of her bewildering taste, more of Amelia’s painfully beautiful form welcoming under his tongue. Moving inside her with his fingers, Amelia whimpered quietly as he worked her core. The feeling of her warmth surging around his digits was a familiar joy, and he was still as entranced by it as before.

More. I wish to forget where she ends and I begin.

He danced his lips down her stomach, lower and lower, until his kisses decorated the inside of her thigh. She was heaven around him in sight and sound and smell and taste. Amelia’s fingers still wound through his locks, tugging at the roots.

“Richard, oh God…”

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