Page 47 of His Abandoned Duchess

“Yes, sing for me, beautiful.” In slow circles and swipes, Richard progressed his lips closer to where his fingers speared Amelia’s center. At last, he arrived at the swollen, slick intimacy that only he had claimed, and he devoured her as his fingers slipped in and out, her taste flaring on his tongue like a sinful gift.

“Ugh!” She cried out, and he smiled against her wares, flicking the bundle at the tip of her entrance. She pulsed around his fingers, a climax certainly drawing closer as his ministrations set glorious fire to her nerves.

She was a finer wine than any he’d tasted in his life. Richard drank Amelia down until she was whining, furious fingers gripping his hair as she crescendo into a release for him. He could feel her walls gripping his forefinger and middle, her flavor exploding on his tongue all the more.

As it receded, if only a hair, Richard crawled back up her body, still working her core as he positioned himself to enter her. His shaft throbbed, thrumming with potent arousal, and the Duke took hold of himself as he began to thread the needle.

He slipped inside, Amelia’s body welcoming him into this perfect union. Reaching as far as he could, Richard rocked forward so that Amelia’s channel took all of him up to the hilt. His head nudged against her depths, and Amelia yelped gently, her arms flying around his neck.

“Do…not…” Amelia breathed hard between words. “Ever…stop.”

The flicker of worry he’d first felt vanished, and Richard pumped himself in and out of her with deliberate attention. Every movement was experienced to its fullest, the way she clenched around him, the warmth, the slick gliding, all perfection.

Sunlight swelled behind his ribs, and Richard took Amelia’s cheek in his hand as he pressed himself deeper. Her eyes flickered open, and there in the eye of the storm—their lives a turbulent battle of circumstance—they held onto each other’s stares. She was his life raft in the chaos of these depths, and Richard’s entire being called out for hers.

“Amelia.” It was all the words he could find, but it held with it the enormity of his affection for her.

She looked up at him, a delicate sheen coating her brow, and did not look away. The moment escalated until it was all that either of them knew, and Richard was struck by the lightning of realization. No one in this wide world now mattered to him more than Amelia. She had filled the cracks of his heart with her defiance and charm.

He…loved her.

Sensation rushed through every inch of Richard’s body, and in a monumental swell of pleasure, he tumbled over the edge. Amelia’s channel clamped down in rhythmic fluttering, her release drawing his own out until he had emptied the whole of his soul into her.

Stillness returned, his heart still thudding in his chest, and Richard took his place on his side behind Amelia, pulling her against his chest. Unconsciousness would soon claim them both, a sleep so profound for the passion they’d shared.

Still, something itched at the back of Richard’s mind, and it stole the elation that he never wished to leave behind. Amelia had begun to breathe in a steady rhythm, slumber taking her. Richard was only met with a force of panic. He had come to Heartwick to rein in his wife’s behavior, but he could not do that now.

Amelia did not deserve the iron hold of a husband without subtlety or tenderness. He was not the man that would serve his wife’s joy. He was too far down the tunnels of his own darkness. He would not bring her there with him.

I cannot cause the downfall of Amelia’s single joys in life. I will not take that from her.

Closing his eyes, Richard allowed himself to enjoy this last evening with Amelia. For tomorrow, he would gather his things and set out once more for Blackford.

Chapter Twenty

Warmth tickled over her cheek, and Amelia stirred in the bed. Reaching out an arm across the surface, she was surprised to not only find the space unoccupied but of a different color than the previous evening. Dim memories surfaced, but she had thought she had dreamed it.

“My bed. I…I am inmybed.”

A stitch pressed into her chest, but Amelia shrugged it off. She could not allow herself to become so affected by a simple matter. Richard likely wished for her to enjoy a whole rest, and the Duke was always one to rise early. Sitting up, she stretched her arms over her head, a lightness finding her spirit again.

Amelia was sure that their evening together had meant something, a change would be coming for their relationship. Richard had been charmingly tender with her while still igniting such passion that she thought she might burst into flames.

With a smile and a sigh, Amelia stood up from the bed, noting that she was dressed in naught but her house robe, and walked to the wash basin. She splashed the cool water over her face, and only a moment or two later, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Jane entered to help her dress for the day, though Amelia’s mind was hardly present for it. Her thoughts continued to fall back toward Richard. The memory of their conversation in the dining room overwhelmed her. Her husband had been so forthcoming, and Amelia felt in awe of how he’d trusted her with the information.

“There is breakfast, Your Grace. I believe the Duke is already in attendance.”

Amelia smiled. “Thank you, Jane. I shall join him forthwith.”

When she completed her dressing, Amelia followed her lady’s maid down to the breakfast room, her heart lighter than it had been in a terrible amount of time. Richard’s words—but even more his actions—had showcased the change in him. They were in agreement she was sure of it, and better still, Amelia knew that her husband returned her affections.

She’d fallen in love with the Duke along the way, this strange journey of theirs toward happiness, and she was so very ready to begin their life anew together.

When she entered the breakfast room, Richard sat at the far end of the table. There had been several fruits and cakes brought in that now donned the large spread, as well as eggs and a bit cold meats. The time was a bit earlier than their customary breakfast, but Amelia’s stomach rumbled with excitement over the delicious smells.

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