Page 17 of A Duchess Disciplined

She turned away from him. Seeing she was about to leave, William seized her wrist and pulled her to him with more force than he had intended. Her back pressed against his chest, and a gasp escaped the young woman.

“Listen,” he said.

She looked at him, a smirk playing across her lips. “Is this appropriate behavior, Your Grace? Grasping a lady and holding her against you?”

He clenched his jaw. Lady Catherine was not only determined to be defiant, but she also delighted in mocking him.

“You are not the only one who can become angry, my lady, so I would advise you to tread very softly.”

Lady Catherine shivered against him and arched her back. William doubted that she even noticed her body’s movements, whereas he was far too aware of them. His manhood throbbed. If they were already wed and the chaperone elsewhere, he could have taken her right there along the garden path.

He would have seen her laid upon the grass and been astride her waist in an instant. At the moment, the most he dared do was grasp her hand and hold her against him, breathing in the scent of lavender and roses.

Her gown was such a light garment. If he pressed more insistently against her, he might be able to feel her stays beneath it.

“You are not a plaything or a pet,” William said humbly.

Lady Catherine’s breath hitched. “Youseem to think so.”

“Not in the least. However, if you are to be a duchess, you must learn,” he continued, “and I am more than happy to teach you.”

“I will be a difficult student.”

He laughed darkly. “That is already apparent.”

“Well, do your worst, Your Grace. Whatever lesson you might devise, I can assure you that I have no intention of learninganythingfrom you,” Lady Catherine said. “I quite like the woman I am.”

His eyes darted to her lips, still tilted in that coy smirk. Lady Catherine really thought that she could challenge him. She really thought that she could best him inanyencounter.

William leaned nearer to her, aware but uncaring of the lady’s maid’s startled gasp. He licked his lips and was rewarded with another sharp inhale from Lady Catherine.

The flush from her face spread downward towards her throat and the tops of her breasts. Her blushes were as wild as she was. Rather than a pretty and delicate sweep of color, hers were uneven spatters of red strewn across a red canvas.

“I cannot wait to break you,” he said, slowly and deliberately. “It will be a wonderful pastime, indeed.”

CHAPTER4

Catherine was a wild woman, but she was not a foolish one. She knew that she ought not to vex His Grace too terribly. How was she to resist, though, when he smirked at her like he did? When he was so absurdly self-assured? When he made herkneesso weak?

I cannot wait to break you. It will be a wonderful pastime, indeed.

They were wretched words, and yet something deep inside her came alive with them. Her body shivered with anticipation, longing even, for him. This situation washisfault. Silently, Catherine cursed himself and her own body for reacting so amorously to him. She clung to his jacket, and laughter rumbled in his chest. The sound struck her like lightning, shaking Catherine to her very core.

“Quiet, at last,” he said. “As I wanted.”

She would never be his quiet, proper wife. Catherine pulled herself to him, her chest flush against his. The fine material of his jacket brushed against the tops of her breasts, where they rose above her bodice. Then, she pressed her lips to his. She scarcely thought about anything except him and the blood roaring in her ears.

Catherine had read of kisses before, but she had never experienced one. Her first thought was that it was strange, the feeling of her soft lips pressed against his. Her second thought was that she ached to kiss him longer and more deeply.

His Grace tasted of coffee and sugar, and when she tilted her head, the slight dusting of hair along his jaw scratched pleasantly along her lips. While her body was ablaze with want of him, she forced herself to break the kiss. It had only lasted a heartbeat, but to Catherine, it seemed as though it lasted an eternity.

“Is that the proper behavior you desire of me?” she asked.

His expression darkened, and his right hand found her hair, just beneath the brim of her sunhat. He crashed his lips against hers, muffling her startled gasp.

The Duke of Sarsen kissed her so deeply that Catherine thought he might very well devour her. An awkward, startled moan escaped from her lips. His fingers tightened in her hair, pulling and sending a throbbing sensation crawling across her scalp. Catherine moaned again, unable to describe the feelings coursing through her body. Her chest ached for air, but she?—

He broke the kiss, and she stared at him with wide eyes. Her chest heaved. Suddenly, Catherine’s stays felt too tight against her straining breasts. If her knees had felt weak before, now her entire body trembled. A deep ache pulsed between her legs, and when she squeezed her thighs together in a vain attempt to ease the sensation, His Grace’s eyes darted downward.

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