Page 36 of My Dark Duke

The duke’s eyes darkened with wicked desire and he gave a curt nod.

“Come,” he commanded, pulling her from their hiding place. “We must make haste, for I am not certain my resolve will last much longer.”

She smiled as she followed him, her body filled with need. They raced down The Lover’s Walk together, though at the end of it, Lillian stole a glance backwards.

Just as Lot’s wife had rued looking back on disaster, so too did Lillian. Cold crept into her heart, as she spotted Lord Bailey standing at the far end of the walk, watching their progress.

It is too far for him to guess it is me, she thought to herself, as she gripped tighter on the duke’s hand.

A sense of doom stole over her nonetheless, but it was easily banished by Thorncastle’s reassuring presence.

Nothing could hurt her whilst she was with him - except his cold heart.

CHAPTER TEN

SEBASTIAN COULD NOTquite believe the level of restraint he managed to show, on the journey from Lambeth back to London.

As the carriage moved through the city’s dark streets, he showered Mary with tender, lingering kisses, which greatly juxtaposed the wild beast of desire, roaring within him.

He wanted her. He wanted her beneath him, writhing in pleasure. He wanted to sink himself into her warmth and spill his seed within her.

Careful, a voice in his head chided; that was the very thing he should not do.

Sebastian pulled Mary against him, allowing his hands to wander her body, as his mouth explored hers. His body hummed with pleasure and triumph, though his treacherous mind insisted on plaguing him with doubt.

Something was not right; one moment she ran from him, at learning he could not love. Whilst the next, she insisted it did not matter.

Sebastian’s conscience prodded him to question her, to seek reassurance that she came to him freely. As loudly as his conscience roared, however, it could not drown out the screaming demands of his body.

You will care for her, Sebastian reassured himself, as his hands cupped the swell of her breasts.

You will protect her.

You will cherish her.

No matter how many promises he repeated in his mind, Sebastian still worried he was somehow letting Mary down. She deserved better than his broken dark soul; she deserved to be loved.

“Is something the matter?” she whispered, as he broke apart their kiss.

This was the moment, the moment in which he might redeem himself before her. He could send her back to Kent, pay for her keep there, allow her to live a life free from his rottenness.

Allow her to marry some other man?

The very idea filled Sebastian with a jealous fury, and instead of releasing Mary, he pulled her closer. His lips crashed down on hers in a bruising kiss, his resolve weakening completely.

His hand fell to his breeches, against which his erection strained painfully. He would have her as his own, he would not share her. Not now, not ever.

Mercifully, the carriage came to an abrupt halt, ending Sebastian’s surge of jealous passion. He had been dangerously close to stealing her virginity in a moving carriage, he realised with a jolt of shame.

“We’re here,” he said, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

For her part, Mary looked just as dazed as he. Her headpiece had come askew and her auburn tresses had escaped their pins, framing her face in a charming halo. Her green eyes were alight with pleasure, while her plump red mouth looked like it had been thoroughly kissed. Her breasts were heavy, swollen with desire, demanding their release from the bodice which caged them.

Sebastian bit back a groan, as he felt every ounce of resolve leave his body.

He would take her tonight - slowly and thoroughly, he would claim her body as his own.

He did not wait for Higgins to come open the door, instead unlocking it himself. He sprang from the carriage, then turned to assist Mary with disembarking.

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