Page 30 of My Demanding Duke

“Oh dear, look at me,” Anna whispered, as she looked down at her breasts, completely exposed in her ripped gown.

“I should have instructed Madame Delacroix to design all your dresses that way,” Hugh grinned, allowing himself one more caress of her swollen white orbs.

The sound of the footman jumping to the ground outside, set Hugh into swift action. He lifted Anna from his lap, tucked the cape firmly around her so that her modesty was covered, and smiled assuringly.

“Hold it tightly closed,” he instructed, as the door opened.

He disembarked first, blocking the door so that only he could see her as she clambered out. The gas lamps on the square were dim enough to hide her slightly disheveled state from prying eyes.

Hugh placed an arm around her shoulder and ushered Anna inside, where he quickly bundled her up the stairs.

He would not hesitate this time and allow her to dismiss him.

Once they reached her chambers, she turned to him, her mouth parted, her eyes a question.

Her beauty and innocence in that moment, left Hugh with a startling certainty; she would be his undoing.

He groaned with longing, as he pulled her against his body, allowing his hardness press against her soft stomach.

Never before had he felt such an aching need to take a woman, to claim her as his own, to spill his seed inside her…

Steady, a voice urged him, as his hands roved Anna’s gentle curves beneath the soft fur cape. Had he not decided that it would be caddish to pluck her virginity in one fell swoop? Especially when she had already given so much of herself to him.

She had given him her hand. Despite her doubts, a part of her trusted him, and despite his strongest urges, Hugh could not bring himself to shatter that trust. He bit back a groan as he realised that his conscience would not allow his aching member its release—at least, not this night. Curses but this new found conscious of his becoming a bother!

With great effort, Hugh focused his attention away from the bulge in his breeches, to the woman in his arms.

"Lets get this off you," he murmured against her ear, pushing her cape to the floor. He then slipped behind her, his fingers finding the buttons at the back of her gown. With deliberate slowness, he undid the first button, then the second.

Hugh allowed his lips trace each piece of newly exposed skin as his hands continued their task, unfastening each button until the garment—at last—hung open. With a sense of triumph, he eased the silk from her shoulders, letting it slide down her arms to the floor. She wore no stays and a swift tug had her drawers and petticoats spilling to the floor with a sigh.

His promise that he would take things slowly met a quick stumbling-block as Anna turned and was revealed to him entirely, trembling and bare in the soft candlelight. He allowed himself a moment to drink in her beauty, before he captured her lips again. Without breaking their kiss, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed, where he lay her down gently.

“Please,” she whimpered, as he momentarily drew away from her to remove his coat and slippers.

She lay naked against the pillows, her blonde hair cascading across the white linen, her breasts swollen, nipples pink and taut. Hugh’s gaze skimmed down the softness of her stomach and the gentle swell of her hip, to the soft mound of curls which covered her sex.

He bit back a curse at his stupidity, for the swell of his cock, pressing painfully against his breeches, was in danger of overriding any ounce of self-control he had left.

"Hugh?"

His name, called in a gentle whisper, brought Hugh's attention back to his wife.

Her eyes were wide, as desire clashed with uncertainty. Her mouth, a perfect rosebud, was slightly parted, begging to be covered with his own.

With a groan of regret, Hugh lay down alongside her, drawing her into a deep searing kiss.

He plundered her mouth with his tongue, trying to assuage his pressing desire. When that served only to make him more aroused, he reluctantly drew his lips from hers, and trailed a line of hot kisses down her neck to her collarbone, to the glory of her breasts.

Hugh circled his tongue around one pink areola, before flicking the nub of her nipple with his tongue. Anna gasped in response, her hips bucking upward in an invitation he desperately wished to accept.

Anna's soft moans filled the chamber as he worshiped at the altar of her swollen breasts, her fingers tangled in his hair, holding him to her. The sweet sounds of her pleasure threatened to undo his resolve entirely. Hugh knew he must redirect his attention if he was to keep his promise not to claim her fully.

With exquisite slowness, he trailed his hand down the curve of her waist, over the slight swell of her stomach, until his fingers brushed against the soft curls at the apex of her thighs. Anna tensed momentarily, then relaxed as he returned to kiss her lips, gentle and reassuring.

"Trust me," he whispered against her mouth. "I promised you pleasure and I never renege on a promise."

The trust in her eyes nearly undid him as she nodded, her breath coming in short whimpers of need.

---