Page 18 of Good Duke Gone Hard

She withdrew her hand, but not before he let his fingers feather down her wrist causing a small shiver in her core. Head high and eyes ahead, she strode to the tree behind Jonathan.

“What we need is a change of perspective.”

“Is that what we need?” Jonathan’s sultry voice was too close behind her, she could feel his breath on the nape of her neck, and all the hairs there stood to attention.

“Yes,” she croaked through a dry throat.

Jonathan chuckled. “And climbing trees changes perspective.”

“Being the more artistic of the two of us, you should trust me on matters relating to perspective.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

She wanted to turn around and see if there were any emotions on his face. His voice gave away nothing. Instead, she turned her head and spoke to her shoulder, giving him her profile, “Yes, well, not including the obvious change in perspective, tree climbing offers a second change in perspective as well.”

“And that would be?”

“You’ll see.”

With that she tugged up on her skirts and reached for the first branch. She felt the heat from Jonathan’s hands surrounding her waist. “I’m fine. I’ve done this dozens of times.”

“Yes, I’m sure you have…”

The hands squeezed tighter, increasing the heat and pushing it like a wave around her hips and down the valley between her legs.

She scooted up the first branch, leaving Jonathan behind. She didn’t look back.

She particularly didn’t look back to watch Jonathan take off his jacket. And she definitely didn’t take notice of the strength bulging from his arms.

After a couple of grunts and huffs, she heard Jonathan behind her. He had caught up swiftly. “I feel like a child,” he announced with a grin.

“Ah…And there you have the second perspective shift.”

“Well, well, well, not just a pretty face then, are you?” He teased out a blush that she resented.

“Surely it didn’t take climbing a tree to deduce that.”

“Perhaps not.” He ceded.

They had stopped climbing. She was one branch above him with her back against the trunk of the tree and her legs resting on the outward branch. Jonathan was half standing, half sitting. He rested with his back against the tree and one arm draped over a branch at chest height. One leg was holding himself up, and one leg was outstretched on a branch.

His head was near her hip.

“Based on my observations from today, I’m guessing I was the fastest.”

“Definitely not.” She crossed her arms over her chest. He would not goad her.

He laughed. “I would alsobetthat I always climbed the highest.”

He had emphasized the fourth word, but Margaret missed the cue and focused on her winning argument, “I’m higher than you are right now.”

He laughed and looked up into her eyes. “I bet I let you win.” He winked.

He winked? What the–

Margaret was so startled at the subtle gesture accompanying the bait he put out, that she forgot she was in a tree. Leaning forward she lost her balance and felt the strong hands of gravity start to pull her down.

Only they weren’t the hands of gravity, they werehishands. His blazingly hot hands, calloused from his time in the army and who knew what else. Yet tenderly and unyieldingly wrapped around her waist. She felt the iron bar of his forearm along the small of her back, clenched so tightly as if to ward off Thanatos himself.

---