Page 35 of The Duke's Goddess

With one hand she cradled her breast, with the other, she pulled the back of his neck toward her nipple.

He started with a soft lick. Then a flick of her nipple. When her head dropped back and she moved closer to him, he pulled her breast into his mouth.

A whimper threatened her lips, so he pulled away.

“I’ll be quiet,” she vowed, arching herself into him.

He lowered in his squat, finding her skirts and lifting them so that he could brace his hands on her hips. Then he lifted her to straddle him. Ye gods, he couldn’t remember the last time he was this hard. The last time he had ever desired a woman in this way. To these depths.

“James,” the soft pleading sound of his name on her lips was his undoing.

“How much do you want, Joan?” He wanted to give her everything. Whether that made him a cad or generous, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps it made him both. Her body pressed into him. Her breath warming his skin. Her hands tantalizing him. He wanted to show her pleasure. Pleasure he knew she had never experienced. He would be her first. He would be the one to introduce her to a world that no man had ever—could ever—show her. She would call his name. Dig her nails into his skin. Writhe on his body. And right now, he wanted nothing more than everything with her.

And then a thought shook him.

He could be the first one.

Or.

He could be the only one.

His body quivered. The shock of the thought. The chill in the air. Her body’s responsiveness to him. All of it. He thought he was ready for her answer, but when she spoke, his heart grew wings and fluttered rapidly in his chest.

“Give me pleasure, James.” Her cheek was pressed to his, and her hands were affixed to his shoulders.

He gazed at her face. “Give me your lips, Joan.”

She sighed, parting her lips and leaning into him. Slowly at first, he placed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. But she tasted too sweet, emanated too much heat for him to go slow for long. His tongue tangled in her mouth exploring her. Discovering the depths of this complex woman. A woman who made him laugh, peaked his curiosity, and communicated so effortlessly with. She was like nothing he had ever expected. What was he a greenboy with no experience? But feeling this woman now, he sensed he had never really been with a woman before her.

And she was taking control again. Her body was rubbing against him, finding pleasure in the friction building between his cock and her slit.

The urgency was building. He could feel his pleasure pooling at the bottom of his spine and the tightening at the base of arousal. And he knew she was about to find the pleasure she had asked him for because she ripped her mouth from his and was rubbingher wet self on him. Her breasts bouncing in his face, he panted, “Take it, Joan. Be a good girl and come for me.”

Her moans built until he didn’t think he could take it anymore. She threw her head back and he nipped at the column of her neck. Wanting to mark her skin, he herded all of his self control and held back, desperately needing to protect her from what scandal that mark might cause.

Her throaty groans blew life into his hardened heart. He could feel it—himself, his ice walls—melting under her heat. Heat from her body, but more than that, heat from her essence. Who she was. Joan. He wanted to own this heat. Access it whenever he needed it.

“James, what you’re doing to me…”

She didn’t finish the thought, only shifted and rubbed herself against him deeper. He had wanted more. Everything from her. But in this moment, he knew he couldn’t handle that much of her. This. Her taking her pleasure and finding a new world with him. That was what he needed right now. The edges of his mind darkened at the amount of pleasure he absorbed from her.

And just when he knew she was about to find release, he covered her mouth again with his to stifle the sounds that would inevitably come out of her. That’s what he told himself. But it was equally to muffle the groan that was being wrenched from his body as he felt his cock explode in his breeches.

Chapter 13

“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”

—Sun Tzu

THE NEXT MORNING JAMES woke from a restless sleep. It had been impossible to close his eyes without seeing Joan’s face full of pleasure. Head lolled back, eyes half-lidded. And every time he closed his eyes and saw her experiencing that pleasure, a pang of lust shot down his back, up his legs, and met in the middle.

One visual from the dream stood out, and he knew he wouldn’t be forgetting it anytime soon. He saw her dancing in his arms with a shimmering smile locked on her lips. They started in a ballroom, but in a flash they were in a bedroom. He couldn’t be sure if it was his, but the bed was large. And then she was underneath him. Writhing. Her hair strewn about on the pillow, her eyes heavy, almost closed, just as they had been in the garden. She was saying his name and he was hovering over her. Their clothes were in heaps around the room. With nothing on, he could feel her soft skin against him everywhere. He was hard. Throbbing. And she was arching up into him. He was restlessly edging closer to her entrance. She was saying something to him, pleading, and just before he could respond, the dream vanished.

When he awoke, his cock had been pressed up against his pillow. Hard. Aching. The need for her was driving him. Compelling him. Energizing him. Remembering her passion and responsiveness caused his arousal to swell.

He rolled over onto his back and palmed himself. He gripped the base of his cock and pulled up in one smooth motion. He groaned in partial relief, the sound extending his length. Knowing the pleasure he could have, he closed his eyes and imagined her. His goddess.

Envisioning her smile. Her laughter. He recalled her quirky interests. Her passion for people. And daggers. It brought a smile to his own face, and he started pumping harder. Base to tip. Back down. Base to tip. He could feel precum on his tip. Clenching his jaw. Pleasure pooling in his spine. The warmth of her brown eyes overtook his vision and heated his heart. He gripped himself harder. One hand played with his balls while the other tugged up and down.

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