Page 76 of The Duke Says I Do
Shewashappy. Her body felt sleek and replete and heavy with animal satisfaction. Her hand traced a wandering path up his bare chest. She loved touching him. He was warm and hard and altogether a treat to discover. Her hand snaked behind his neck.
One thing that she’d never questioned about Alaric Dempster, even when dismissing him as too dreary for words, was his cleverness. He got the hint straightaway.
His kiss made her toes curl into the coverlet.
When he lifted away, his eyes were dark with arousal. That slumberous look kindled simmering heat in the pit of her stomach.
He caught her chin. “What’s wrong?”
Portia released a breath laden with both puzzlement and self-disgust. “How can I be interested in…you know again?”
His lips twitched, as his hand dropped to toy with the ribbon that closed the top of her shift. “All those dirty words I taught you and ‘you know’ is the best you can do?”
She didn’t smile. “Is there something wrong with me?”
It was his turn to frown. “No, you’re utterly perfect.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Although it was nice to hear.
“I would.” He tugged at the ribbon with more purpose until her shift gaped.
She glanced down to see her breasts on flagrant show. “Is it normal to want to keep doing…”
“You know?”
She tugged at his hair. “You’re not taking me seriously.”
His smile widened. “Yes, I am. You’re worried that I think you’re a brazen hussy because you can’t keep your hands off me.”
Oh, dear, she wasn’t wrong about him being clever. That wasn’t what she was saying, but she knew enough to understand that the world despised women with unquenchable sexual appetites. She braced to ask the question. “Do you think that?”
Alaric gave a short laugh. “Portia, you’re hardly an example of unbridled debauchery. For pity’s sake, you were an innocent until you fell into my nefarious hands.”
She bit her lip and regarded him uncertainly. “We’ve…swived three times. As well as whatever you call it when you kissed me between the legs.”
“Lick-twat.”
She winced. “It’s much nicer than it sounds.”
“I’m glad you think so.” He cupped one breast. His touch was casual, but the air became more charged by the second. He focused on her breast with a concentration that turned the weight of arousal between her legs liquid.
She spoke in a rush, with embarrassment and also because her heart accelerated with excitement. “Now here I am, wanting to do it all over again.”
Something about the curve of Alaric’s lips expressed his contentment with that state of affairs. Or perhaps he looked so pleased because he toyed with her breast. “I want to do it all again, too. And I was there for everything else we’ve done today.”
“But you’re a man.”
His hand stilled and at last he looked at her. Lazy sensuality shone in his eyes. “I’ve never fucked a woman three times in a matter of hours. Going on a fourth time. You’re utterly irresistible to me.”
Portia stared into his eyes, reading a conviction that assuaged her fears. “That’s good,” she faltered, shaping her hand around his nape in a caress.
“It is.” He closed his eyes briefly in visible enjoyment of her touch. She couldn’t interpret it as anything else. “It’s even better that I seem to be utterly irresistible to you.”
“You are,” she admitted.
“Heaven knows why.”
“You’re…” She struggled to find an adequate word to describe him. Thrilling? Lovable? Potent? Unforgettable? “…superb.”
