Page 38 of Her Ruse with the Wicked Duke
He pulled away, and at that moment, her brain knew it was her chance to slip away, aware that getting involved with such a rakish tease would be a terrible idea. But her bucking hips said otherwise, and she groaned in frustration, with herself and him.
How dare he play with me like this? Can he not tell that I am already beyond embarrassed to have so easily melted under his touch?
“Rowan, stop teasing.” She addressed him by his first name by accident, and her eyes shot open to see a fire in his gaze that she had never seen before. It turned her on further, and she tried her best to compose herself as his heated look raked over her body.
“This needs removing,” he concluded, hastily fulfilling his command by spinning Alice by the shoulders and unlacing her stays. He did so with such grace and speed that she felt a pang of jealousy in her chest as she thought about all of the women he had been with.
“I will not be another one of your conquests, Your Grace,” she said as he spun her back around and tugged on the fabric that kept her covered.
She knew as soon as the words slipped from her mouth that they were untrue, but the haze of alcohol was beginning to make her determination to not fall into bed with this man even harder.
“I attempted to stay away from you, Miss Snow. I truly did,” he muttered, almost to himself, as he made the final tug on her garments to expose her breasts. He sucked in a harsh breath as he gazed down at her.
“Why?” Alice whispered breathily, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
He kissed her roughly until the backs of her legs met the couch near the fireplace, and she sat down, unsure of what her next move should be.
Suddenly, the Duke dropped to his knees, shuffling the skirt of her gown down past her thighs, then her knees, and off her ankles. He knew his way around this dress, and she wondered if he had it tailored in some specific way so that it was easier to remove.
Before she could muster up the courage to ask, he was dragging his nose up her inner thigh, stopping just before her core, her legs trembling as she moaned in frustration.
“Your Grace…”
“If you keep moaning that loudly, I will have to stop. Understood?” he mumbled, looking up at her from her thighs.
She quickly nodded just to make him stop talking, and as he dipped his mouth back down and grazed it ever so lightly against her, she could not keep her promise, moaning loudly.
He lifted his head to give her a look of exasperation at her volume and reached into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief, handing it to her. She looked at him with confusion as he smirked. “In your mouth.”
She complied, shocked, as she pushed the white silk into her mouth to muffle her sounds. Satisfied, he dove his head between her legs once more, his tongue flicking and dragging against her with a sudden urgency. She felt like her head was spinning, and she reached down to run her fingers through his soft, dark hair. It was as soft as she had imagined, and she tugged on it lightly, earning a moan from him. He quickened his pace, and she felt her breathing getting more ragged, an unfamiliar pressure building deep inside of her.
“Rowan, I—” Alice could barely spit out her warning before she felt him pull away, her release just out of reach as he hummed a pleased sound against her inner thigh.
As he pulled away, she shot her head up from her reclined position to see him smirking at her, a devilish sense of triumph on his face as he noticed her crimson blush.
“How is that for teasing?” he quipped, standing up and walking to the decanter, then pouring himself a glass of amber bourbon.
Alice lay on the couch, annoyed at his sudden cockiness as her body still buzzed with an unfulfilled pleasure, and she sat up, her naked figure a distant thought of self-consciousness as she narrowed her drunken gaze at him, determined that two could play this game.
ChapterThirteen
Rowan’s eyes fluttered open, and he squinted at the bright light that shone through the curtains onto the couch in his bedroom. He furrowed his brow as he looked down to see Alice hugging his torso, sound asleep.
What happened last night?
He watched her bare back rise and fall, and he raised his hand to move her off him when she finally stirred, lifting her head.
She moaned quietly, looking around to identify her surroundings before her eyes locked on Rowan’s. To his surprise, she screamed.
“Miss Snow, you must be quiet!” Rowan whispered to her as she scrambled off the cushion, yanking the blanket off them to cover herself. He quickly sat up, scrambling to button his shirt, which had mysteriously undone itself the night before.
“This cannot be happening,” Alice muttered frantically to herself, pacing. “This is your fault!”
“Do not point your finger at me. I was the one who lay down on that couch first.”
Before he had a moment to ask if she had remembered anything from the night before, a knock sounded at the door, causing the pair to share a look of panic.
Rowan finished buttoning his shirt and attempted to tuck it into his trousers as he shooed Alice to the corner of the room behind the door. He put a finger to his lips, and she nodded as he peeked his head through the door.
