Page 33 of A Spinster for the Rakish Duke
Emma opened the window, trying to whisper and shout all at the same time. “Donovan! What are you doing?!” she said, grabbing his arm and yanking him inside from his precarious position. The Duke had apparently climbed the trellis outside.
“Your aunt deprived us of a meaningful reunion.” He took a deep breath and straightened himself. “I wanted to wait an extra few hours to get the chance to speak to you alone. Admittedly, I thought climbing the trellis would be much easier than it actually was.” He picked a stray petal from the cuff of his jacket.
“We need to be alone to have a meaningful reunion?” Emma asked coyly. “I thought our reunion was meaningful. What could have gone differently if we were unescorted?”
“Well, to begin with, I only got to tell you that I loved you once. In truth, I wish to shout it from the top of my lungs and sing it and proclaim it over and over. Your Aunt may still wake up, though, so I will settle with telling you over and over. DearestEmma, I love you. I love you. I love you,” he told her with the joy and adoration of a man who was head over heels.
“Is that all?” Emma giggled. “Why is it that you couldn’t do that in front of my aunt? Perhaps she would have been moved if you had sung.”
Donovan nodded. “A possibility I hadn’t considered. That wasn’t the only reason I wanted to be alone with you, my love, I must confess.”
“No?” Emma asked as she tried to play naive and innocent.
He took a step closer, the tips of his fingers tracing along his newly betrothed with affection and admiration. “Touching you always excites me. To not celebrate our newly declared love in a similar fashion would be an offense.”
Emma gripped his hands in hers and pulled them away from her side. “Donovan... I wish for you to touch me. I wish for nothing more, honestly, but I need something from you first.”
“If you have a need, my love, I wish to fulfill it. Not in exchange for a promised touch, but because my love for you demands that you should never be in need for anything,” he asserted.
Emma smiled, but there was a strain behind that smile that gave Donovan pause. “I need you to promise, that no matter what, you will never lie to me again.” He opened his mouth to reply, but she held up a gentle hand and continued. “I believe andaccept your apology. But from this moment forward, I need to know that I have your complete trust, then I will be ready to give you mine.”
“I promise, Emma, I will never lie to you again. I trust you with my heart, my body, and my soul, fully,” he said without hesitation.
“Then you may touch wherever you wish, Your Grace,” Emma smiled and released Donovan’s hands from her grasp.
Donovan moved slowly at first. Not cautiously but with purpose and with no need to rush either. As much as the hot blood that coursed through his veins demanded that he take her with her offer, he knew she was still fragile, still inexperienced, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt his precious Emma.
Emma had undressed down to her sleeping clothes but had felt no shame in standing before him in such a manner. This was the most naked she had ever been in front of someone else in her life, so she was a little surprised when Donovan stripped the last layer away, leaving her bare and exposed to him. Though he admired her, he did not pull away to examine his love. No, he stayed close, exploring her with the touch of his fingers and his lips. Emma melted into him.
He pulled away after a moment. “You are so beautiful, Emma. If you wish to see me in the same fashion, I will oblige,” he offered, not wanting her to feel vulnerable at that moment.
Emma’s cheeks burned bright red as if suddenly very aware of herself. She couldn’t bring herself to ask, but she nodded with much eagerness. This forced Donovan to hold back laughter, lest he wound her pride, but he began to undress. He would occasionally ask for her assistance in removing this or unbuttoning that, letting his touch linger on her hand or arm as he gradually became more exposed to her.
When he finally stood before her, Emma felt the heat of her embarrassment transform into something else. Something even hotter and full of need, full of longing. For the first time unprompted, she reached out and ran her fingers over him. She traced her way through the tangle of hair on his chest, over his muscular forearms, down his thighs. Though he was the first naked man she had seen in person, she knew he was a fine specimen. Statuesque was a word she would use, and she relished the opportunity to admire the figure of her love.
“Oh Donovan, you are so handsome.” She was almost embarrassed by the girlish giggle that followed. She kissed him on his lips, then his chin, then his chest. “I just wish I could kiss you all over.”
“What is it that stops you?” he asked with a playful grin.
Emma realized the answer was nothing and began to do just as she suggested. Her lips kissed his chest again, slowly descending on his stomach, hips, and thighs. Then her lips found her way to his very excited member. She planted a kiss right on the tip of it and was surprised and excited to find it elicited a vocal response from Donovan.
Donovan was happy to let Emma touch him and kiss him how she liked for he felt no rush to urge things on, mentally at least, but he was not expecting her lips to find him down there and was even more surprised when she continued to kiss his member over and over.
Emma delighted with each throb and pulse her kisses brought and began to kiss more passionately and enthusiastically, increasing in pace until finally, Donovan steadied her with a hand. “Wait,” he gasped, “I don’t want that to happen, not yet.”
It took Emma a moment to figure out what her betrothed had meant by “that,” but once she did, she laughed. “Why not?”
“I want to share that moment with you,” he said.
“Did you not provide for me such pleasure while we had hidden away?” she asked, and Donovan only had a sheepish grin to respond with. “You are leaving to secure a life for us as husband and wife; let me give you a small parting gift.” She smiled and gently herded him into a nearby chair.
Donavon couldn’t and wouldn’t turn down such a generous offer, so he instead chose to simply relish the affection that Emma rained upon him. Each compliment Donovan paid her only spurred her on, each ounce of praise he spoiled her with only made her wish to return the favor that much more.
Finally, Emma’s ministrations brought her beloved over his peak and to his climactic finish. Emma had enjoyed her own much more for obvious reasons, but she relished a certainamount of satisfaction with the returned favor. Something visceral and rewarding made her feel a closeness to Donovan as he panted breathlessly.
She climbed into his bare lap, both of them resting and enjoying the moment of calm and quiet in the night.
Emma hadn’t realized they had both fallen asleep until the first beams of dawn’s light filtered in through the open window. She woke gently but soon felt Donovan stir beneath her.
