Page 46 of A Duke But No Gentleman
“Hmm, something along the lines of me carrying you up the stairs?”Tristan picked up the candleholder and joined her.He reached behind her and shut the door.His arm brushed against her side and the connection startled her.She heard him turn the key so no one could disturb them.“Too risky.”
“I beg your pardon?”She felt his arm curve around her waist as he led her to the bed.
“Carrying you up the stairs in the dark.We would have broken our foolish necks.”
Imogene laughed since she had come to the same conclusion.“I cannot refute your logic.It is one of many things that I admire about you.”
Tristan placed the silver candleholder near the bed.“Admire?Or love?Are you in love with me, darling?”
***
Her sudden stillness had him almost regretting that he had asked the question.Tristan was usually more clever than this, and he blamed his loose tongue on the inferior wine he had consumed with Norgrave.He had been full of need and impatience since he coaxed Imogene into his coach, and for reasons beyond his comprehension, this evening he was determined to break down the remaining barriers between them.
Tristan stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.He massaged the delicate muscles to ease the tightness and to offer comfort.“You can tell me anything.Your secrets are safe with me.”He swept her curls aside so he could kiss the nape of her neck.
“What about me?”she softly asked.
His right hand slipped under her arm as he pulled her against him so her backside aligned to his front.Her closeness and womanly scent filled his nose.Her essence shot downward to his testicles.His cock, which had been partially erect since he had touched her in the coach, expanded and lengthened as he rubbed himself against her.
“Aye, Imogene,” he murmured as his hand slowly moved upward, his nimble fingers unfastening the buttons on the front of her dress.He discovered once he had slipped his hand beneath the bodice that she had laced her stays in the front.“Your secrets and you are safe in my care.”
It was a sincere vow.However, he buried his face in the curve of her shoulder to conceal his wince as he belatedly recalled the damn wager.He was determined to put an end to Norgrave’s schemes, but it would not be a simple task.Especially, when his friend figured out that Tristan had claimed the lady whom he coveted.
“Yes.”
Savoring the feel of her in his arms, he had forgotten about his question.“Yes?”he echoed, eyeing the bed and calculating how long it would take to undress her.
Imogene bowed her head.“I have never been very good at subterfuge.I assumed you had deduced my feelings weeks ago.”
Tristan’s chest tightened at her admission.The building pressure caused his heart to pound.“No, you are not a very good liar,” he said, his voice growing hoarse with emotion.“Is it so difficult to speak the words?”
“Am I being foolish?”She expelled a breathy laugh.“I suppose hundreds of ladies have told you that they were in love with you.”
Tristan thought of the women who had come in and out of his life.For many of them, his good looks, title, and wealth had been coveted as prizes.Others had only wanted his cock buried between their thighs.None of them had cared about him until he had walked out of their lives.
He turned her around, and used his fingers to lift her chin when she refused to meet his gaze.“No lady has ever truly loved me until you.”
Imogene offered him a small smile.“Well, I have yet to admit it out loud.”
He kissed her and nipped her lower lip to chastise her for torturing him.“Impertinent wench.Give me the words.”
“I love you.”
Tristan nodded and lowered his head until his forehead touched hers.His heart ached, and it took him a few minutes to recognize the emotion threatening to unman him as elation.“It took you long enough to admit it.”
“Do you?”Imogene looked uncomfortable as she glanced away.
“Do I what?”he coaxed.
She swallowed.“Do you have feelings for me?”
The vulnerability and love he glimpsed in her dark blue eyes breached the cracks in the protective walls he had built around his heart since he had lost both his father and mother at a tender age.Her love filled him with strength, tenderness, and a fierce need to protect her.Love had a darker side.Tristan felt jealousy and fear.He could not bear the thought of losing her.“Aye, my lady.I have so many feelings churning in my chest that I am struggling not to get overwhelmed by them.”
“You love me?”
“I need to show you,” Tristan said, shuffling his feet closer.He was not the kind of man who openly confessed his feelings.It was simpler for him to demonstrate the depths of his affection for her with his body.
His lips touched hers with reverence.He kissed her as if he could keep her in his bed until morning.Their tongues teased and danced, a hint of the love play to come.He undressed her with the same deliberate slowness, worshiping every inch of her flesh he revealed.He traced the contours of her body with his fingers and tongue that sent her pulse racing and the folds between her legs drenched with her arousal.When he placed her naked on his bed, there was a primitive satisfaction in his gaze that she was as eager for their coupling as he was.He swiftly undressed and climbed on the bed.
