Page 41 of The Duke Who Dared Me
“You,” she insisted, pushing against his shoulders.“Please, let me feel you, Ali.”
Very well.He rolled off the bed and removed his buckskins and smalls, climbing back onto the mattress.
She reached for him, her fingers brushing over his hip as his cock ached to be buried inside of her.
“May I?”she whispered.
Maybe his soul left his body.Or maybe he would wake to find this all some cruel dream, but he nodded, drawing in a breath as her fingers wrapped around his hard length.
“It’s…” She licked her lips, then gazed up at him from beneath long lashes.It took everything within him not to spend at the very sight of her.“It won’t fit.”At his protest, she wrapped her fingers tighter and gripped him as if to see.Then she pumped her hand up and down his length, drawing out a loud groan.
“Shh,” she giggled.“They’ll hear you.That feels good?”
“Amazing,” he gritted out.“Later, love.”He closed his eyes, steadying his breath.His heart was drumming in his ears.“I promise I’ll show you how I like it later, but now…”
He gently removed her hand and guided her backward with a kiss.She fell back against the mattress, her long brown hair cascading over the counterpane in the moonlight.He pressed his forehead against her belly, dragging in a sharp breath as his control frayed.
“Easy, love.I’ll make it good for you.I’ll make it better than good.”
Her gaze met his.“I trust you.”
The words undid him utterly.He guided himself to her entrance, the heat of her body nearly driving him to madness.He brushed his lips over hers once more, speaking the promise against her mouth.“It will hurt, but only for a moment.And then, God, Verity, then it will be pleasure.Do you believe me?”
She nodded, her fingers clutching his shoulders.“Yes.”
With painstaking care, he pressed into her, inch by inch.She tensed, and he stilled, murmuring soothing words, stroking her hair, her cheek, her hip.“Breathe, love.That’s it.Let me in.”
She gasped, her nails biting into his skin, but then he felt her body yield, the tight resistance giving way.He kissed away the sound of her discomfort, kissed until it broke into the first shudder of pleasure.
“There,” he whispered, moving fractionally deeper.“That’s it.You’re taking me so well.My brave girl.”
Her eyes fluttered shut, her body clenching around him.The sensation nearly undid him, but he forced himself to go slow, to coax her through it, his voice a steady litany of reassurance and hunger.
She bit his shoulder, gripping his back and tilting her hips until at least he was fully seated inside her.Alistair captured her lips again, beginning to move in shallow, careful strokes.He whispered against her ear, against her temple, against her lips as he moved within her.“That’s it.Yes, love.Let yourself feel it.I have you.”
Her thighs tightened around him, her hips meeting his, and he knew the moment her body began to catch the rhythm.
“This…Ali.”
“I know, love.”He gritted his teeth, holding back until she shattered beneath him.Her limbs trembled beneath him as he quickened his pace, and then his world narrowed to the sound of her whimper, her nails raking against his back, the tilt of her hips, and he was gone.
Pleasure raced up his spine, and he pulled away, taking himself in hand to spill against her stomach.
Verity braced her hands on her cheeks, a silly grin there as she struggled to catch her breath.He bent down and kissed her forehead.“Stay still, I’ll fetch a cloth.”
He returned from the wash basin with a cloth, and gently cleaned her up, smiling as she shook with quiet giggles.
“That’s what we’ve missed?”she asked finally.“The whole time?”
He crawled into bed beside her, pulled her close, and ran his hand through her dark curls.“It has always been you.And God help me, it always will be.”
CHAPTER9
Miss Baxter was nearly on a departing coach this morning, bonnet askew and heart in tatters.What could possibly stop her?A kneeling duke, naturally.
- The Polite Observer
Bright spring sunpeeked around the edges of the drawn damask curtains by the time Verity stirred.
