Page 91 of A Bride for the Icy Duke
“Shall we dance?” she asked Alexander politely, and he put both hands on her waist, ignoring the scandalized whispers. London had not yet had its fill of the young duke and his open affection for his pretty wife.
Lydia adored that, too. For so long, Alexander had hidden away, his cards close to his chest and his emotions suppressed. Now, he wore them on his sleeves, and they largely seemed to consist of happiness.
“I am not beingtooscandalous,” he rumbled in that deep baritone of his, drawing her up against his solid body. “It is a waltz.”
She arched a brow. “This is not how gentlemen and ladiesordinarilydance the waltz.”
“No?” He didn’t look away from her, his blue eyes steady and warm. “I can never tell.”
Laughing, she leaned up a little, bringing her mouth to his ear. “Do you enjoy them watching us while knowing that when we return home, you will have your way with me?”
His eyes sparked a little as she rested back on her heels. “Perhaps…”
“Have you planned what you wish to do with me?” She licked her lips deliberately, and his gaze dropped to them. “Perhaps what you would like me to do with my mouth…”
This time, his voice was considerably lower as he said, “Most certainly.”
“Perhaps I won’t wait until we’re back,” she said, pretending to think. “There is bound to be an empty room here. Or a corridor… You could push me against a wall, and I’ll hold my skirts out of the way, just like you did in the lakehouse. Do you recall?”
“One of my most treasured memories,” he murmured, moving absently to the pulse of the music, swirling her gracefully around the room. “You had better not move away, or we’ll risk scandalizing the general populace far more than I had already intended tonight.”
“So… is that ayesto dragging me away to have your terrible way with me?”
“It is becoming increasingly tempting.” His hand slid a fraction lower on the small of her back, and although she had long since planned this to cross her final item off the list, arousal fluttered through her. “You are remarkably distracting.”
“I intend to be even more so over dinner.”
“Oh? Do tell?”
She grinned. “That would spoil the surprise.”
“May I remind you that due to my elevated status in society, eyes will be on us at almost all times.”
“Then,” she said, pressing closer, another shiver of lust running through her, “you had better keep quiet.”
Due to not wanting toactuallyruin their reputation in the eyes of their peers, Lydia waited to ravish her husband until theyarrived at their London townhouse. The moment they entered the door, she took Alexander’s hand and led him to their bedchamber.
“I have something to tell you,” she said as he helped her from her gown. Despite his urgency, he treated her clothes with respect, taking care to rip nothing, and her heart swelled with love for him.
“What is it?” He kissed her deeply, slipping a hand between their naked bodies to ensure she was ready for him. Shewas—she had been ever since their waltz, and now her body hummed with desire. At the feeling of her slickness, he groaned, as though he had never felt the force of her need for him.
She would never not need him…
Together, they maneuvered themselves to the bed, and although she had made all sorts of promises about the things she would do with her tongue, they were both too impatient to wait. He guided her above him, and she sank down with a little sigh; sometimes it felt as though she belonged here, and all the rest of the time she was merely waiting to seat herself on him again.
“Lydia?” he asked as she ground above him. “What do you have to tell me?”
Pleasure broke her thoughts wide open, filling her with light. She never felt more whole than she did when she was with Alexander like this—nothing but his hands on her and his voice murmuringterms of adoration, and his body reminding her with every thrust how much she meant to him.
Here, she could hide nothing from him.
In answer, she took his hands and placed them on her stomach. “I…We,are growing are family.”
Underneath her, he tensed. His eyes widened and raised to hers. “Be serious, Lydia. Are you telling me—”
Her eyes burned with ready tears—one moment, she had been so aroused, she had been unable to think of anything else, and now she was overcome with adoration for her husband and the family they were making together.
It had not been a smooth road, but they were finding their way down it together.
