Page 95 of The Duke of Desire
She finally found his gaze once more. “Why did you want to show me this?”
“I started drawing nude women when I was twelve after I saw one of the maids.”
She tipped her head to the side, thinking there must be more to that story. “You ‘saw’ one of them?”
He cast his eyes skyward for a moment, and then his mouth relaxed into a self-deprecating smile. “I peeked at one of them. Yes, I was naughty. The point is, I was curious about women and their bodies even then. My mother found my sketches and beat me. She did that rather often, but never more severely than when she caught me pleasuring myself.”
Ivy began to understand the desire to use violence against someone who’d hurt the person one loved.
“The more she punished me, the more I wanted to defy her. And so I did. My first liaisons were a direct affront to her. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I do now.” He took the drawing from her and set it back on his desk. When he came back, he stroked her face with both hands, cupping her cheeks. “I’ve never loved anyone before, Ivy. I suppose I loved my father, but probably not as much as I hated my mother. Love is an emotion I’ve never known and never sought. Imagine my surprise when I met you and love stole over me. I was helpless to resist.”
She leaned into him, and his hands slid to the back of her head and neck. “You were starved. As was I. My family didn’t profess to love each other. Though I did love my sister.” She dropped her gaze and stared at the front of his dark red waistcoat. “And I loved Peter. Bothwick, I mean.”
He tipped her chin up and stared into her eyes. “That wasn’t love, but infatuation, I’d guess. Hear me, Ivy. This is not lust or infatuation or a passing fancy. I love you with my entire heart, with my soul. You are the strongest person I’ve ever known, and you inspire me to be a better man.”
Tears scratched at her throat. “I never imagined this would happen to me.”
He took her hand and slipped it beneath his waistcoat, just over his shirt. “Feel me. I am real. This is happening to you. To both of us.”
She pressed her palm against his heat. “West.”
He kissed her again, his mouth fiercely claiming hers. She was suddenly desperate to feel him against her. She pushed at his coat. He helped by shrugging it off. Their hands worked in frenzied concert to divest each other of every bit of clothing. They’d made their way slowly toward the bed as they’d worked, and when they were down to her shift and his pantaloons, Ivy dropped to her knees and unbuttoned his fall.
She reached inside for his cock and slipped the shaft free. He pushed the garment down his hips as she licked the smooth, moisture-beaded tip. He struggled to disentangle himself from his pantaloons as she stroked his length with her hand, her fingers tracing the engorged veins. She sucked and licked the end, teasing him.
When he was nude, he cupped the back of her head and tried to push himself deeper into her mouth. She opened for him, guiding him inside while she fondled his sac. He pulled back, but she didn’t release him. She used her other hand to clasp his hip and guide his movements as she sucked his length. He stroked in and out, his breathing coming harder and faster.
Ivy’s legs quivered, and her core throbbed with need. He abruptly left her mouth and bent to pick her up. He tossed her on the bed, and she quickly pulled her shift from her body. He came up onto the mattress with a primitive growl, his eyes slitted to dark beads of lust. But instead of coming for her, he lay down on his back and reached for her.
She sidled closer, uncertainty dimming the brilliance of her arousal.
“Put your leg over me.”
She did as he said, and straddled his hips. His thumb found just where she needed to be touched, and sparks shot through her. With his other hand, he stroked her breast. Softly at first, and then more firmly as his hands cupped her, and his fingers tweaked her nipple.
“Lean down,” he rasped.
Again, she followed his command, falling over him. His mouth captured her breast, and his fingers teased her sex. When his finger entered her, she cried out. He somehow managed to master both parts of her body as he drove her to the edge of desire. Her hips bucked against his hand as he plunged inside her again and again. His thumb pressed on her nub and she fell, her body shaking with the force of it.
But he didn’t wait for her to subside. He moved her slightly and then his cock was against her entrance. He guided himself inside, slowly, until he was partway in. Then he thrust deep, his hands clasping her hips as he brought her down over him.
Ivy cried out as her orgasm intensified. He filled her so completely. Then he began to move, his hips rocking, his cock driving deep and nearly withdrawing before impaling her once more.
She tried to move with him, but couldn’t quite control her body as the spasms of her last orgasm rioted through her. He guided her, his grip firm and his thrusts measured.
“Ride,” he said. “Like a horse.”
“I’ve barely ridden,” she managed to say. She gasped as pleasure washed over her. Every bit of her flesh was hot and sensitive. She was beyond herself completely.
He pulled her against him and swiftly turned, taking her beneath him. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her long and hard, his tongue sweeping hers. His thrusts had slowed, his hips grinding against hers. She rose to meet him, her body feeling both pleasured and yet lethargic, her limbs heavy.
He grasped her thighs and wrapped her legs around his hips. This tilted her pelvis up and opened her so that he pressed against her sex. Then he began to move more quickly again, and her body reawakened with desperate need. She cried out as he hit that spot over and over again, pushing her once more to mindlessness. His thrusts became faster, almost feverish in their intent. He cried her name as he buried himself deep within her. His lips claimed hers, and he swallowed her moan as she came apart in his arms.
Later, they lay together, their limbs entwined. He held her against his chest; his lips grazed her temple, her cheek, her forehead.
Ivy was loath to break the spell. “I should probably return to Lady Dunn’s.”
“Is she expecting you?” He kissed her hairline.
