Page 80 of The Duke of Ruin
“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” she murmured, sliding off him. “Hurry.”
He rose against the bed and clasped her hips, lifting her with him. Turning, he set her on the edge of the mattress and spread her legs so he could stand between them. He pushed her skirts to her waist, exposing her sex and the pale silk of her thighs. He wanted to kiss her, to lick her, to stoke her desire until she panted his name.
She freed his cock from his garments and pulled at his flesh, urging him toward her. “Now, Simon. I need you inside me.”
He traced his fingers over her folds as he thrust forward. She guided him into her slick channel and claimed his mouth once more. The kiss was wild and reckless, their tongues tangling as he drove deep into her body. She welcomed him, her legs curling around his hips, squeezing him as her hands clutched at his back.
He wanted to watch her face, to revel in the joy and wonder of her orgasm when he led her over the edge. He tore his mouth from hers and pushed her back on the bed. Halfway down, she clutched at his shirt, her fingers snagging in his cravat. The silk came loose, and she pulled it free. After she tossed it aside, he clasped her hands and leaned forward, pressing her backward until she was flush against the mattress. He pinned her hands on either side of her head and stared into her slitted eyes. Her gaze was dark and seductive.
Never taking his eyes from hers, he held her down as he pulled almost completely out of her sheath, then plunged forward again, filling her to the base of his cock. She cried out and tightened her legs around him, her heels digging into his backside.
He repeated his thrust, moving a bit faster, but taking care to give her his entire length. “Yes,” she moaned, over and over, reminding him of that night in Coventry when Mrs. Ogden had done the same thing. He’d never imagined that night would spark an attraction between him and Diana that would only grow and flourish and become an intrinsic part of him.
Her eyes opened a bit wider as she focused on him. “Harder,” she demanded. “Faster. Please, Simon,” she purred. “I need you to let go. Show me why I’m the only woman for you.”
White-hot desire pulsed through him, and he relinquished his restraint. He thrust into her, over and over, and felt her muscles tense. She was so close. He let go of her hand and stroked her clitoris, stoking her orgasm. Her sheath squeezed him mercilessly as she came. “Don’t stop, don’t stop.” She repeated the plea until he clasped her hips and brought her up off the bed. Tilting her to the perfect angle, he drove into her as his pleasure built. He felt her tense again and knew she was on the precipice once more.
Her heels pressed into his backside, and her thighs squeezed as her muscles contracted around him. He shouted her name and poured his seed into her, giving himself completely over to rapture.
He continued to move for another moment as her body took everything he had to give. Then he fell forward carefully, putting his weight off to her side but managing to stay inside her. He wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet.
She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead, then his temple.
He tilted his head back and looked up at her. “I need to go back downstairs and throw your father out. You don’t need to come with me.”
“I d-don’t w-want to.”
“Have you always done that?” he asked softly. “The stutter.”
She nodded, her gaze suddenly shy. She looked up at the ceiling. “It grew worse as I got older. By the time I was to make my d-debut, it was quite awful, much to my f-father’s cha-chagrin. So it was delayed until I was able to master the problem. And my father insisted I pretend to be younger than I am rather than be judged a spinster.” Her gaze dropped to his. “I’m twenty-four, not twenty.”
Simon stared at her. “Well, that makes sense. You’ve always seemed much more mature than most young ladies.”
She laughed. “Is that right?”
“Absolutely.” He grasped her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing kisses along her palm and wrist.
“I had to be,” she said soberly, her gaze returning to the ceiling. “My father insisted upon it.”
“How did you do it? Stop stuttering, I mean.”
She didn’t immediately respond, and he almost told her to ignore the question. He didn’t want to press her. “I wasn’t given a choice. Every time I stuttered, he forced me to do speech exercises. And if I failed at those, which I often did, he put me in a closet for an allotment of time—one hour, two hours, three hours. I had to sit on a stool and balance a book on my head.” Her gaze drifted to his briefly, and he saw the anger and suffering in their depths. “Do you know how difficult that is? My back would ache relentlessly, and if the book fell, I had to start over. All the while, I had to recite the speech exercises while my governess supervised me.” She paused to swallow. “I went through four governesses because they would all eventually leave. They couldn’t bear my father’s cruelty any more than I could. But I didn’t have their luxury of leaving.” She turned her head toward him, and her features softened. “Until you.”
Her blue eyes sparked with gratitude. “You took me away. You saved me.”
He slid from her body and rose up and took her mouth in a fast, possessive kiss. “We saved each other, and I would do it again. In fact, I’m about to.” He reluctantly stood, thinking he’d much rather stay in bed with her and let the villains downstairs rot.
He fastened his breeches as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. “What are you going to do?”
“Throw the baronet out and forbid him from returning. You can choose to see him when you feel like it.Ifyou feel like it. Or not. The choice is yours.” He reached for his cravat and then decided he didn’t want to bother. Instead, he cupped her face. “The choice will always be yours as long as I draw breath.”
She nuzzled his hand with her cheek. “I never thought I was worthy.”
“You are a magnificent woman, Diana. Any man would be lucky to have you. But I’m the one who gets to claim you.” Pride soared in his chest, and he was nearly overcome with the joy of his fortune. He leaned forward and kissed her again. “I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded and smiled at him before he turned and left.
Before he reached the stairs, he stopped to adjust his clothing. Minus the cravat, he supposed he would pass muster. Not that he cared. He didn’t give a fig what Diana’s parents thought of him, and right now he wasn’t sure if he was going to toss his own mother out as well.
