Page 44 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

“What if we are both broken?” asked Margaret. “What if this is just not meant to be?”

“That would be sad, but I don’t believe it,” said Arthur. “I believe that you were placed in my life for a reason, and I believe that we are going to work this out.”

“You sound so sure.”

“Well, at least Isoundsure,” said Arthur.

“So, what should we do now?” asked Margaret.

“I think we should do what we have been doing. I think we should continue to make love to each other, and we should continue to do so until you get pregnant. That is what I think we should do.”

“All right,” said Margaret.

CHAPTER21

The Pressure Is Removed

“Right now?” asked Margaret with a smile.

“Well, there is no time like the present,” said Arthur, removing the shoulder of Margaret’s dress from her body. He leaned in and kissed her bare skin, sending a shiver of excitement running up Margaret.

It felt different this time, more intimate—as if they were not doing this because they had to but because they wanted to. Margaret did want to make love to the duke, and she was sure that he wanted to make love to her.

His lips were soft and gentle. They probed at her collarbone, moving along the ridge. Margaret closed her eyes. She let her problems slip away for a moment. It did not matter if she could not have a child—not yet, and it did not matter if her parents were trying to get money from her position—she would not cave, and nothing else mattered for the moment—the touch of a good man was all that mattered.

Margaret placed her hand on Arthur’s cheek and guided his lips up to hers. They touched their lips together for a moment, and then their foreheads. Arthur held his head there, and Margaret brought her other hand up to his face, cupping both cheeks and holding him. It was the most intimate moment they had shared since Margaret had arrived at the residence, and she could almost fool herself for a moment that this was a real marriage and not just one of convenience.

“I don’t know if I can leave my child after having it,” whispered Margaret.

“I don’t expect you to,” responded the duke. “There is a wing of the mansion that is ready for you. You can make any changes you like, but the entire wing will be yours for as long as you like. When our son comes of age, I will think about retirement and moving to the coast. I will instruct our son that he will allow you to live on here too.”

“What if we have a daughter or two first?” asked Margaret.

“That shall be joyous too,” said the duke. “I shall arrange for them to marry favorably. The Bolton clan will be strengthened by these ties too.”

Margaret took her forehead from the duke so she could look him in the eye. “What if they want to marry for love?”

The duke took a breath. “I don’t mean for it to be like what your father wanted to do to you, or what your mother went through. I don’t know what I mean it to be like.” Arthur took his wife’s cheeks this time. “You will be close to our children by being here in the mansion and by being the mother I know you will be. I won’t force anything without your say. They will be your children as much as mine.”

“You are not only saying that because you found me hysterical in here, are you?”

The duke chuckled. “I am not. I have heard enough from you to know that I would not want the same for my daughters if we have any. And, I would expect my son to not treat women like you have been treated by some.”

Margaret felt sorrow at that moment that she would only be able to give the duke one son—that was the contract between them.

“Thank you,” said Margaret. “I might not have known you for very long, but I believe what you are telling me.”

The duke nodded his head slightly. The moment between them had changed from a sexual and intimate one to a more bonded one. They needed a moment to get back to where they had started. Margaret stared into the duke’s eyes, knowing that he was a man of integrity, and when he leaned in to kiss her again, she gave herself to him.

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she kissed the duke—thoughts she had not yet considered. But, with only the briefest of conversations with the duke, she was sure that the duke was going to be a good father. It did not matter how many daughters they had before she conceived a son, he would be a good father to them all.

As he kissed her neck again, Margaret hoped that she would have a daughter first. She was an only child, and the thought of a large family brought her happiness. She had only her parents, and there had been no one for her to go to when things had not gone her way. Siblings would have each other.

When the duke started to remove her dress and her skin tingled under his touch, she hoped they would have a daughter or two first for different reasons. She enjoyed his touch too much. She could not claim to know how another man would make her feel in his bed, but she was sure that it would not be as pleasurable as the duke made her feel.

Margaret lifted her arms up so the duke could finally slip the dress over her head. The bed in this room was not as large as the duke’s bed, but it was still generous in size. The sheets were soft too. The fabrics had been imported from the continent, and Margaret still could not believe that this was her bed each time she went to sleep in it.

It was a little weird having the duke in her room, especially like this. This had always been her space, and she had gone to the duke’s room to do what they were about to do. He had been in her room before, but never in her bed.

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