Page 33 of The Duke's Pet

“It doesn’t bother me.” He shrugged.

“Do you like the dawn light?”

“I suppose I do.” He smiled and released his cravat. “It lets me know it’s time to get up and work.”

“Would you like me to open them again?”

“No, dark is good, for tonight.”

She pressed her lips in on themselves; perhaps it was for the best if they were in this dim light for this first time together.

He gestured to a door on the other side of the wardrobe. “In there is a water closet.”

“Thank you.”

He inclined his head and tugged his cravat. It slipped off, revealing his slim neck. His hair curled over his nape, licking his flesh, and was a little longer than the usual style on men. He hadn’t had it trimmed for some time, she’d guess.

“You may remove your clothes,” he said, nodding her way.

She glanced at the candles and then the bed.

“I know you heard me,” he frowned.

She pressed her lips together. Her mother’s voice rang in her mind.

Save yourself for marriage. You should be a virgin on your wedding night, it’s His plan for you.

That was what she’d always believed. But now it seemed this was His plan... wasn’t it? Oh, she was so confused.

“If I have to ask you again, you’ll feel my palm.” He hadn’t spoken loudly, but still, his stern authority had resonated through her.

“Yes, Sir.” She gulped, toed off her slip-on shoes, then undid the laces at her chest.

She couldn’t deny feeling scared at this moment. Being taken, penetrated, by this stranger who’d bought her, was possibly one of the most daunting situations she’d ever found herself in.

“That’s it,” he said, watching her closely, as if checking she wasn’t about to stop carrying out his instructions.

As she pulled off her dress, revealing her breasts again, he removed his shirt.

Jemima tried not to stare, but it was a hard task not to. His chest was broad with a swirl of hair at the center and his muscles were defined and thick. She wondered what it would feel like to be pressed against his chest.

Her nipples tightened and once again she realized the idea of lying naked with the duke really wasn’t as horrifying as she’d once believed it to be.

But it should be. What is going on with me?

He removed his boots, tossing them to one side, then his trousers, which landed in a heap on top of them.

His actions further confirmed that he really wasn’t the tidiest of dukes.

Jemima kept her petticoat on. She couldn’t quite bring herself to remove it.

He spotted her standing as though glued to the floorboards. “Little kitten, naked as I have ordered you to be.”

She swallowed and removed her final garment. If she didn’t there were bound to be consequences that stung her butt and brought tears to her eyes.

The cool air of the bedroom washed over her skin. Her ass was still hot and she stroked it, checking for injury. Of course there was none.

“You are remembering your punishment,” he said, stepping close and now wearing only his undergarments.

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