He let out a soft curse under his breath, dragging his mouth down her neck, just barely brushing against the sensitive skin.
“This is a punishment, Duchess,” he murmured, his voice rough. “And I do not intend for you to enjoy it.”
A blatant lie.
Because even as he said the words, he was touching her in a way that made pleasure coil deep in her belly.
His fingers moved lower until finally…finally…they reached the small space between her legs.
She thought that he would continue to touch her with his fingers, but what he did next surprised her. She could not have imagined it in a million lifetimes.
Slowly, he tilted his head towards her until it was hovering just between her thighs.
“S—Simon,” his name ripped through her throat, but he seemed not to be listening to her anymore.
He was unraveling her, piece by piece, breaking through whatever innocence she had left.
Her eyes shut close, and then she felt him—his mouth on her.
And then he tasted her.
Rachel’s fingers twisted into the sheets, her body arching as his mouth found places she hadn’t even realizedcouldburn for him.
“S—Simon,” she cried out his name again, incapable of anything else. His tongue moved slowly, but it was enough to drive her over the edge.
Her breathing became uneven, her chest rising and falling with each ragged inhale.
Simon’s lips brushed against her femininity once more, his voice like molten heat. “You are trembling.”
Rachel swallowed hard. “I?—”
“I know,” he said darkly, smug.
And God help her, she loved it.
The tension coiled tighter, heat building, her body writhing beneath him as the pleasure became unbearable. She was rightthere—on the edge of something she had never experienced before.
She wished for him to go faster. Deeper. She wanted him to devour her on this bed and never stop. She wanted to tangle her hands in his hair and pull at it.
It felt too good to be real.
Until he stopped.
Rachel gasped sharply as the loss of sensation crashed over her. Her eyes snapped open, wild with frustration and confusion.
Simon was breathing heavily as he pulled himself up, his forehead nearly pressed to hers now, and his hands clenched into fists.
“No,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “No, don’t?—”
His eyes burned into hers, dark and unreadable. “This is not for you to control, Rachel.”
Her heart pounded. “Simon?—”
His thumb grazed her swollen lips, the movement both possessive and tormenting.
“This is what happens when you break the rules. You do not deserve to finish.”
Finish?There was more to this? She did not understand his language.
