Leading her upstairs to the bedchamber they would now share as man and wife, he handed her a small, leather-bound book. “Read this to me,” he instructed, his dark eyes gleaming.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow, curiosity flickering. “What sort of story would you have me read?” she asked as she thumbed through the pages of the book.
“Just you wait and see, my Duchess,” he replied, reclining on the chaise nearby. His posture relaxed and loose.
Phoebe placed the leather-bound book he gave her on a table, then crossed the room and retrieved her own journal. Smiling at him, she flipped through a few pages from her most recent work until she found the one passage she wanted. Her voice dropped to a gentle, intimate tone as she read aloud a brief, steamy passage.
Penelope could not look away from Prince Samuel. His eyes enchanted her. His presence overwhelmed her and with each breath she took, she fell further in love with him.
“Kiss me,” Penelope demanded. “Love me. Tell me I am the only woman who can make you complete.”
Every word carried the essence of her. Phoebe’s imagination and desire were laid bare, and Sebastian’s gaze locked onto hers, unblinking, and intensely focused.
The effect was immediate. Heat pooled low and heavy in her body, and the lusty desire that had hummed between them for months intensified.
Sebastian rose without a word. Phoebe only had time to close the book and toss it aside before her husband’s mouth crashed onto hers, feverish and demanding as she knew it would be. Phoebe met his passion with as much intensity as he gave her as his hands cupped her face, his breath harsh between them.
It was almost animalistic, the way he did indeed devour her mouth, capturing her lips in his, gaining entry between them. She gasped when he snagged her lower lip between his teeth, parting her further for him. His tongue swept into her mouth as one of his hands slid down her dress, palming his way to her breast and fondling her roughly.
His kisses caressed her face, her lips, and her neck once again as the Duke tore off his jacket, discarding it right there without a care for its elegance.
Leaning down, he swept Phoebe up by the back of her thighs, taking her in his arms. She let out a sound of surprise, finding herself lifted off the carpet as he carried her across the room,never once letting up on his kisses. She tugged at his hair, matching his fierceness, until they both lost their balance and toppled onto the bed.
Sebastian laughed loudly as if he were delighted by this maneuver. The sound of his glee made Phoebe’s heart flutter. Then, he was kissing her again, parting her lips with his tongue, and easing inside her mouth. She let her tongue tangle with his for a moment as his hands roamed her body.
His palms cupped her breasts, pushing them together as he moved his mouth from hers, trailing his way down to kiss between the mounds of her chest.
“These are delectable,” he muttered, curling his tongue around her hardened nipples.
And all the while, Phoebe’s core ached whenever she felt the brush of his length against her body as he moved.
As he lavished her breasts, Sebastian’s hand slid up her thigh. She giggled and squirmed when his fingers brushed right between her legs.
Phoebe gasped at the first press of his fingertips. He did not warn her as he entered, sliding a finger into her folds, already wet with arousal.
“You are soaked,” he muttered, licking and kissing his way back up to her mouth. His tongue flicked into her mouth, pulling back to meet her eyes. “I affect you this much?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I crave you as much as you crave me.”
She moaned brokenly as he slid his finger into her again.
“I do love it when you tell me what you crave,” he cooed.
She gasped out as he spread her open, and pleasure worked its way through her body. “Oh, Sebastian. Please. Keep doing that—please.”
His laugh echoed into her mouth as he continued. “Now this… this is the kind of music I wish to create. Not on the piano, or any musical instrument. Only from you, my love.”
She moaned deeply when he curled the tip of his finger and moved faster. The warm, coiling sensation she had felt with him in the garden that night paled in comparison to what was exploding through her system now.
Something strong… powerful… built within her core and she waited for what came next.
Phoebe ran her hands through Sebastian’s auburn locks and pulled him closer.
Before she could soar right off the edge, he withdrew his finger.
“Look at me.”
And she did.
