“Juliana,” he said, in the voice that was meant to be a warning and sounded like nothing of the sort. “You are doing this deliberately.”
“I have absolutely no idea what you mean,” she said seductively.
Cassian rose while still half-carrying her, one hand sweeping the ledgers off the desk. They fell to the floor with loud thuds. He set her on his desk, still not letting go of her mouth. The kiss went on and on, his tongue tangling with hers, making her toes curl.
Juliana parted her legs, making room for him. His hands slid up her thighs, dragging the fabric of her skirts upward. He thrust against her, making her feel his hardness pressing against her wetness. Fabric still separated them, but she pressed against him urgently.
Cassian was a man possessed, tearing at the fabric of her undergarments as she clutched his shirt. Together, they always ended up like this. In these moments, Stonevale’s icy exterior thawed.
Juliana liked that Cassian was both rough and reverent, qualities she could reciprocate with wantonness. He was the only one who could make her feel this way, desperate and yearning. She moaned loudly when he slipped his cock inside her, hot and hard, stretching her to the fullest.
“All right?” he asked, his voice strained at the edges with the effort of holding still.
“Yes, do not dare stop,” she rasped as she felt him bury himself to the hilt inside her. She wanted to scream as his thrusts nudged places in her that lit up with pleasure. Places that onlycame alive whenever he made love to her.
Love?
It was an uncertain word between them, but they had desire and competitiveness. They always sought what they wanted and did it well. He pushed into her, claiming her again and again, even as her eyes rolled into the backs of her head.
Cassian was a rake, but Juliana had made him go to his knees for her. He barely went to the gentlemen’s club after they had consummated their marriage. Gripping her hips, he pounded into her even as his nose nuzzled her chest. She pulled back her bodice to free her breasts, arching her back to offer them to him. He laved a nipple even as he continued his feral thrusts.
“I… I am close,” she panted, as she felt the tension inside her building and reaching the precipice.
So close. She whimpered as he sucked on a nipple, filling her. The dam broke, and she almost screamed. Almost. The door to his study was locked and closed, but she could not take the risk. He followed soon after, grunting his triumph as he spilled his seed into her.
“You did so well, my darling,” he murmured into her chest as her head slumped onto his shoulder from exhaustion. She wanted him as close as possible, even now, with him still inside her.
“I did?” she whispered, and she swore he was hard again. She could not help but shift her hips to seek more pleasure. He had made her want him far too often and far too much.
“Yes. And you know I could not deny you my heart on a platter if you asked for it. Not when you look at me like that,” he whispered back, his voice thick with desire and another emotionshe could not fully identify. “I will do it, Juliana. I will make an effort. I will see what I can do for Kit. I am doing it for you, but do not expect me to always be civil.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, lifting her head to rest it against his forehead. Their eyes met. It felt like a tug-of-war, each begging the other to see their side.
“Do not thank me yet,” he urged, even as he pressed her face to his chest to inhale her scent. “You may know how to make me bend. But that is just you. We will see what we can do about peace with Kit, but it depends on his behavior as well. It also means I can never let you go.”
Juliana smiled at that. Did he not understand? She did not want him to let her go. She was right there, still feeling the remnants of the powerful orgasm he had just given her. Reaching the pinnacle had given her not only physical satisfaction but also forged an emotional attachment. She wanted more of him.
“Who said anything about letting me go?” she asked.
He smiled back. Then, from somewhere above them, came the sound of a scream from the West Tower.
Was Marta having nightmares again?
They both went still.
She felt him change beneath her hands, the warmth of the last hour contracting, the familiar tension returning to his shoulders like a tide coming back in. She watched his jaw set and his eyes go to the ceiling, and felt the weight of Stonevale settle over them both like something neither of them had ever quite managed to put down.
Her heart sank as she saw her husband’s eyes narrow to slits.
“We are going to fix this,” she said. “All of it. I do not know how yet, but we are.”
Chapter 23
“Will he notice the difference at all, Juliana? Or will he think the West Tower has grown a new flower?”
Marta was in good spirits, her voice light and airy. It was as if the incident at dinner had never happened. There was still a slight tremor, one only someone like Juliana would catch, someone who would be listening closely.
She wore a new gown that Juliana had specifically purchased for her. It was a soft cornflower blue that suited the innocence in her eyes. She might have been compromised, brashly labeled by thetonas “ruined,” but if they knew, she was mostly sheltered and had thought herself in love with irresponsible Kit.
