Camelia felt wetness pool between her parted thighs. Her breath came in shallow gasps, her nipples stiff against her corset, the pressure almost unbearable as desire coiled tighter within her.
“This is what happens to a duchess who complains about her duty.” The Duke’s lips found the pulse at her throat, sucking gently, and a soft moan escaped her before she could protest.
He growled low in response, the sound vibrating against her throat as he moved to her lips, capturing them in a kiss that was both sweet and ravenous. But she cut it short, pulling away slightly to catch her breath.
“Please!” she gasped.
“Should I stop, little flower?” Raph whispered against her lips, making her shiver.
“N-No,” she stammered, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth.
Camelia moaned as he teased her tongue, deepening the kiss until her knees buckled. Her body melted against his, held upright only by his knee and the wall.
I’m drowning in him—his taste, his heat. How can one kiss consume me so completely?
Just as she felt herself slipping into abandon, he pulled back, his eyes dark with hunger. He untied the cravat, freeing her wrists. The sudden release left her reeling, her body still thrumming with unquenched lust.
“My chamber is off-limits.” His voice was rough with desire.
“Why is it off-limits?” Camelia looked at the bed and gulped, dazed and frustrated.
“It’s off-limits because I said it’s off-limits.”
“I don’t?—”
“Your training can continue in your chambers, Duchess.”
“Thisis what you meant by training?” Camelia’s hands flew up in exasperation. “You truly are a mystery!”
“Do you want to go back to your duties with Pamela or your chambers?”
Camelia froze when she realized what he was asking for.
Although she longed to continue her descent into the Duke’s dark and passionate temptations, his words sparked a flicker of indignation, breaking through the haze of lust.
She stepped away from him, her hands trembling and marked where he had tied her. Smoothing her gown, she fought to reclaim her composure and her breath.
“I’m not going anywhere until you listen to me!”
“I should’ve kept your wrists bound,” Raph muttered under his breath.
Camelia stood in his chamber. Her presence charged the air, and the heat of their encounter could still be felt. His heart refused to cease hammering ever since she had stepped into Brentmere Manor.
He watched as she trembled before him. Her cheeks were flushed like a delectable rose, and though her legs quivered, her eyes blazed with resolve.
“Binding my wrists and not my mouth was your first mistake!” she snapped.
“You’re just begging to be tamed,” he drawled.
Camelia faltered for a second.
The thought of taming her sent a surge of hunger through him. His body tightened at the image of her submitting to him completely, her soft moans against his ear as he claimed her with deep, hard thrusts?—
“We need to talk about Pamela.”
When Raph saw the urgency on her face, all his heated thoughts vanished, replaced by his urge to protect the girl.
“What is wrong?”
