Violet caught her breath at the seductive words, unable to resist glancing back at the man.
His expression was as reserved as always, but there was a tension in his limbs, in the way he flicked his eyes up and down her body.
Lust.His desire radiated from him like a blaze.
The duke strode towards her, even as Violet’s heart started to pound in her chest. Surely she couldn’t be reading his intentions correctly, it was the middle of the day, after all.
Violet stumbled back against the shelves, her chest heaving as the man caged her in with his arms, a hand planted on each side of her head.
His eyes examined her face keenly, running down to the place where her pulse thrummed in her throat.
“Are you looking for something to read?”
“Yes,” stammered Violet, glancing over his shoulder. But there was no one else in the room. She was alone with her husband.
“Let me help you choose something,” he said softly, his breath ghosting over her skin. The fine hairs on the back of her arms rose as her body responded instinctively to his nearness.
“What is your fancy?” Ashton asked, one hand drifting down to her shoulder, the back of his hand running over the sensitive skin of her arm.
“I… don’t know. I have never chosen a book.” The admission tumbled thoughtlessly from her lips.
All Violet had ever been allowed to read were manuals on a lady’s betterment or sermons. Once, her sister had snuck a novel into the house, but it had been confiscated by her parents before Violet had a chance to read it.
The duke appeared incredulous for a moment, then his expression shuttered again.
“No matter, we can soon remedy that. In the meantime, I will select some titles that you might enjoy.”
“Thank you,” said Violet, a small smile creeping its way over her face.
For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other, as if for a brief instant, they were seeing deeper than the surface of their hasty union.
Then, the duke’s gaze dipped to Violet’s mouth, his lips curling up in a dark smile. “I will claim a prize for my thoughtfulness.”
“Oh?” blinked Violet.
“A kiss,” murmured the enigmatic man, his mouth already descending, his lips pressing against her mouth as his fingers threaded their way into the back of her hair, tipping her face up for him.
His body pressed her against the books at her back, one leg firmly wedged between hers as he slowly, methodically, plundered her mouth, each brush of his lips making her melt a little more, her mouth open a little further, until he was sucking lightly on her lips, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips, asking her to open herself for him.
With a ragged sigh, she complied, allowing her body to mould to his as their breath and tongues mingled, the heady kiss sending her senses flying to the wind.
Soon. Oh,so soon, the kiss turned heated, each nerve ending tingling with the unexpected pleasure of losing herself in his mouth, the sensual play making her squirm with impulsive desire.
Was this what it was like for everyone?The power of her carnal awakening had Violet panting and moaning, Ashton meeting her with equal fervour, his mouth moving to taste the skin of her jaw, her throat, as she trembled against him.
“See,” he whispered into her ear, his thigh pressing itself determinedly between her thighs, right against the place that ached for his touch. “I too can make you feel good. We both could, if you wanted us to.”
“What?” gasped Violet, even as Ashton ran his hands down her flanks, cupping her bottom and grinding her more firmly against his body.
“But I have you alone now, and I intend to enjoy you alone, selfish bastard that I am.”
“Now?” shuddered Violet, casting her eyes up to his, choosing to ignore the rest of his meaning. But they were dark with need, his hands already doing sinful things to her breasts through the tissue-thin fabric of the morning gown.
“Yes, now,” growled the duke, dragging up her skirts to hitch her thigh around his hips, raising her onto slippered toes as he wedged her up against the sturdy wall of the stacks.
His fingers delved between her thighs, finding her already mortifyingly wet, and he groaned, his head falling back for just a moment as he slid long dextrous fingers decadently through her folds, testing her slick opening for one tantalising moment, then sliding back up to tease and pet that sensitive crest above.
The sizzle of pleasure that each stroke of his fingers sent through her limbs was indecent. Utterly, thoroughly, shamefully wonderous.
