“You are enough to send a man mad,” Ashton growled against her throat, sucking lightly at her skin. “How dare you be this perfect?”
With that, he ripped at the buttons of his falls, shoving the placard down so that his length jutted hot and hard against Violet’s belly. With a moan, the duke claimed her mouth again, his hand raking her skirts up around her waist, the light petticoats offering no barrier to his aim of baring her to his need.
He nipped at her bottom lip, sending a surge of want through her veins as he hiked her up into his arms, winding her shaking thighs around his hips and settling himself firmly between her legs so that his cock prodded mercilessly at her entrance, the thick bulge of his crown breaching her with a harsh jolt of sensation. The urgency of his desire as he impaled her roughly onto his length had her moaning against his lips, her eyes closing against the sharp edge of pleasure that bloomed deep in her core as he plunged himself ruthlessly to the hilt, filling her, taking her with the arrogant entitlement only a duke could possess.
Inflamed, Violet nipped back, sinking her teeth into the skin of his jaw where it was bared above a pristine white cravat.
“Yes,” hissed Ashton, his teeth bared in a wild snarl. “Bite me back. Claw me, fight me, show me what you are, Violet. I want to own every part of you.”
He thrust again, jolting her onto his length, her wetness coating his cock so that he slipped home with ease, driving into her tight heat with hard, harsh pumps of his hips as she gasped and held tight to his shoulders, that sinful heat unfurling below her navel and flaring out through her core, making her feel as if her very skin was on fire.
Ashton pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes locked on her face as their panting breaths mingled, each moan of furious desire echoed by the other until with a muffled scream, Violet convulsed in his arms, her body arching, trembling, as the dam broke and heaven flooded itself through her veins.
He held her tight, fingers digging into her thighs, thrusting raggedly through her crisis, wringing every last drop of sensation from her until, with a shout of satisfaction, he drove deep and held himself there, bucking in her arms once, twice, his cock pulsing in her depths, his seed jetting against the very mouth of her womb as Violet sobbed with pleasure.
It seemed an eternity that they held themselves like that, feeling the earth tilt beneath them as they caught their breath. With a groan, the duke allowed her to slip from his arms, her skirts hopelessly rumpled as they tumbled back down from her waist.
Violet blinked up at the Duke, her vision blurring slightly, and she reached out for balance.
With a curse, the man caught her, swiftly buttoning his fall one-handed and then scooping her into his arms, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead as he cradled her close, striding through the halls towards the family wing.
As he deposited Violet on her bed, he smoothed her hair back from her forehead, a hint of a smile hitching one side of his mouth.
“I’ll send up your maid, and some books, as I promised,” he said, before walking away. He glanced back briefly as he closed the door, his heated look sending her heart racing all over again.
That evening,Violet returned from dinner to find a stack of books balanced neatly on her writing desk, tied with a bright satin bow, along with a note.
When we next go to town, I promise to take you to the finest bookseller in London and there you can buy the whole store, if it pleases you.
Stunned, Violet gaped at the piece of parchment, her gaze catching on the perfection of each surely penned word, every letter of equal and even height.
What had she done to merit such extravagance?
“It is no less than you deserve,” came a thoughtful voice from behind her.
Surprised, Violet jumped where she sat, turning to find the doctor bending over her shoulder, taking in the contents of the note.
“I don’t know what you could mean,” she stammered, embarrassed for some reason as she looked down at the pile of books.
Richard trailed his hand down the length of her neck, cupping her nape as he turned her face to his.
“You deserve the best of everything,” he said slowly, his thumb grazing her bottom lip as his normally cheerful expression turned grave. “You should never doubt that again.”
Violet stared up at him in confusion. “How do you know what I deserve?” she managed to utter past the lump that had grown in her throat.
Richard frowned, then smiled.
“We knew the first moment we saw you. It was obvious that you were something bright, shining valiantly in the darkness, waiting for someone to come and find you.”
“Excuse me?” said Violet, but Richard was already walking away. Leaving her confused and curious.
What had they seen in her, that day at her home?
She was nothing special. She was the same girl inside as she had always been.
Violet couldn’t shake the idea that there was something she was missing. An intuition that wouldn’t quiet.
The duke andrichard saw her at a village fair. She was seated on a hay bale with a gaggle of village children around her. Her younger sister sitting next to her.
