“Yes, really.” He cupped her face and her breath caught. “I am going to kiss you properly, so you know what you are doing next time.”
Despite her fluttering pulse, Theodora rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she sighed then muttered under her breath, “we should not replicate this stage again so soon, but go ahead and prove your point.”
The Duke chuckled as Theodora stood still with her hands dangling at her sides and closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to touch hers.
But they did not.
Instead, Theodora felt his right hand slide down her neck until he reached the small of her back while deft fingers from his left hand pushed the hair from her neck. The soft touch caused a shock of energy to course through her body.
She inhaled sharply and inwardly cursed herself for experiencing such a reaction. The hand on her back slowly guided her body forward until she was nestled against him. His fingers on her neck began to trace small circles along her clavicle which she learned was an extremely sensitive area for her.
She felt his body lean into hers and when his lips touched the side of her neck she jumped and an unfamiliar sound escaped her throat.
Theodora felt the Duke’s smile as he kissed her neck gently before slowly running his lips up, onto her face where he left soft kisses at the corners of her lips. She shuddered and he held her closer. She could feel a sudden vibration in the center of her body, and she wondered if he felt it too.
Oh, so close.
She leaned in. She was ready for more of his kisses but instead he whispered against her parted lips,“You see, sorceress, a kiss starts long before the lips touch.”
When he pulled away her body followed until she realized she would fall forward and her eyes popped open. She looked up at him through her lashes, breathless and open-mouthed.
“That is how you should look at a man.” He pointed at her. “You should write that down in your book. With this lesson andthatlook, you will have a man begging on his knees for you,” he said as a triumphant smile danced across his face.
Theodora was too busy trying to stabilize her breath and legs to be embarrassed at his amusement. That is, until she regained her breathing. She looked at him and his smug smile. Theodora grabbed the notebook and scribbled.
“Subject one…adequate.” She dotted the period with enough force she was sure it went through the page.
The Duke just smiled at her defiance.
Unfortunately for her, what she said before still rang true. She would rather work with him than others. There was something about him that interested her and he was the first one who thought this experiment was worthy of conducting.
“I propose a deal,” she stated flatly as if she already knew he would agree to whatever she offered.
The Duke folded his arms and raised an interested eyebrow.
“In order to prove that love is not real I need to learn how to talk to men, be in their company, and test their limits. Due to the fact that I am a young woman, I obviously do not have the know how or experience to do so. That is where you come in.” She looked to make sure he was still paying attention.
“You want me to help you court men,” he supplied.
She nodded. “Yes. I will record my findings, how I react to them, and them to me. And together we will prove love is nothing more than a physical reaction.”
The Duke stood for a moment thinking it over, amusement still visible in his expression.
With a shake of his head, he held out his hand. “You have a deal.”
She slipped her hand into his to shake. Only once her hand was encased in his warm embrace did he pull her toward him.
“On one condition, sorceress,” he whispered in her ear.
She looked up into his eyes. Again, standing this close to him felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room and there was nothing left but him and her.
“And what is that?” Theodora’s voice trembled.
“In the initial stages, your experiment may require you to converse and interact with other men.”
She nodded in agreement.
“But,” he tugged her closer as his eyes darkened, “when you are ready to experiment with thephysicalstages, youmustdo those with me, and me alone.”
