Page 43 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

“These are wonderful,” Cordelia said. “Why doesn’t she serve these at dinner or tea?” She licked a dollop of frosting that had formed at the corner of her mouth, and Nicholas tensed.

“They’re a special recipe from when I was a child, and my father never had a taste for them when he was alive. I will ask her to make them for you, if you like.” His voice was tight. He could barely take this anymore, but she seemed utterly carefree, not even noticing the pain she was putting him through as she licked a bit from her finger.

“I would like that,” she said, and finished off the second cake, and a brightness came over her again.

“That has certainly helped me.” She rose to her feet, brushing her hands from crumbs. “But we must get to the matter at hand. I came in here for a reason.”

“Do tell me what it is.” He got to his feet as well and stood close to her, one hand reaching out to brush against the belt of her robe, which was still tied tightly around her waist.

She shivered, but this time, it was not her legs. Her breaths turned shallow, and he grinned, looking down at her. They were close enough that she needed to lift her chin to look up at him. The rosebud scent surrounded him completely. He decided it was now his favorite scent in the world.

“You mustn’t abandon yourself again, Cordelia. You have to take care of yourself, and that means eating when it’s time to eat.” He brushed a knuckle under her chin and was delighted to hear a slight gasp from her lips. “If I need to stay home to make sure that you eat properly, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her hands moved to her hips, but oddly, she did not look unhappy at this turn of events.

“Why?”

He was glad he’d taken off his cravat or else he would have had to loosen it. It was getting hot in there, especially when she looked as though he was giving her just what she wanted. He didn’t like when her expression softened when she looked at him. It made him itch.

Why on earth does she want me home when she spurns me at every other turn? This woman will drive me mad!

“Because having a starved wife looks poorly on a husband, especially a duke,” he parried, smiling again, moving away to more certain ground.

Her expression fell ever so slightly. “Just that?”

“Just that, love,” he said with a nod. Stepping closer, he took a strand of hair between his fingers and felt its silken touch. “Now, you should know that shaking legs should only come from pleasure, not exhaustion or hunger.”

Cordelia’s beautiful deep brown eyes widened, but she didn’t step away. He would turn that to his advantage.

“What do you mean?” she asked, near breathless. He noticed the quick thump of her pulse at the base of her neck, and he brushed a thumb against it, making her shiver yet again.

He leaned close, brushing his cheek against hers. “When a man and woman are in bed, they can bring one another such pleasure with their lips, tongues, fingers, and of course, what lies between their legs. When a man pleasures a woman properly, she reaches to new heights of pleasure, her muscles tightening, her breath shortening, until she cries out with the ecstasy of it.”

He kept his voice low, savoring every word that dripped from his mouth into her ear. She breathed harder and faster, but she stayed where she was, nearly chest to chest with him. When he lifted his hand from her cheek, he brought his thumb to brush against her lower lip, and his eyes followed the movement.

“I can show you what I mean.”

She blinked at him, and then he saw it, the slightest nod of the head. He was not going to wait any longer, and pulling her close, he crushed his mouth to hers. She responded instantly, her arms wrapping around him, pressing her body against his as if she too had long awaited his kiss.

He slowed it a bit, not wanting to rush it, to rush her, and as he gently deepened the kiss and felt the tip of her tentative tongue against his own, he plunged fully into her mouth, pulling a moan of pleasure from her again. Nicholas was certain he had never been harder in his life as he kissed her for what seemed like ages, wanting to taste her fully, to feel the softness of her lips as well as the sweet taste of her tongue.

His hands roved over her back, pulling the belt of her robe loose, and moving down over the slope of her sweet bottom. She gasped into his mouth as his hands squeezed the flesh, pressing her hips against his own so that she could feel his desire.

“By God, you will be the end of me, woman,” he breathed as he kissed down her neck, pulling at her nightgown so that her shoulders were revealed. He kissed the soft skin there, and then he pulled more, pulling back to look at the tops of her breasts. He grinned when he saw that her blush extended there too.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a soft voice, and he looked into her eyes.

“I want to see more of you, if you will let me. For example, this pair of perfect breasts deserves to be seen and to be treated with kindness and tenderness.”

She took a breath and then, with a bite of her luscious lip, she nodded at him. Taking his time, Nicholas lifted both hands to pull at the soft garment until it fell further, revealing, as he’d predicted, the two most perfect breasts any man had ever seen in the whole of his life. For a few seconds, he was merely dumbfounded, until she began to lift the nightgown again to cover herself.

“You don’t like me,” she said, blushing deeply. Nicholas came to, grabbing at her wrists to stop her.

“Don’t you dare cover yourself, love. You are perfect.”

“Perfect?” she asked, and smirking, he pushed her slowly back towards the bed, lifting her up and onto it so that she laid back on his pillows. She looked glorious.

“Will it…hurt?” she asked warily, and Nicholas softened, moving on the bed over her until he looked down on her. He kissed her softly on the lips.