Page 50 of Denying the Duke (Lords and Ladies in Love 3)

She did as he said, but moved back. Alex held in a groan. Was this going to turn into another denial? Instead, she smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers pushing the straps of the nightgown off her shoulders. She removed her hands and the material pooled in her lap.

As she sat very still in front of him, he stared at her nakedness, struck dumb. God, she was beautiful. The glow of the candlelight cast shadows on the dips and curves of her body, and gave a golden glow to her creamy skin.

She shifted her body, drew the gown out from under her, and tossed it over his shoulder. Her full breasts stood proud, her narrow waist leading to gently flaring hips. Her legs were long and not as slender as he would have thought, and certainly firm enough to grip his waist as he thrust into her. The area between her legs drew his eyes. Dark blond curly hair made his mouth water. Blood pounded in his body and raced to his cock, which felt about to burst.

Over the years, he’d been with a fair amount of women, but none had ever affected him as much as Patience. Back at the funeral, when he’d seen her for the first time in four years, he’d thought his craving for her had subsided.

Bloody hell, had he been wrong. Now it was epochal.

…

Patience had suspected from the time they’d first entered the bedroom that this was the night Alex planned to seduce her. The plying with wine at dinner, the nightgown Polly had selected, almost as if ordered to do so, the flowers, and perfect candlelight only reinforced her suspicions.

She could have objected, but frankly, she was tired of denying herself as well as Alex. The last time they’d kissed and he’d fondled her, she had been left in such a state that she’d known she would have to surrender soon for her own sanity.

Now that she’d taken a bit of control and removed her nightgown, she was conscious of where his warm flesh touched her. Each contact raised her heartbeat and brought a flood of warmth throughout her body. Her fingers ached with the need to touch skin, not the fabric of his shirt and breeches.

Almost as if he’d read her mind, he whispered, “I will be right back.” The coolness to her skin once he left her side made her shiver. She watched in fascination as he pulled his linen shirt over his head, his muscles rippling as he tossed the garment aside. Tempted to close her eyes when his fingers moved to unbutton his fall, she forced herself to watch instead, as he stared in her eyes and slid his breeches down, kicking them off.

Her gaze roamed his body. She inhaled a deep breath. He was magnificent, all sharp angles and sinewy muscles. His years in the military had turned the slender young man into a broad-shouldered, powerful man. Dark hairs were scattered around his chest, forming a line down the center, leading to his manhood.

A monstrous organ she was absolutely certain would never fit.

She backed up as he put one knee on the bed. He held out his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.”

“Um, I don’t think so. Perhaps it would be best if we went to sleep now. I imagine you want to leave early in the morning. I think ’tis best if I dress now to save us time when we awake. You know how sleepy I am when I first rise. In fact, Polly—”

In one swift movement, he climbed onto the bed, gripped her shoulders, and pulled her to him, melding her mouth with his. Stunned, she was unable to move or think. Then, he moved his hand to her bottom, and picked her up, placing her flat on the bed, coming down on top of her.

The weight and heat of his body, of naked flesh against naked flesh, removed any coolness she’d felt when he’d stood to undress. Then his hands were everywhere, on her breasts, her bottom, smoothing over her curves, massaging her hip. He lifted her knee and ran his fingers up the back of her leg, then lightly brushed them over the fine hairs between her legs.

She dropped her knee to the side to give him greater access to the area that had begun to throb and ache with his attentions. He pulled his lips way from her mouth, and braced himself on his elbows, studying her as if he were seeing her for the first time.

“You take my breath away, wife of mine. I spent months, no years, blocking from my mind this very moment.” He rested his forehead on hers. “No matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work. And now, to have you here, underneath me as I imagined for so long, is so much better than anything I ever dreamed.”

Patience placed her hand on his warm cheek. “Me, too.”

As he took her mouth in another passion-filled kiss, his hand once again returned to the area between her legs that begged for his touch. She arched her hips as his fingers played at the entrance to her body, the scent of her moistness filling the air. He released her lips and moved to her breast, taking her nipple between his teeth, biting lightly. Her moan joined the sound of her heartbeat thudding against his and the gasping of their lungs.

She was intoxicated by his scent, a mixture of bergamot, the wine they’d had at dinner, and something that was only Alex. She breathed deeply of the combination, the back of her head pressing deeply into the pillow as the pressure grew between her legs.

This.

This is what she’d wanted for years. The feel of Alex’s body covering hers, his warm, large hands on her naked flesh, his erect manhood pressing against her side. She gripped his hair and pulled as the tension in her body grew.

Minutes passed as she thrashed on the bed and tried desperately to reach something her body teased her with. Alex kept busy with his fingers and lips, murmuring words in her ear, his mustache brushing against her sensitive skin.

“Let go, sweetheart. Don’t try so hard. Let me do the work.” His soft words pushed her closer to the edge.

“More, Alex. Harder, please.”

He shifted his hand, pressed hard, and a wave of pleasure unlike anything she’d ever felt in her life washed over her, again, and again. “Alex. Oh my God, Alex.”

“Yes, my love, I am here.”

Her body floated down, all her bones had melted. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see him watching her with an expression she hadn’t seen since his return. But a very familiar one to her from four years past. Before she could mull over that thought, he spread her legs and settled between them. “This may hurt for a moment, darling, and for that I am very, very sorry.”

He nudged at her opening, and then with a shove, entered her body in one swift movement. She sucked in a deep breath at the sharp pain that brought tears to her eyes. He stilled his body and smoothed the hair back from her forehead, scattering kisses over her face. “How do you feel?”