“I permitted Charles. You are the Duke of Ryton; a different man entirely.”
His jaw clenched. She’d struck a deeper nerve than she’d intended. This was the crux of the issue Charles took with his new title. He was viewed as a different man in every way. What would it take for someone to see that he was still just that—a man?
Their bodies were so close he could feel the heat rolling off her and it took everything he had not to press himself against her bountiful curves…the very body he’d dreamt about each night since leaving her bed.
He closed his eyes to regain control, but it did no good when his deep inhalation only filled his lungs with Ariel’s scent. His abdomen clenched and his cock twitched in anticipation.
“I need you to hear me and listen.” His voice was rough as sawn wood and, when he opened his eyes once more, he saw Ariel’s eyes on his face. Unless he was mistaken, there was an unwitting tenderness there. Her mind was on a similar track to his, whether she wished it or not. “You were never supposed to discover my real identity,” he began. “It was supposed to be one night and we were never going to encounter one another again.”
∞∞∞
Ariel was instantly mortified by this man’s words, but fury quickly overtook it. “So you stumbled upon an opportunity and thought to lie your way into my bed before running off for a laugh when you were finished?” Angry tears burned behind her eyes.
“That wasn’t it at all.”
“Then what was it? Pity? I want none of it—oh how you must have laughed at me!”
“Ariel,” the duke growled, even though she’d told him to stop us- ing her name. She loathed it, but it still sent her stomach fluttering. “The fact that you feel that way drives me mad. I lied about nothing that night other than the reason I’d arrived on your doorstep. I truly was there only to discuss the purchase of a horse from your brother, but I allowed you to take the lead whenI realized the error that had been made.” Ariel’s cheeks flushed so deeply they burned. “I believed I was doing you a favor.”
“Well, thank you for your kind and generous soul, Your Grace.” Her every word dripped with facetiousness.
“Listen to me!” he barked and her lips snapped shut. When all was said and done, she truly knew very, very little about this man effectively holding her hostage in the study in his home. He was tall and she knew firsthand his strength; he’d been able to lift her with surpris- ingly little effort. And now she also knew he was a duke with more power in his little finger than she could ever dream of wielding. “I made an instantaneous decision to be the safer, better choice for you in your circumstances than a random male prostitute or courtesan—whatever term you Brits use. I wanted to protect you.” The adamancy in his voice at the last was striking. “I admit what I did was out of a twisted sense of chivalry and, yes, desire… None of it was a chore in the least.” Ariel’s stomach began flipping all over again. “I lied about nothing when we were in your bedroom. Nothing.” The dark pools of his eyes focused on her mouth, where she was currently nibbling on her lower lip. This seemed to set him over some dangerous edge and his restraint snapped. “Here is your evidence if you don’t believe me,” he growled, wrenching her hand down to cup the thick, hard ridge of his erection straining against the fabric of his breeches. The solid heat of his aroused flesh against her palm was enough to bring all the memories back to the forefront of her mind—whether she wanted them or not—and her knees became weak. She continued to meet Charles’ eyes unflinchingly and kept her hand there against him even after he released her.
“Why?” The question slipped out on a breath, barely above a whisper.
“Because I couldn’t resist. Because I wanted to.” A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Because I couldn’t walk away knowing your first time with a man—your first kiss—was going to be thrownaway on a man who had had a hundred women and couldn’t cherish them as the gifts they truly were. You deserved so much more than that…even if you never knew the truth of it.” Charles cleared his throat before continuing. “The last thing I wanted to do was cause you shame or pain over it. I admit it was selfish—I was even aware of that at the time—but I wanted those gifts for myself…and how can you blame me when you are as captivating and desirable as you are?”
Ariel’s mind went blank. All rational thoughts halted and her heart took over.
She believed him.
She shouldn’t have done so—by all accounts, she should have slapped him, kicked him in the shin, and fled from the room—but there was something in his eyes, something about feeling the evidence of his desire for her once more, the pained honesty in his words that urged her to stand on her toes and press a gentle kiss to his lips.
Charles seemed only too happy to accept the gesture, as it immediately morphed into something more passionate. His tongue plunged into her mouth, rasping against hers in an insistent, seductive rhythm. He instantly pressed the hard length of his body against her, crushing her comfortably against the wall. Trapping her.
Her arms wound around his neck of their own volition, tugging him down to meet her greedy lips. She sighed in pleasure. Oh, how she’d missed the taste of him. And to have him kissing her with his body against hers once again was a sinful delight she’d never thought to experience. His pelvis rocked against her, reminding Ariel of just what awaited. A whimper of need escaped her throat, snapping what little restraint remained in Charles.
The cool air caressed her stockinged legs as the hem of her skirts was rucked up higher and higher. Deft fingers discoveredthe slit in her drawers. Her knees nearly gave out completely in response to the satisfied groan Charles emitted upon discovering how wet she was already. She might have been embarrassed had he not been so blatantly pleased.
He thrust his two longest fingers deep inside her, both of them gasping at the sensations unleashed.
“God, I’ve missed this,” he moaned against the hammering pulse in his throat. Her eyes snapped open when she thought she heard him murmur, “I’ve missedyou, Ariel,” against the tops of her breasts, but she convinced herself she’d only heard what she wished to and focused on the stroking of his fingers and tongue. She cried out and arched forward when he curled his fingers, caressing somewhere inside that set her senses on fire. The pressure began to build and her whimpers filled the air. There was a slight pause as Charles freed himself from his breeches, hooked an arm beneath one of her legs, and thrust into her hard and deep.
“Charles!” she squealed, and he rewarded her with the relentless onslaught of his body on hers. Her fingers clutched his shoulders, holding onto him with all her strength. He was taking her hard, forcefully, but she welcomed the pounding, desperate lovemaking. She needed it, body and soul. She wanted to be claimed by him, marked as forever his. She loved it.
“Yes, Charles,yes!” Her guarded heart began to splinter. She pulled his head down to hers, pressing her forehead against him and meeting his passion-glazed eyes. Their panting breaths mingled in the small space between their lips.
“You amaze me,” Charles breathed. “So sweet. So good.” He stretched her and filled her, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to take every bit of him into her body, to absorb him and take him with her for all eternity.
“Please,” she sobbed; “More…please, Charles.”
The corners of his lips turned up in the most wicked grin Ariel had ever seen. “Anything for you.” His mouth slanted over hers and his large hands clutched her hips, holding her immobile as he increased both the pace and depth of his thrusts, filling her again and again and again, relentlessly and mercilessly pushing her higher and higher
His mouth broke free from hers to press his lips to her ear. He told her how beautiful she was, how well she pleased him, how he desired to please her. Charles maintained his steady rhythm until, finally, Ariel shattered. She became a mass of trembling muscles and tingling limbs as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her, threatening to drown her in bliss. Charles’ words from the other night floated through her mind; she would gladly die in that moment, in the steady arms of this man.
Charles’ rhythm stuttered and broke; he tore himself from her body, spilling his seed on the virgin expanse of her thighs with a guttural groan.
Ariel’s eyes were closed, her body still wracked with the aftershocks of her climax when the soft press of Charles’ lips caressed her damp forehead.
