Instead, Sterling claimed her mouth again.
Wrecked her.
Slid his hands down to cup and knead the taut, round globes of her bottom as he insinuated one hard thigh between her legs to press against her mound, reveling in the mingling heat of their bodies.
Let her feel how hard he was for her despite her needling; despite her careful plan to humiliate him.
He needed her to know that he would never stop aching for her; that every nerve in his body screamed for her when she was near, when he so much as caught a whiff of her scent.
“Whatever you do, I’ll not back down. I want you. I need you,” he growled against her neck, savoring how she shifted against his thigh to alleviate the ache he’d ignited within her. She glared like an ice queen, but she was all fire beneath the surface, just like he knew she would be. Likewise, she set him aflame, and together, they would be consumed by it…if she could relinquish some of the animosity she was so determined to harbor toward him. If they could lay down their weapons long enough to allow this connection to take root, then Sterling was confident they would be the excellent match he’d always known they could be.
“Hold me at arm’s length, push me away, do nothing but scowl at me, but I am not leaving you. Ever. Again. And I strongly suggest you warm to the idea of sharing this space with me because I want only you.” He used his hands on her rear to rock her lower body against his for good measure. “Only you.”
Alaina emitted a shuddering breath as he nipped the delicate line of her bare collarbone. Chills danced across his flesh when her hands ran up his arms and clasped the back of his neck. He wished she’d tangle her fingers there, tug at it, use it as a handle to push him to his knees so he could lift her skirts and taste her most secret of places and service her until she was wracked with pleasure.
“As disastrous as my prior attempts have been,” he continued; “know that I will wear down your resistance. I’m determined to share our life and begin it in earnest. I’ll wait another eight years if that’s what it takes, but I won’t stop until you believe in my devotion and accept that I do, indeed, find you to be the most arousing woman I’ve ever met. And, no matter what you throw at me, I will continue to wait for you. I lie awake each night thinking of all the things I could do to you, of all the things I could make you feel… All you need to do is ask, and I will gladly oblige.”
She whimpered and clutched him more tightly. Unable to resist, Sterling kissed Alaina’s parted lips soundly before suddenly releasing her, somewhat thrilled to note that she had to grip the doorframe behind her to remain steady and standing. His every nerve screaming in protest, he took his leave before his wife could find her voice…before he could go back on his word and lay her down on the carpet and lift her skirts right there.
He needed to cool his blood, but all he wanted to do was wrap his fist around his cock and pump it until he was spent—no matter how unsatisfying it would be. Nothing short of having Alaina could ever be enough for him, and he would not rest until he’d finally accomplished his aim.
*
Oh my…
That had backfired spectacularly.
Alaina replayed her conversation with Sterling again and again in rapid succession as she remained frozen in the doorway of the drawing room on her jelly-like legs. Even recalling the intensity in his eyes released another pool of heat between her legs where she ached and throbbed, her body begging for relief she could not name.
Alaina felt chilly and bereft when Sterling had retreated. Every part of her trembled, but not from fear.
But from what?
Desire?
She had to wrap her fingers in her skirts to prevent their shaking.
If she hadn’t known better, she might have believed Sterling to be sincere.
But…a man couldn’t remain celibate for that long, could he?
Certainly not from what little her mother had told her on her wedding night all those years ago. She’d informed Alaina that a man’s baser urges regularly overtook him, and, when that happened, he could act without thinking, his only aim to satisfy those needs. It was to be Alaina’s responsibility as the duke’s wife to lie back and allow him that relief.
Still…
Her husband had been home for several weeks at that point and not once had he forced her into his bed. They’d kissed, but he’d shown more control and restraint than she’d been led to believe the male sex possessed. And she found herself wondering what would happen when that control finally snapped.
It was surprising to her when she experienced a great deal more breathless excitement over that notion than fear or apprehension. Her traitorous body craved in the most primal of ways what he had offered to her, and she feared her resolve was weakening. Not only did his body call to her, but the strength of his determination in the face of her defiance was unexpectedly magnetic.
Alaina didn’t know how much longer she could deny how breathless her husband made her. His strength, his power, his words all worked together to chip away at the armor she’d forged and fortified. Soon, she would be laid bare and raw.
She only hoped she’d survive it.
*
The first rosytendrils of dawn were edging into the sky when Sterling finally gave up trying to sleep. He had been restless and wound as taut as a clock’s cogs ever since he’d left Alaina standing glassy-eyed in the drawing room.
How was a man expected to maintain his sanity when a woman such as she resided on the other side of an unlocked door? She was within his reach, and—no matter how much his body begged for it—he refused to act upon his desire to break down that flimsy barrier to claim her delicious lips again, to finally explore her glorious body. Instead, he suffered in solitary silence.
