He cupped the back of her head and helped guide her in a rhythm that quickly had his hips bucking, thrusting as deeply as she could take him. “You are amazing,” he panted. “Your mouth…God…” A gasp was wrenched from his chest. “You have all of me, Alaina. Every bit. I am at your mercy. I am yours…” He continued his praise of her and desperate, nonsensical pleas as she continued her relentless worship of his body.
When she moaned around him, the vibrations tickled every inch of his glistening cock. It took him only a few more thrusts until the telltale tingling began in the base of his spine.
“Alaina,” he growled. “Alaina, I’m going to—” Clumsier than he’d ever been in his life, he tried to pull her off of him so he didn’t finish in her mouth, but she steadfastly continued her pace and met the desperate digs of his pelvis. His body throbbed and she took him as deeply as she could just as his orgasm ripped through him with violent abandon.
His legs may have been numb, the rest of his body may have been left weak and depleted, but Sterling still managed to haul Alaina into his lap and kiss her deeply, savoring the heady saltiness on her tongue.
He loved Alaina.
He loved this woman, and he suspected he always had.
But he stopped before the words passed his lips. There were still repairs to be made in their relationship and he didn’t want her to feel any unnecessary pressure. He was truly content in that moment, and he was more than happy to have her in his arms while he marveled at how far they’d already come and looked forward to where they would go.
Sterling took everyopportunity to make passionate love to Alaina. They frequently spent hours exploring new and exciting ways in which they could worship one another.
Not that he’d doubted it, but Alaina proved to be just as voracious and intense in the bedroom as she was outside of it. And it delighted him to no end.
He’d allowed his wife so far beneath his skin that even the men at his club had commented upon the spring in his step. The Duke of Morton was a man obsessed, and he cared not one bit who knew. He’d waited his entire life to feel settled in marriage—to feel like he had someone by his side—and he’d be damned if he didn’t enjoy it.
Currently, Sterling was seated at his desk in his expansive study. It was often difficult to focus on the orderly columns of numbers and ceaseless parade of correspondence on a good day. However, with Alaina perched upon his lap, her bottom nestled securely against his rapidly swelling groin as she ran her lips along the lightly stubbled edge of his jaw, well, it was damn near impossible to see straight, let alone do anything productive.
His hand flexed against the soft flesh of her hip as she nipped the point where his jaw met his throat. She’d pay for that, to be sure. In fact, he quite looked forward to bending her over this desk and—
A knock at the study door rudely interrupted Sterling’s train of thought. He barely stifled a groan of disappointment and had to clear his throat before he could speak…all while his wicked wife continued her teasing.
“What?” It came out more harshly than he’d intended, but it was difficult to maintain any composure when she wriggled against him like that.
Overall, the servants seemed to have caught on to Sterling and Alaina’s reconciliation and called a silent truce with his presence in the house. In response, they’d gradually come to respect his word and afford the two of them a much greater level of privacy Sterling sincerely appreciated.
Thank God.
“A gentleman is here to see you, Your Grace,” came Maxwell’s voice through the door. The man was aware Sterling wasn’t alone or he would have otherwise opened the door rather than raise his voice to be heard through the barrier. “A Mr. Grey. He has no card, but he insisted you were expecting him.”
Sterling sobered at the name and his body grew taut for an entirely different reason. “Five minutes and then show him in, Maxwell.”
Sensing the abrupt change in his demeanor, Alaina leaned back. He met her arresting eyes and, though he was loath to do so, he gently removed her from his lap and set her on her feet.
“I need to see what the man wants, darling.”
“I understand.” Alaina sighed dramatically, straightening the skirts of her bright blue morning dress. He received a rather glorious view of her breasts and the valley between them as she bent to do so. She was wicked enough that she likely did it on purpose. “I have correspondence of my own I’ve been sorely neglecting,” she added with a rueful sigh. Sterling caught her hand before she could step away and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“I’ll find you when I’ve finished.”
She cocked a haughty brow at him. “And who is to say I’ll have time for you? I am, after all, a very busy lady.” Her coy smile followed by the elegant sway of her hips as she left the room sent a new knife of lust straight to his cock, and Sterling was forced to remain seated and use the desk to mask his arousal until his ardor cooled.
The butler shortly thereafter showed in the tall, dark, caller. The man went by many names, each one suiting a persona and geared toward a singular aim. To call him a gentleman would be considered laughable amongst the titled elitists; he had no breeding to speak of and little formal education. Sterling, however, trusted the man with his life and had done so and more for the past eight years.
His cold gaze met Sterling’s, both of them remaining silent until the butler’s footsteps could be heard retreating down the hallway.
Sterling hadn’t expected this unannounced visit and had—thanks to Alaina’s considerable charms—all but forgotten he’d sent a missive to the man to take a discreet inquiry into some of the numbers Sterling had come across in the ledgers. The abrupt change in Sterling’s marital situation had created a hazy effect on the rest of his world. It wasn’t smart and it wasn’t safe, but it was a pleasant change from the constant stress and dangers he’d endured while on the Continent. He had rather enjoyed the unguarded way he could simplybewith Alaina—when she wasn’t trying to take off his head, that was.
“A drink?” Sterling offered and gestured to the upholstered seat on the opposite side of his desk.
“Thank you, no,” was the curt reply. The man’s eerie silver eyes darted around the room, examining the gilt finishes, the polished wood, the expensive woven rug beneath his feet. It was odd having both of Sterling’s worlds colliding at once—his past and his present mixing together like disparate paint on an artist’s palette. “I’ve other business I need to address.”
“I take it you’re only passing through Mayfair, then?” Sterling tilted his head and leaned back in his chair, affecting a more relaxed persona than he felt.
The other man eyed him for several silent moments before his mouth split into an expression as close to a smile as Sterling had ever seen from him. “You know how it is. Besides, I’ll develop a rash if I spend too long a time amongst all this frippery.”
