Alexander had chosen his words carefully before speaking his response. They had had more than a few misunderstandings of late. “We have both known our share of disappointments and losses in our lives. I am even responsible for many of your trials. You possess a reason for fearing to love me.”
“So would you,” Dora continued. “You lost so many of those for whom you cared deeply. I must wonder if something would happen to part us again, would you lose part of yourself? Assuredly, that is how I would feel.”
“Yes,” he had reluctantly admitted.
“I pray you can love with your whole heart, Alexander. Not simply with your head.”
As her admonishments died away in his memory, she stepped into the opening under the archway, clinging to Duncan’s arm, and, ironically, both his heart and his head were in agreement: Lady Theodora Duncan was the one with whom he wished to travel into the future.
The wedding and the gathering at Duncan Place had both been spectacular. Lady Emma assuredly had the touch as a society hostess. Alexander hoped both Theodora and Annalise learned something from Lady Orson’s skills. Lord Richard Orson’s wife had definitely learned how to put her best foot forward at her manipulative mother’s hand.
Now, Theodora andAlexander were finally alone at Dutton Hall.
Dora tenderly stroked Alexander’s hair. She wished every day could end in this manner—the two of them taking comfort in each other. Her sweet Alexander, though he would deny it, required someone to see beyond his obsessive focus and teach him more of kindness and passion, while accepting both those qualities from others. Meanwhile, she required his unquestionable reliability.
His eyes narrowed as she again moved an errant curl from his forehead. “What is on your mind, Lady Marksman?” he asked.
She smiled knowingly. “Just how much I enjoy the sound of my new title, as well as how deeply I desire a kiss from Lord Alexander Dutton, the 12th Earl Marksman, right now.”
He tugged her closer. “Excellent answer, my lady.”
When they broke for air, Dora leaned her head back so he might pepper her neck with a series of quick kisses. “I am not just another pretty face, my lord,” she teased.
His hand stilled. “Is this what all the female authors mean when they write of requiring a particular person in their lives?”
“It is for me,” she admitted.
As if he approved of her response, his grip tightened on her thigh before his hands slid behind her knees so he could turn her to sit upon his lap, facing him. He held her in place when she thought to move to a less intimate position. Meanwhile, his thighs and the distinct masculine shape of him warmed her hips nicely.
Alexander leaned in and his lips opened urgently over hers. Dora could taste the remnants of port when her tongue met his and they “danced” together in a fever she had never known possible. Lost to him alone, Theodora wound her arms around his neck and tunneled her fingers into the hair on the back of his head before lifting herself slightly so she might kiss him more urgently. His mouth demanded more and stoked the need burning inside her.
As if in urgency, his hands moved to her waist, and he shifted her so he might recline against the settee’s cushions while his fingers stroked the curve of her hips. Theodora twisted so she might stretch out more fully on top of him. “Please say I am not putting too much pressure on your injury,” she murmured.
“If we stop now, the injury will be worse,” he groaned. He nudged her closer still.
Theodora’s breasts pillowed against the planes of his chest and her nipples pebbled.
Meanwhile, while she enjoyed the feel of him beneath her, Alexander kissed and licked her earlobe and along her jawline. With one hand, he pushed aside the straps of the silk gown shehad worn as he slipped the other hand up her bare leg all the way to her hip.
Theodora followed his eagerness and slid her hands beneath the flaps of his monogrammed robe. She ran the palm of her hand across the crisp hair curled upon his chest, then she circled his nipple with her fingertips and knew satisfaction with his guttural groan of desire.
“Remind me to send Lady Orson flowers,” he rasped. “She is an excellent tutor.”
Dora grinned. “Perhaps it is his lordship we should thank. Emma had an excellent partner in Richard’s tenderness with her.”
Like it or not, and she enjoyed every minute of his touch, Dora’s breasts were heavy and full as he palmed them through her nightgown. A groan of pleasure slipped out as he pinched the nub between his thumb and finger. Who would have thought pain could be pleasurable?
Without warning, Alexander sat up suddenly, and, for a few seconds, Theodora thought she had done something wrong until he ordered, “Legs around my waist!”
“You shall bring harm to your arm,” Dora protested as he dragged her gown up and over her head.
“I am strong enough,” he growled, “to carry my wife ten feet to the bed, even with one arm. Legs now, Dora. We cannot do what needs to be done on this settee, but, either way, it will happen.”
Theodora nodded in embarrassment, for she wanted him more than reason. Like him, Dora wanted no barrier between them. “Xander,” she groaned.
He stood quickly and palmed her hips with one arm as he shuffled towards the bed.
Locking her feet together behind his waist, he carried her to the bed and permitted her to slip down his body to landon the surface. As foolish as it would sound to say the words aloud, Theodora worried this fantasy of knowing Alexander’s love would disappear before it came to pass, but then she looked up from where she half sat and half lay on the edge of the bed and noted how his eyes had glazed over in desire.
Fortunately, Alexander appeared as eager as she. He untied his dressing gown and permitted it to slide off his shoulders to the floor. Then he went suddenly still, and, for a moment, Dora wondered if she had erred in her estimation of how much he desired her. Then she realized he was memorizing her form and this moment. The idea of his careful study of her body had her womb pulsing in anticipation.
He placed a knee on the side of the bed while she scooted back to permit him room, right before he leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then he whispered, “You are breathtakingly beautiful, Lady Marksman.”
His fingers tantalized her left breast, and with a deep ragged breath, he pressed her back onto the feather mattress. Kissing her again with more urgency, he rolled her onto her back and moved between her legs, his strong thighs nudging hers apart. While he kissed her, he prodded her opening in preparation of their joining. His other hand fisted in her hair as he carefully pushed his way into her. “This will hurt a bit the first time, Dora, but I will attempt to be gentle.”
He sucked her breast as the length and breadth of him stretched her. Finally, fully seated, he slid higher to reclaim her mouth and her breasts, laving both with his tongue as he moved inside her. With his injured arm, he slid his hand down her body where he worked his thumb between them where they were attached, and then he teased the nub until she thought she would explode. At last, he took her over in a rush of feverish pleasure that was both bliss and pain at the same time. Her body tightened over and over again with deep pulses she could notcontrol even if she had the energy to try, while Alexander’s whole body stiffened over hers. With a hum of satisfaction, he released his warm stream inside of her.
With her head nestled against his right shoulder he rolled her to lie beside him and pulled the bedding over them. “Rest, love, I will require you around me again later.”
Dora was too exhausted and too amazed to do more than to snuggle into his body, so she might be shielded by his strength. As she fell asleep, Theodora felt as if she finally had found where she belonged.
