Page 58 of The Duke’s Unwilling Bride

Because, like it or not, her body at least loves what I do, even if she cannot bring herself to admit it. Even now, the scent of her arousal perfumes the room. Her bare thighs glisten with slick. It’s not just because she’s near her heat. This is arousal, pure and simple.

Reaching down, I grip the back of her neck and pin her down on the floor. “You want me to be the villain in this story of yours? You want me to take you without any care or preservation of your person? Fine. Then I’ll be the villain. Just remember when you wake up sore tomorrow, that you asked for this.”

As she struggles, I wrench her legs open, pulling the one closest to me near to my shin. I then wedge my knee in between so she can’t shut me out. Her mound glistens in the candlelight, and all I want to do is have a taste.

“God, but I want to devour you,” I groan against her ear as I lean down. “But naughty girls that test their Alphas don’t get the pleasure of their tongues and lips. Oh no. Naughty omegas get a different sort of pleasure.”

Notching my fingers at her entrance, I shove two in, gritting my teeth at how tightly she grips my digits, her body rippling. From this position, just these two stuff her full with barely any room to add another. Pulling out, I slam back in, listening to the melodic sound of her wails as it rings out in the rafters.

These are not cries of pain. Oh no. These are, in fact, the sobs of someone welcoming my rough touch. It’s a moan of relief as opposed to a plea to stop. Unable to resist the siren call of her body, I drag my fingers from her and bring them to my lips, moaning loud as her taste explodes on my tongue.

Growling, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her over to the Saint Andrew’s cross, over in the corner. She says nothing as I bind her hands, leaving her legs free. But then, what is there for her to say, truly?

Her eyes already have that haze about them, the look of someone who’s about to drift off into that liminal space, her mind affixed between heaven and earth. Not at all the arousal of someone about to go into heat. And all from the use of my fingers. God but she’s so responsive. The perfect woman for my needs. If only we didn’t have these walls up between us.

“Don’t move,” I tease, easing my way to the door.

I keep a close watch on her as she hangs there, my eyes never leaving her body as I crack the door open. Out in the hall, one of the servants paces back and forth, keeping ready for a request.

“I require three anal dilators, one bigger than the next. Do not go bigger than this.” Holding up three fingers, I wait for him to size them up and hurry away.

Turing back to my wife, I watch her eyes dilate as I roll my shirtsleeves up, baring my massive forearms. It shouldn’t make my cock lurch to see her taking obvious pleasure in my body, and yet, it’s how it should have always been. Filling my lungs with the surrounding air, I once more take her scent deep inside.

She’s so small, so helpless as she stands there, dancing about, twisting and turning the restraints. My form of dominance relies on pleasure and enjoyment. Never before have I had to take a pleasure slave in hand like this. However, the more she tries me, the more I find I like being rough with her.

It’s so different from with any other woman. It’s something that’s ours and ours alone. A soft knock on the door interrupts my thoughts, and I open it to receive the anal dilators. For a moment, I considered asking for a bit of ginger but decide against it.

If stretching out my wife’s back entrance isn’t enough to get her to mind me, I can always come back to that potent little vegetable. She stills as I walk up to her, her gaze not missing a thing. Curiosity seems to win out over her fear as she cranes her neck, standing up on her toes for a glimpse at what it is I now possess.

Unbidden, a chuckle rumbles through my chest. The little minx is both maddening and endearing at the same time. And the need to hold her close, to reassure myself she’s okay, beats at me. I want to be both for her—the sadistic taskmaster and the loving husband that holds her.

Maybe after I claim her, we can have that. It’s truly what I wish, to allow her to explore these curiosities and sate her quest for knowledge. But after I impress upon her the reality of her consequences.

Tucking the dilators into my pocket, I saunter over to the other wall, looking at the row of implements. “You know, my dear, this place is called a whipping house. Any thought as to why that might be?”

“Let me take a wild guess and say that you whip people here?”

“Among other things, but yes.” Threading my fingers through a flogger, I pick it up off its peg and walk toward her. “What did you think was going to happen here tonight? I’m genuinely curious.”

CHAPTER 28

Teresa

My arms ache as I sag against the wood, watching as Foxford walks toward me without a care in the world. “I wanted to see where you went. To find out what was so alluring you had to leave home at night.”

“I see. And what was it you planned to do once you found me? That is provided you actually gained entrance.”

“I- Well-” I pause, faltering.

I have no answer for the Alpha looming over me, his body somehow larger than it’s ever been. His eyes bore into mine, demanding an answer I cannot give. For all my calculations, I failed to actually come up with a reasonable plan.

“You were never supposed to know I was here,” I finally admit, hanging my head in shame. “If I did my job correctly, I’d see what you were doing, then slip home with you none the wiser.”

“And offering yourself to a Madame of a whipping house? Where does that factor into all of this?”

“As I said before, I didn’t know what it was the girls did here. I thought I could perhaps serve drinks and see you that way. In my defense, if you never came to such a place of ill repute, I wouldn’t be here either. All of this is your fault.”

“Hmmm.” His tone is noncommittal as he fingers the strips of leather in his hand. “And I will ask you again then. What would you have done if it had been someone else walking into this room instead of me? Would you have fought them? Told them there was some mistake? Or would you have allowed some other man to touch you, to take what is mine?”