Page 52 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“Every way possible…” Robert growled above her, before pressing his mouth against hers. “On top of you… behind you… up against the wall…”

Jo could not answer any more. Her body was so tight with desire that she was unable to do anything but pant, moan and writhe against his body. She was so close. She needed just a little more… Her hands slid down his back to cup his bottom and press him even further against her. Robert grounded even fiercer against her and Jo felt the pleasure explode inside her as he hit just right.

She cried out, as her body tensed and jerked against his as he continued to move above her. She felt Robert shudder and growl like he had in the sitting room and a faraway corner of her mind recognized that it must be a sign of his release. His small clothes were already soaked from her wetness, but she felt hot liquid seep through them as Robert continued to move against her.

They slowly stopped moving and lay panting, forehead to forehead with their eyes closed. Jo could not believe the overwhelming sensation he had been able to bring to her body again. Nor that she was able to give it to him.

“Jo,” Robert rasped as he gently rolled off her.

He pulled her toward his side. Jo kissed what she could reach of his face, his forehead and his temple, before their lips met in a single soft kiss.

23

Jo was gone when Robert woke up the next morning in the grey light. Or more accurately, she was in the dressing room, bossing around what sounded like several people with a nervous edge to her voice.

Robert stretched underneath the comfortable covers. The bed was slightly smaller than his. Both in length and width. Clearly it was not meant for a man of his size to be sleeping in it, only to visit it.

He should not have stayed. He had woken up some time during the night with Jo curled against his side and had tried to extricate himself, even though he was hard again. Jo had held onto him, and it had been much more enticing to curl around her. To kiss her and find her lush breasts underneath the covers. Her hands had started roaming his body. They had been feverish in their attempt to pleasure each other again and had ended up with their hands between each other’s legs as they climaxed almost at the same time yet again.

Part of him wished Jo had still been in bed so that they could have pleasured each other yet again. A larger part was grateful that she was not. It would complicate matters unnecessarily if she was there. He should not stay in her bed overnight the next time. Even if it allowed him the chance to draw another climax out of her.

Robert hurriedly rose from the bed and looked for his clothes that were scattered on the floor. He had pulled his small clothes off after their first encounter. They had been sodden with his seed. He had felt like a cad for pulling them off beside the sleeping Jo, but he knew, and he knew she knew that it meant nothing whether his small clothes were on or not. He would not touch her against her wishes either way.

He had thought briefly of going to his own bed at that point, but her bed had been warm and soft, and since he did not know whether the connecting door to his room was locked or not, it seemed safer to stay. He did not want to venture into the hallway at a time when the staff was not in bed yet.

Jo tiptoed into the room, already dressed, as Robert found his shirt in a corner of the room. She stared at his naked body for several long seconds, and Robert felt his already half-hard morning cock rise to the attention.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Jo blurted and turned from him.

Robert stabbed his arms through his shirt and drew it over his head. It was long enough that it covered his groin, which was lucky since they had made a mess of both his breeches and his small clothes.

“I’ll just…” he mumbled and gestured to the door, even though Jo was standing with her back to him now.

“Yes, right, I will see you at the carriage,” she told him in a high-pitched voice.

Robert tried the door, which was thankfully unlocked, and disappeared into his own room.

They busied themselves with eating the first hour or so on the journey. The silence was not exactly comfortable, but Robert was tired enough that he could use that as an excuse for not talking.

After they had finished their meal, Jo found a book in her reticule and started reading. Robert looked at her, trying to gauge whether she was tired as well, or if there was something else that was the matter.

He would hate it if she regretted what happened between them last night. He had been careful always to seek her consent but also knew that you might get caught up in the act. He needed to make certain that nothing was the matter, but not when they had a whole day of driving in close confinement ahead of them.

Across from him, Jo was starting to doze off. She gently slid further and further against the side of the carriage, then violently tipped forward, when there was a hole in the road. Robert caught her by the shoulders and gently maneuvered her to sit beside him.

“Here,” he mumbled and tucked her against his side, an arm resting around her shoulders.

Jo looked up at him with a confused look and started to pull away.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll make certain you won’t fall,” Robert told her, which made Jo close her eyes again.

Soon after, he felt her relax against his side. He was not certain she was sleeping, her breath remained too light, but he supposed she needed time to fall back asleep.

It was easiest this way, he told himself. It was easiest for both of them if Jo was asleep, so they did not have to speak. And the best way for Jo to remain asleep was if she was tucked against his side. There was nothing more to it than that. It was a normal physical reaction that he liked the weight and warmth of her body against his side.

Robert had brought a newspaper and the account books, thinking he could look them over on the journey. It was not an option with only one arm available though. He closed his eyes, but the feeling of Jo’s warm body and the thought of what the two of them could do if she was not sleeping kept him awake. Even if he knew they should wait until tonight at least before they touched each other again. And especially not until he had made certain Jo was fine with it. She had seemed a little withdrawn this morning.

He looked out the window, but it did not make it better. His mind was still conjuring all the acrobatic ways he and Jo could take advantage of the two seats in the carriage.