Page 66 of Ruined by the Wrong Earl

He wanted to hear something else from her sweet lips. ‘Call me Devon. My name is Devon.’

She raised her lids and her eyes blazed. ‘I want you, Devon.’

He lost control. To hear his Christian name from her sweet lips at that moment was his undoing. He was hot and throbbing, his own need a fiery desire. Rising above her, he buried himself into her warm, welcoming body. All his restraint fled as she tightened around him and she was just as demanding of him in her passion.

‘You feel so good inside me.’ She grasped his biceps as she whispered in his ear.

He groaned again, unable to voice a coherent thought. He needed this woman, his wife, as much as he needed water and air. He began to thrust, and she eagerly met him, their bodies in sweet harmony. He felt her tighten around him, her breathy gasps edging him on. His muscles tensed, and he thrust once more, then threw back his head as his release roared through him. He stayed within her for a time, savoring their closeness before turning to the side to hold her.

Later, completely sated, Nora slept in his arms. He stayed awake and watched her. Lovemaking had never been as good as it was with her. It kept getting better, too.

She shifted and opened her eyes. ‘Tell me what you’re thinking.’

He trailed his fingers down the softness of her inner arm. ‘I’m thinking my wife is most demanding.’

She pinched his arm. ‘I’m demanding? I’d say you were just as urgent.’

‘I don’t deny it.’

She touched his cheek. ‘Now, don’t try to distract me from my question. I know you are under a lot of pressure. Open up to me, Devon.’

He’d never get tired of her using his name. It made it easier to talk about his troubles. ‘You must know about the upcoming second reading of my bill.’

‘Yes, you’ve been working late and meeting with others.’

‘My opponent, Lord Weber, is no doubt preparing his debate as I have mine. It will be heated.’

‘I have confidence in you.’

He brushed his lips against her forehead. ‘He has many allies as well.’

She shifted in his arms to better watch him. ‘And you do as well.’

‘I suppose but politics is a dirty business. Oftentimes, those with the richest benefactors win’

She considered this for a moment. ‘But sometimes, they do not.’

‘Yes, there have been past times.’

She trailed a finger down his chest. ‘Speaking of the past. I want to know more about you.’

‘Such as?’

She rose on her elbow and looked in his eyes. ‘You’re youth. Whatever happened to you years ago.’

Her eyes were bright as he pondered her question. He rarely spoke of Margaret. He’d been young and easily manipulated. Speaking of it would expose a vulnerability he didn’t want to share. But Nora had asked and he’d grown to trust that she would listen without judgment.

He let out a sigh. ‘I was engaged before, when I was just eighteen. Margaret was a family neighbour from our country estates. We were young, foolish, and I thought in love. I knew Margaret had a wandering eye, but I ignored it. When she became pregnant, I did the right thing and proposed. We even had our families’ blessing. At first, I was nervous to become a father. What did I know of parenting at that young age? But then, the more I thought about it, the more I grew excited for the babe.’

Nora’s eyes were wide. ‘You never married?’

He let out a gruff laugh. ‘Margaret confessed the baby wasn’t mine and that she was in love with another, a landowner’s son. They eloped to Gretna Green. I should have been relieved we never married. But I had mourned the loss of a baby that was never mine.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘There’s no reason to be sorry. In hindsight, Margaret’s betrayal did me a favor. I never saw her again or her child. She left for Scotland with her lover.’

As for Nora, he’d promised her a businesslike marriage but as time passed, he was growing increasingly affected by his wife. The feelings were frightening as hell. He’d been young and foolish before and losing his heart was not a path he wished to travel again. But what he felt for Nora was different. He told himself it must be due to stress. He’d been preoccupied and worried about the second reading of his bill and what Lord Weber would do to sabotage it. Stress could make a man behave differently, feel things that he logically knew were unsound. Once everything was over, he was certain his head would prevail over his heart.