Page 68 of Stolen By the Duke of Stone

“What do you want?” she asked.

His hand came to her hair, caressing gently. His fingers tangled in the tresses, scraping her scalp. She shivered at the affectionate gesture. His other hand unbuttoned his fall, releasing his member, which sprang free as though it had longed for her touch all this time. She took it eagerly, holding it with both hands.

“Gently,” he instructed her, and took her hand with his, guiding it up and down the shaft.

He hissed a breath and closed his eyes once more.

Jessamine watched his face, greedy for every sign of pleasure, every indication that he was enjoying this. His hips bucked, almost helplessly, and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. Almost impossibly, he swelled still more, and a few seconds later, he groaned, and white spurted across his stomach and his shirt.

She kept going until he gripped her hand, bidding her to stop, and they lay quietly.

“That was not the thank you I was expecting,” he said, a wry note in his voice.

He sat up and pulled out his handkerchief, wiping himself down.

Jessamine also sat up, wrapping her arms around herself. In his ardor, it was as though he wanted nothing more than to be close to her, with her, holding her, but now, like this, when they had both taken their pleasure, it was as though he took a step back from her.

“Do you… regret it?” she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

He glanced up, looking at her and frowning. “Regret it? Oh no, Mina.” The nickname fell from his tongue as though he had always said it. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. “How could I regret that? I just don’t want…” He looked away as he searched for the words. “I don’t want you to feel as though you must do anything out of gratitude.”

“That wasn’t gratitude, Andrew.”

“Good.” He hesitated, then shrugged off his coat, then his waistcoat. “You should sleep. For as long as you can. I will check in on William.”

“You will?”

“And stay with him to soothe him if he’s crying. But don’t forget that Lucy will be there, too.”

“Lucy should also have some time to sleep,” Jessamine said.

“Then I will give her that time. Now sleep.” He kissed her again, then guided her down with her head on the pillows. “You must be exhausted after such a long day,” he murmured, brushing her hair back from her face. “So sleep, and tomorrow we will take William out somewhere. Does that sound good?”

He was right: she was exhausted. “Yes,” she whispered. “That does sound good. Where will we go?”

“On a walk through Hyde Park?” he suggested. “We can wheel William along with us. He’ll enjoy the fresh air. You said he enjoyed the picnic.”

The picnic, which she had taken the day after they had last been intimate. This felt like a step in the right direction; he was not walking away from her just because they had engaged in… whatever it was they had engaged in.

“All right.” She gripped his hand. “Wake me if there’s any trouble.”

“I will,” he promised, and when she closed her eyes, he was walking to the door and closing it softly behind him.

Dressed in his nightclothes, Andrew sat in the small nursery with William, watching as the sky lightened toward dawn.

As predicted, Lucy required a rest, and so he had said he would sit in with the boy.

He shouldn’t have given in to temptation. Desire was too strong with Jessamine, but if he wasn’t careful, he risked upsetting the perfect balance they had established. Far easier to be parents than to be lovers and parents. Far harder to maintain their good relations with the complication that was lust.

Every time he replayed her small hand traveling down his body in order to give him some relief, he felt another surge of protective affection.

She deserved so much more from him than she was getting. She deserved affection that was not contingent on her performance in the bedroom, and that did not rely on intimacy.

She deserved a man who did not share her nightmares, but could carry her through them.

In other words, she deserved an entirely better husband. But she had him, and he was damn well determined to make her as happy as he possibly could.

No matter what it took.