Page 48 of The Duke of a Thousand Desires

For a moment his gaze held no emotion whatsoever. In the next his eyes blazed through her veil of composure. Her knees bent. What chance of controlling herself did she have when his mere glance shattered her?

Had she misinterpreted his overtures? She had anticipated a decadent seduction, a farewell to her girlish inhibitions. She was prepared for almost anything except a bridegroom who was as formal and detached as a butler.

“Shall I ask one of the maids to prepare you for bed?” he said, maddeningly detached.

“I don’t need a maid to undress me,” she said in annoyance. “Do you need a valet?”

His mouth twitched. “Not tonight. What would you have me do?”

“How should I know? This is my first and presumably last wedding night. And you’re asking me if I want to be unlaced by a maid? I did not subvert the course of my life to languish in an unfamiliar chamber, as exquisitely furnished as it appears to be. You warned me that I was giving myself to a man who was prone to fits of passion.”

“In case it is not obvious, youhave tempted me beyond what I can bear.”

“I would assume the opposite by your actions.”

He exhaled forcefully. “I am about to lose my sanity.”

“I haven’t done anything to incite you,” she said, although she might if he did not take action soon.

“That’s what alarms me,” he murmured. “God help me if you put your mind to it.”

“But you haven’t touched me, Simon. I understood that by now we were supposed to be … well.”

“Oh, we will.” He studied her closely, his eyes like obsidian. “The problem is that I am struggling with my conscience. I made you marry me.”

“I had a choice, albeit a slim one.”

“It doesn’t seem fair that I seduce you.”

“You promised you would,” she blurted out, her scalp tingling when she realized what she had confessed.

He narrowed his eyes. His knuckles stroked the arch of her throat. She felt hot, dizzy, embarrassed, on the verge of taking him by force until he said, “I need to know you want this. Ask me. Please. Ask.”

She shivered. “I just did. If you been paying attention, you’d realize that I have been virtually begging you all day. Make me your wife in the worldly sense, or I shall not be responsible for what happens tonight.”

It had takenher twenty-seven minutes to change into Isolde’s high-necked serge gown, worsted stockings, and boots. Simon divested her so efficiently of the garments he might have stitched every seam himself. His long fingers refused to recognize the limitations of hooks and eyelets. He strummed through her laces, pulled down the straps of her chemise to reveal her breasts. She felt her nipples tighten. He scrutinized every inch of her he uncovered. The appreciative gleam in his eyes made her feel as if she had been created for him.

His strong hands swept down her back with a confidence that brewed fire in her belly. He was a gorgeous demon from whose fingers leapt sparks. She flushed with the slow-burning heat of a woman ready to be taken.

She had believed that after her disgrace no decent man would marry her. Simon might have behaved indecently in the past. Now so would she.

“Come to my bed,” he said in a disarming voice that left her no further time to reflect on his latent talents. It appeared that a formidable element had been freed inside him and she was at last about to experience its force. Hidden fires could only be contained for so long.

He said, “Damn me, I can’t get these breeches off.”

She lowered her gaze as if she weren’t as curious to study him as he had her. His hand skimmed her breasts and she caught her breath in wonder. She hadn’t known she could feel so laid bare and brimming with excitement at the same time. When she raised her eyes to his, she knew she would offer him everything he needed, no matter how dark or unspeakable his needs might be. And she would take what she needed of him.

“You’re beautiful,” he said in a gravelly voice that scraped her nerves raw.

“So are you,” she whispered.

“I will teach you,” he said. “We will revel in every nuance of lovemaking. Soon you’ll become sensitive enough to feel my shadow over you while you sleep.”