Page 99 of The Duke of a Thousand Desires

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The aunts arrivedand spent four days at Caverley Hall. In that flurried interlude they inspected and praised the staff, introduced themselves to the neighbors and left a scroll of instructions on how to refurbish the nursery. Not unexpectedly the new duchess became an object of curiosity in the village. Ladies and gentlemen, families large and small, trundled in dog-carts and chariots to Sunday church to make her acquaintance.

They flattered her. They gave her flowers on bended knee. They expressed their concerns about her husband’s frequent absences. She said she understood and promised to use her influence on Simon. She was a country lady born and bred who rode and fished and had brought the scowling duke home to take care of them.

Unfortunately she and Simon needed to return to London to greet her new nephew and atone to her cousins for the trouble she’d inflicted on the family. But her loyalty belonged here now.

The magnificent estate included seven hundred acres of arable and pasture land, a pleasure garden, a hothouse, an ice-house, and a brewery. There were shaded paths for summertime rides and walled gardens for winter airings.

Best of all, there was Simon.

The swayingof the great carriage enhanced the forbidden urgency of their coupling. Simon had received the luxurious low-hung vehicle the day before he left Essex. The silk-lined interior provided ample room to indulge in amorous interludes during country travel. The interior lamps provided light for Simon to read his newspapers, Ravenna her novels.

It was a relief not to worry about banging his head against the roof during unbridled exertions. Nor was he forced to hold up his arm like a handrail to keep Ravenna from sliding off the seat.

He was deeply indebted to the coachmaker for his skill as well as his perception.

He was also deeply embedded in his wife; she had locked her strong legs around his waist like a vise. At the moment neither of them were liable to go anywhere without the other.

“Sinful,” he heard her whisper as he withdrew from her only to reapply himself with renewed vigor. She was the most enticing travel companion he could imagine, her shift untied to reveal her soft breasts, her corset -- he wasn’t sure she had even been wearing one. Everything would be sorted out by the time they arrived in London.

Her nipples glistened from his kisses. He breathed in the potent aroma of sex and French soap on her skin. “What if Griffin’s coach overtakes us?” she asked belatedly.

“He is a married man,” he muttered. “I assume he understands what it means that I have closed the blinds.”

“That isn’t humiliating.” She flexed her left foot. “My back is cramped, Simon. Restrain yourself.”

“The heel of your slipper is digging into my rump.”

“What do you expect when you disturb me from a deep slumber to sate your desires?”

“Satisfaction.”

Which he received and returned in full measure, although it did cross his mind that his pummeling might send the carriage off the Great Northern Road and into a ditch. “Did you not do the same to me a few days ago?” he said. “You did not hear me complain.”

“It wasn’t a complaint, Simon.”

“I often forget myself when we are alone,” he said, sliding his hands under her posterior for leverage.

He did not hear her response. In his preoccupied state, the only sounds he discerned were the rumble of dished wheels on the road and his own labored breathing as she tightened in climax, encouraging his own release. He spilled inside her with a shudder that tore down his neck to his back.

“Wife,” he said and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her until she nudged him off her with a rueful smile.

“That was invigorating,” she said.

“I have paid a price.”

“Oh?”

“Your shoe dug a hole in my bum,” he replied placidly and angled up to rearrange his rumpled attire.

“Explain the reason why to the surgeon,” she said without sympathy. “What if we had been beset by highwayman at the height of our unseemly lust?”

He reached his hand over her head to open the blinds. “Not a varlet in sight.”

“Except for you.” She swung upright to comb back her hair with her fingers and straighten her petticoats. “I must look frightful. Did I really stab you with my slipper?”

“Yes.” His throat went dry as he studied her, overwhelmed by the warmth he felt, the closeness. “Do you fancy cucumber by any chance? Sprinkled with salt and sugar?”