Page 89 of The Duke’s Bloody Bargain

“You’re still here.” Irene slid her hand into mine. Since she’d killed a few of Rothbart’s minions, her radiance had grown and her strength had flourished.

Not even a light shiver went through me when I touched her. Quite the opposite. I savoured her warm and silky skin.

“I think he told us the truth.” She cast a disinterested glance at the villain. “He’s cruel enough to have truly kept Odette imprisoned for years.”

“He’ll pay for that as well.”

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” She led me out of the wing, flashing a coquettish smile. “I believe the last time we were together, we were interrupted.”

And just like that, my blood boiled with desire. “Aren’t you tired?”

“No.” She caressed my cheek, and perhaps I was exaggerating, but the urge to be with her overwhelmed every other sensation.

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Come to my bedroom and I’ll show you.” She started to go up the stairs.

“Wait. I want to do something.”

She tilted her head. “What?”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her. “I took Darius up the stairs, but I thought you should have been the first one in my arms.”

I carried her upstairs, stealing kisses from her. The light from the globes cast a golden glow on the walls and on her skin, making her look like a sun goddess.

Without the servants coming and going along the corridor, the mansion was eerily quiet, but at that moment, I liked it. It was just Irene and me.

The sound of the door to her bedroom shutting behind us was the sweetest thing.

Before kissing her hard, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. It was sharp and neat, and, entwined with Irene’s reflection, heaven.

Then it was a battle of us against our clothes.

We tugged, pulled, and shoved fabric and layers out of our way until we were skin against skin, lying on the bed in a frenzy of heat and kisses. I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth. She bit my lips, and I laughed and kissed her. And touched her. Touched her everywhere. Our hands crossed paths while exploring our bodies. Our lips clashed. Our breaths mingled.

Her softness and perfect curves amazed me. She was light and beauty and kindness, and I wanted to get drunk on her laughter.

I propped myself up on my elbows not to crush her as she lay underneath me. The smoothness and softness of her body shouldn’t be a surprise, but they were. I marvelled at our differences, her perfect breasts and velvety skin, her delicate jaw and full lips, and her silky hair. Everywhere I looked, there was something of her I’d never noticed. A tiny mole on her shoulder, the way her collarbone curved gracefully, or the pretty half-moons on her fingernails.

The tips of her golden eyelashes overlapped, so long they were. Each kiss was sweet, warm, and trembling, only to turn hard and deep. Her hands on my chest plunged to my abdomen and lower, exploring and teasing.

She wrapped her legs around my hips and urged me closer, interrupting my worship of her. “Bite me while you’re inside me.”

I hesitated. “I’ve never done that. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“If I feel pain, you’ll feel it, too.”

Yes, but I didn’t want her to feel any pain.

“Please.” Her legs tightened around me before widening in a warm welcome.

She rocked her hips, rubbing me with a delicious friction. Then her mouth was on my throat, her fingers stroked a sensitive spot close to my ears, and her foot caressed my leg.

I loved how she shivered when I slid a hand between her thighs and brushed her. The tiny sting of her fingernails on my back danced on my skin as love flooded the bond.

I sucked in a breath and slid onwards slowly. The sensation of her around me was as good as tasting her blood. Or even better. Being so close to her was burning and familiar too. Strong and sweet. Desperate and all-consuming.

She let out a small gasp, and I stopped as a sting of her pain pricked me through our bond.