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His eyebrows rose as he bent his head closer to hers. “Why is that?”
One of her brows quirked up in response. “Let’s see. A duke asked me to marry him, several more lords arrived in town, my sisters are absolutely atwitter and…” She held up a single finger, “My father seems oblivious to it all.”
“Does he?” he asked, sliding the tips of his fingers up her back, the curve of it causing his body to tighten. “He knows the other men are here. He mentioned it.”
She shook her head. “He’s always had his head in the clouds…or more accurately, in books. I know the feeling but I’d like to think that I quickly come back to reality. And the reality is my sisters and I are in danger.”
“No, that isn’t true,” he whispered, letting his breath tickle the skin of her neck. “I would never let anything happen to you and, as your husband and a duke, I would make sure those men behaved.”
She shivered and he knew his touch was working. “But who will protect me from you?”
* * *
Chase clenched his teeth as her words settled over him. It was an excellent question. He used his middle finger to trace the curve of her delicate shoulder. “You don’t need protecting from me, love. I want to tuck you by my side and keep you safe always.”
“Very pretty words,” she murmured, her breath catching as his finger traced the inside of her arm, just grazing the flesh of her breast. “But even in this moment you are compromising my—” She stopped as he reached her bare wrist and then ran his fingers across her open palm. Her breathing was shallow as she looked down at their hands.
“I’m not compromising. I am convincing.”
Her lashes fluttered closed. “Convincing me of what…exactly?”
Leaning down, he placed a light kiss just behind her ear. The candlelight flickered off her skin as his lips caressed her silky flesh. “That I can make you happy as a husband. Keep you content.” Then he kissed a trail down her neck and across her collarbone.
“I’ve no doubt that you can teach me all sorts of delicious things.” She brought her hands up to grasp his biceps, her head tilting back as victory sang in his veins. “My concerns involve our emotional bond and possibly your fidelity.”
He loosened the string of the night rail about her neck. “My fidelity is not a concern, Ophelia. I swear to you, you will find me in your bed every night. I wish to leave my past self behind and start a much brighter future with you.” And then he kissed the skin of her chest, now exposed.
She dug her fingers into his arm
s. “That is comforting.”
“Let me show you how good it could be.” He continued to kiss over the cloth, blazing a trail to the peak of her breast. They were as full as he’d imagined them to be and cupping one, he kissed her nipple then sucked it into his mouth.
Her gasp and then moan said all he needed to know. But then her fingers, which had been gripping him tightly, started to push him away. “I shouldn’t. We’re not married or promised…what if—”
“Ophelia.” He moved to the other nipple, bringing it into his mouth as she arched her back to meet his touch. He growled out his satisfaction as he showered attention on her other breast. “I’ll not take your maidenhead, but I can show you how good it can be. Will you let me?”
She shook her head, starting to back up again. “Chase. I’m trying to decide the right path. I shouldn’t allow what you’re doing to color my thinking.”
In answer, he ran his hand down her flat abdomen, the silky cotton of her night rail having warmed from their body heat. He slid his fingers between her legs, pressing lightly against her womanly flesh. Her sharp gasp let him know just how much she liked the touch as her knees buckled.
Wrapping his other hand below her behind, he held her up as he started sliding back and forth along her seam. She whimpered, her fingers digging into his neck. He increased the pressure as he lifted his head to take her lips in his own. She was careening toward her finish, her legs trembling against his. Much as he wanted to feel her break apart in his arms, this was a lesson on the benefits of making a rogue your own and he’d only just begun the lesson.
Chapter Eleven
A hot, beautiful, agonizing passion curled from Ophelia’s apex and spread through her body like fire. This was not a beautiful fairy tale, this was real and hot and so delicious that she could barely stand it.
“Would you like to know what else we could do?” Chase whispered in her ear, slowing his intimate caress.
“Don’t stop,” she managed to push out between breaths, digging her nails into the flesh of his neck. If she weren’t careful, she’d leave marks.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through her neck down her spine only adding to the pleasure. “Don’t worry, love. What I do next will be so much better.”
“Better?” When had her voice gotten so…needy? It rasped with a high-pitch tone that practically begged for more.
“Better,” he answered, suddenly lifting her off her feet and carrying her across the room to the settee. It was darker here away from the candle and she could only see his outline as he laid her down on the piece of furniture, his knees between hers, her legs falling as open as her night rail would allow.
Chase shrugged off his shirt, tossing the garment to the floor. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice catching.
