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“That’s impossible.”
“No!Stop!”she urged.“Your satisfaction comes when I say so.”
“What?”He pushed deep and held himself over her.She clutched him, her muscles squeezing while she smiled in fiendish delight “Oh,” he groaned.He sucked air between his teeth, then spilled in a spectacular, uncontrollable release.He shuddered, pumped a few more times, then pushed up.“Cover yourself, pet.I’ll be ready for more at the road marker for Dartford.”
“Don’t think I’ll accept such a rushed trip the next time you pass through,” she said.“Or perhaps I could increase my wealth by charging a toll every time you take this road.”
“One I’d happily pay.You’ll have seven hours in the coach to punish me.”
She was still laughing when he closed the door.
He wasn’t ready to celebrate yet.The jewels wouldn’t be in his possession for a few more days.Then he and Alice could lay out plans to ruin Sandhurst.Lord, did he despise the man.Ruin and shame were the best he deserved.
The papers regarding her dowry and inheritance were important, but he would also retrieve the letters Rose had sent to her sister.Specifically, he wanted those he knew could harm Rose and her daughters.Not the casual correspondence, but those which admitted to weaknesses, sins and a variety of frailties.And Matthew would never allow anyone to harm those in the circle of his arms.
* * * * *
Rose only thought ofEdmond because he had never been willing to explore sexual pursuits inside a carriage.Undignified, he’d said!Mr.Hardy was not like her first husband, and he pledged additional delights on the way to her sister’s home.
If Madame DuPuis had promised Rose some contentment with her marriage bargain, she would have heartily laughed and paid double the amount for such a marriage prize.Rose reminded herself she wasn’t a flirtatious debutante who judged men by their appearance alone, but Matthew brought out desires and needs that weren’t explainable without admitting the outer man made her breathless.
“You are looking blissfully content, Mrs.Hardy,” Matthew said.He’d loosened his cravat and removed his coat, placing it neatly on the carriage seat.
She made Matthew promise not to move while she straddled him with her arms about his neck and her skirts bunched up between them.The carriage provided all the necessary movement.He had his hands braced against her thighs and stroked the skin between her knee and the gentle vee on the inside of her leg.
“I was just thinking of Alice DuPuis and her wonderous skill at matchmaking,” Rose said.“Among other things.”
“That one has never inspired me to such raptures,” he said.
“Well, you are the one who gambled at her table to win my hand.”
“It wasn’t a gamble.”
She cupped her hands against his face and pressed kisses to his lips.She squirmed in his arms and rode him.
“Mm,” he said.“A full gallop.”
The carriage wasn’t providing enough stimulation and she begin lifting and lowering over his cock in a most satisfactory way.
When she crested, she leaned back.Supported by Matthew’s arms, she let the pleasure flow through her then felt the surge of her husband’s release between her thighs as he bucked upward.
The contentment Rose had been thinking about had surprised her when she identified its true source.While she loved being a duchess—loved its importance, loved its power, loved her place in society—she’d found a certain peace hiding away in Islington.
Highwood itself had all the grand luxuries she was accustomed to but without the pretension.The children could wear clean shoes and have their hair properly plaited in the morning.No one fussed when they came indoors with dirt on their hands and untidy hair.
There was no pressure to be at her best every moment of every day.Rose had even, on occasion, gone back to bed after her morning outings with the children.Of course, no one knew she was pregnant, but Rose was starting to feel a little of the waning strength that occurs when a baby is growing inside.
Straddling Matthew, there was no easy way to cuddle against him, so they disentangled, rearranged their clothing, then she leaned against him, his arm over her shoulder.
“Rose?I have an embarrassing question to ask you.”
“Embarrassing for whom?You or me?”
He chuckled.“Maybe both of us.”
“Go on.”
“Why are you the way you are?”
