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“I know that now. I believe Jane does too,” Bridget interrupted, a note of strength in her voice that he had not detected until then. She was already coming back to herself, now the truth was out. “It made me realize what a fool I was not to tell my story sooner, thinking that I could protect myself from a man such as him.”
“Bridget,” Graham said, his voice softening. “You shall never have to subject yourself to that monster’s company again, nor to anyone else who does not see you as the brave and beautiful woman you are. I promise you that.”
She blushed, her cheeks turning that gorgeous, rosy color that he loved so very much, enhanced by the firelight. He could not help but take her hand in his and raise it to his mouth, his lips brushing over her knuckles.
“Unfortunately, it is a lady’s lot in life to often be in the company of people who do not respect her,” Bridget murmured.
Graham smiled. “A duchess keeps company with no one but those she chooses,” he said. “And a duchess you shall be.”
Bridget inhaled sharply as he turned her hand over in his, pressing his lips next to the inside of her wrist where her pulse was pounding like a drum. He knew he should stop, but he had to taste that place where he could feel how alive they both were—and she did not offer any resistance.
Indeed, she leaned toward him, the blanket slipping again from her lap to reveal her long legs up to the knee.
“Kiss me again, Graham,” she whispered. “Once by the lake was not nearly enough.”
Graham drew closer, until they were just a breath away. “My dear lady,” he said. “I shall kiss you as many times as you wish and then a thousand times more.”
* * *
Since the first time they had kissed, Bridget had been wanting more. Rather than leaving her sated, the kiss had awoken a fire in her belly, a fire that would not be doused until she had more of him. She looked into his dark eyes for a moment before moving toward him, until the knee she had tucked under her pressed against his hip.
He took her by the chin, gently this time. With a level of care Bridget had not thought possible, he tilted her head, keeping his eyes on her, and then pressed his lips softly to hers.
A jolt ran through her as thunder rumbled outside, as if she herself had been struck by lightning. The sensation crawled along her neck, down her shoulders, making her fingers curl as it added a spark to the fire in her belly.
“Graham…” she breathed against his lips. He would not give her enough—soft, ghostly kisses planted on her mouth were divine, but not what would quench her thirst. She pulled herself closer, her desire making her brazen. Something in her chest tightened, while she felt the strangest sensation in between her legs.
“Bridget,” Graham groaned. “If I am to protect your honor, I must leave you herenow.”
“The scandal alone of Bragg’s deception will be enough to put a black mark on my name,” Bridget said, meeting his eyes. “And if you are to be my husband anyway, then please, by all means… ruin me.”
The moment hung between them, taut as a highwire. Bridget felt she was hardly able to balance, putting herself at risk in such a scandalous way—knowing that, were he to change his mind about their engagement, it could permanently destroy her family and her reputation.
But she did not care.
She trusted him.
Then Graham kissed her on the lips, and all second thoughts flew away. Bridget sighed, and he let his tongue invade her mouth at the exact moment she opened to him. Hewas gentle at first, but he responded to her moans and whispered requests for more. His hands rose to tenderly grasp her face, and he held her as they kissed, and kissed...
He had not been lying. He would give her a thousand kisses, and more.
And she would take them and devour him, greedy with need for the man she loved.
Bridget gasped when his hands slid over her neck, down her collar bone, her robe having fallen askew until it slipped from her shoulder. His lips followed his hands, sucking delicately on the sensitive flesh, and she nearly cried out when he nipped at the curve where her neck met her shoulder.
“Hush now, my darling,” he chuckled, his voice hot with desire. “We shall wake the whole house if we’re not careful.”
“Let them hear,” she said. “Is it wrong for a duke to make love to his wife in his own home?”
She did not know where the words had come from, and she clapped her hand over her mouth as she said them. Graham withdrew from where he was busy ravishing her throat and collar bone, his eyes blazing.
“You wish for me to make love to you?”
Bridget took a sharp breath as she realized what she had said, then she gripped his hands as the truth barreled into her.
“I wish to make love to my husband,” she said quietly. “For wasn’t it Keats who said we should drown out our melancholy with joy?”
Graham’s face broke out in a wide smile, and he took her face in his hands once again.
