“I…” She paused and wrung her hands. “I’d like to talk to you.” A glimmer of hope lit up inside him.
“In my room? Ms. Baine-Torres, is that appropriate? Given the nature of our corresponding positions in—”
“Oh, do shut up, Arlo,” she exclaimed as she pushed past him into the room with surprising ease. She shut the door in a huff and stayed with her back pressed against it, her brown eyes roaming over him. “You are infuriating.”
“Then we have that in common, love. I don’t think anyone in my entire life has perplexed me as you do, and yet I keep coming back for more.” He took a step toward her, eyes on the mouth he’d been deprived for what felt like days. “You drive me absolutely mad,” he said as he planted both palms to the door, covering her with his body. He leaned down until his lips hovered above hers. “I can’t get your taste out of my mouth.”
She scoffed, turning her eyes to the ceiling as if pleading to a deity for patience. “I’m clearly having similar issues.” She sounded so flustered, and yet she pressed herself to him. The linen of her dress rubbed against his skin.
“My ailment is more precarious than that, Marena,” he explained, and brought a hand down, needing to touch her. “No matter what I do, all I want is to be here.” He cupped her sex, his mouth watering with the need to taste her.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” she groused as she grabbed his hand, shoving it under her skirts. He took her lead quickly enough and made his way up her thigh until he found what he wanted.
“Tell me you want this as much as I do,” he breathed out, his cock already twitching in his trousers.
She muttered testily, but her arms were already circled around his neck. “Possibly more. It’s hopeless. I can’t stop wanting you.”
He kissed her hard, tongue tangling with hers as his fingers parted her furrows. He licked into her mouth in exactly the way he was planning to lap at her cunt. With two fingers he spread her and ran his thumb over the hot little nub that made her melt for him. She bucked against him, those enticing moans that drove him mad escaping her lips.
“Please,” she begged as he pushed down the bodice of her dress to take a nipple into his mouth.
“What do you need, love? Tell me where you ache.”
“You know where,” she gasped as he worried the hard peak between his teeth.
“You want me to go down on my knees and love you with my tongue, sweetheart?”
“Why do I have to give you instructions?” She sounded absolutely infuriated, but he already knew how to bring out her more docile side. “Mmm yes…Like that.” She gasped, as he touched her, his finger moving in tight circles against her clitoris.
“You’re so wet for me already. I want to be inside you, but first I want to lick into you until you’re screaming my name.”
“Yes, that,” she said frantically, already working to undo her corset so he could have better access to her breasts. “Kiss them,” she demanded, pushing them toward his mouth.
“Mm.” He moaned as he sucked on her, making sure he used his teeth, and felt a rush of wetness lubricate his fingers. “I know you enjoy my teeth on your tits, love. I’m going to play with them a bit more, but then,” he said as he pressed two fingers inside her, “I’m going to take you right against this door.”
“Please.” She brought her hands to his head and nudged him down until his mouth was where they both needed him to be.
“You’re always ready for me,” he said, unable to hide the possessiveness in his voice.
“You are too full of yourself,” she said as she gathered her skirts and widened her legs, baring herself to him.
“Oh, that’s beautiful.” The awe in his voice was not feigned. Her lips were a dark brown on the outside and pink inside. Gorgeous. “This has become my favorite place in the world,” he whispered, blowing a bit of air on her sensitive skin. It elicited a long moan from his lover.
“More, Arlo.” His heart skittered in his chest from the need in her voice. He wanted to give her everything. Sink into her and taste her skin until they were both sated and wrecked. Until neither of them could come up with a single reason not to keep doing this.
“I could make a meal out of you,” he growled.
“Promises, promises,” she groused between gritted teeth, and he was caught between almost spending in his trousers from the reediness in her voice or dissolving in laughter at her shameless demands.
“Mmm, I’ll give you whatever you want.” He flattened his fingers and slapped her clit while his tongue entered her, making her sob from pleasure. He did it again, and a rush of liquid soaked his tongue. Her legs started to tremble.
“I’m coming. Please Arlo, I want you inside.”
He scrambled up as she hurriedly undid the placket of his trousers. “But the cap…,” he said between kisses as she stroked his cock.
“It’s in,” she said gruffly. “I know enough to know I can’t control myself around you. And don’t be pompous about it.”
“I would never,” he promised even as he struggled to hide the satisfied grin on his face. But soon his attention was back on her. He lifted her and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. They gasped in unison as he filled her, rocking against each other. The pressure in his groin built as she met his thrusts in earnest. “God, you’re perfect. I could die right here, right now, a happy man.”
“Please don’t die until I come again,” she grunted as she brought her hand to her pussy and started rubbing her fingers in a tight circle.
This woman would be the end of him. He could not lose this. He had to tell her. “Touch yourself, sweetheart, tell me how I feel inside you,” he said, as he drove hard into her, the door shaking from their efforts.
“You know you feel perfect and that you’ve now ruined me forever.” Her voice was strained, but devastatingly honest as she brought herself to climax. And soon she was clamping down, making his own orgasm barrel into him. He thrust into her until he was utterly wrung out. Somehow, he was able to get them to the bed unscathed where he laid on his back with her sprawled on top of him like a debauched empress.
“You get a bit too much satisfaction from carrying me around,” Marena protested.
“I like your body and I like touching you. I find that I want to keep doing it for as long as you’ll allow me,” he said, knowing he was risking her running off again.
“Arlo, I don’t know,” she said weakly, while she pressed kisses to his neck.
“I will let you set the terms. As much or as little as you want,” he said as he worked on divesting her of her chemise.
“We both know that between the two of us, I will never be the one setting the terms. You have all the power in this.”
“I’d have all the power if I were willing to use it to convince you,” he clarified. “But I am not. This is solely up to you.” He turned her face, which she had hidden in his chest, and brought her chin up to look at him. “You are the only one who can grant me access to your life, to your body. If you don’t want me, I will walk away.”
“I’m scared that it’ll change everything.” He could see how much she wanted to say yes, and he wished he could promise her nothing would come between them, but she was right. Things would not be easy. Even for a duke, challenging societal norms meant certain sacrifices. And yet he was certain he’d be willing to make them, for her.
“Everything’s already changed, love. Don’t you feel it?” he asked as she buried her face in his neck. “I want to be clear. I am not asking you to be my mistress. I will make you duchess, if that’s what it takes to keep you with me.”
“Arlo,” she wailed, scrambling to sit up, but he kept her tight to him. “You can’t say things like that.”
“Why ever not? It’s the truth.” He punctuated each word with a kiss or a caress, and soon she was pressed to him again, sitting astride him, her round bottom against his cock, which was already hardening for her. Perfect. She was perfect. “If you tell me you don’t w
ant this too, I will not ask again.”
“I can’t say that,” she admitted. She brought her mouth to his, and he opened, immediately lost in her kiss. Their tongues sparred while he ran rough hands over her delectable back and arse. “I love kissing you,” she sighed, burrowing farther into him, her breasts rubbing against him, legs tangling with his. And in that moment, he knew what it was like to be whole.
“I’ve always been bold when I’ve needed to be. I’ve had to be, but this makes me feel afraid,” she confessed.
He held her tighter, feeling fiercely protective. “I will slay dragons for you, and I don’t mean metaphorical ones. If you and I begin this, I will make it my mission in life to let every man in London know that if they ever walk into your shop with anything other than money to spend and a gracious demeanor, there will be hell to pay.”
“I’d be Mayfair’s most popular novelty. A duchess mixing salves in an apothecary,” she exclaimed with humor. “And besides, you can’t scuffle with every aristocrat in London, Arlo.”
“If it means I get to have you?” he asked, his voice serious. “Just watch me. And my duchess will be the talk of the town, because she’s the most beautiful and brilliant woman in England.” He could feel her breath catch at his words.
“Let’s sleep,” she whispered and peppering kisses to his warm skin. “Let’s talk in the morning.”
When he woke, she was gone from his bedroom. He sat up, scrambling to find his trousers. He rang the bell for Cyrus, who was in his room within seconds.
“Is she gone?” he asked, his heart beating fast. But he’d almost expected this. She was testing him, needing to be sure he’d meant what he said.
Before Cyrus opened his mouth, Arlo already knew the answer. “I’m afraid she is, Your Grace. She asked her chambermaid to help her slip out early this morning,” Cyrus informed him. “She only took her smaller valise and asked we forward the rest.”
“She did?” he asked as he paced the room. Then he understood. She’d left him a reason to go to her, if he chose to use it. The time for words was over, and now he had to show what he’d do to keep her. “Have the carriage ready in five minutes.” Cyrus was already gone from the bedroom by the time Arlo slid on a fresh shirt.
He was going after her.
He had to prove to her this was not a whim or a matter of convenience. Everyone took Marena at her word that she didn’t need grand gestures, that she was fine in her quiet, lonely life. But they didn’t know the fire that burned in her. They hadn’t watched her become a storm of lust and passion, one she had only given to him. He had to tell her that he would never expect she renounce who she was for him, that he wanted her exactly as she was. He had to reassure her that he didn’t expect her to stop doing what she loved. That he would use all his resources to make sure she could continue to pursue her every passion, if that meant he could keep her by his side.
If she left for London before they agreed to what would happen next, he would lose his chance. The possibility of it filled him with dread. He knew, unequivocally that letting Marena slip from his fingers would be the biggest mistake of his life.
Chapter Fifteen
“Do you need anything, mademoiselle?”
Marena shook her head at the attendant who, for the second time in the last half hour, had popped his head into her private train car to ask if she required anything. She had the compartment to herself. There were three other empty seats and a small table where they would serve her food. There was a sleeping compartment too, with a big, comfortable bed which she would probably use later. At any other moment she would’ve been embarrassed over such extravagance. But this morning, when she felt utterly miserable and had gotten almost no sleep, she was grateful for Arlo’s generosity.
She’d lain in his arms until right before dawn, her stomach in knots, misery rolling over her in waves. She wanted him too much, and that was so utterly mad. But what terrified her was the need for him. Even as she pressed herself to him, she felt the pain of his absence. She could see herself willing to compromise on her hard-won freedoms only to have more time with him. And then end up with nothing. Because there was no future for them, not unless he was willing let her continue her work. A duchess working as an herbalist…that could never happen.
So, she ran.
She’d arrived so early at the station that she’d been the first passenger on the train. But now, the departure time was near. She looked out the window, smothering the foolish hope that Arlo would come running across the platform, yelling for her to get off the train.
She imagined his long, powerful legs swallowing the distance, carrying his frame with ease as he leapt onto the train car and made his way down the aisles, calling for her. Scandalizing all the first-class passengers and not caring because he was determined to declare his love to her. But the platform was almost empty and the train only minutes from leaving the station. She closed her eyes, riddled with doubt, missing him already. She’d known from their first kiss that she would never forget what it was like to be in his arms.
There was a knock on her compartment door again, and this time she didn’t have the composure to be cordial. “I don’t need anything! Please just go.”
Marena laid her head against the window, hoping she’d scared away whomever was on the other side of the door, but after a moment she heard the doorknob turn. She swiveled to give them a piece of her mind. “I said—”
The rest of the words died in her throat.
“Such tone, darling.” His face was inscrutable, his full lips in a neutral line, eyebrows and forehead smooth, but those blue eyes were stormy, unsure.
The compartment, which only a minute ago had seemed vast and empty, filled with Arlo. His body—his presence—made the space feel small. And her heart...it was somewhere in her throat, trying its best to leap out of her.
“You’re here,” she said, standing so that she was only a couple of feet from him. It still felt like he was an ocean away.
“I am.” He looked at her for a long time, his back against the narrow door. He was once again impeccably attired, this time in a looser fitting morning suit, the better for a long day on the train. She, on the other hand, was…disheveled. She’d barely paid attention to what she put on, and her hair was almost certainly a disaster. And yet everywhere his eyes landed, they seemed to gobble her up.
She ran a hand over the bodice of her dress, tipping her chin at the box he was holding. “What’s that?”
“The sweets I promised you.” He offered the parcel to her. She took it from him, giving him a confused look. “The other night at l’Anglais,” he said. “I told you I’d get you the best sweets in Paris.”
Now her entire face was on fire. “Oh.”
“I also brought you some pastries because you missed breakfast.” Her lips turned slightly at that, but she focused on gently placing the box of sweets on one of the seat before turning to face him again.
“Why are you always trying to feed me?” she asked, feigning an irritation she did not at all feel.
“Because I like watching you eat, and I like giving you what you need.” He took a step toward her at the same time she reached for him. Soon they were embracing, his lips on hers. How could she believe she’d be fine letting this slip away? His hunger matched hers and they only stopped when the train started to move. He sat on the settee, bringing her with him so she was sprawled on his lap. “Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?”
She closed her eyes, the misery from before coming back in earnest. “I didn’t know what else to do, Arlo. I don’t want to give up my work and I don’t know if I could be in your world. I don’t want to be scorned.”
He kissed her again, and she succumbed to it, the misgivings of the morning melting away with every touch. “I would never expect you to give up doing what you love. I swear to you, I will see to that. As for us, I can’t promise anything more than I want to try. And if you want to as well, I will make a way for us.”
<
br /> “How can you be so sure? It’s only been a few days.” She hoped he had a perfect answer that could let her believe she wasn’t risking everything for something fleeting.
He ran a finger along her hairline, pushing back the riot of curls around her face. His eyes took her in greedily. “I’m sure in the same way you are. Some things are inevitable, and that’s how you felt to me from the moment I saw you.”
She could say so many things. More reasons why this could end terribly for them both. But she could not deny the truth of his words. He’d made her feel for what seemed like the first time in her life. She could turn her back on that, or she could trust it, and right now Arlo Kenworthy was too good to let go of.
“Kiss me,” she demanded, and like he’d done over and over in the last week, he gave her exactly what she wanted.
Marena decided it was a very good place to start.
* * *
The End.
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Duke I’d Like to F… Page 43