Wouldn’t that have been a fitting way for a Duke to deflower his bride—on the ground, amid the horses? But damn it, if she’d stood there a second longer, he wouldn’t have been able to resist.
It had to be his unusual bout of abstinence that was driving him mad at the mere sight of her, and he was going to rectify that. No woman was going to keep him in this constant state of unsated arousal, not even Tess. Storming toward the small room at the back of the stable, he hollered for Phillip to ready his carriage.
Stomping back to the house, he prayed he didn’t run into his vixen bride on his way. His need was too great, and she was far too great a temptation.
“Brandon,” he called as he entered the house and spied his brother alone in the parlor. “I’m away to London this evening.”
Brandon raised an eyebrow above an incredulous stare, but he wasn’t in the mood, and damn it, he didn’t owe his brother an explanation. As quickly as he stormed in, he stormed out.
And it was a long ride to London, particularly so with his conscience waging war against him every mile. It chastised him relentlessly for seeking succor in the arms of another woman a mere day after taking Tessa as his wife. But he hadn’t taken her, not in the way his body wanted, nay, needed. And he had no intention of ever doing so. Not only had he determined his would be a marriage of convenience, but he still wasn’t certain whether his young bride was behind her father’s ploy.
Silencing his treacherous conscience, he climbed the stairs to the townhouse where relief would surely be found. A single knock, and the door opened as if she’d known he was in need.
“Good evening, Sophie.” A bit of a stretch given the late hour, but she smiled sensually, stepping back to welcome him into her home. He waited for the rush of relief to wash over him, knowing his wait was nearly over, but it didn’t come.
Without a word, she led the way up the stairs; she knew exactly what he wanted. Once there, in the room he’d visited so often before, he looked down at the woman. Crystal blue eyes stared up at him and dark, satin tresses spilled over her shoulders. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. Sophie had warm, brown eyes and hair the color of honey.
Ignoring the trick his mind played, he reached for her, but she was too short. Tessa was tall, the top of her head nearly reaching his chin. He need only tilt her stubborn chin upward and lean in to capture her lips with his own.
“Troubled, Gabriel?” Sophie queried, an amused smile turning up the corners of her pale lips—lips that weren’t naturally rosy like Tessa’s. And they didn’t beckon him to taste them like his young bride’s either. He remembered how she’d looked in the barn, her lips slightly parted , her eyes alight with desire. Her breath had come faster, drawing his attention to the swell of her breasts above her gown. Sophie’s breasts were even more generously displayed above her low neckline, but his fingers didn’t long to free them from the confines of her gown. In fact, he realized he had absolutely no desire to bare any part of the woman in front of him. How could his body be in such need, and yet his mind be so fixated on Tessa that no other woman would do?
He exhaled hard and took a step back from Sophie, realizing he wouldn’t find the relief he’d been seeking. He didn’t want her. Damn it, he wanted the dark-haired beauty in his home that he was completely entitled to have.
“I’m sorry, Sophie. It seems I’ve made a mistake.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He turned, hurried down the stairs and out into the night. It was too late to return home, and so he would be forced to spend the night in his own townhouse. Maybe he’d take up permanent residence there, letting the distance between him and Tess overcome his irrational need for her.
Perhaps he’d just grown tired of Sophie. Could it be he was merely in need of a new distraction? A new woman to incite his desire? No. There was no other woman who could satisfy this craving. He’d been a fool to think he could follow through with his plan to keep his distance from his young wife.
He might be angry with her father for forcing him into marriage to regain the property his family had lost, but the woman who was now his wife was still Tessa—the same woman who had threatened to break through his resolve years prior. Even then, he’d been determined never to marry, never to submit himself to the same miserable existence his mother and father had known. But so great was his need for Tess, he’d been sorely tempted to take her to wife back then. If it hadn’t been for his family’s dire circumstances, she would have overwhelmed his resolve.
Ensconced in his bedroom in London a half hour later, he paced back and forth across the floor. And whether it was the late hour or his irrational need, his mind started down a new path, thinking an intimate relationship with his wife wasn’t such a terrible idea. Taking advantage of her physical attributes didn’t mean he would have to become the doting husband. He could go about his own life during the day, and when he had need of her at night, be free to find his release deep inside her.
He smiled as he stopped his pacing and settled into bed. Pleased with himself, he let his mind wander to what awaited him at home. Her gentle curves and soft lips, her delicate hands, and the wanton woman he knew was hiding somewhere deep inside her—they would all be his soon.
He’d let her know of his decision the moment he returned.
Chapter 5
“Do you know where your brother went, Brandon?” Tessa asked, a little worried when Gabriel hadn’t returned at all last night. Where on earth could he have gone?
“I should lie to you, my lady,” Brandon told her, keeping his eyes fixed on the ledger in front of him. “I imagine that is what any good brother would do, and any good brother-in-law who wants to spare his new sister’s feelings.”
“But you won’t, will you?” His reluctant demeanor puzzled her. If he knew where Gabriel was, why would he hesitate to tell her?
“Gabriel has a different view of marriage than you and I, particularly after watching our mother and father drive each other to the brink of committing murder. It is a business contract to him, a way to move property and wealth in the most advantageous way,” he explained cryptically, because she couldn’t fathom what he could possibly have acquired from this ‘business contract’.
“I don’t understand. If he didn’t want a wife, then certainly my father could not have forced him into it.”
“That is not for me to discuss, Tessa, but I can tell you that Gabriel did not intend for his marriage to be an affair of the heart. At least, not until he found himself with you as his bewitching bride. And I think it is frustrating him more than you can imagine.”
“I don’t understand.” She really didn’t. Was Brandon deliberately speaking so cryptically?
“I imagine he has not shared your bed…” he began, and her cheeks turned bright red, the blush extending all the way down to the tips of her toes, she was quite certain.
“I only ask, my lady, to avoid having to tell you…”
“Oh.” Understanding dawned, and her heart clenched hard in her chest. He’d gone to find his release in another woman. “If you’ll excuse me…” she managed to force out before dashing from the room.
She didn’t stop when she reached the hallway; her legs carried her out of the house and across the expanse of landscaped gardens. It wasn’t proper for ladies to go running around in civilized society, but she didn’t care. She’d run through the desert in Africa and no harm had befallen her. There was no reason she couldn’t do so there. And the movement offered a small piece of solace, the way her muscles could finally stretch again like when she’d been free to run through forest and deserts alike.
She ran as far and fast as her legs would carry her until she came upon a small pond. She remembered it well, and she sat down near the edge, tossing stones into the water like she’d done as a child. She blocked every thought from her mind, focusing on nothing but the tiny waves rippling outward.
“Why are you sitting on the ground—a half mile from the house?” Gabriel’s voice shattered her con
centration on her task.
“What difference does it make to you, my Lord?” He’d never had to ask why he found her there before. He knew full well it was the same place she ran to be alone as a child. When her mother died…when her house was overrun with guests.
But he didn’t know it was the place she’d run to when he’d begun to treat her differently, coldly. He didn’t know because he’d never come looking for her then. He’d changed that year, and she was beginning to realize he would never be the boy she’d sparred with, laughed with…loved.
“None, I suppose, aside from forcing me to come looking for you.”
“I forced you to do no such thing.” He hadn’t cared back then. Why would he care now?
He heaved a heavy, irritated sigh, but he took a step forward. “I will confess that I intended for this to be a marriage in contract only. I think it would have been better that way. But it seems you’ve made it difficult for me to ignore…to find relief...”
What was he was talking about? What exactly had she done? The men in the house seemed to enjoy speaking in riddles rather than plainly. He was the one who’d run off to another woman, and yet he sounded angry with her?
“You are my wife, Tess, and that entitles me to certain husbandly rights,” he told her, looking more and more flustered with every word. “I expect that you’ll be in my bed and ready for me tonight, my Lady,” he finished succinctly and turned to leave without another word.
That’s why he’d come? To demand she submit to him? Anger flared and tore through her body. Had he found it too bothersome to seek out a bedmate to satisfy his baser needs? Why should she make it convenient for him?
But wait. He’d said she had made it difficult for him to find release elsewhere. Had he been unable to turn to another woman knowing she was his wife now? Hope soared. She’d felt rejected when he hadn’t claimed his husbandly rights, and now that he was, she was going to rail in objection?
No. She would give him precisely what he wanted, and perhaps he would grow warmer then, coming to feel something for her, even if it was only a modicum of the love she carried in her heart for him. She would make him want her, make him forget about every other woman. While not experienced in what happens between a woman and a man, women from other cultures she’d met had shared with her what to expect. She would use every bit of her limited knowledge to win her husband.
Chapter 6
“You are going to wear a hole in the wood,” Brandon mused as Gabriel paced back and forth across the floor.
Gabriel scowled at his brother, but came to a stop in front of the fireplace. He could feel Brandon’s eyes boring into his back. “Do you have something you wish to say to me, or do you sit there just to irritate me?”
“How on earth am I irritating you, Gabriel? Perhaps it is not me who irritates you, but you.”
“Why on earth would I be irritated with myself?”
“Because you have a beautiful wife who is eager for your affection, and yet you shun her at every turn. I’ve seen the way you look at her, and yet I bet you haven’t bedded her once. And by your sour disposition, I would wager you didn’t find relief elsewhere either.”
“What’s your point?”
“Go to her. Take what you want; it’s ripe for the picking, my dear brother.”
“If you must know, I told her today what was expected of her. Her scathing silence didn’t suggest to me she’d be a willing bedmate.”
“You told her what was expected of her? Do you know absolutely nothing about romance? For an intelligent man, you can certainly be daft.”
“What do you know?”
“I know enough to know that you are lucky I am such a devoted brother, because if I weren’t, I would be taking advantage of the woman you so easily cast aside.”
Anger rose up in his chest and jealousy coursed through his veins at the thought of what his brother was suggesting. He squeezed his hands so hard his knuckles turned white and he struggled to keep his hands at his sides.
“Calm down, Gabriel. I only meant that you are a very fortunate man. You would be wise to notice it.”
He nodded, forcing his hands to unclench, and left the room without another word. He climbed the stairs to his room, half-expecting to find Tessa had locked herself up in a chastity belt. She was a stubborn, willful young woman. He smiled grimly, both loving and hating what he knew about her.
He didn’t pause when he reached his door. Was he actually afraid he’d lose his nerve? But flinging the door open, he found her instantly, and it certainly didn’t appear she had locked herself up in anything. The gossamer nightgown she wore clung to her curves, nothing more than a thin film over her soft skin.
Crossing the room slowly, warily, she sat up on her knees the moment he reached the edge of the bed. Her movement pulled the fabric tight against her ample breasts. He could see she was nervous, tugging at her bottom lip, but she remained there, holding her head proudly and meeting his gaze. Was that fire blazing in her eyes, or was it merely his own desire reflecting back at him?
“You look beautiful, my lady,” he whispered huskily, and then she stunned him further, rising up higher to press her lips against his.
His tongue plied along the seam of her lips and she parted for him. The feel of her soft lips, the warmth of her mouth and the sight of her barely concealed body sent a jolt of arousal through him. Already rock hard, his cock strained against his pants. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Tessa.
Her arms came up and her fingers twined in the hair at the back of his neck, pressing her breasts hard against his chest at the same time. He’d never expected this. After he’d laid out his expectation of her and saw her indignant glare in response, he expected cold acquiescence at best. Not this…this soft, willing woman in his arms.
He pulled away, just enough to fit his hands between them to unbutton her gown. He wanted to see her, to feel her heated flesh. He’d itched to have her like this since he was a boy, but still he couldn’t believe the way his hands shook as he worked. His desire for her had turned him into little better than the bumbling virgin—was that possible?
Her fingers grazed over his shoulders, down his arms, across his chest as he worked. But he took a step back a moment later to watch as he slid her gown off her shoulders and it slipped down her body to pool around her knees. In more anticipation than he’d ever known, he let his eyes sweep over her exquisite body, but he froze suddenly and his jaw dropped open.
“Tessa, you’re…you’re completely smooth,” he observed ruggedly, unable to take his eyes off her.
A look of insecurity flashed through her eyes. She thought he was displeased with what he saw? She must be insane! “You’re exquisite,” he whispered, hoping to dispel her self-doubt.
“In one of the cultures I visited, body hair is considered vulgar. I…I liked the difference…” she whispered timidly.
Oh god, was she handcrafted by Aphrodite? Or the perfect offspring of that goddess of sexuality and Eros combined?
With reverent hands, he ghosted over her body, from her neck, down the sides of her luscious breasts, over the indent of her slim waist and the gentle flare of her womanly hips. Her thighs were like satin, and his fingers trembled as he brushed over the smooth mound, a hair’s breadth from the tiny, sensitive nub of her womanhood.
He hadn’t even noticed that she’d unbuttoned his shirt until she slipped it off his shoulders and he felt the delicate touch of her fingers, tentatively exploring his bare flesh.
He’d barely even touched her, and already he felt the throbbing need of his member racing toward its climatic goal. If he didn’t find a way to calm himself, this would be the shortest act of lovemaking in history.
And she made it worse seconds later as her hands traveled lower, grazing over his chest, down his abdomen. He reached for her wrist as she started to move even lower, knowing he couldn’t possibly withstand her touch. Not yet.
Instead, he swept her up in his arms and laid h
er out in the center of his bed, staring down at his innocent vixen. He leaned down, kissing her lips before laying feather-light kisses along her neck, across the upper swells of her breasts. She moaned quietly as he moved lower, sucking a nipple into his mouth. He grazed the tight bud ever so gently with his teeth before lapping it with his tongue. Her fingers laced at the back of his head while he cupped the weight of her breast in his hand, kneading the firm flesh.
Her hands resumed their exploration, over his shoulders and down his back. He chuckled as she moaned quietly in frustration when she could reach no further, and he hampered her efforts even further by releasing her nipple and moving lower, leaving a trail of kisses across her flat stomach. He breathed in deep as he neared his destination, and her scent made him heady with desire.
But her body tensed suddenly and her thighs pressed together against what she must have just realized he was about to do.
“Let me, Tess. I want to taste you,” he murmured, letting his breath tease her most sensitive flesh.
She relaxed her muscles a moment later, and he parted her. He could see her wetness glistening on her inner thighs, proof that she wanted this as much as he did. He leaned in, sampling the wetness on her thighs with his tongue, but it wasn’t enough. He moved swiftly, flicking his tongue back and forth across her engorged clit. She was so damn responsive; her body jerked and her moans grew louder with every pass.
Moving lower, he let his fingers replace his tongue on her clit as he delved within her delicate folds to finally taste her from her source. His tongue plunged deep as his fingers rubbed her, slowly at first, but soon he picked up his pace as her moans turned to cries of pleasure. She writhed wildly beneath his mouth and he knew it wouldn’t be long.
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