Betting on a Duke (Widows of Mayfair #4)

Chapter One

“I dare you to come in,” teased Samuel Radcliff as he splashed lake water with his arms toward where Clarice Dawson stood on the shoreline, gawking at him. His mischievous behavior caused her to jump back to avoid the flying water.

“Stop! You’re getting my dress wet,” she huffed at the same time she giggled.

Some of the tension eased from her body as she wondered what her father, the Earl of Portsmouth, and Samuel’s father, the Duke of Stanton, were discussing behind the duke’s closed study door.

Could she hope it was what she wished for?

Was a marriage contract between her and Samuel being negotiated and signed at this very moment?

Nothing in her entire life would bring her greater joy.

When she decided to take a walk down to the lake on the duke’s country estate, hoping to dip her feet in the cool water, she hadn’t expected to find Samuel there.

Last she saw him, he had been heading to the stables.

Clarice had wanted to sneak off and have some time away from the constant chatter between their mothers.

They were already discussing the wedding plans between her and Samuel.

It wasn’t that she was uninterested in those arrangements, but shouldn’t the betrothal happen first?

Until it did, she didn’t feel comfortable getting her hopes and dreams up.

So here she stood lakeside, shocked to see Samuel nearly naked and dripping wet, to the point that she wished to lick the droplets of water off his skin. Where had that thought come from? Did people do such a thing? Her mind was in such a muddle today.

Samuel, young and handsome and the second son to the duke, had been her best friend for as long as her memory served.

He was three years older than her own eighteen years, and still attending university.

As he strolled toward the shore, his bare chest and shoulder muscles rippling beneath the sun as the water glistened across his skin had her insides melting, and she struggled to keep her mouth closed.

She’d always known Samuel was handsome and had a healthy physique—riding and training his horses helped with that—but she wasn’t prepared for seeing him naked from the waist up.

Tingles encompassed her entire being. He held out his hand, and her eyes widened as they were drawn to the line of dark hair that disappeared down inside his waterlogged breeches, clinging obscenely to his thighs and what lay between them.

What would he look like without his breeches?

When she didn’t take his hand, he chuckled, pulling her out of her indecent, wayward thoughts. “Stop staring at me.” He flexed his arms and laughed again. “If you can stare at me, I get to stare at you. Strip and join me.”

A gasp escaped her lips. Was it from shock or excitement at the idea of frolicking in the water with Samuel? “We are hardly children anymore. If we are caught, I will be ruined.”

“Who is there to catch us? This is my father’s property, and no one would dare trespass.

Besides, aren’t our fathers discussing our marriage contract at this very moment?

We are practically married already.” He stood before her, stealing her breath and causing her heart to race with his words and handsome features.

As his fingers gripped the hem of her day dress, she shivered in the most delicious way.

He easily slipped it over her head without unbuttoning it.

He made quick work of her corset until she stood in nothing but her linen chemise.

He was a total gentleman and kept his eyes on her face as he took her hand and tugged her into the lake.

A loud gasp exploded from her throat. “It’s freezing.”

“You’ll get used to it, I promise,” he said with a twinkle in his dark-gray eyes and a lopsided roguish grin that always stole her heart.

“That’s easy to say—you’ve already been in.”

“Do you trust me?”

His arms were out, and she knew he wanted her to go into them while he floated on his back like they had innocently as children. It was how she’d learned to swim. Today, at their age, it was a terrible idea. “Yes. I trust you.”

His eyes blinked, turning nearly black and he grew serious. “You shouldn’t.”

“Why not? I’ve always trusted you.”

“Because now that you’re eighteen, everything has changed.”

“I know it has.” She shivered.

“Will you hurry up and wrap your arms around my waist and relax so we float instead of drowning?”

Obliging him, she found herself safely wrapped in his arms, lying on top of his firm body, and she ignored the immediate awakening of hers.

She dreamt of moments like these with him and couldn’t wait until they truly belonged to each other, so there was nothing improper happening.

A sudden sadness washed over her, and she didn’t understand why.

“Relax.”

“I’m trying,” she grumbled.

“Try harder.”

After a while, her body relaxed as the sun beat down on them, soothing her all the way to her bones. “Do you really believe our fathers are discussing our marriage contract?”

Before she knew it, she was underwater and glad to be able to touch the bottom of the lake. She stood up, shocked to find the water only at her waist. She spat out the gulp of water she took in as gracefully as she could and without snorting. “What happened?”

His eyes stared into hers, and she felt the intensity all the way to her soul. “Sorry. I lost my concentration.” She heard him swallow as his eyes roamed her body. “Christ,” he ran his hand through his unruly, wet hair. “You are more beautiful than my dreams led me to believe.”

She looked down at herself and was shocked to find her thin chemise transparent and stuck to her breasts and stomach. Her nipples were hard and jutting out. It took everything she had not to cover herself up with her arms. She had nothing to hide from Samuel.

“Clarice,” he said, his voice raspy, his hand shaking as he reached out and cupped her breast, running his thumb across the nipple, causing it to harden further.

“I’ve wanted to touch you for so long. I’ve dreamed of this forever.

I forced myself to wait, knowing that when you turned eighteen we would be married. ”

She sucked her bottom lip inside her mouth as his hand and thumb continued to play with her breast. Other than his hand, they remained apart.

Even as her body shivered, heat bloomed between her thighs.

There was no denying the explosion inside her heart at knowing they would be married soon.

Her father would never turn down a marriage proposal from Samuel.

He was the second son of a duke, the son her father never had and always praised.

Samuel pulled her into his arms, holding her close so they touched everywhere possible.

He murmured into her ear, “Clarice, I have loved you all my life. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Hearing his proposal was a dream come true for her.

The moment she said yes, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the edge of the woods, stopping beneath a tree where he laid her down on a soft pile of leaves and moss.

“Do you know what I have in mind?” he asked, his voice rough and his eyes heavy-lidded.

“If you have any objections, we will wait for our wedding night.”

She reached for him. “No. I can’t think of a better place or time to finally belong to you—and you to me.” She meant what she said. The moment was perfect. Her late-night dreams were about to become real.

Samuel covered her body with his and kissed her deeply.

They had kissed before, however, this one was nothing like those kisses.

His lips, teeth, and tongue devoured her and stole her breath.

He tasted and sipped from her mouth, and she returned the gesture in kind.

Never had he kissed her with such intensity that she lost herself in all the sensations coursing through her body.

They moaned and groaned freely. The sound was perfect to her ears.

He tore his mouth from hers and kissed his way down her neck and sucked her nipple into his mouth through the wet fabric of her chemise.

Her back arched off the ground as she felt the sensation travel down and settle between her thighs.

He moved to her other breast and did the same thing, and once again, she felt it all the way to her womanhood.

When Samuel finally pulled up her chemise and touched her down there, she moaned with relief, finally knowing what it felt like to be touched by the one she loved in her most vulnerable and intimate area.

Her hips moved against his hand automatically.

She had no control over her emotions or her body’s response.

Samuel leaned off her and unbuttoned the placket of his breeches, freeing his engorged manhood. She tried not to let it happen, but her eyes widened and her mouth opened. “How is that going to fit inside me?”

Chuckling, he kissed her lips. “Trust me. It will, and I’ll be gentle.”

He moved on top of her and kissed her while his hand caressed her down there. It didn’t take long before she was squirming for more. Samuel moved between her legs and spread them wide. “Don’t tighten up. Relax and breathe,” he murmured right before she felt his manhood nudge against her opening.

“I’m trying,” she giggled, even though there was nothing funny about what was about to happen.

She always laughed when she was nervous.

His hips moved against hers, pushing and retreating until he broke through her maidenhood.

The pain took her by surprise, but as he moved inside her, it eased, and she tingled down there again.

Samuel buried his face in her neck. “I love you so much, and I can’t believe we get to spend the rest of our lives together, doing this anytime we want.”

“Hmmm, I love you too. But, I’m not convinced about this.”

“Trust me, there is so much more, and I promise to make you scream with pleasure the next time we make love.”

She frowned. “What about this time?”

“Is that a dare?” He looked at her with his lopsided grin, the one he had perfected at the age of ten that always made her heart melt.

“You bet it is!” she laughed.

“Well then, I’d better do my best and prove myself worthy of worshiping you.”

From that instant on, Samuel did as he promised.

He worshiped her body until she could endure no more.

Nothing, in all she’d read or heard whispered in drawing rooms or ballrooms, had prepared her for the sensitive onslaught and explosive pleasure she experienced with Samuel.

Even now, as she lay sleepy, curled up in his arms beneath the large oak tree, her body hummed, her heart sang, and her soul was light and content.

Never had she experienced such happiness and fulfillment.

And to think she would marry her best friend and the man she loved above all others, hopefully in a short time.

*

When Samuel first saw Clarice approaching the lake, her image took his breath away. He had been half-teasing when he said, “Strip and join me.” And when she let him help her undress, he knew without a doubt that she was the woman for him, even though he already knew in his heart she was.

They understood each other, and they always had since they were very young. They were like-minded. He never had to pretend around her, and she probably didn’t have to pretend around him either. At least, it didn’t seem like she did.

The only thing he regretted was not waiting for her to be his first lover. He’d felt guilty the times he bedded other women, and so very thrilled knowing he would only ever bed Clarice from this day forth.

When he woke up that morning, he never imagined he would be lying beneath a tree, holding Clarice in his arms after making love to her and smiling like a love-sick fool.

And this was only the beginning. His heart and soul felt at peace.

His mind had also calmed down, which helped him tremendously.

Most days, his mind raced with one thing or another.

Right now, all it wanted was to hold Clarice and think about what tomorrow might bring.

He wondered if he approached the Archbishop of Canterbury, would he grant him a special license so he could marry her within the week?

Where would they go on their honeymoon? Where would they live?

He chuckled. So his mind wasn’t quite as at ease as it seemed.

His arms held her closer to his heart. “Are you awake?” The last thing he wanted was to wake her, but they had been gone for several hours, and he didn’t want to risk his father or hers sending a footman or maid to find out where they were.

“Hmmm.” She snuggled into his arms, sending his body into turmoil. “Just barely.”

He kissed the top of her head. “We should get dressed, make ourselves presentable, and go back to the house.”

“It might take me some time.”

“I will help you.”

Half an hour later, they were dressed and looked acceptable.

Clarice’s hair might not be perfect, but she could blame the windy weather.

Luckily, all their clothes were dry. Hand in hand, they meandered along the path in the woods to the lush green lawn, through the formal gardens, and into the drawing room where both their mothers were dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs.

A small knot formed in Samuel’s stomach.

“Is something amiss?” he asked. Both mothers looked at them and then burst into tears.

“Please, tell me what has happened,” he demanded, his heart skipping several beats as panic set in. “Has someone died?”

Clarice clutched his hand tightly, and her body stiffened. “Mama, what has you so upset?” she asked with concern.

“My dear Clarice, we must go,” her mother mumbled. Her mother hugged Samuel’s mother, the Duchess of Stanton. “Goodbye, my dearest friend.” She held her hand out to her daughter. “Come, we must not keep your father waiting.”

Samuel tried not to let Clarice’s hand go, but it was no use. She obeyed her mother and tugged her hand away from his firm grip. As she left the drawing room, her shoulders sagging, she looked back at him, her watery eyes wide and pleading.

“Clarice,” he called.

“Let her go, son,” his mother said quietly.

Let her go? What did that mean? He couldn’t let her go. He was going to marry her.