Chapter Eleven #2
“Was it truly necessary for you to act like a jealous arse?” She propped her hands on her hips. “Mr. Darrington was only being polite; he has no designs on me.”
“You have no right to tell me how to act.”
Did he lash out at her due to feeling vulnerable, because he wasn’t in control while in the bath? “I’m not doing that. I am merely telling you that jealousy doesn’t become you.”
“Bah.” He waved his hand. “Leave me be, Evvie.”
“No.” For emphasis, she shook her head. “I wish to speak with you.”
“You can do that later.”
“I’ll do it now.” Again, she glanced at the brown bottle. “Are you in pain?”
He snorted. “When am I not? The muscles and tendons didn’t heal properly due to the wounds being so deep and severe. Leaving me with a half-life haunted by pain.”
“Which you manage with drink and laudanum?”
“At times, when I cannot bear it any longer.”
An ache set up around her heart. “I’m sorry.”
He inclined his chin. “It is the reality of a military man.” Then he jogged his gaze away from her to focus on the foot of the tub. “Go away, Evvie.”
“No. It’s time that I have you at my mercy, don’t you think?”
For long moments, he remained silent then he snapped his gaze to her face. “Meaning?”
“You aren’t a stupid man, Michael. I mean that I intend to tempt and torment you as you’ve done to me since the moment we met.”
“Ah.” As his eyes darkened to the color of strong coffee, the duke rose to his feet in the bathtub. Rivulets of water streamed down the length of his lean, scarred body, and she knew a powerful urge to lick away those drops. “Why?”
She deliberately looked her fill at his impressively aroused shaft then raised her gaze to his. “Because I am your wife, and I can.”
“Touché, Duchess.” Seconds later, with the assistance of his ever-present cane, he stepped out of the tub and closed the slight distance between them. “Don’t fly too close to the flame else you’ll be burned.”
“I’m not afraid of a fire.”
She wasn’t quite certain who moved first, but one second, she stood there looking at him, and the next, she was in his arms, pressed against his wet form, and they were exchanging heated kisses.
Approximately ten seconds after that, he’d removed every stitch of clothing she wore.
Next, he took the pins from her hair, tossed them to the floor where they softly pinged.
“What have you planned?” he whispered with his lips against the side of her neck and his hands cupping her breasts.
Shivers played up and down her spine. “Just what I wanted to do to you in that library where our engagement was born.” Evangeline dropped to her knees before him. “I was thwarted in that act, and now I want to see if I can bring you to pleasure through it.”
“Cheeky and bold. I’m surprised.”
“Perhaps it’s the company I keep.” Before she lost her nerve, she began to tease and caress her fingers along his hardened shaft.
Mmm, he smelled so good and was so solid beneath her hands with the scent of the sea and salt clinging to his wet skin.
“Then again, I didn’t know you when I would have done this to you in that library. ”
“Still drunk on freedom?” When he reached for her, she batted his hand away.
“Perhaps, but I’d like to hope this will relax you enough that talk to me.” With a tiny grin, she continued to manipulate his member. If possible, that appendage hardened slightly more.
A grunt came from him. “I don’t know about that.”
“We shall see.” She frowned but kept her concentration on stroking her fingertips over his skin, not yet putting him through his paces. “But I also wish to give you back a small bit of ecstasy that you’ve given me.”
“There is no need.” His fingers were in her hair, tugging her slightly closer.
“There is every need, Darkemore. If you insist on leading me deeper into the dark world where you reside, I’m going to at least learn a few things along the way.”
“Fair enough.” A chuckle left his throat, and he widened his stance so she would have more room to work. “Knowing a woman won’t shy away from all aspects of carnal play is a compliment.”
“Mmm, well let us hope I won’t botch the job.
” Daring much, Evangeline caressed her fingers up and down the inside of his splayed thighs.
She adored how he felt, how he smelled, how the deep timbre of his voice sent tickles through her chest. The rasp of the crisp hairs covering his skin sent tendrils of need through her lower belly.
When her fingertips encountered the scars on his right thigh, she traced them but said nothing.
Neither did he. The race of her heartbeat behind her ribs and the tingles of excitement at the base of her spine urged her onward.
“Do I have a choice?” The inquiry was a tad breathless, for she’d begun to caress the underside of his shaft. “I’d rather fuck you senseless against that wall.”
“You do not. And that might be an option afterward.” She winked before she settled into her task of seeing how quickly—and how hard—she could make him find release.
Never had she done this to a man. Practiced on a carrot during her mourning period, yes, but not on a live subject.
“Perhaps this will make you feel… something. So we might bond.”
It was a bold statement and might set off his temper, but he said nothing, merely gazed down at her with a bemused expression.
The more she handled his impressive equipage, the tighter and longer that thick, hot length grew.
Touching him in this way was erotic and powerful.
No wonder her husband had never allowed her that.
With anticipation, she curled her fingers around him; his girth fit well in her palm.
As she experimented with various degrees of pressure, moans escaped him.
The coarse hair at the base of his shaft tickled her skin.
While emotions flitted over his face, she fondled his stones, squeezing and releasing, finding a rhythm she liked that incorporated both them and his length to bring him the maximum pleasure.
For them both because this act oddly aroused her. Even now, her pebbled nipples throbbed with need.
“Careful, else you’ll find yourself on your back.”
She snorted. “Isn’t that the point?” Then she held his gaze as she moved closer to his body. When she licked the wide head of his member, he hissed in warning. The scent of him wafted to her nose while the taste of his bath water lingered on her palate.
With a smile, she took his hard length into her mouth. One of his hands curled into a fist and then relaxed when she eased off. The strong feel of him as she bobbed on his member ramped her own desire; truly she was becoming addicted to him.
Michael groaned. “Do you enjoy doing… this? If you don’t, I won’t ask that you continue.”
“I haven’t decided yet, but you are quite satisfying to my mouth.” Returning to her work, she swirled her tongue around the underside of his cockhead and added caresses and squeezes to how she worked him over. His moans came more quickly.
“God, Evvie…” His voice was strained by this point.
She sucked on his shaft with more determination.
Eventually, he slowly thrust, which sent his shaft deeper until the tip hit the back of her throat.
She paused, briefly, to consider if she liked that sensation of fullness, to see if she might gag, but when she didn’t, she decided she didn’t mind, and she swallowed.
She’d heard from a friend that doing so massaged a man’s member.
“Good God, that feels amazing,” he breathed, and his hands went into her hair, fisting and tangling the length. The slight prickles of pain urged her onward. “I won’t last if you continue.”
She chuckled as he backed off, but she didn’t decrease her rhythm.
How much longer would he last? Would she?
As she worked, she plucked at one of her nipples while desperate throbbing need made itself known between her thighs.
Perhaps she should have encouraged him to claim her body instead, for her menses had ended.
Truly, he was a man who didn’t need much urging to fall into bed, so she increased the intensity of her play and the friction on his shaft, working to bring him to that brink.
“Nearly gone.” His whisper was choked as he thrust more forcefully into her mouth.
There was such power flowing through her as she literally held his pleasure in her hands. It wasn’t a favorite act by any stretch, but when she glanced up, saw the concentration mixed with pleasure in his face, her own satisfaction grew.
“Evvie…” The more the duke stroked into her, the more she used her fingers to heighten that delicious tension. She manipulated his stones, caressed the backs of his thighs, even dared to pinch one of his taut buttocks, which caused his member to pulse. “I’m going to come.”
She squeezed his stones as she pulled off his shaft with a slight pop. “Then do it. I want all of you,” she whispered and then contented herself with sucking on the head of his member, swirling her tongue around that sensitive flesh merely to see if he would fall over the edge.
“Bloody hell.” His hands on her head tightened, guiding her, holding her steady as he went in and out of her mouth. Seconds later, his eyes rolled back into his head.