Page 59 of A Tale of Two Dukes

I feel it through our bond. My gratification and his merge, blending into one experience. It’s overwhelming, erotic, and heady. Before the bond, everything felt amazing, beyond my wildest dreams. After, however, it’s a night and day difference.

Part of me wants to return the favor, to bite him in kind. And yet, I cannot bring myself to do it. I cannot mark someone so lofty, so high above me. Not while my heart still hurts from knowing I’ll never be his everything.

And so, I focus on the parts that bring me pleasure. No longer is it just my experience. It’s ours. I know just how to tease him to get filthy words spilling from his lips. I clench down, watching with smug satisfaction as his eyes fly open, his mouth agape.

His thrusts begin to slow as his knot swells even more. This time, when he releases, I feel his hot essence bathing my insides. He forgot to wear a skin. We both freeze, his fingers digging into my hips.

“You are no longer in heat.” A slight hint of relief weaves its way through the bond as he reasons with himself. Pain swamps me with his words and actions, but I dare not give voice to them. “One day, love,” he murmurs, running his hands along my thighs. “I will give you a child one day.”

I have to make myself agreeable to this compromise, reminding myself that I hold his heart. No other woman will compare to me, and with my body, I’ll continue binding him ever closer. With his affection and the love of a child, I’ll manage. It will hurt, but I will manage.

CHAPTER 24

William

My heart hurts as I gather Catherine into my arms, but I shield her from the negative emotions threatening to pull me under. To allow her to feel the despair that haunts me like a specter would be the lowest thing I can do. It’s bad enough I’ve already caused all of this pain between us.

Instead of wallowing, however, I can certainly do my utmost to make life as pleasant for her as possible. Holding her close, I listen to the hum of thoughts that flit about in her mind. Luckily, she doesn’t doubt my love and affection for her.

However, many times, they take a turn toward jealousy. I do not even have a woman in mind to be my bride, and yet, she already despises her. If the situation were not so fractious, I’d find the whole thing amusing. As it is, all it does is drive the need to maim and kill deeper into my soul.

All of this is Hugh’s fault. Him and that damned brother of his. If only I knew about Thomas’s betrothed when he was hanged. I could have asked the Prince to include her in with the lands. But the devil was tight-lipped about everything.

No doubt he wanted Catherine to suffer right alongside him. For that, I want to dig up his body, castrate the bastard, and burn his corpse in effigy. The fact that both men seem hell-bent on harming the one person who means the world to me is astounding.

What on all of God’s green earth could she have done to warrant such actions? From what I’ve seen in her mind, she’s always been the dutiful, docile daughter, a paragon of manners and gentility. Closing my eyes, I drown out her thoughts as I comb through her memories.

There’s something that stuck out earlier, but I was so caught up in the rut and marking her I failed to remember it. Something about a note. Conjuring it back into existence, I read over it, studying every word.

It’s a hand I don’t recognize, but that’s not saying much. I may have brought down a man intent on killing the Prince, but that was sheer happenstance as opposed to in-depth investigations.

Still though, the threat reads loud and clear. It’s why she ran. And seeing things as I do now, it makes sense. Perhaps I can petition the Prince to re-elevate her status? But then, so many of the Ton saw her there.

Hell and damnation. If only I found her first. My fingers dig into her skin, drawing her even closer to me. With a sigh, she melts into my body, ever the pliant omega. She would have made a perfect wife. I just know it.

No other woman has ever pulled these possessive thoughts from me before. And even before I knew her upbringing, she moved with a grace befitting a duchess. From what I’ve heard from the servants, she’s commanded them with a firm but gentle hand.

As the daughter of an earl, it makes sense. She was born for this, born for me. Somehow, my soul already knew what the heart didn’t want to admit.

As it is, what’s done is done now. I need to gather my thoughts and find a way forward. If memory serves, many of my friends are gathering this afternoon, and it will be the perfect time to consult with them. I can only hope my brother keeps his opinions to himself and doesn’t act like the right arse he tends to be.

Easing out, I smile as she moans and curls further into my chest. Such a kitten spoiled with too much cream. “Come now, love. I intend to take you out and show you off.”

She freezes, her languid posture instantly going rigid. A whiff of fear drifts from her body, setting me on high alert. Through the bond, I feel her anxiety, the dread of having someone see and recognize her, but worse, running into Hugh.

That right there, more than anything else, reassures me that her run-ins with him were not by her choice. She never sought him out, and I know that now. But this confirms she never wanted to meet in the first place.

It does rankle a bit to sense her fear. Does she not expect me to protect her, to keep her safe by my side? Granted, I’ve not been in the position to demonstrate my lethality, and I hope that time never comes. Still though, as her Alpha, my dedication to her safety should never come into question.

Rising, I cradle her in my arms, hiding her nakedness as best as I can while taking her out of the room. I don’t give a farthing what they think about me being naked, but I know my little kitten is sensitive to such things. It’s for her sake I keep her as concealed as I can.

The servants have the good sense to stay clear as I traverse the halls and stairs with my mate. Once we reach our shared room, I set her down on the bed and grab both my banyan and her night rail. Easing the thin fabric over her body, I pause to brush my thumbs over her nipples, smirking at her swift intake of breath.

With great reluctance, I ease from the warmth of her body and cover myself up as well. Her anxiety beats at me as I head to the door to alert the staff of our emergence. Through the bond, I soothe her, driving my purr deep inside.

As much as I want to stay and comfort her, time is slipping from us. Since the moment I set my teeth to her skin, there’s been a countdown in my mind. I’m not sure what the end is, but I feel it looming before me.

Pausing at the base of the stairs, I rest my head in my palms. It would be so easy to just marry her, to whisk her away, and to live a life of ease between her thighs. But as a duke, there are just too many responsibilities foisted upon my shoulders.