Page 29 of Duke in Darkness

“I beg your pardon?”

“Then shoved outside into horsesh…er…manure. Ruined my shoes. Got it on my stockings. Had to bathe and change.”

Lilian gasped, and her hands went to her hips. “That is an outrage. To treat the Duke of Exton so shamefully. I am appalled. How dare he. How dare he! Inexcusable behav—”

His mouth crashing onto hers cut off the word, his hands cupping her face as he plundered the sweetness of her lips and darted his tongue inside, lust ignited to fever point by her indignant anger on his behalf.

As though she cared a little.

Then, his cock near-strangled by his trousers once again, he pulled back. “Upstairs. Your bedchamber. Now.”

Lilian stared up at him, sapphire eyes wide, her pouty lips swollen, and taut nipples straining against her bodice. “Yes, Your Grace.”

CHAPTER 7

Exton had gone to his chamber to disrobe, so she only had a short amount of time to prepare herself, and her bedchamber. While Dawn darted around and lit the extra beeswax candles Lilian had ordered to ensure the room would be bright to her husband’s satisfaction, she stood by her washstand and gave herself a swift sponge bath. Then she donned a fresh chemise and nightgown, and went and sat on the padded stool in front of her dressing table so Dawn could brush and re-braid her hair.

It felt like several butterflies were leaping about in her belly. That kiss! For a moment she’d thought he might discard all reason and propriety, and ravish her right there, on his desk.

Most troubling: she might have welcomed it.

Each time Exton kissed her, it became harder to remember that she’d been in love with another man, and all her grandmother’s rules around correct behavior. Also knowing, well at least for now, that he didn’t have a mistress…

“Is that all right, ma’am?” asked Dawn, as she tied a blue ribbon at the end of Lilian’s braid.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Then I’d better go. His Grace will be here any moment.”

Lilian waved her away with a distracted smile, staring at herself again in the looking glass. Indeed, she well knew her husband would be here momentarily. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes even darker blue than usual, and her nipples remained stubbornly taut and sensitive in a way that made her want to cross her arms to hide them. She couldn’t lie—she wanted more of those scorching, toe-curling kisses, on the lips and on her neck. More congenial time spent together, like they had today in his library. For that she would tolerate the dreadful pain that occurred when Exton put his man part inside her.

A perfunctory knock sounded at the connecting door, and Exton entered her bedchamber. He wore the same heavy silk robe as last time, but tonight, that small triangle of bare, hair-dusted and bronzed chest visible made her squirm a little on the padded stool. If he loosened his robe, would that hair be soft, or scratchy to the touch?

Firmly suppressing the wayward thought—she had surely tested her yearly limit in questions earlier—Lilian inclined her head. “Exton.”

“Lilian,” he replied, his voice a low rumble that danced across her skin, making her shiver. “You lit extra candles.”

She blinked. “Of course. It’s what you prefer.”

Exton smiled and perched on the end of her bed. Then he patted the space next to him. “Come sit by me.”

The butterflies began their belly dance again, and she got up and obediently crossed the room to sit beside him. It always put her on edge when they were this close. Even when he didn’t touch her, she could practically feel the furnace-like heat of his skin, and his unique scent enveloped her like a particularly pleasant cloak. It made her want to cuddle against him, and he certainly didn’t want that. “I…ah…”

“You know what else I’d like?” Exton said in that same low, bone-melting tone.

“What?” she replied a trifle breathlessly.

“To see your hair unbound.”

Before Lilian could think twice about the request, her hands had moved of their own volition to untie the ribbon securing her braid. Seconds later, the mass of golden tresses swung freely to the small of her back. “Is that better?”

“Much better,” he said, his hands framing her face, and his lips brushing against hers.

But his hands didn’t stay there, instead sliding to cup the back of her head. As he kissed her, flexed his jaw, then kissed her again, his fingertips threaded through her hair and began a light massage of her scalp. Lilian nearly whimpered at the bliss of it. When tight braids and countless hairpins were a way of life, it was easy to forget how one’s head ached when hair fell naturally. Soon his tongue dipped into her mouth, flicking and dancing with hers, and she couldn’t think at all. Warmth crept through her body, further tightening her nipples to near-painful points, and causing a light pulsing to begin in that secret place between her legs.

“Exton,” she breathed.

He ended the kiss, but his eyes were glittering jet. “Get into bed, Lilian. I’m going to prepare you now. With the oil.”