Page 42 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

“Sage advice,” Emma added, and this time, Danae rolled her eyes.

“I know more than you give me credit for. Even despite his handsome face, there is something good about the duke. I can feel it.”

They turned their conversation to other things to Cordelia’s relief, but by the time her sisters left, she was resolved. She would no longer sit around and wait for Nicholas. She would face him head-on and get the answers out of him that she wanted. Straight out of his mouth.

CHAPTER 14

Nicholas was tired and tense, but that was no different than he’d been on any other day since he’d done his best to stay away from his home in the last week, at least during times he’d known his lovely wife would be up and about and within reach.

I am a busy man. I can’t simply lounge in my home like most of the dukes of the ton. I have an empire to protect.

That’s what he told himself, at least. But home was beginning to feel too warm and comfortable. Even in the day before he’d left and the brief moments he’d experienced since, his house felt like it had never felt before. And that frightened him to death.

“Go home,” Darren had told him that evening. “It’s time. I’ll handle things the rest of the night. Go home and see that beautiful wife of yours.”

And now he was there. It was now midnight, and there would be no chance of seeing her now, which he was grateful for. Seeing her would only make a sort of lift rise in his stomach, a stupid hopefulness that she would beg for him right there and then, and he could put this desire for her to bed. Literally.

I could wake her. We could have a lovely little argument, and I could watch the redness cover her cheeks and watch a fire go up in her eyes.

He shook his head at himself as he gave up on that idea and entered his bedroom, undoing his cravat as he did. But once the door was shut, he paused where he stood, staring at a Cordelia he had never seen before. His whole body became alight, and every fiber tensed and hardened.

Cordelia was in his bedroom, alone, apparently waiting for him. He wanted to rub his eyes to see if he was in a dream. She wore her long, dark hair down, and it glowed in the firelight. Her long, silk turquoise robe was wrapped tightly around her narrow waist, but her nightgown was not so high that he could not see a hint of the rounded tops of her lovely breasts. She was sitting on his bed, but as soon as he’d seen her, she jumped up, looking surprised.

A slow grin spread on his face. “I thought you would be asleep, Cordelia, but it seems you have a different game you’d like to play this evening. I would be happy to oblige of course.”

He pulled off his jacket and stepped forward, but she took a step toward his fireplace. He dropped the jacket over one chair and followed after her.

“I come in after a long day, and you are sitting on my bed awaiting me. I couldn’t think of a better treat at the end of an evening.”

Cordelia swallowed, and he could tell she was nervous, but she was feeling bold too. Her eyes sparked with their usual fire, and it only made his arousal heighten.

“I am not here to play a game, Nicholas,” she said with that lift of her chin that she so often used around him. “I am here because you have broken the rules I set before our engagement. Rules you promised to agree to.”

“If this is about me going to the club, then I told you that is not a rule and I never agreed to it.”

“No, not that.” She let her hands fall, and she faced him fully. “It’s⁠—”

Nicholas stopped her when he noticed her legs shaking a little as she stood in front him. He could tell she was nervous, but this wasn’t nerves. In a moment, he had stepped closer and gripped her hand, leaning down a little to look into her eyes.

“What is it? Why are your legs shaking? You have nothing to fear from me, Cordelia. But this doesn’t seem like nerves to me.”

She looked down, but she did not pull her hand away. “Oh, it’s nothing. It must just be because I’ve not eaten since teatime. I was busy with the children and all other matters pertaining to them. While you were away, I might add,” she said, looking up at him again with her usual fierceness.

“You must eat, Cordelia,” he replied seriously. “I will wake the cook.”

He turned to go, but she grabbed at his arm, and slowly, he turned around to face her, relishing the feel of her tight grip on him. It made his heart thump, and his blood rush again. He was already hard for her, but this only made it worse.

“No! Please don’t. I already refused dinner at the table, and they sent a tray, but I didn’t have time. She is a busy woman and needs her rest. Don’t wake her.”

“You are also a busy woman and look a little exhausted by it all.” He narrowed his gaze at her, but she lifted her chin in defiance. “Very well, then, you must eat here, with me, now.” He pulled her to a chair, and she sat, and he grabbed his tray of cakes the cook always left for him every evening. “Here.” He handed her one, and she hesitated before taking it in her hand.

“Why do you have these?” she asked.

He shrugged. “The cook is the same cook my family has had for many years. She is kind to me and wants me to have some sustenance when I return. She says the club will not feed me half as well as she would.” He smiled, and to his surprise, he saw the ghost of a smile on Cordelia’s face. “I suppose it’s also true I have a sweet tooth and can’t resist taking a bit of something delicious.”

He winked, and after rolling her eyes, Cordelia took a bite. His gaze went straight to her mouth, watching with interest as she chewed and swallowed and took another bite. When a slow moan of delight came out of her, Nicholas clenched his jaw, and his one hand gripped the arm of his chair tightly enough so that his knuckles turned white.

This woman is going to kill me. Could David and Helen have ever predicted this?