Page 38 of No Duke of Mine

She parted her lips and felt the tease of his tongue against hers. The thrill of it was almost too much. Her worries fled, replaced by the certainty she was where she was meant to be. In his arms. She had not been kissed often before Algernon came back into her life because, of course, her father had put a stop to any of her romantic adventures with young men and sent her to a place run by even older spinsters. When she was with Algernon, she felt young again and filled with hope.

Algernon cupped her face, wriggling closer as the kiss continued—deeper and more compelling with each breath. Maggie wrapped an arm about his waist and held on, causing their bodies to align perfectly atop her soft bed.

Algernon groaned, sliding his hand down her back, and he cupped her bottom firmly. He jerked her closer still until they were pressed tightly against each other.

Maggie moved restlessly, loving the feel of him so close, and also the evidence of Algernon’s arousal. She wanted to be closer to him than anyone she’d ever known, and tilted her hips toward his.

Algernon jerked back instantly. “Forgive me.”

Maggie blinked. “Why?”

“You asked for a kiss and I got carried away.”

Maggie broke away from him and rolled onto her back, blushing and panting as if she’d been running a race. “I’ve always enjoyed you kissing me. Do you remember?”

“I do, but we were children then—mimicking the behavior of adults with no understanding of what real passion was.”

“We’ve always been good at pretend,” she whispered, closing her eyes. Adventures with Algernon had always been a good distraction.

“I like kissing you.” He admitted eventually. “But it should not happen again.”

“A pity. I would enjoy more of your kisses.”

“I will always want your kisses, too, but under the circumstances, I do not wish to lead you on,” he said, and rolled off the bed. “I have responsibilities, and we are not children anymore. That kind of behavior, playing at being like our elders in the shadows of my mother’s summer ball, would ruin you.”

Maggie should probably be ashamed of herself for encouraging Algernon to misbehave. But it was clear to see, judging by their moment on the bed, that he was a skilled lover, and kissing had excited him, as well. She found herself smiling at what she’d done with him anyway. She’d rumpled him very well on this bed and taken her mind off her problems, at least for a little while.

Algernon looked even more appealing when his arousal tented his breeches like that, but when he noticed the direction of her gaze, he plucked up his coat and held it in front of his hips.

Unfortunately, desire had played little part in her life so far, and she did not know how to encourage him to feel better about what they had done. Clearly, he felt embarrassed when he desired a woman.

However, desire was a worthy field of study with the right man…if she ever found another one she liked as much as Algernon. Right now, that seemed unlikely, so she sat up and faced the window, giving him some privacy.

She sighed and stood, then kicked off her shoes.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Well, if you don’t want to kiss me, I’ll need another distraction. I’ll read a book,” she decided.

“An excellent idea, I’ll fetch the others for you. But you are wrong about what I want,” he argued.

She moved around the bed, brushing Algernon’s arm as she went.

He groaned.

She faced him, surprised by the raw sound, and saw hunger in his eyes. “Have I discovered a new way to torment you, Your Grace?”

“I would not do that again if I were you,” he warned.

“What will you do? Kiss me or kill me?”

“Probably kiss you witless,” he admitted, and then shook his head. “Forget I said that.”

Maggie pressed her lips together over a laugh. The poor man looked shocked to have admitted to desiring her out loud. But Maggie was not shocked at all. She admired his honesty. “Don’t worry, Algernon. I know a little about desire from books.”

Algernon took a step forward. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been reading about lovemaking all these years.”

She smiled sadly. “All right, I won’t tell you.”