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Eleanor could hear her pulse, felt it deep within her as the duke took her in his arms and kissed her.

She didn’t know if it came from their bodies pressed together, her heart brought close to his, or if it was his heart beating so furiously that she could hear it within his chest. She couldn’t tell if she could hear it at all. Perhaps it was her own blood rushing through her body, or the beat of the universe as they came together.

The pulse quickened, but slowly. She could feel it becoming incrementally faster as they kissed. She closed her eyes and let the pulsing encompass her. She let herself be with Gabriel, not caring if he walked away from her again and broke her heart, as long as she got to enjoy the ecstasy of his touch.

She didn’t know how long she was lost.

The beating that flowed through and around her body took hold of her. His hands moved over her body, a flash of warmth with each touch. And each time his hands moved to a new part of her, the pulsing grew within her, begging to be released.

His lips—those strong, commanding lips—grappled with hers, slowly parting her own, as he embarked on a firm, slow dance between them, her mouth opening wider as his tongue tentatively sought hers.

His scent filled her senses, and she lost herself to the moment, tasting champagne and lust, and everything she had imagined she would feel if he allowed her to take what she needed from him, if he finally gave in to his own desires.

And his hands, strong and firm, caressed her body, moving up the curves at her sides toward her bosom. Once there, he rubbed his thumbs over the sensitive peaks he found there, and she would have collapsed to the floor if she hadn’t been pressed against the hard planes of his stomach and chest. She would have lost her balance if her hands were not on his body.

She was shocked when she heard herself moaning at his caress and realized her hands were on Gabriel. Not only on his chest or shoulders this time, but one hand had wrapped around his neck, and the other was on his cheek, working its way up to his hair, where her fingers roved through his locks.

Eleanor gasped through the kiss, and everything stopped.

She knew what was happening, and she wanted it more than anything else in the world, but she could scarcely believe it. She looked him in the eyes, and she found something there that she hadn’t seen before.

He had the same fierce look, the fire and the lust, but he was looking at her in such a way that she felt like his equal in the embrace.

Eleanor caught her breath and panted a little as she stood before him.

She could barely call it standing. Their hands were on each other, and that was the only thing keeping her afloat.

And then she saw something familiar in his look, the same thing that she had seen before he had pulled away from her after the previous kiss.

Her lips quivered, and she opened her mouth slightly, ready to beg him not to do that to her again, not to break her heart as he had done only a few days ago. Shame stirred in her heart at the thought of begging him not to leave her a mess once more, but she was still prepared to do it.

But Gabriel didn’t walk away from her this time.

“You’re mine now, Lady Eleanor,” he growled, “and I’m going to show you every bit of pleasure you can truly have.”

He pounced on her, wrapping his arms around her back and digging his fingers into her to pull her forward and press their bodies together.

Whatever shame there had been dissipated and made way for something far different that stirred within her body now.

Gabriel took her lips with his once more, parting them again, his tongue exploring hers without any further invitation, and her tongue responded in kind. Eleanor held her breath involuntarily until it finally escaped as a moan that trembled her lips, and he growled against her lips; the sound filled with aching longing and need.

Everything became heightened as they kissed. The candle, so dull before, seemed to burn with an intensity that filled the room with warmth. Each time his fingers moved up her back, ripples of pleasure ran through her body, and that only increased as his fingers moved up into her hair.

Eleanor kept one hand in his hair, while the other moved down to his broad back, still muscular but with an alluring curve that felt dangerous to explore. But she did explore. She wasn’t on the cusp of something new with him; she was already deep in it with him. And she could taste him, the sweetness of that nectar from his tongue.

Eleanor let go of herself, raking her fingers over the back of his head and pulling him into her as much as he pulled her toward him.

Her senses were overwhelmed by everything, and she let it in little by little.

She let this new feeling creep into her stomach, then slowly spread further down into her nether regions; a fire had begun to spread between her legs. It was a natural longing of which she’d never been aware until this moment.

And the more his hands explored her body, the deeper the thrill of sensation became, as he moved his hands over her breasts, her hips, and her waist.

The feeling throbbed within her.

It pushed her to explore him more, without really knowing what she was doing.

She moved her hand up and down the middle of Gabriel’s back, her other hand holding him tight. The memory of him leaving her had disappeared, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to keep a firm hold, just as he kept a firm hold on her.