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With a curse, he jerked away, taking a step back.

“No…” Emily whimpered, clutching his forearms.

He could sense her turmoil. She thought he was rejecting her.

Not in a million years.

He helped her up and pulled her into an embrace. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, every bit of skin he could reach. She dropped her head back, giving him more access, and he took full advantage, sucking on her throat, lower down her chest, her breasts.

Swaying, she took a couple of steps back and he followed her blindly, until her back pressed against the wall. He sucked in her nipple, then opened his mouth wider, taking in more of her breast as his hands continued the exploration of her skin. She moaned, her back arching, then raised her knee.

Tyrone immediately hooked her leg over his arm and with one quick motion lifted her up, pressing her against the wall with his weight. He stared into her hazy, passion-filled gaze and smiled. He saw raw desire in her eyes, desire that rivaled his in its magnitude.

She might not love him. But she wanted him. And for tonight, that would do.

She plunged her fingers into his hair and kissed him wildly. Tyrone returned the kiss with full ardor, their desperate moans and the crackling of the fire the only sounds in the room. Without taking his mouth off her, he shifted to press his cock against her center. With one quick thrust, he seated himself inside her hot, wet depths. She broke off the kiss, staring into his eyes, her mouth slightly open, and moved.

His eyes fell closed, and he couldn’t help the groan that left his lips.

She was so tight, so warm, and so damn beautiful.

“You feel so good,” he rasped, then withdrew his length and thrust once more.

“Yes, Alec, please,” she begged and he couldn’t help but give in.

He thrust into her again and again with wild abandon, pressing her into the wall, rubbing his pelvis against her.

“Yes, yes, yes!” his wife cried, her arm stretched against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, her head thrown back in pure bliss.

He covered her mouth with his as she came, catching her cry of pleasure. She convulsed around him, tensing her body as her inner muscles pulsed, drawing his cock deeper and deeper inside, forcing him to follow her into the oblivion of ecstasy.

The next seven days followed a similar pattern. Emily woke up in her bed alone to find a leather rectangular box sitting on the pillow where her husband’s head had rested the night before. The box contained a piece of jewelry. An expensive, magnificent piece of jewelry.

At first, Emily was elated to find the gifts, but the more days passed, the more it felt like a payment.

For the services rendered the night before.

Especially since beyond their nightly activities, her husband went out of his way to ignore her as much as he could.

He hid away in his study or spent the majority of the time out of the house. The only social gathering they'd attended, he’d escorted Emily and her mother into the ballroom, and then spent the entire evening in the card room with his friends.

And every time she attempted to speak to him when they were alone, he either distracted her with kisses or simply left the room and even the house.

The day of the Earl of Sutton’s dinner wasn't any different. Her husband had disappeared early in the morning and Emily spent most of her day dealing with the household and entertaining visitors. During her free time, she had tea with her family and confided her troubles to her mother.

Emily knew she was at fault for tricking her husband. But she wished he would tell her what she could do to fix their relationship—or tell her anything at all.

When the time came for them to go to dinner, Emily was surprised to hear that her mother had retired early, citing a headache.

It wasn’t uncommon for a migraine to strike out of nowhere, so she asked her sisters to take care of their mother and got ready for the outing.

Even though she felt bad for her mother’s suffering, a part of her was a little glad that she had an opportunity to be stuck in an enclosed space—a carriage—with her husband, if for a short period of time.

Their next outing was the Gage ball in a week’s time, and Emily was afraid her husband would hide in the card room during the entire event again. This was her only chance to have a tete-a-tete without distractions.

She wore her most elegant coral gown, with a low bodice that accentuated her breasts, which were fuller now as she progressed further into her pregnancy. She put a diamond choker on her neck and wore the bracelets her husband had gifted to her.

Her maid styled her hair into tight curls, and she finished her ensemble with a dark red fan.