How to Fool a Duke (The Husband Dilemma #1) - Lancaster, Mary Page 0,46

between them. His eyes, his hands, even his heart, longed to see her naked, to finally breathe in every inch of her delicate, creamy skin. He scooped her into his arms, breathing out a ragged breath.

“Your chamber?”

She rested her head against his chest, unresponsive.

“Sarah.”

She raised her head. “Yes?”

“Your chamber, sweeting.”

She pointed to the stairs.

Leonard rushed up and along the narrow corridor and, when she indicated, pushed the door open with his foot. A canopied bed awaited them.

“Mine at last,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door.

“Your Grace,” she said demurely, staring up at him.

“Yes, sweeting?”

“I do believe you have lost our wager.”

Chapter Fourteen

At least it gave him pause, allowed her a moment to actually think.

After his first stunned blink, warm amusement pierced the passion in his eyes. “How do you come to that conclusion?”

“Surely, you cannot mean to ravish me without at least a promise to marry?”

A wicked smile curved his sensual lips. “I could make you the offer now, but is there any point when you have already lost?”

Her eyes widened. “I?”

“You kissed me. In the hall, directly after you told me Hammy is not here. I concede that I participated fully, but the first impetus came from you.”

“That does not count. It was a mere continuation of the kisses begun by you.”

His laughter was warm as he took her face between his hands. “Are you saying that if I want the sweet pleasures of your body, I must make my offer first?”

It was, of course, exactly what she meant, but the words seemed to stick in her throat.

“You want me to go?” he asked gently.

Her breath caught. He meant it. If she asked, he would leave her. Without meaning to, she grasped his wrists, but staring into his heat-filled eyes was a mistake. They excited and consumed her, and she could not bear him to go. Mutely, she shook her head.

“Then you will have to marry me,” he murmured.

“Is that your offer?” she asked shakily.

His lips were so close to hers, she could almost taste them. Her whole being ached for him.

“Oh, my sweet,” he whispered. “I always meant to marry you. And now I’ll never let you go.”

Enchanted, she closed the tiny distance between them, and kissed him.

His lips smiled on hers, but only for an instant before he swept her up in his arms once more and strode to the bed.

When she landed on the pillows, her dressing gown had gone and she lay naked, her skin burning beneath his avid eyes. She plucked desperately at the covers, her first instinct being to hide herself, but Leo’s reaction distracted her. His hungry gaze devoured her. His breathing came in pants, and for the first time, she realized her power. Wondering, she stilled her fingers and let him look his fill. God help her, she liked him to look.

He tore off his coat, dropping it on the floor. His cravat, waistcoat, and shirt quickly followed. Her arms lifted of their own accord, summoning him, reaching for him. And nothing had ever felt so sweet and heady as his naked skin or hers. When he kissed her, more deeply than ever before, she was lost. Her body reacted on its own, arching up into him as her hands stroked his back and hips.

The heat building at the base of her stomach caught fire. Her whole body trembled with need, responding to his every caress and kiss, from her eyelids to her breasts and stomach and the inside of her thighs. She moaned when he found the center of her desire, and then he was inside her and she cried out.

He paused, staring down into her astonished eyes. Then he kissed her softly. “Only a moment’s discomfort. Relax and move with me.” His voice was hoarse. His whole body shook with the effort of restraint, which for some reason, allowed all her excitement to flood back. She obeyed him, with growing wonder, clung to him as passion drove them both to the heights of pleasure and ultimate joy.

***

Somewhere, she could not quite believe that he lay naked in her arms, his head on her breasts, after loving her. No longer the child who had thrown apples at him and sought revenge for perceived insults, she was a woman at last. What they had done did not remotely shame or even embarrass her. She knew only wonder and delight and a wicked desire for more. She had loved the play of hard muscle under her caresses, gloried in the