A Deal with a Duke (The Daring Drake Sisters 2)

But he didn’t want to send her anywhere except to a bedroom where he could slowly make love to her all night.

Hearing her light moans, he pulled away only to drop light kisses on her jaw until he reached her ear. His tongue traced the shell of her ear until she was nearly panting. Her hand slid down his chest, down his belly, reaching his trouser covered cock. She discovered the outline of him as he tried to keep some control.

“Is there anything I can do for you tonight?” she whispered as her palm rounded the top of him.

He nearly came then and there in Huntley’s study with his trousers still on. He felt like an adolescent with his first woman. He wanted desperately to tell her yes. She could strip him naked and put her mouth on him. But he couldn’t. This was Louisa. He had to remember that.

Before he could tell her no, she had reached for the fall of his trousers and found the buttons there.

“No, Louisa. You cannot do that.”

She stared up into his eyes and smiled. “You touched me in a most intimate place. It is only fair that I touch you.”

Damn, she had found him. Her soft hand circled him, stroking him lightly, agonizing him with pent up desire. He kissed her again as her fingers continued to tease him. A part of him wanted this to last. He didn’t want to lose the sensation of her gentle strokes on him. But each caress brought him closer to the edge. He wanted Louisa Drake in his arms, naked.

He clasped his hand on hers, showing her how to rub her thumb around the tip of him, spreading the bead of liquid that had already eased out. Feeling the moisture brought thoughts of being deep inside her, giving her as much pleasure as she was giving him. The edge was there in sight. He couldn’t control it much longer. He pulled his handkerchief out just as he exploded in her hand.

“Louisa,” he moaned as waves of incredible pleasure coursed through him. He pulled her close and rested his forehead on hers as he tried to catch his breath.

He moved her hand away and wiped her clean before kissing the palm of her hand. The hand that had given him such pleasure. He wanted to return the sensation to her. But she pulled away.

“I must return. I fear we may have already been missed.” She moved away from him. “Please don’t come back into the room for a while.”

“Not yet,” he whispered.

“I must. We cannot be seen together.” She glanced away, but he noticed the pain in her eyes. “For Emma.”

“Of course,” he said, watching her leave him once again. The door closed behind him, and he collapsed back into the chair. The fire had all but died out. He buttoned his trousers and wished once more that he’d had the chance to give her as much pleasure as she’d given him.

But that would only cause more issues for them both. Harry would be forced to marry her and subject Louisa to his poor reputation. Her sister might lose her fiancé. The gossip would cause her and her family even more harm. He couldn’t live with himself if he brought pain to her.

They should stay away from each other.

He wasn’t sure how he could do that after what she’d done in this room tonight.

He finished another brandy and then another before being interrupted by an amorous couple. As he rose, he felt a bit off kilter and knew he’d had too much to drink on an empty stomach.

DEAR GOD! WHAT HAD she done? And at a ball! Louisa doubted this was what Emma had meant when she told her to be flirtatious and make Harry jealous. Her sister would be shocked if she discovered what Louisa and Harry had been doing in Lord Huntley’s study. But she had decided to use the one weapon she had against Harry’s defenses. She smiled to herself. It must have worked.

Louisa walked back into the ballroom with unsteady limbs. As she turned a corner, she ran into a hard body.

“Excuse me,” she said, looking up to see the face of Lord Ainsley.

“Well, if it isn’t Miss Drake,” he drawled with a feral smile. “I believe the same Miss Drake, who was supposed to spend a week with me in Scotland. With my mother, if I’m not mistaken. I do wonder what happened to scare you off. A rendezvous with a duke, perhaps?”

Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to think of something to say to him. How could he know about her being at Northwood Park? “I must apologize, my lord. I fear some gossip has made the rounds. I am not quite certain how it started.”

He tilted his head back and laughed. “I know exactly how it started. Dance with me, Miss Drake.”

“I mustn’t.” The man was a notorious rake with his deep dimples and green eyes. It was rumored that he had even ruined Clarissa Carter and then refused to marry her.

“Oh, but you must. I should hate to spread gossip that you did indeed spend some time in Scotland with me, and me alone.”

“Bastard,” she hissed while he led her to the dance floor as a slow waltz started to play. He pulled her far too close with a smile. She had to admit he was a handsome man, but it was his smile that was truly devastating. “How did you find out? Lady Gringham?”

“That is my secret.”

“What are you about, Ainsley?”