To Desire a Wicked Duke (Courtship Wars)

“Hot.… Like I will burst into flames any moment.”

“I want you to burst into flames, sweet Tess.”

When he sheathed two fingers in her pulsing warmth, a half gasp, half moan spilled from her lips as she shivered with wanton pleasure.

Oddly, her response only made him give up his delectable torture. But Tess realized why a moment later. Easing her thighs open wider, he closed his hands over her buttocks and pulled her hips even closer, so that her belly and feminine cleft cradled his heavy, swollen shaft. The pressure on the sensitive core of her sent a shock of fire rippling through Tess, making her clutch at his shoulders.

Unable to restrain her desire any longer, she rose up on her knees, intending to lower herself onto the velvet-smooth head of his manhood. When she felt his thick hardness begin to press inside her, though, Tess stiffened at the invasion, drawing a deep breath.

“Slowly,” Rotham whispered, stopping her from going any further. “Let’s take our time.”

She paused, shutting her eyes, wondering if her body could accommodate his enormous size. For a dozen heartbeats, she felt the heat of his fingertips brush her face, her throat, her shoulders in soothing caresses. And after a time, her damp sheath seemed to open in readiness for him.

When she nodded, his hands moved to her thighs to guide her. She sank down another fraction, slowly enveloping him. The pain was not too great, more a burning sensation than real pain, and even that subsided in another few moments.

“Look at me, sweet angel.”

She obeyed and found herself drowning in the shadowed glimmer of Rotham’s eyes. How had she ever thought those gray depths cold and cynical? They smoldered hot and hungry now.

Tess felt an answering hunger burning inside her. Yearning for him to fill her more completely, she sank all the way down, so that he was seated fully inside her.

He held her there unmoving while he gently kissed her. His lips stroked over hers tenderly, as if she were rare and special and something to be savored.

His mouth was magical … and so was his touch. His kisses enchanted, and when she began to relax, he kissed her even more deeply, his tongue penetrating her mouth like his shaft was doing between her thighs.

An aching tightness coiled throughout her, spreading to her every nerve and sinew. Of its own accord, her inflamed body began to rock against his.

Rotham had given her the illusion of being in command, Tess realized, but she was not in charge at all; control was quickly slipping from her grasp. Her pulse turned wild as he began a slow, deliberate thrusting in turn. She moved her hips instinctively in a primitive, needful rhythm, trying to satisfy the hot, urgent longing clamoring inside her.

To her dismay, Rotham’s beguiling lips left hers as he drew back again … yet it was only to watch her. There was a fierce tenderness in his eyes as he coaxed her with his hard body, heightening the erotic friction between them.

Her breath was coming in hoarse whimpers now. Her hands clenching spasmodically, Tess gripped his shoulders, clinging to him, seeking more of the fevered pleasure he was giving her. Her body felt deeply connected with his, so full that she was part of him. The feeling was intense, wonderful, and so was his dark, molten gaze.…

Suddenly, the pleasure was too keen, too fierce to be borne. Her heart pounding, Tess gasped at the bright flare of sensation that rocketed through her. She tried to press herself even deeper against Rotham—but then the shattering explosion came and swept away all her senses in a storm of fire.

His climax followed directly, as if he’d forced himself to wait for her. He groaned and shuddered and surged hard into her, catching her when she collapsed bonelessly onto his chest.

In the aftermath, his hand rose to cradle her throat, soothing her thundering pulsebeat, while his mouth feathered light, tender kisses over her face and hair.

Hi

s own breath was harsh and uneven, but after a long moment, Rotham lifted her and eased her down beside him. Letting his legs tangle with hers, he pulled the covers up over them both and drew Tess into his arms. He lay there, his body wrapped around hers, warming her, calming her, brushing her cheek with warm fingers.

“Are you all right?” he murmured after a time.

“Yes,” Tess replied, savoring his hard strength. Her feelings for Rotham were still chaotic, creating turmoil in her heart and in her mind, yet her body had never felt so blissful. “Thank you for being so … considerate.”

“Did you expect me to be otherwise?”

“I suppose not. But I did not think … this would happen tonight.”

Ian himself had not expected to seal their marriage vows either. He hadn’t meant to renege on his pledge to leave Tess strictly alone. Yet he could not possibly have resisted when she’d come to his rooms garbed only in a nightdress, looking anxious and alone.

He’d wanted to comfort her, yes, but he’d wanted more to claim her. The prospect had made him hard in an instant.

At that moment he was almost glad for the castle ghost, since it had driven Tess into his arms.

And then he had joined carnally with her. Her serene loveliness had taken his breath away … her exquisite body, her hair cascading down over her shoulders in heavy silken waves, her dark velvet eyes hot and pleading.