Page 78 of A Temporary Bride for the Duke

She grasped his collar instead, pulling him closer and letting their kiss deepen. He moaned into her mouth, reaching up to cup her elbows in his hands as their mouths moved together.

His tongue quested into her mouth, and she parted her lips, letting him inside. His hand grasped her neck, and he held her steady as he plundered her mouth. She felt a familiar swooping sensation in her belly and wondered if he would do it again.

Will he pull up my skirt and plunge his tongue into my sex like he did before?

Daisy understood where they were, sitting on a stone balcony, where anyone might see them, but she could not stop the thoughts from forming.

She could feel the wetness accumulate at the junction of her thighs, and she clenched her muscles tightly, preparing for whatever might happen next.

His hands trailed all over her back as his kisses moved from her mouth to her cheek to her jaw and then down to her cleavage. Her breathing increased exponentially with every touch, and she ran her fingers into his hair, gripping hard and pulling him closer as she moaned.

His entire body surged towards her, and he groaned before pulling away and clambering to his feet.

She stared up at him and sucked in several deep breaths.

She remembered how it felt when he pulled away from her the last time.

He was right. They could not do…that…again. Not now, and not ever. Unlike everyone else, theyknewthey were not betrothed.

“We—we cannot keep doing this,” he stammered. There was a tremble in his voice.

She nodded shakily. “You’re right.”

He stumbled backward. “I…shall go back inside. Shall I send your friend Lydia out to attend you?”

She shook her head. “No. Please don’t. She is far too astute. I cannot have her see me like this.”

“Then let me summon my carriage to take you home.”

She looked slowly up at him and managed a strained smile. “Don’t fret over me. I shall be fine. I promise.”

He hesitated for another moment before he nodded and left.

Chapter Nineteen

Daisy stepped into the house, and Amina was waiting to take her coat. She looked Daisy over, concern making her brow furrow.

“What has happened?” she asked in a whisper.

Daisy summoned a smile from somewhere and shook her head. “Nothing has happened. Everything is fine.”

Amina clearly did not believe her, and Daisy couldn’t blame the maid for seeing right through her weak attempt at concealing her emotions. She could barely stop her lips from trembling, and tears kept wanting to fall from her eyes.

Instead, she nodded. “Is Father home?”

Amina lowered her gaze. Daisy knew what that meant. Her father was likely up to no good.

Probably spending even more money he does not have.

Daisy could not understand how the butcher and the baker had cut them off, but her father still had the funds for gambling and gaming. She sighed, asking if everyone had eaten supper before retiring to her quarters.

Changing out of the gown that Edmund bought her, she finally allowed the tears to fall. She cried for the loss of her dreams, the loss of her innocence, and for the realization that love was likely never going to find her again.

She could not imagine loving anyone else the way she realized she’d fallen for Edmund. She could not even imagine letting another man touch her the way that he did. No one could set her alight the way he did with the simplest caress.

She took a deep breath, snatching up her handkerchief to wipe her nose.

“This is a waste of my time,” she murmured to herself even as she heaved deep breaths, crying inconsolably.