Page 32 of The Duke Meets His Match

His brow furrowed. “What do you know about bad dreams?”

“More than you think, Your Grace.”

“I told you to call me Michael.”

“Fine. I entered your chamber because I was worried after last night, Michael. Nothing more.”

She wasn’t ready to admit the truth to him—that she felt for his suffering—connected with his deep-seated pain. She may have never been in battle, never experienced the deafening blast of cannon fire, but she had known the despair of illness and the fear of dying.

He reached up to take a lock of pale hair that had tumbled from her pins. His fingers entwined with the strands, and he caressed it between his thumb and forefinger. She watched, fascinated, and felt the touch like he’d stroked her actual flesh. Her awareness of him escalated. Her eyes dropped to his mouth…to his perfect lips, and she craved his kiss.

“I don’t believe you. I think you knew what would happen as soon as you opened my door, as soon as you touched me. I also think you want it as badly as I do.”

Was it true? Deep down she’d known there was more to their verbal sparring. The air sizzled between them whenever they were close.

Had she come here knowing what would happen?

Despite their differences—he was a duke, a man who knew about her past and who insisted on meddling with her future. She should hate him, despise his interference, but time had changed her opinion. He was loyal to Henry’s father, a deceased man. He didn’t have to honor his promise, no one would know, but he took his responsibility seriously. Even though she was the one he was “protecting” Henry from, she grudgingly admired Michael for upholding his vow. She understood loyalty and would do anything to protect her sisters. Perhaps they were similar souls after all.

And like her, he clearly had his demons.

His reaction to Napoleon’s gilded carriage at the museum was her first clue. Then the fireworks at the gardens affirmed her thoughts. And today, when she came to check on him, he was in the throes of a nightmare. What she’d told him was true. She knew all about bad dreams that left her reeling with shame and guilt and a hopeless despair.

Logic dictated she stay away from the Duke of Cameron. But all reason flew from her head whenever he was near. An undeniable magnetism had been building between them from the first moment they’d met. And when they touched, when he kissed her, she forgot her well-laid plans and could think only of the passionate escape she found in his arms.

“I promise you won’t regret it, Chloe.” He raised her chin with his fingers, allowing her to see the fierce hunger and his raw need. His smoldering gaze lowered to her mouth, and she licked her lips in anticipation of his kiss. Only he didn’t oblige her. He traced her bottom lip with a fingertip, a slow, sensual movement that made her lips part. “I was never able to properly kiss you last night.”

How could she resist him? She’d wanted him to kiss her last evening. She’d hoped it was only the spell cast by the romantic setting of the gardens—the hidden paths and sheltering arbors, the fragrant scent of the flowering bushes, and the soft cast of the lamplight, but the truth was, her need was no different today.

Only now she wanted it more, craved his kiss desperately…

His head lowered, and she met him halfway. His firm lips were caressing and coaxing, generously giving and selfishly taking all at the same time. She sighed into his kiss, gripped his powerful biceps, then wrapped her arms around his back. Smooth muscles rippled beneath her fingers. Her lips parted of their own accord, and she met his tongue in a wild swirl of desire. He tasted of danger and the delicious secrets of mysterious sexual pleasure. A tantalizing combination.

His hand cupped her breasts and her nipples instantly hardened beneath her gown. His lips lowered to graze her neck then trailed down to place heated kisses to her bodice. When he licked the tops of her breasts above her bodice, she arched up to offer herself to his mouth. His fingers dipped into her bodice to graze her nipple, and she moaned. The teasing touch made her wild, made her forget everything but the stroke of his skillful touch.

“From the first time I saw you, I’ve wanted you naked beneath me. I want to bury myself deep inside you. I want to lavish you with pleasure with my hands and mouth. And I want your hands and mouth on me.”

Sweet heaven. Excitement coursed through her veins at his erotic words. He spoke like a soldier, a man in command. But she was far from in control of her own emotions. Her body cried out for his touch, and her resistance dissipated beneath the onslaught of his skillful kisses.

He lifted his head, and a predatory glimmer sparked in his eyes. “I burn to be inside you, but I’d never force you. If you don’t want the same, then you have to leave now. It’s your choice.”

The raw hunger in his eyes sent a burst of warmth through her. Chloe wanted the security of marriage, but she wanted this man even more. Perhaps she was truly wicked and never meant to be a lady. Or perhaps her scandalous past could never be forgotten and had already carved her future in stone. All she knew was that her body ached for everything he’d promised. She wanted him, more than she wanted air to breathe. He was right—she’d known all along that she’d wanted to experience him, hadn’t she? It was as inevitable as the stars and the moon.

Despite a strong impulse to glimpse down at his nakedness, she kept her eyes on his face. Reaching up, she traced his jaw. “I choose to stay.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face before it was replaced with a look of pure male satisfaction. “I’ll try to go slow, but my desire for you is consuming.”

He swooped down to kiss her. She relished his fierceness, knowing he wanted her so badly. His fingers worked the top fastenings of her gown and pushed the fabric down to reveal her breasts. Her nipples tightened from the cool air.

“My God,” he hissed. “Your skin is so fair.”

His large hands cupped her breast and his hot mouth closed around her nipple. She cried out as deep spirals of pleasure radiated down to her toes. He tasted her with long, leisurely licks. Her body arched wantonly toward his mouth, and her fingers buried in the thick strands of his dark hair. She drowned in sensations as he sucked and kneaded one breast, then moved to the other. He drove her wild, and she’d never imagined her breasts could be so sensitive to another’s touch.

He raised the hem of her skirt, his fingers trailing up her silk stockings and halting where her garter met skin. Her clothing was bunched at her waist. She tensed in anticipation of his calloused hand on her flesh, then he touched her there.

Chloe moaned. His skillful fingers aroused her and built her excitement slowly. Then he slipped a finger inside her. She felt her wetness bloom and nothing could have stopped her hips from meeting the slow, rhythmic strokes of his finger. When he stroked against the sensitive nub at the apex of her thighs, her head fell back and she cried out.

He lowered his lips to the shell of her ear. “I want to erase the memory of all your prior lovers.”