Page 43 of A Duchess Untouched

“Nothing about you is ever simple!” she complained, as tears of frustration spilled from her eyes. She lifted a fist and hit him on his chest. “Nothing at all! I am merely a stranger living in your home for you, while you go out there and… and…”

Her hand hitting his chest did not cause him pain. To his surprise, it woke unadulterated desire.

“What do you want from me, Selina?” His voice had lowered to a growl as he leaned down, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin. “Tell me now. What is it that you want?”

“You know what I want,” she said defiantly, even as her voice cracked. “I need you to bed me properly! So that I might have some hope of a child!”

Matthew’s heart pounded in his chest.

A child.

My child growing in her belly…

My child in her arms…

“Selina, perhaps we should discuss this—”

“No! I will have you know that I am done waiting for you,” she continued. “I am done waiting for you to decide when you want me.”

Matthew was still stuck on the thought of having his own child, and he was startled when Selina grabbed the lapels of his coat and roughly pulled the coat off him. He was in complete shock when he felt his coat slide down his arms and land in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Her small palms pressed firmly against his chest, smoothing down there before sliding down to his ribs. His whole body stiffened at the sensation of her warm hands trailing down his torso. He gasped when those hands became bold enough to go lower still, until one pressed against the front of his breeches with her fingers expertly undoing his laces and gripping his cock.

Hell, he loved her touch on him. He yearned to thrust into her palm like an animal, eager to see her reaction if he showed her exactly what he wanted her to do. The thought of bending her over the bed and burying himself in her almost broke his last bit of self-control.

As she tightened her hold on him some more, Matthew let out a ragged moan. Her fingers flexed around his hard length, making blind pleasure coil in his lower belly. She almost brought him to his knees with a single touch.

“Selina,” he choked out as he tried his best not to thrust into her hand.

“Will you stay with me and let me touch you, husband?” she said seductively, but he could see that her cheeks were still red from the wine.

Husband. For one damned second, he nearly let her do as she pleased; he would let her do anything she wanted to him, even let himself spill into her palm just to prove to her how much he ached for her.

However, he soon came back to his senses. With great difficulty, his hand reached for her wrist and gently guided her warm hand away from him, even as his vision blurred.

“Selina… You have no idea what you are doing to me,” Matthew gritted out. He had to restrain himself from simply throwing her onto her bed and tearing her clothes apart. “If you keep touching me like that… I cannot promise what I will do.”

Selina stared up boldly at him, her chest heaving hard. She did not feel threatened at all.

“I know exactly what I want and what I want you to do,” she said. “I want you to lay me on that bed and make me yours until I forget you ever left me.”

Her voice sounded hoarse and seductive. Matthew had to squeeze his eyes shut and shake the image from his mind. Every muscle in his body wanted to give in. To let his primal urges take over, strip away the pale blue silk dress, bury himself deep inside her, and never leave her bed.

But he knew it was not right, and he knew this was not possible either. He could tell from her tear-stained face and unfocused eyes that she was still inebriated. If he took her now, at her most vulnerable, it would be taking advantage of her. And if he left again, she would feel used. He also knew that by morning she would feel the burden of guilt and that the last whisper of trust between them would be completely eviscerated.

Matthew slowly stepped back, leaving a wide gap between them, even as his pulse continued to race.

“Selina, you have had too much to drink,” he said, suppressing the passion that rose from within. “Therefore, I will not take you. Not like this. Not tonight.”

He bent to pick up his coat from the floor and fixed his breeches. Then, he forced himself to leave the room, closing the door behind him.

On the other side, he pressed his hand against the wood, his cock still hard. His entire body urged him to go back through that door and finish what she had begun. Instead, he put his head between his elbows, breathing heavily, until the intense pain in his groin shifted to his temples.

Chapter 21

In the two days since Selina had shamelessly touched her husband that night, she had done her best to avoid him altogether. She feigned headaches, made early visits to her charity, and had tea with her sisters at times she knew Matthew would be occupied. She hid in rooms whenever she heard his footsteps in the corridor, and her whole body burned with shame whenever his name even crossed her mind.

She told herself it had been the wine, though the excuse did little to ease her humiliation. She had touched his manhood and demanded that he take her properly to bed, acting every bit the true daughter of her own father. Shame.