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“Don’t stop...”

“I won’t... I... I... Oh... God!”

It happened at the same time. Anthony, the noise that left his lips was a guttural howl that synced with the way that his body began to jerk. And Caroline too, screamed into the night sky, her entire body vibrating and shaking and tearing itself apart. She felt him filling her. She felt it dripping down her thighs. She felt... she felt...

My mother was wrong. I was wrong. There is nothing wicked about this. Nothing wrong or evil. This is the single greatest moment of my life. And never before has something felt so right.

Caroline might have lamented all the time she had wasted fighting these urges. She might have been upset that she had hated herself so often for what she had desired. But what was the point of that? There was none, she decided. Rather, she chose to enjoy herself. She chose to be free in ways she never had before. She chose to scream and cry out and give herself over fully to a type of pleasure which she knew would not be fleeting because she knew that this would not be the last time.

She was married to the Cruel Duke, and she was his to do with whatever he wanted. His prisoner, just as he was hers.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Despite having just left the small glade so that she and Anthony might make their way home—as the hour was getting late, and the night had brought with it a strong wind that chilled them both so they were shaking—Caroline’s mind was still very much on what had just happened.

She wore a smile which would not leave her. She had a skip to her step that made her want to break into a dance. And she laughed freely, not because something funny was said, but because she was just that happy.

“Are you going to tell me what is so funny?” Anthony asked her when he heard her laughter.

“Oh, nothing in particular.” As they walked, they held hands. “Think of it as general merriment.”

“General merriment?”

“I am happy,” she explained, laughing again. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” he said, still holding her by the hand. “I like it when you are this happy. It tells me I did something right.”

“Oh?’ She cocked an eyebrow at him. “That’s very bold of you.”

“Am I wrong.”

She grinned. “No comment.”

They broke through the forest, finding themselves on the paddock that surrounded the forest. The moon had vanished behind some clouds, turning the night near pitch black.

“Will you be fine to ride in the dark?” Anthony asked as he began to untie their horses. “Perhaps we should walk?”

“What’s the matter...” She flashed her eyes menacingly at him. “Scared you might fall?”

Even in the darkness, she could see the unimpressed look he fixed on her. “Is that a serious question?”

“One you have not answered.”

He considered her, glancing to the moonless sky. “Just be careful. The ground is uneven, and the grass is overgrown. We shall take it slowly.”

“I was right about you,” she crooned as she came in behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, he turned stiff, but she ignored it because she sensed it had merely caught him by surprise. “Not a monster at all.”

To this, Anthony said nothing, and Caroline chastised herself for being so stupid.I need to stop acting as if Anthony has changed or is different to what he once was. He has always been this kind and this caring, so why mention a side of him that was never real?

Still, Caroline could not believe how this evening had turned out. When she had planned their picnic, all she had wanted was to prove to herself that what she was starting to feel for Anthony was reciprocated. That she wasn’t a fool. A pleasant evening is what she had in mind, companionable conversation, perhaps a kiss or two to seal it.

That all changed rather quickly.

Truthfully, she was glad for the cover of night, because her entire body flushed when she thought of it. On top of Anthony. His manhood inside of her, pulsing as she rode him. The way they kissed. His lips around her breasts. And how he hadn’t demanded that she beg him. How he hadwantedher as much as she had wanted him.

That was what mattered and that was why she smiled.

They rode across the grassy fields in silence. Side-by-side, with Caroline sitting to face Anthony. She tried to catch his eye so he could see her smile. She tried to read his expression—impossible to do in the dark. She tried to sense what he was thinking, getting back nothing but stony silence.