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He released her wrists, and his right hand moved to her waist and further down, gripping her skirts, bunching them in his fist, and pulling them up. He shoved his other hand beneath the many layers of fabric.

Alicia gasped in shock as his fingers brushed her inner thigh.

“Is that what you want, Duchess? For me to show you what is expected of you?”

She shuddered as his hand moved higher, searching for the juncture between her thighs but stopping just short of it.

“I could ruin you,” he breathed. “I could own you, body and soul, so that you never think of another man again.”

His fingers probed deeper, nudging her heated flesh, and her head fell back against the tree.

“Tell me you want me,” he growled. “Beg me to touch you, Duchess. Beg me to pleasure you.”

“Ah!”

She felt his fingers skim over her sensitive nub through the thin fabric of her chemise and wished there was no layer between them.

“Say it,” he commanded.

Alicia stared deep into those gold-flecked eyes. “Never.”

With a snarl, he crushed his lips to hers, his fingers rubbing against that sensitive spot.

His tongue thrust into her mouth, and he groaned against her, his hips and hard length grinding against her thigh as she came undone for him.

Alicia had never felt pleasure like it. His tongue licked into her mouth, his teeth scraping over her lips as he ravaged herruthlessly, engulfing her body until she could think of nothing but him.

The world faded around them, the chirps of the birds disappearing, and it was just his hot fingers against her, his tongue exploring with desperate abandon until she felt she might lose herself completely.

The crack of a twig had the Duke pulling back abruptly, his fingers and mouth leaving her just as quickly.

Trembling, Alicia tried to compose herself as she looked up to see a young maid approaching from the house.

“Your Grace,” the maid called. “The Marchioness of Riverton has arrived to see you.”

“Jane,” Alicia breathed, pushing away from the Duke and making her way swiftly across the lawn, trying to cool her pleasure-drunk body.

How could I have let that happen? I am trying to escape him, not beg for his touch.

CHAPTER 11

“Heavens, whatever happened to you?” Jane asked the moment she entered the drawing room.

“I lost my footing,” Alicia replied, her skin still tingling with the memory of the Duke’s body pressed against hers.

Jane looked her over critically. “Were you hiking through the mud?”

“I waswalking,” Alicia said firmly, “and I slipped.”

There was a soft knock on the door before a maid entered the room, carrying a tea tray.

Alicia turned around, raising her eyebrows at the amount of food.

Although she and the Duke had finished breakfast less than an hour ago, the tray was laden with cakes and sweet treats.

It was a stark contrast to how her father had treated his guests.

The Earl of Pembrook did not believe in wasting money on frivolities. The teas Jane and Alicia had enjoyed in their youth usually consisted of dry biscuits and black tea in mismatched cups.