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Her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed thickly.

“You are without doubt the most fascinating woman I have ever met,” he murmured, so quietly that she barely heard him.

The flickering light from the candelabra danced across the sharp angles of his face, making him look debauched and breathtakingly handsome.

“Then I think you have not met a great many women,” Emily managed.

“On the contrary, my dear. I have met more women than you could possibly imagine.”

There was no time to make a witty response because, at that instant, the duke leaned down and crushed his lips to hers.

It was a gentle kiss, almost chaste, with none of the hunger from before. He slid both hands down her ribcage, circling her waist. She barely had time to realize what he intended to do before it was happening.

Lifting her easily by the waist, Cassian lowered her onto the desk. She gave a squeak of surprise, which he quickly swallowed with his mouth. She found that he had pushed himself between her knees, and without even thinking twice, she had hooked her leg around his hip.

The kiss deepened, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips. His hand slid up her side, his fingers brushing the underside of her breast.

Emily had dressed quickly and simply, removing her endless layers of petticoats and corsets in favor of a simpler gown that she could take on and off herself, all the better for slipping through the dark streets. It wouldn't do to look like a lady when on her clandestine missions, after all.

This meant that she couldfeelhis touch through the fabric of her gown, his fingers questing upwards to cup the mound of her breast. He lowered his head, pressing his lips to the side of her throat again.

It was a strange sensation, and a thrilling one. Emily’s breath hitched, and she closed her eyes when she felt him smile against her skin.

There was a rustling sound, and she felt his warm hand curl around her knee, pushing aside her skirts. There was a brush of teeth against her throat, the tiniest pressure, and she found herself wondering what it would feel like if he pressed them into her flesh. Not hard enough to trulyhurt, of course—nobody would want that—but enough to…

“Better not,” he whispered, the pressure easing. “It would leave a most suspicious mark, you see.”

Abruptly, without warning, his hand slid up her thigh to press against her core. The rush of pleasure was immediate, and Emily let out a ragged gasp.

He chuckled, kissing the side of her neck again, and began to move his hand in earnest, his fingers circling and tracing a line again and again.

Pleasure built up rapidly inside Emily. She tightened her grip on his shoulders, biting her lower lip hard to stay quiet. It was the strangest sensation, intense and hungry anddelightfulall at once. It wasn’t enough, and at the same time, it was entirely too much. If he stopped, she was sure she would die, but if he continued…

Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving up and down. Strange details caught her attention—the stray lock of hair falling over his forehead, the way her skirts were creased and bunched around the arm moving rhythmically against her.

What a wonderful sketch it would make.

“I wish I could hear you,” Cassian breathed.

But before she could ask what he meant exactly, her climax rushed upon her, stealing her breath. She let out a brief moan, hastily smothered, and felt his lips curl into a smile once again.

Her heart rate had not quite returned to normal when he withdrew his hand from under her skirts, releasing her and stepping back.

Emily felt truly debauched, her face red, her hair a little disheveled, her breath coming hard. She plucked at her skirts in an attempt to rearrange them.

“What… What about you?” she managed breathlessly.

Cassian frowned ever so slightly. “What do you mean?”

She gestured briefly to the front of his trousers. There was indeed a bulge there, not quite shadowed by the candlelight.

Of course, Emily had no real idea of how to managethat, but no doubt he would instruct her.

He stared at her for a long moment, his face shadowed by the dancing candlelight. “It’s not necessary,” he said bluntly.

Emily frowned. “Well, I don’t wish to be selfish.”

“You are not selfish. I am rather tired.”