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“Morning,” I greet Linnea as she steps out into the living area. She’s showered and dressed in silky lounge pants and a matching top, much like the ones she always wore to the kitchen at the palace.
I’m immediately hard.
Everything from last night flashes through my mind and I swear I can still taste her on my tongue.
She gives me a smile that’s shy and makes me even harder.
“Morning.”
“I had breakfast sent up.”
“Oh, that was very nice.” She looks at the table by the window that’s set with a full coffee service, as well as scones, fruit, and a platter of bacon. “I went ahead and showered. I didn’t know if testing how I feel about shower sex was on the list this morning.”
I cough in surprise. I was not expecting her to be so forthright first thing in the morning. Heat hits me low and hard, but I grin. I love that my Duchess is comfortable flirting with me right away the morning after. Or maybe she really was just curious about what was on the “Like It” checklist today. I love that she can talk about this with me. Yes, she is used to speaking her mind to most people, but I don’t think she would be likethiswith just anyone.
She trusts me. She knows that my role has always been to take care of her, and that I have her best interests at heart.
“Oh, we’ll check on shower sex,” I tell her, rising and pulling out one of the chairs at the small table near the window. “But there are plenty of other things on the list, too. The shower can wait. Come here. I’ve got cranberry scones for you.”
She crosses to me with a soft smile. Obviously, she’s pleased that I’m open to discussing more things on her sex checklist, too, and that we’re going to explore more of them today.
I’d love to take her back into that bedroom and spend the day just learning every erogenous zone, every sigh, every gasp. But I also want to make this fun and playful. She’s never dated either. I want to fix that too.
“I wasn’t sure how we would act this morning,” she says, stopping next to me instead of taking a seat.
I reach up and slide my hand under her hair, cupping the back of her neck. Then I draw her close. I lean in, my lips hovering over hers. “We’re going to act like we had one of the hottest nights of my life together last night. And like we’re going to have a really fun day together today.”
She gives a happy sigh. “So you don’t want to go back to trying to resist? Telling me to stop talking about how you make me feel?”
I can’t. I can’t resist her. I have to be the one to take her out, make her feel special and pampered, treat her the way she deserves to be treated.
I have to help her discovereverythingshe wants and should expect from a man. Not just in bed, but everywhere.
That hit me sometime between kissing her cheek as I slid out of bed and ordering her a new dress for today.
I want her to know what it’s like to be wanted. To be cherished.
She hasn’t had mind-blowing orgasms, and she wants to know what that’s like, but she also hasn’t been romanced. And she should definitely want that as well.
She deserves all of that.
And if I can’t be the man doing it for the rest of her life, I am, by God, going to make sure she knows to demand it from whoever is.
“I’m not going to be resisting you anymore, Duchess,” I tell her softly. “I can’t.”
I kiss her. It starts soft, but the heat builds quickly and soon I’m tipping her head so that I can claim her mouth fully.
She’s gripping the front of my shirt and arching into me when I lift my head nearly a minute later.
“Breakfast first.”
She nods and licks her lips. “I also need to work just for a little bit. I came up with some ideas for James’s project. I want to send them over to Torin and get his input.”
I let go of her and nudge her into the chair, then slide the chair to the table. “That’s wonderful. I love that you’re going to share this with him. I hope you and Torin can come up with something.”
I want that so fucking much. If they can come up with something to impress the king, it could change everything.
“Great. It will take maybe an hour. I’ll write some things up and send them over to him, and then we can have a quick call.”