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“You lied to me, didn’t you?” he growled as his fingers slowly massaged between her nether lips, touching her most sensitive part delicately in such a way that she could feel it swell and pulse.

“Mmhhmm…” she managed, biting her lip but unable to say the words.

“Tell me that you lied,” he demanded, stroking inside her hard and fast.

“I-I lied,” she stammered, forcing the words. “God, I lied.”

“Will you do it again?”

“Maybe.”

“Will you do it again?” he barked, stroking even faster now.

“No,” she moaned, unable and even unwilling to push him further.

“Good girl.” He bit her neck as he continued to stroke her. He was methodological about it, moving his fingers in rhythm with her breathing and panting, sensing the way her body shook and shuddered. He knew what he was doing and how to do it, and before long, Charlotte could feel the climax building inside of her.

“I lied…” she gasped as it built. “I… I lied to you… I?—”

And then Henry stopped. Like water dousing on a fire, he withdrew his fingers and stepped back.

“Wh—” She went to turn around, to demand why he had done such a thing, but he pressed her face against the wall and leaned over her again.

“Are you going to lie to me again?” he asked her.

“N-no…”

“Are you sure?” He slipped his fingers between her thighs again and started to rub her.

“I won’t,” she moaned as the sensation returned. As that fire that spread across her thighs began to gather. “I promise.”

“You better not,” he whispered, feeling her reach the edge a second time. “Because if you do…” He felt her legs shake at his touch. “I might not be so kind…”

“I promise….” she gasped as she teetered on the edge. “I… I…. Oh, God!” she cried out.

Henry was quick to wrap his arm around her neck and pull her back, to hold her against him as he continued to stroke her between her thighs.

“Good girl,” he growled as her body exploded. She spasmed in his arms, trying to push him away, but he refused to yield. “Don’t let me catch you being bad again.”

And just like that, it was over. He let her go, and she collapsed to the floor, trying to gather herself but barely able to breathe, let alone think. Bent over in the hay and dirt, Henry didn’t help her. Rather, he stepped around her and walked out of the stall.

“Put the horse away before you come inside,” he called back. “And return my clothes to me at once.”

She heard his footsteps as they retreated from the stable. She heard the whinny of the horse as it waited patiently outside for her. And she heard her heart, still racing inside her chest as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Not entirely sure how. Not even sure what. But she was sure of one thing—she wanted it again. Oh, how she did.

ChapterTen

There was a good chance that supper was going to be awkward that night. After what Henry and Charlotte had done in the stables, the way that Henry saw it, supper could have gone one of two ways. On the one hand, they might finally start treating one another with respect—Charlotte might start treating him with respect. On the other hand, she might choose to test him again, to poke and pick at him as she had been doing since they got married.

Only this time, Henry sensed it might have been for an entirely different reason.

Charlotte had a way of bringing out a side in him that he rarely let loose. Yes, Henry enjoyed being dominant with his female partners. He liked control. But he never imagined he might be that way with his wife.

And it wasn’t that he thought she was doing this to him on purpose. It was simply the way they were. As he remembered how he treated her in the stables, how she reacted to it, relished it, the sounds that spilled from her mouth… he wanted it again. God, how he did.

He was conflicted, however. This marriage was never meant to be anything more than one of convenience. He certainly didn’t intend to sleep with his wife. And yet he knew that if she put him in that situation again, he might not be able to control himself. He wouldn’t want to.