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“Well,” he smiled, devious and handsome, “when you ask so nicely.”

A flare of playful annoyance bit through her, making the sensations between her legs kick up another notch. Frederick knelt between her legs on the bed, his position inside her flipped around. In so doing, he was able to hook his fingers up into a place inside Charlotte that made her see stars. More fiercely, Frederick rubbed into it, still pumping in and out of her.

“Ugh!”

It was nearly too much, but Charlotte could feel the sensations building on each other, accumulating layer after layer until her nervesachedwith the need for some unknown thing.

“That’s my sweet girl.” Frederick groped her breast, pressing his lips to it and sucking her nipple into his mouth before letting it go with a resounding pop. “The way you squeeze around, Charlotte.”

She couldn’t think of words to respond, her mind too gone. And then Frederick was suckling at her nipple once more, swirling his tongue around it as his efforts between her legs raced her further toward the edge of some invisible cliff.

Her thighs trembled, the walls that squeezed Frederick’s fingers gripping tighter and tighter with each moment. It was a blissful terror to be so undone for him. There was no controlling her body or words. The feelings roaring through her blood were too strong. Charlotte was mindless to the pleasure, and embarrassment and euphoria mingled together to create a cocktail more potent than any she’d ever known.

“You’re so close, sweet darling. Aren’t you? So very close to tumbling over the edge for me.”

She had no idea what Frederick was talking about, at least not from a place of experience. But Charlotte was aching for some type of release from the building pressure and need within her. It had to be what he meant, so she nodded, a desperate squeak escaping her as Frederick sunk his fingers as deeply as he could.

“Yes! Oh, God, Frederick!”

His lips found her breast again before trailing up to her neck and biting playfully. The pinch in her skin zinged down to her core, making her clamp around his digits. Frederick gripped her neck with his free hand, his thumb coming around to the front of her face and pulling down the flesh of her bottom lip.

“Let me see you.” He growled the words—dark and ravenous. “Let me see your eyes as you break apart for me, sweet Charlotte.”

She forced herself to open her eyes as much as she could. It was a fight to keep them open, but she held Frederick’s stare as he pulled pleasure from her body. Their stares locked onto each other, and he palmed her neck.

At once, Frederick set up a brutal pace, thrusting into her with a silent demand of everything her body could give him. And Charlotte was helpless against the magnificent force of his claiming touch. She shattered apart beneath him, his fingers drawing out every beat of pleasure as she fluttered around them.

“Ugh!” She cried out, her body seizing and jerking against the overwhelming sensations. “Frederick!”

“That’s it, darling. So beautiful.”

Charlotte rode out the sensations until she was a puddle of herself, her body limp and her eyes slipping closed. She wasa profound level of exhausted, and sparking beats of pleasure licked through her at random intervals until they backed off completely.

The room was quiet as she tried to catch her breath, and after a time, Frederick slipped his fingers free of her, making Charlotte whimper and wince. She was so overwhelmed by it all that she couldn’t speak, could barely stay away. Frederick kissed her forehead, helping her to shift up onto the pillow and lay back.

“Get your rest, sweet Charlotte. I will see you in the morning.”

She felt him begin to leave. “Wait.”

Charlotte’s voice was breathy, a ghost of its usual self. Frederick turned back to her from standing near the bed, his gaze a mixture of arousal and pain.

“We have not…there is still so much to?—”

“Not just now, Charlotte. Tomorrow. For now, get your sleep. There will be talking later.”

With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Frederick pressed another kiss to her head and then turned away, leaving her room quietly and purposefully. He had not answered any other questions, and Frederick was now leaving her here alone to grapple with what they’d both done.

That was it.

Tears prickled in Charlotte’s eyes as she sat in the silence. She had allowed Frederick to…While she could find some semblance of peace in the fact that they had not had sex, Charlotte was still mortified. Had she allowed herself to be swooned? Had Frederick worked his rakish magic on her to merely avoid an interrogation?

Charlotte flung herself face down into the bed and sobbed.

Chapter Eighteen

“Charlotte,” Rose approached the Duchess cautiously, an unmistakable look of importance on her face, “may I speak with you.”

Charlotte’s chest pinched at the words. She’d been steadfastly ignoring the entirety of the house for the whole morning. By the time she settled down at the table for a late breakfast, she’d hoped that she had missed both Frederick and his sister. Clearly, she had not.