Page 13 of A Bride for the Wicked Duke (Claimed by Regency Devils #2)

Chapter Thirteen

G erald did not escort Lady Hawkins from the manor and to her horse as he should have done. He felt guilty about it, as he did wish to ensure that she made it home safely, even if these lessons of theirs’ were supposed to be kept a secret. I could have walked her to the door, at the very least. The right thing to do.

The truth was, he needed her gone from his sight as quickly as was possible. He needed her scrubbed from his mind, for her she sat firm in its center and despite his best efforts he could not stop thinking about her.

He was sitting at the desk in his study, the same where he had only just now finished pleasuring her with his mouth. He had not meant for things to go that far. Dammit, he had not wanted them to! His invitation for her to come see him tonight was given in good faith, as he did truly mean to help her learn to better herself so she could find a husband. That is the entire point of all of this!

And yet...

Gerald licked his lips, still able to taste Lady Hawkins on them. So sweet. So insatiable. He ran his fingers over his lips and then sucked them, moaning as he remembered the feel of the woman writhing and shuddering and screaming as he devoured her.

What had happened just now, that isn’t who Gerald was. He was a proper gentleman. He was a bastion of his class and title. He was one who others looked up to, respected by all, not the type to seduce an innocent woman in his office for no other reason than that he couldn’t control his own damn urges!

On the one hand, he had long since admitted that he was drawn to her peculiarities in ways that shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. Having been surrounded for his entire life by well to do lords and ladies of the ton, it was refreshing to meet someone who was just so different to the norm. The way she spoke without care. Her quick wit. Her devilish tongue. Her tendency to always say the wrong thing... Gerald chuckled to remember.

Then there was the other nagging problem. That being, the attraction that he felt for her. Lady Hawkins was not his type at all. He preferred slim, dainty creatures. Elegance was his supposed preference. But there was just something about Lady Hawkins voluptuous figure that drove him wild. And that is an understatement.

Sitting alone right now. Remembering how she had tasted. Picturing her screams of pleasure as she exploded in his mouth. Gerald felt himself grow stiff and rigged. Blood pumping to his groin. He moaned and leaned back, his hand moving to his crotch. Images of Lady Hawkins in his sister’s dress, when she had been spilling out the front, came to mind and he could not help but wrap his hand around his bulge and --

No! Control yourself!

Wasn’t that the problem in the first place? That he wasn’t able to control himself around Lady Hawkins. Laughable, as Gerald was a pinnacle of self-control. But this was something else entirely.

The only positive that Gerald was able to take from all of this was that it proved beyond anything else the need to find Lady Hawkins a husband. And as quickly as he could do! But not so that her family would pay his debts – he did not give a shit about that! He needed to find her a husband so that he could cut her from his life once and for all. For her own sake, as well as his own.

As to how Gerald was going to do that...

It wasn’t enough to simply give her lessons and hope that they might somehow see her take on the necessary characteristics required for her to find a husband. If she had the entire Season, sure. But one month? Less than that now. No, if Gerald truly wished to see Lady Hawkins married off and out of his life, he would need to take further action.

A dinner party, perhaps? He knew many a young eligible lord eager for marriage – dammit, he had introduced his sister to enough of them. What if he was to host a party with the express purpose of helping Lady Hawkins to find a mate? Yes... and that will have the added benefit of redirecting Lady Hawkins’ probable assumptions that I am interested in her.

Tonight was a mistake, and it cannot happen again. It will not happen again.

Never mind that the thought of hosting a dinner party to help Lady Hawkins find a suitor made Gerald feel suddenly ill, sickened by the idea of watching other men fawn over her. Jealous even as he pictured this faceless lord doing to Lady Hawkins exactly what he had just done. Never mind that! The end result was what mattered, that was all.

Once that was done with, Gerald could focus on what really mattered. Or what he told himself did, anyhow. Rosalind was in need of a suitor of her own, as she was now three Seasons past her debut and it was time for her to move onto the next stage of her life. And Gerald also, as loathe as he was to admit it, would one day need to find himself a wife. As a duke, it was expected, since put on hold because he told himself he wished to focus on Rosalind’s future first. An easy excuse to tell those who ask, but a harder one for me to swallow.

Lady Hawkins came first, and Gerald forced himself to forget what happened tonight so that he might focus on what mattered. This was no easy thing to do, for his manhood was still painfully erect and all he wanted to do was release it and pleasure himself with thoughts of Lady Hawkins. What was more, he suspected that she might wish to share in this pleasure so the two could devolve into animalistic stylings of lust and --

No! Gerald rose from his desk and strode from the office, determined to put those thoughts out of his mind. He needed a drink. He needed... what he needed was to forget about Lady Hawkins and how easily she unmanned him. Easier said than done.