Page 19 of A Duchess to Unravel (The Devil’s Masquerade #3)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“ A sk.” Alistair commanded.

He brought her hand up to his mouth, kissed her knuckles, then let it go. He walked back to his desk chair and lounged into the deep seat, his eyes raking up and down her body again.

A moist heat blossomed between Theo’s thighs as Alistair’s commanding tone made her jump. Her already reddened cheeks turned scarlet and her mouth was suddenly dry. She licked her lips and swallowed as she stared into Alistair’s hardened gaze.

“I ...” she breathed.

“Oh, do not act bashful now, little kitten,” Alistair warned. “Ask. But do so politely.”

Anger flared through Theo’s growing arousal, but it got caught up in the strange satisfaction she felt from hearing Alistair’s demanding tone. She hated being told what to do. Yet with him it awakened another emotion. One she could not identify--and she was not sure she wanted to.

She straightened her shoulders, tilted her chin as she looked directly into his hard gaze.

“May I please have another lesson, Your Grace,” she replied, adding a sultry tone.

Pleasure burst through Alistair’s eyes, causing her own to rise even higher.

“Another lesson in what?” he asked.

For a moment Theo lost her resolve. He was truly going to make her say it!

“In pleasure,” she whispered.

“Louder,” he commanded.

Torture. This was pure torture. Yet Theo found herself becoming addicted to it.

“I want you to teach me pleasure, Your Grace,” she said, louder, and more clearly this time.

It made her pulse jump to hear herself say it with such decisiveness, and strangely, she felt a surge of pride in herself.

Not as proud, though, as look of approval that was now glittering in Alistair’s now nearly black eyes.

“Very good, little kitten,” he praised, beckoning her to him. “Come here.”

Theo felt another spike in her pulse as she moved on suddenly clumsy feet around the desk to stand in between it and Alistair.

“Stay,” he commanded, then leaned forward in his chair.

Alistair’s eyes remained locked on hers as he reached down for the hem of her skirts. His large hands wrapped around her right foot.

“Up.”

Immediately Theo lifted her heel from the floor and she shivered as she felt him slip her shoe from her foot.

She felt his fingertips glide up her stocking, to her knee, and hook under the fabric, slowly dragging it down her calf.

She trembled, her breath hitching as his hands massaged over the pads of her toes, her heel, ankle, then up and down her calf.

She swayed at the pleasure and whimpered.

“Put your hands on the desk if you need to,” Alistair murmured, gently setting her bare foot back on the floor.

Theo’s hands reached backward and braced the large oak desk, sagging her weight onto it as Alistair reached for her right foot. This time she needed no instruction and lifted, letting his hands cast their spell and strip her from her second shoe and stocking.

The sound of Alistair drawing in a heavy breath as his hands grasped and massaged each of her calves had her backside leaning against the desk. She trembled as she fought to keep herself upright.

“Open your eyes, little kitten. I want ye to see me on my knees for ye.”

Theo’s lashes fluttered open at the gravelly sound of Alistair’s command.

She hadn’t even realized she’d closed her eyes, and it took her a moment to find focus before she could look down.

When she did, she gasped. Her mountain of a man was not far below her.

Even on his knees, his mouth was level with her breasts, and those dark blue eyes, now nearly black, stared up at her with stark desire.

His devilish smirk was slow to form as he looked up at her, and as he held her gaze, he nuzzled her left breast with his chin. A whimpering gasp broke through Theo’s lips. Even through the fabric of her gown she could feel the heat of him seep through and harden her nipples to painful peaks.

“What do you want to feel?” Alistair asked, his hands stroking higher up her thighs.

“This,” she breathed.

“Just this?”

“No!” she whined, then whimpered when his hands found her backside and massaged.

He moved her away from the edge of the desk.

“Then tell me,” he commanded, his voice undoing her even further.

Theo’s thighs began to tremble as the moisture between her legs intensified. A throbbing had started somewhere low in her pelvis, pulsing with every beat of her heart.

“Kiss me,” she breathed. “Please, Alistair.”

“Here?” He asked, then nipped playfully over her left breast.

Theo whimpered, her mind spinning with the sensation, but she shook her head.

“Here?” He asked, nipping at her right.

“Oh, God,” she breathed, when she felt his teeth catch the fabric of her dress.

He tugged it down gently, using his tongue to free her nipple.

Theo’s mouth opened into a wide O as she experienced such a touch for the first time.

She struggled to keep her eyes open. It sent a spark from the tip of her taut nipple so intense that she felt it even in her fingertips.

It ignited her, made her feel bolder, wanted.

“Alistair, please,” she implored, threading her hands through his thick, dark hair as she looked back down at him. “Kiss me. I want to feel your tongue on mine.”

A rakish grin formed on Alistair’s lips as he hummed with satisfaction.

“There you are,” he praised.

In one swift motion Alistair was off his knees and in his chair, Theo’s dress hiked to her hips as she straddled him and lay against his chest. He captured her throat and held her still as he brought his hungry lips to hers, and they both moaned in pleasure when they finally touched.

Theo’s lashes fluttered as she let herself surrender to the dominant nature of his kiss; reveling in the way his tongue and lips coaxed and guided hers to do as he wanted.

Theo had forgotten everything else. The work needed on the castle. Her anger for Alistair’s distance. Her stalker. It all faded as if it never existed as she let herself get swept up in the pleasure of Alistair’s taste and touch.

So, when his hands caged around her hips and he suddenly broke their kiss with a strangled groan, it shocked her.

“What is it?” She panted, “Did I do something wrong?”

To her surprise, Alistair chuckled as he pulled her back to him, his lips lavishing her neck.

“Nay, little kitten. I just need a break from ye teasing.”

Theo blinked, her mind still all fuzz and liquid. She didn’t understand.

“Teasing? I--I am teasing you?” She ventured.

“Your hips, darling,” he explained. He squeezed them for emphasis and Theo whimpered again.

“They’ve been …” Alistair drew his eyes down, and she followed.

Theo’s cheeks fused with fresh color as she saw the apparent bulge in Alistair’s trousers, nestled perfectly between her inner thighs.

Suddenly she knew what she’d been doing and groaned in embarrassment.

The pulsing between her legs had been growing stronger, more pleasurable, every time she’d brushed herself up against that bulge of his, and she must have been rubbing herself against him without even realizing it.

“I--I’m sorry,” she stammered.

Theo started to move off him, but he stopped her.

“No,” he chuckled, “Dinnae do that. Did ye like it?”

Unable to find her voice, Theo nodded. She wanted to evaporate into thin air from embarrassment.

“Where did it feel good?” He asked, smoothing his thumbs over her hips. “Show me.”

Cheeks burning, fingers trembling, she reached for the spot that now had its own heartbeat. She shivered harder when she brushed her own fingertips over it. Pleasure flittered through Alistair’s gaze as she showed him, and a sound of satisfaction rumbled through his chest.

“Ye have never been touched there before, have ye?” He asked, smoothing his thumbs over her hips again.

Theo shook her head, caught between two adamant walls of pleasure and shame.

“Not even at the Masquerade?” Alistair asked. “Not even as Calypso?”

“Even in my mask I could not find the bravery to do so,” she confessed, “Or the want to allow someone to do. I danced. Flirted.”

Another sound of satisfaction rumbled from Alistair’s chest, and he slid his right hand from her hip to her aching center. A strangled cry left her lips as his thumb smoothed over the small bud and she felt a rush of liquid splash over her inner thighs.

“Lean back,” he instructed. “I willnae let ye fall.”

Trusting him, even in just that moment, Theo obeyed.

She was not surprised at all when her head and shoulders found the solid top of his desk, and let herself be splayed between Alistair’s lap and the piece of furniture.

Once settled, he began to run his left hand slowly up and down her torso; squeezing her breasts, her throat, before spanning down her flat abdomen and then doing it all over again.

“Do ye know what happens when this particular part of ye is touched too much?” He asked, swirling his right thumb again over her pulsing bud.

More pleasure exploded through Theo, and she panted. When she didn’t answer, the swirling motion turned into a hard pinch, and she groaned; caught between pleasure and pain.

“Answer me,” he warned, already soothing the pain away.

“In books,” she answered, her tone breathy and strained. “I have read things in books, but I ... I have never felt it myself.”

“Not even by your own hand?” Alistair asked, his thumb still rubbing small circles.

Theo whimpered, blushed at the thought, and shook her head.

“Mmmm.” Alistair hummed. “I dinnae think ye realize how much that pleases me. Very well, little kitten. Let me show you what happens.”

One hand roving her breasts, the other teasing her pulsing bud, Alistair brought Theo’s body to a trembling mess. Even when she tried to move her hips, or begged him to go faster, Alistair’s hand remained steady and rhythmic, driving her mad until Theo was sure her mind was unforgivably broken.

“Please, please, please,” she whispered over and over again, no longer able to fathom any other words as her body grew closer to shattering.

“There’s my good kitten,” Alistair moaned, “Right where I want you.”

His thumb still swirling over her clitoris, he slid his middle finger slowly between her drenched folds, letting her feel every inch of the invasion until he was buried knuckle deep- and then he flexed his hand.

White hot sparks erupted from behind Theo’s closed eyes as he finally released her from the torturous build, and her mouth dropped open. A sound she did not recognize pulled from her vocal cords as the mounted pleasure from within suddenly released and flooded every single one of her nerve endings.

“Breathe, darling,” Alistair’s deep voice commanded.

As if needing his command, Theo drew in a ragged breath, and for a moment, wondered if she had just fainted.

Her body melted and useless as Alistair drew her away from the desk and enfolded her to his chest; whispering those foreign words yet again as he stroked along her neck and tilted her chin up for his kisses.

Part of her wanted to know what he was saying, but she was still too caught up in the ebbing waves of her release to ask. Instead, she let his hands soothe her as he kissed her lips and traced his tongue along hers.

Pleasure and torment swirled through Alistair’s veins as he held Theo to his chest. He was not sure if they had been relaxing like this for minutes or hours, but either way, he did not want to stop.

He knew he had to. The accounts needed sorted. The mystery of his late predecessor’s work needed to be solved. And sooner rather than later if he wanted to make changes within the next three months. Suddenly, for the first time since arriving in England, Alistair hated his deadline.

He wondered for a moment if he could convince Theo to stay in his lap as he worked.

Perhaps the ability to stroke his hands over her body at his own whim could help him concentrate.

Or at the very least, stop him from growing agitated.

Especially if she would venture under his desk, free his aching manhood from his breeches, and … .

Alistair stopped himself from finishing the fantasy.

He was already pulsing with desire as it was, and to have such thoughts was making it worse.

But that was not his deal with Theo. He’d promised to show her pleasure, not use her for his own pleasure.

And he was, if not anything else, a man of his word.

“Are you awake, little kitten?” Alistair murmured, brushing his lips against hers.

The soft sigh of satisfaction that escaped Theo’s lips was pure pleasure against his ears, and he could not help but kiss her again. Deeper, more demanding, until he felt her stir against him.

“It is time for you to go,” he told her, easing her up into a sitting position.

The mixture of disappointment and confusion in her dazed eyes had him hating his own words. She was rumpled, sleepy, from his ministrations, and the sight of her as such only drove his desire for her to a maddening height.

“What time is it?” She murmured, rubbing her eyes.

It was a good question. Last he’d seen the time it was four. He wrestled his pocket watch from its place and opened it; surprised at what he saw. He’d truly lost hours to her and had not even noticed.

“It is nearly ten,” he stated, snapping the watch shut. “Come, you should be in bed.”

He waited, figuring that Theo would have some retort about him sending her to her room.

To his surprise and satisfaction, however, she only nodded, and climbed off of his lap.

Curious as to how much more he could command her, Alistair rose from his chair too and walked with her to the door.

He stopped her just before she reached it and placed his hand around her throat to guide her eyes to his.

“I want you to go to your room and ring for your maid,” he commanded, his tone firm but gentle. “Order water for a bath and something to eat. I want you to do both before you go to bed.”

He felt Theo shiver under his touch, and those beautiful, still-dazed eyes dilated further at his commands. Pleasure surged through him as she nodded slowly, as if completely under his thrall.

“Say, ‘Yes, Your Grace.’”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Theo obediently replied.

“Very good,” he praised, brushing his lips against hers as a reward.

Need surged through him as he did so and silently grappled with it.

“Now go.” He commanded, “And only come back for your next lesson.”