Page 9 of A Duke Of Her Own

Another never-before-felt delicate tendril of heat spun through Francie’s body, and her heart shuddered in warning. A helpless feeling of desire coursed through her body, and she stared at him helplessly. He kissed the corner of her mouth, and his rousing scent invaded her lungs. Unfamiliar emotions twisted through Francie, and she pressed a hand against the cool glass of the windows. She was sharply aware of him in a manner she had never felt before.

You trust me … you rely on me …

The truth of his words had petrified her. Francie never wanted to be vulnerable with another man again, especially one who provoked new and unexplored feelings. She forced another breath into her lungs. Alexander’s silver eyes were exceptionally focused and burned with passion as he stared at her.

There was a shocking surety in his gaze, and her heart started beating more unevenly.

He wants me. How did I not see this desire before?Or had she not wanted to see it?

Humor and tenderness darkened his silver eyes. “I will not let you return to your cottage tonight. Stay with me, and I will keep you warm while the storm rages outside.”

A heady feeling rushed through her, a hot and delicious tingle low down in her body. Her throat tight, she whispered, “Yes.”

He cupped her chin and lifted her face up to his regard. “Why do you still look scared?”

Oddly, she could not bear lying to him, so she confessed, “Because I realized how much I have wanted you, and that deep in my heart I wanted this one stolen moment to be withyou… someone I foolishly trust though I know I should not.”

A rough, low, and hungry sound spilled from him. The warm, strong hands cupping her cheeks trembled. “I’ll prove to you that you can trust me without fear, Francie.”

She wanted this one night to fill all the places that had longed for so many things but had remained unfulfilled. Then, the warm memory of it will keep her contented for many years to come.

Please … let this moment forever live within my heart.

Alexander lowered his head slightly and pressed his mouth to hers. Her stomach fluttered with nerves, but her heart ached with passionate desire. A nip at her lower lip, then she parted her lips in a soft moan of complete surrender, and his tongue slipped into the depths of her mouth. A small noise of shock and pleasure broke from her throat.

This kiss felt indecent … lascivious … yet so perfect. Francie accepted the sweet carnal glide of his tongue against hers. She had been kissed several times before by the gentleman she had eloped with to marry and only met with heartbreak. Francie thought desire had felt warm and pleasant with a heady feeling of anticipating the unknown.

How wrong I have been.

Alexander tastes like a summer storm and dark passion.Her dazed thoughts burned away under the lash of desire. He kissed her with scorching expertise, sucking on her tongue before releasing her mouth from his provocative assault. His lips seared a path down her neck and her shoulders. She arched her neck, allowing him to suck at the skin right above her pounding pulse. Alexander stepped away from her, and she held his gaze. His cheekbones were flushed, and the primal look in his eyes had her heart thumping. Francie felt weak with longing for this man.

He stooped and reached under her dress. She pressed the flat of her palms against the cool windows as if the feel of the glass would center her against the sensations coursing through her veins.

Can he hear my heartbeat?

She bit her lower lip harder, moaning softly at the decadent heat his fingers evoked as they trailed up her legs to her shin and higher to unpin her garters. He rolled down her stockings, slowly and sensually, and tugged them from her feet. Her knee-length drawers were removed next and tossed to the side. Alexander lifted one of her feet and kissed the spot right behind her knee. Francie was painfully aware of their wanton pose against the windows. Her body blushed brightly when he pushed her dress upward and kissed her quivering belly. He nudged her legs open, dragged his mouth down and kissed her sex. Her body responded violently with a shudder of alarmed delight.

Is this possible?

How wicked it felt … that slow, hot glide of his tongue over her folds. Unbearable heat twisted low in her belly, and the very place he lickedached. His teeth scraped against that secret spot before he tenderly sucked it. Francie cried out, pressing her back against the glass as if to escape the piercing sensations in her clitoris. His fiendishly clever tongue pleasured her until she convulsed, waves of pleasure tearing her body apart.

Goodness gracious. I never knew it would be like this …

He did not let up his carnal ministrations, skimming his fingers up her thighs to touch the intimate core of her before slipping that finger deep inside. It felt strange yet so wonderful. He moved that finger, and something twisted low in her belly. A second finger joined the first, stretching her almost painfully. Francie gasped, then shivered under the lash of heat. His mouth moved over her clitoris in tandem with his fingers, wreaking delightful havoc in her body.

“Alexander,” she gasped, her entire body shaking.

The pleasure was too much. The sensations burst over her—bliss so intense that she wildly cried out. Francie distantly became aware he stood and removed her dress and chemise. They fell away from her body. He lifted her into his arms; she gripped his shoulders and buried her blushing face against his throat as he walked with her a few paces to the next room. Alexander carried her to the bed flush against the corner wall opposite the low burning fireplace. It was a little darker there, but she could see the possessive glint in his beautiful eyes and feel the thrum of lust surrounding her like a caged storm waiting to be unleashed.

He set her down gently in the center of the bed, then retreated to remove his clothes. She stared at him with increasing wonder as he took off each article. His body was lean but corded with such beautiful muscles. His manhood appeared flushed and thick, stirring uncertainty they would fit together comfortably.

Alexander padded over, and she reached for him as he came onto the bed, his powerful body coming down on hers. He braced his weight on an elbow and, with the other hand, cupped her cheek, kissing her with passionate tenderness.

She gripped his shoulders, and instincts made her hitch her legs around his thighs, returning his kiss with breathless fervor. His lips released hers and seared a sensual path down her neck, over her breast, to suck her aching nipple into his mouth. Fancie cried out at the heated sensation. Instinctively, her body arched more to him. Alexander reached between them, and a hard pressure entered where the ache of want was most terrible. Unbearably aroused, she clasped his neck, meeting his mouth for a kiss that felt wild and desperate. His hips pushed, and her body was wet and yielding to his slow but deep invasion.

She pulled her mouth from his, gasping at the sharp pain.

“I am sorry,” he murmured against her mouth, kissing and distracting her from the awful sting. “The pain will soon pass.”