Page 12 of Bound to the Heartless Duke (Regency Beasts #4)

A s his lips met hers in a soft kiss, Lily felt like she had just been hit by a thousand lightning bolts at the same time. Her heart leaped and started to race.

Magnus pushed his tongue between her lips, and she tasted him. Her head swirled, and she thought she would lose her balance. But she stood still, letting him kiss her deeply.

He drew back a few inches, enough for her to see desire darkening his eyes matching what she knew her eyes would no doubt be evident in hers. He was breathing just as heavily as she was and it amazed her to think he desired her as she did him.

“You can tell me to stop if you want me to,” he murmured in a husky voice that almost had her melting in his arms.

Lily didn’t say a word as he leaned back in and took her lips in another deep kiss. His fingers curled slightly around her neck as he pulled her closer, so she could feel almost every inch of him. His other hand moved to her waist, sending a shiver up her spine.

She could almost hear the thudding of her heart. His stubble grazed her skin, and her knees weakened with the sensation that shot through her.

Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to stop him, even though he had just asked her to. Because she didn’t want him to stop. She even wished he would never stop.

For a second, she tried to think about what was actually happening, even though she was lost in the moment.

She was kissing the Duke of Blackmore! She was wrapped up with the Duke of Blackmore, the same man her brother had lost their house to in a bet, and who could end up seizing the house if they failed to pay off what they owed him.

Yes, she was kissing that same Duke of Blackmore. And she liked kissing him.

But how would she face him when this was over? Was he also worrying about how he would face her?

He pulled her even closer, and she found herself raising her hand to place it on his shoulder. She wanted to touch his face, to feel his stubble and his cleft chin. And she wanted to feel his soft brown hair between her fingers.

But then the thought vanished, leaving only the passion and desire she couldn’t fight.

He tore his lips from her to kiss her throat, pressing her harder against the wall. She struggled to hold back the moan that wanted to escape her lips as she felt his hand sliding up her waist to grab her breast.

She shivered as the image of him taking her to bed flashed through her mind; they couldn’t possibly go that far.

Alas, the image vanished too quickly.

Lily gently grabbed the hand on her breast when he started to squeeze, hoping he would understand what she wanted. He trailed his lips slowly from her neck, over her jawline, back to her lips. Lily thought she would die from ecstasy, but she didn’t.

Then, he grabbed her hand tightly in his, the same hand she was using to hold him back, as if to hold her in place.

She could feel her heart racing faster, and she knew they had to stop soon before they reached the point of no return. But she couldn’t bring herself to stop him, not when he had her hand in his. She couldn’t push him back even if she wanted to.

His lips pressed against hers, and she muttered his name, hoping he would feel it and stop.

“Your Grace,” she whispered, as soon as she felt him drawing back.

Her eyes fluttered open. They felt so heavy, but she managed to keep them open to look up at him.

“Your Grace…”

Her breath caught when their eyes met. She gulped. She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t think of anything to say.

Magnus was breathing heavily, unable to take his eyes off her lips. He looked as though he wanted to kiss her again but was barely keeping himself from doing so.

Lily’s heart was pounding hard, and she began to fear for her ribs. The Duke’s eyes were dark with desire, and she ached to know what he was thinking.

“I should…” she finally managed to murmur. “I should go.”

She swallowed past the hard lump in her throat.

He stayed quiet. Then, he removed his hand from the wall and stood to his full height. He stared into her eyes, making her almost squirm.

“I…” she tried to speak again.

She itched to know what he was thinking but knew if she stayed in his presence any longer, breathing in his delicious scent, she might do something irresponsible like kiss him again.

“Right,” he said, his voice low and husky.

He took a step back, and Lily was finally able to breathe in the air without getting choked by his scent.

“Right,” he said again.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself like she hadn’t just been so close to tumbling with the Duke. She wanted to scurry away, but she couldn’t even move.

What was he thinking? Was he regretting what they had just done? Did he also wish he could turn back time to undo what they had just done?

She was curious, but she couldn’t ask him.

She felt the blood rushing to her face, and she started to turn away.

Why wouldn’t he say something?

On the other hand, she didn’t know if she would be able to handle hearing his voice again without melting. He was looking straight at her, and she could almost feel his eyes on her face.

She cleared her throat, collecting herself.

“Excuse me.” Her voice was low, much lower than she had intended. “Your Grace.”

“Right,” he uttered as she turned to leave.

She couldn’t wait to be in the comfort of her bedroom, where she could finally be alone. She took slow, deliberate steps towards her bedroom door, still feeling his eyes on her back. Once she rounded the corner, she took a deep breath.

Magnus could still taste her on his lips as he returned to his study. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, asking himself what he had been thinking, kissing her like that, where they could have been easily caught.

He wondered how she felt about it. Did she like it, or did she wish she had smacked him across the face, but only held back because of her predicament?

He walked to his desk and leaned against it, trying to push the image of her face, her heavy-lidded eyes, and the taste of her lips out of his mind. For once, he wished she had fought back and knocked some sense into him.

He took a deep breath to fill his lungs and exhaled her scent, but it seemed like it had followed him into the study.

Was she really on a quest to drive him mad?

He took some time to think about what this meant.

How would things be between them, now that they had kissed? How would he face her without reverting to his cold demeanor? What kind of a man would she think he was now? Would she think he was only taking advantage of her while she was emotionally vulnerable?

He clenched his fist, inwardly berating himself for not getting out of that situation when he had the chance. And for telling her to stop him if she wanted to.

But then she hadn’t stopped him. Had she wanted it as much as he did?

He sighed and shook his head. That shouldn’t matter. The fact remained that he shouldn’t have kissed her. He shouldn’t have let the tension between them build up so much that he couldn’t escape it when he had to.

He had declared that all he wanted was to help her find a wealthy husband as soon as possible so she could pay off her brother’s debt.

That was exactly what she had come to him for, and that was what he was going to help her with.

He shouldn’t be entertaining romantic notions, especially not while they were living under the same roof.

He rounded the desk and sat in the chair. Then, he leaned forward and dropped his face into his hands. What was he even thinking?

He wanted to get his thoughts down on paper, so he reached for a sheaf of parchment and a quill.

He started to write a letter to the Duke of Gillingham, even though he had no plans to send it to him.

He did not mention his feelings, of course, and only wrote an update on his life at Medlin Manor so far.

He had the impression that Edwin would read his letter with a smug smile—if he ever got to read it. His friend would tell him that he had told him so and that it hadn’t even taken him long enough to prove him right.

Magnus chuckled at the thought and put down his quill. He leaned back in the chair and let out a long sigh.

He wondered how living at Medlin Manor would be, now that he had shown Lady Lily a fraction of his affection for her—a thing that he had previously worked hard to hide. He wondered how she would act around him from now on.

He laced his fingers together and took a deep breath. Now, he would just have to wait and watch.