Page 40 of Dukes All Night Long

Fin

H e had to be mad. He’d lost his damn mind agreeing to meet her.

Only minutes ago, Jenny’s brother had reluctantly agreed to their engagement, and here he was, sneaking into the garden like a lovesick fool, risking being caught by the very man that could keep Jenny from him.

But Fin couldn’t refuse her—especially not when she looked at him like that, when the taste of her still lingered on his lips.

And her brother did order him to keep her happy…

although he doubted this was quite what the viscount had in mind.

But he would risk everything if it brought her a moment’s happiness.

Fin paced in the shadows, glancing toward the house as he waited. He should leave. Call on her tomorrow with a special license in hand.

But he didn’t.

When Jenny finally emerged, he momentarily forgot how to breathe. The perfect woman before him would be his wife.

Her golden hair spilled around her shoulders, her robe loose over a satin night rail that clung to her curves in the moonlight. And she looked like sin draped in moonlight.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered as she reached him. Though he made no move to leave. His feet had completely stopped working, along with his good sense.

Jenny slipped into his arms, pressing her body against his. “I need you, Fin.”

He held her close, lips brushing her temple. “We’ll have our whole lives for this. If your brother catches me here, I’ll be marrying you from the grave.”

“Then we won’t get caught,” she said with a wicked smile, kissing him before pulling him toward the steps. She led him down into the shadows and toward a narrow side entrance.

He followed her through the dark hallway, trying to ignore how aroused he already was.

Her hand stayed wrapped around his, grounding him.

Tempting him. His pulse quickened with each step, equal parts desire and trepidation warring within him.

No, that was a lie. Desire certainly weighed heavier.

He should have protested, but he blamed the hard length straining against his breeches for pushing aside all reason.

The servant’s staircase creaked beneath their weight.

Fin held his breath with every step, nerves and anticipation tangling at the certainty they were only moments away from being caught.

She led him through the sleeping house with the confidence of a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. And that she would get it.

A few moments later, she opened a chamber door and pulled him inside. Moonlight spilled through the curtains, casting her in silver. She closed the door behind them with a soft click, her fingers immediately finding the key to turn in the lock.

“Jenny—” he began, voice raw with restraint. “We don’t have to—”

She silenced him with a finger to his lips, her eyes full of fire. He fought every urge not to suck the tip.

“I’m tired of waiting,” she whispered, untying her robe. It fell open, revealing the soft curves beneath the thin night rail. “Haven’t we lost enough time already?”

His heart pounded. “I have dreamed of you. Longed for you. And I swear to you, I haven’t touched another since the night we met. But I’ll wait another year if it means I shall have forever with you.”

“We’re to be married, Fin,” she said, stepping into his arms. “Waiting hardly matters, and I want you now. I wanted you a year ago.”

That was the end of his restraint. The last pieces of his resolve crumbled when she kissed him, her mouth warm and eager against his.

Fin gripped her waist, desire coursing through his veins like fire. “You are going to be the death of me,” he murmured against her lips as he deepened the kiss.

Jenny responded with equal fervor, her fingers working at the buttons of his waistcoat.

He smiled against her lips, marveling at her surprising skill. “This is your first time, is it not?” he asked with a breathless laugh.

“Would that matter?” she challenged, pushing his coat off of his shoulders.

“No,” he said, honestly. “But perhaps I am a greedy man where you are concerned.”

She laughed as her fingers found the buttons of his shirts. “I assure you I am equally greedy where you are concerned. And I’ve sisters and friends who married for love. I’ve heard plenty. I am not ignorant of such matters.”

He let her undress him, sliding his hands beneath the night rail to cup her breasts, thumbing her tight nipples until she gasped. “And what exactly have you learned?”

Jenny’s eyes sparkled with mischief in the moonlight. “That a woman’s pleasure matters just as much as a man’s.” Her fingers traced the planes of his chest. “And there are many ways to achieve it.”

Fin growled and kissed her again, walking her backward toward the bed. “And I intend to show you every one of them.”

Her legs hit the edge of the mattress. Fin paused, framing her face. “Are you certain, my love? Once we begin, I don’t think I shall have the strength to stop.”

He did, and he would. But he certainly wouldn’t want to.

Jenny answered by lifting her night rail over her head and letting it fall to the floor. Fin’s breath caught as he drank in the sight of her—her creamy skin bathed in silver moonlight, the gentle curves of her breasts, the narrow waist that flared to generous hips. She was perfection.

“You are exquisite,” he breathed, lowering his mouth to the curve of her neck. “And you are mine.”

Jenny shivered beneath his touch, tilting her head to the side to give him better access. “I always have been.”

Fin stepped back just enough to rid himself of his remaining clothing. Then he stood naked before her. She licked her lips when her gaze traveled down his body, stopping on his hardened length.

She reached for his cock, but he knew he would hardly last to give her what she wanted.

He gripped her hips and tossed her on the bed instead.

Crawling onto the bed to join her, he positioned her thighs over his shoulders, wasting no time and hungrily running his tongue along the seam of her opening.

“What are you—” Jenny’s question dissolved into a gasp as he sucked her pearl into his mouth, massaging it with his tongue.

Fin smirked, circling her nub with a finger. “So you don’t know as much as you claimed.”

“Then teach me,” she moaned, tangling her fingers in his hair.

He needed no further invitation. Sliding a finger between her folds, he found her slick entrance. His cock throbbed at the thought of burying himself inside her, imagining how she would feel wrapped around his length.

He pushed one finger in, groaning at the tight heat that clenched around him. Jenny’s back arched, a strangled cry escaping her lips as her fingers tightened in his hair.

“Shhh,” he warned. “We mustn’t wake the house.”

She bit her lip and nodded. He resumed his slow rhythm, curling his finger inside her while his mouth worked her pearl, sucking the sensitive flesh. When he added a second finger, stretching her, her breath hitched. Fin could feel her body clenching tighter, trembling on the edge of her release.

“Look at me,” he commanded softly, curling his fingers inside her.

Her eyes fluttered open, glazed with desire. What he saw there—her trust, vulnerability, and love—nearly undid him.

“That’s it,” he murmured against her thigh, pressing kisses along her trembling skin. Her hips moved against his hand, seeking more friction as she approached her orgasm. “Come for me so I can truly make you mine.”

Her body tensed and trembled when her hand shot to cover her mouth to muffle her moans. Her release coating his fingers as he drew out her pleasure until she gripped him again, urging him on top of her.

Fin kissed his way along her stomach, then her breasts. He sucked one of her budded nipples into his mouth, then gave the same affection to the other, before trailing his lips along her collarbone until he reached her mouth.

He kissed her like a vow, pouring everything into it: his desire, his devotion, and a year’s worth of longing. Willing her to feel that she would be loved and cherished for all of their days.

“Fin,” she whimpered against his lips. “Please.”

Positioning himself between her thighs, he pressed the tip of his cock to her entrance. Despite his desperate need to bury himself inside her, he paused, searching her face.

“I love you,” he whispered. “Will you marry me?”

She blinked up at him, eyeing him curiously. “Are you mad? We’ve already agreed.”

“Yes,” he said with a smile. “But I never formally asked. You deserve the choice.”

She cupped his face, her eyes shining with all the love that mirrored his own. “Yes. I’ll always choose you.”

That was all he needed.

Unable to wait any longer, he entered her slowly, inch by inch, groaning at the impossibly tight grip of her body around his.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he groaned, fighting the urge to thrust all the way inside.

Jenny did as he instructed, wrapping her arms around his neck as well, holding him close. “I love you.”

Fin pushed the rest of the way inside of her, momentarily losing his breath from the intensity of their joining. He stilled, giving her time to adjust. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she breathed, moving her hips against his.

Fin met her movement, slowly at first, finding a rhythm that made her whimper with pleasure.

Her nails dug into his shoulders as she clung to him, her breathing growing more ragged with each thrust. The feeling of her surrounding him, her body accepting him, was more exquisite than anything he had ever experienced.

“You feel so perfect,” he murmured against her ear, increasing his pace. “Like you were made for me.”

Jenny’s lips found his neck, her warm, soft lips pressing kisses on his skin. “Because I was,” she whispered, her voice a mixture of desire and certainty.

He shifted his angle. She gasped, shuddering as he hit the spot that made her quake. Her hips rose to meet him, demanding more. Begging for him to mark her as his.

“More,” Jenny moaned, her hips rising to meet his. “Harder, Fin.”

A primal growl escaped his throat as he increased his pace, thrusting deeper, faster, chasing the edge with her. Her fingers bit into his skin and he captured her mouth with his to muffle her moans.

He felt her core clench around him as her breathing became frenzied. “Yes,” he growled, thrusting into her again.

She came undone, pulsing around him from her climax. “Fin,” she moaned, gripping him tighter as she bucked beneath him.

The sensation sent him over the edge, and he thrust into her a last time, pulsing inside of her as he released everything he had, taking her lips in a deep kiss until the last waves of his own orgasm faded.

He pulled back just enough to look at her in the moonlight. Her cheeks were flushed, lips swollen, eyes dreamy and sated.

“Now you have to marry me,” he teased.

Jenny laughed, her fingers tracing his jaw. “Yes, because you belong to me now.”

Indeed. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.