Page 12 of His Forbidden Duchess (Forbidden Lords #3)

Chapter Twelve

“ A re you quite sure about this, My Lady?” her lady’s maid asked as they climbed into the carriage the following night.

“Quite,” Eloise replied as they began their drive to Felix’s townhouse.

The truth was she was not at all sure. In fact, she had changed her mind approximately one thousand times that afternoon alone. A private dance lesson with Felix? It excited her in ways she had never known, her body responding as if he were calling to her. It also terrified her because she knew, deep down, what she truly wished would happen.

I hope he will kiss me. Caress me. Take me, and ruin me.

Despite her lustful desires, Eloise knew that she could not allow that to happen. If she brought shame upon her family and her reputation, it would not help her resolve her family’s debt problems. And how would Jeremy react once he found out about her indiscretion? Eloise shuddered to think of the consequences.

It is all conjecture at this point. The Duke has little interest in a woman like me.

“And you will be quite safe?” Margaret questioned. “I could never live with myself if something happened to you while I was supposed to be chaperoning, My Lady.”

Eloise tutted. “It is only Felix, for goodness’ sake. He has been a friend of the family since before I was born.”

“A known rake for just as long, I would venture,” Margaret added.

“Yes, well.” Eloise straightened up and stared out of the window. “The less said about that, the better. I am doing this for my family’s sake, Margaret. Do not ever forget that.”

In the darkness of night, Felix’s Mayfair townhouse took on a shadowy intimidating air.

Eloise slowly climbed out of the carriage, her nerves quite on edge.

“This way, My Lady,” the coachman said, clearly having been personally instructed beforehand by Felix.

He led them down a tight alleyway beside the house, past the majestic black front door, and over to a small side entrance that was obviously used by the servants.

Eloise felt a flash of shame. If sneaking around in the dead of night was not bad enough, she had now been lowered to entering through the servants’ doorway as though she was some harlot he had hired for a night of pleasure.

She let the thought linger as she stepped over the threshold. The humiliation of being brought down a level or two was oddly titillating. She was shocked when she realized that she had begun fantasizing about serving Felix as a maid would.

“This way,” the coachman said, continuing through the house. “You may wait here, Miss Margaret.”

The lady’s maid curtsied and remained in the kitchen. Eloise glanced back at her, fear and excitement blending together.

The further they walked into the bowels of the house, the more excited Eloise became.

No one but Felix knows I am here. I can be anyone I want and do anything I desire.

Felix was waiting for her in a parlor that had been cleared of its furniture. He languished on the one remaining armchair in the corner, swirling a glass of brandy in his hand. His jacket was off, his cravat discarded, and his shirt had been opened to reveal a patch of his muscled chest.

Eloise licked her lips, unable to pull her eyes away.

Felix noticed her gaze and chuckled. “Good evening, Eloise. I see you approve of my attire this evening.”

Her eyes jerked up to meet his, and her cheeks flushed as they always infuriatingly seemed to do in his presence.

“Actually,” she snapped back, “I was merely surprised to see you in such a state of undress, given that you had expected to receive guests.”

He snorted, took a swill of his brandy, then looked at her again. “We are dancing, Eloise, not dining. Besides, I rather like seeing that flash of something in your eyes… is it shock, Eloise? Or desire?”

Desire .

She forced herself to roll her eyes, and she shrugged off her cloak. “Where should I put this? You do not even have a butler to attend to your guests. The rumors about you are far from the truth which is apparently one hundred times worse.”

Again, Felix snorted, but he got out of his seat and took her cloak from her. “You snuck in the servants’ entrance in the middle of the night with the desire that no one knows you are here, and yet you want service?”

“Can we just get on with this, please? As I made perfectly clear to you, I am in somewhat of a rush. If I do not secure this…”

“Yes, yes,” he replied, not allowing her to finish.

He draped the cloak over the back of the chair then placed his now almost empty brandy glass on a small side table.

“Now,” he said, his arms wide open. “Let us dance.”

He stood before her, the epitome of the perfect man. The muscles of his shapely arms were barely visible through the thin fabric of his shirt. Soft, curly chest hair sprung invitingly from the deeply cut opening of his shirt where he had undone its buttons.

Eloise wanted so badly to fall into his arms, to allow him to take her away. Instead, she stepped up to him coldly.

“What dance shall we do?” she asked, pushing every emotion away, refusing to yield.

“Why, the waltz, of course.”

Eloise gasped.

“Do not behave coyly,” Felix replied. “You know what this dance is about, and it is this dance that will help you win over Mortcombe if you are still insistent upon winning him over.”

“I am.” She stepped into his arms but maintained a safe distance between their bodies.

“Don’t slouch.”

She straightened up at his words, obeying his command as if she was born to do so.

“Good girl. Now, arch your back here.”

Her breath caught as he placed his hand on her lower back. She did as she was told, arching as far as was comfortable.

Felix glanced down at her body with the self-satisfied smirk that she loved to hate.

“Yes, that is it. Very pleasant indeed.” He returned his gaze to her reddening face. “Chin up. Smile. Look at me like I showed you before. As if I am the only man in the world.”

Eloise swallowed. He was, in that moment, the only man in the world, and though he was making her feel as if she was on display, she found herself wanting to exhibit herself and become a spectacle solely for his eyes and his pleasure.

What is wrong with me? Have I gone mad?

It was Felix, for goodness’ sake! It was Felix, her brother’s best friend. Felix, the boy who had grown into a rake who could charm even the coldest of women. She glanced again at his exposed chest and wondered what it would be like to kiss him there.

No, Eloise! Stop it!

“Why are you standing so far away?” Felix asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“I am standing at a distance that is proper,” she replied haughtily, trying to hide her lascivious thoughts.

With one arm around her waist, he pulled her forward. She yelped and stumbled, landing with her arm against his chest. She looked up into his mischievous eyes, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

“You are as stiff as a log, Eloise. You need to loosen up a little.”

Eloise remained against him for longer than was strictly necessary, inhaling his unique scent of brandy, cigar smoke and sweat.

“Shall we try again?” he whispered, his hot breath on her ear.

She nodded quickly and straightened up, not daring to look at him. They began to dance, but they had barely taken five steps before Felix stopped again.

“You are still too stiff,” he insisted. “You need to be more present in your body than your mind.”

Eloise pouted as she looked up at him, the heat from his hand on her waist sending deep shivers through her entire body.

“I like being in my mind,” she replied.

“Of course.” Felix leaned in so that his cheek brushed against hers, and he whispered into her ear. “But you also have every right to experience the pleasures of the body.”

Eloise’s eyes widened. If he honestly thought such a comment would cause her to loosen up, he was greatly mistaken. Her body stiffened further as she tried to resist the urge to give in.

Felix laughed, seeming to enjoy her reaction. “You can experience pleasures on your own, you know?”

“That’s hardly?—”

“Ah-ah,” Felix said, shaking his head to stop her from speaking. “You are now an adult, and you know the heat that burns within you. It must surely drive you to distraction at times.”

More often than you know.

She had tried to pleasure herself in the past, but it had always been parceled with too much shame. She had always worried what her future husband would think. Would he know? Would he somehow be able to tell that she had been so lustful and improper?

“You can quench that thirst whenever you like,” he said in a low growl, “if only you explore your own body a bit.”

To her shame, Eloise blushed again, and she looked away because meeting his eyes had become altogether too much for her.

Felix bit his lip. “You look so pretty when you blush for me.”

Eloise turned back, meeting his eyes. They paused, caught in the moment, and Eloise held her breath.

Felix thrust his hand into her hair and pushed his lips against hers, unable to wait any longer.

Eloise responded in a rush, her body doing everything he had taught her but without forethought. It came so naturally with Felix.

She arched her back, pushing her hips towards his, and kissed him as fervently as she had so often in her dreams.

Felix’s hands roved over her back and her buttocks, grabbing her body and pulling her into his. He growled into her mouth, and she responded with a mewl she could not control.

She pushed herself further into him, giving herself to him, silently pleading with him as his lips made their way from her mouth to her neck, kissing and nibbling. Eloise tilted her head, allowing him access as her body shuddered in response.

“Yes,” Felix murmured into her ear. “That is my good girl. Just how I like it.”

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to appreciate the moment as her own hands moved across his body, down the sides of his ribs and waist and across his hips. The back of her hand brushed across the front of his tightening trousers and shocked them both.

Eloise jumped back with a gasp as Felix threw her a surprised but impressed grin.

Heat rose in her, shame replacing her passion, and she looked away.

“I… I…”

“It is entirely all right, Eloise.” he whispered.

Shaking her head rapidly she darted forward, grabbed her cloak, and ran from the room.

Thoughts of Eloise and that kiss plagued Felix for the entire next day, so much so that he found it impossible to concentrate on anything. He stared down at the ledger, quite unable to remember what figures he had intended to input. He would ask the chamberlain later.

He put down the quill and stared into the fireplace. Like a fiery mirage, he could see her wavy likeness in the licks of the flames and feel her with him again.

He’d intended to kiss her from the moment he had invited her, even if he hadn’t quite known it himself.

What he hadn’t expected was quite how passionate their kiss would become. He’d only meant to tease and taste her, to possess another memory of her that he could amuse himself with once she married that buffoon, Mortcombe.

When she had pressed her body against his, the excitement that had been asleep in his soul had immediately reawakened. They had barely begun to dance when he’d felt the tightening in his groin. It had been a long time since a woman could elicit such a potent response from him.

Yet, Eloise possessed that magic.

What have you done to enchant me so?” he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he gazed at the hearth.

“Your Grace?” the footman said from behind. “Is there something I can fetch for you?”

Felix startled, turned, and shook his head. “No, George. I was thinking aloud. Nothing of importance. You may take the rest of the day off if you wish.”

The footman’s eyes widened. “The day off, Your Grace?”

Felix waved him away. “Yes. Enjoy yourself. Leave me in peace.”

“Very well, Your Grace.” George dashed out of the room before Felix could change his mind.

Not that Felix would. He needed some privacy to allow his thoughts to wander.

He lay back in his chair and thought of his beautiful Eloise and the spell she had cast upon him.

Once she returned home, Eloise had barely slept. In fact, she had hardly done much of anything. It was already afternoon, but her body had still not recovered from the excitement of the previous night. Her skin felt alive and was sensitive to the lightest touch. The brush of fabric made her shiver. The knot in her stomach was begging to be unwound. Her moist thighs whimpered for more.

She had informed her mother that she had a headache and found herself lying in bed when it was barely four o’clock. It was true in a way. There was tension in her body. It was just a little lower than her head.

She lay under the sheets and stared up at the ceiling, allowing the events of the previous night to flood through her mind. She vividly recalled the taste of his lips, the feel of his fingers in her hair, and the way she had boldly brushed against his manhood, feeling the tightness there and wanting more.

“Oh, Felix,” she whispered longingly.

She thought of things he had said about pleasuring herself. Of quenching her thirst by exploring her body. Eloise recalled all the previous times she had tried and failed because she had refused to give herself permission. But she had permission now, didn’t she? Felix had given her the permission she’d needed.

Slowly, her hand crawled beneath the bed sheets to inch up her nightgown. Though the sensation pleased her, it was not as strong or as intense as it had been the night before.

She closed her eyes and pictured him as she pressed her finger against herself and parted her moist folds.

“Oh,” she sighed, her index finger circling the nub of her most private parts. “Oh, Felix.”

There was no denying that it felt good. Eloise once again felt the titillating humiliation she had experienced the previous night, imagining Felix imagining her. The thought excited her, and her finger circled her nub with increasing speed to keep up with her rapid breathing and heartbeat.

She imagined him standing over her and watching her, directing her, telling her where to put her fingers next, always with that self-satisfied, smug grin on his face. The one she loved to hate.

Eloise arched her head back into the pillow, willing erotic images of Felix to come forward and add to her arousal, but they were just outside of her grasp. She craved to relive the intensity she had experienced with him. She wanted to be enveloped by the scent of him. By his body.

Felix will never want me as anything more than a plaything.

As the unwelcome thought appeared in her head, her desire melted away. It was no longer a sensual, permissible exploration but a dirty act suggested to her by a known rake.

What would her future husband think if he ever discovered her shameful behavior?

Eloise rolled onto her side, tucked her hands beneath the pillow, and relinquished herself to an evening of self-pity.