Page 39 of I Never Forget a Duke (The Night Fire Club #1)

But then he did. He licked her between her legs and moaned like he was eating the most delicious feast. And… it felt amazing. His tongue was rough against her, but he applied a kind of pressure that made her squirm. Then it brushed right over—

“Oh,” she said.

He lifted his head. “Oh?”

“I didn’t know it would feel that way. But it…it was…do it again.”

He chuckled softly and bent to kiss her between her legs again. His tongue pressed against a spot that felt raw and exposed but also like it was the place his tongue belonged. Suddenly her body bowed off the bed and she felt like she was hurtling toward something.

“More…” she said, writhing against his mouth.

He touched her then, sliding fingers inside her, filling her, making her feel everything. She threw her head back and surrendered to it.

She slowly floated back into her body as Hugh crawled back up to lay beside her. He kissed her hard and she could taste herself on him, but was not put off by it at all. She put her arms around his shoulders and realized that he was hard against her leg.

She put her hands on either side of his face and lifted his head so that she could look directly into his eyes. He looked at her with such affection she was nearly undone by it. She could feel him in her chest, in her soul, and she knew that she did indeed love him.

“I love you,” she said softly.

He smiled. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Tell me again.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Hugh, I must ask something of you.”

“Anything, my love. I would give you anything.”

“I want you to… spend inside me. I want for us to… that is… I want a baby, Hugh. I’ve wanted a child for so long. And now that we’re married, I can have one. Is that… all right?”

*

Was it all right? Of course it was; the sole purpose of today’s ceremony was so that any children they had would be legitimate heirs.

But then he understood what she was really asking him. That they would have children was a given, considering that the main purpose of dukes and duchesses was to make more dukes and duchesses.

But she wanted to be a mother. She’d likely been thinking about having children since the opportunity had been denied her when her fiancé had died. She wanted to care for their children, to love them, and she was asking him if he would do the same.

He hadn’t given it much thought. He liked children, in theory, although he hadn’t spent much time around them.

And what Adele was asking him now was to have a child because they wanted one, not because they felt an obligation.

What would that be like? He could almost picture a baby rocking in a cradle near their bed. He could picture a little boy running around Adele’s feet while she laughed at his antics. He could picture her holding their child if he scraped his knees or had a bad dream.

Yes. He wanted that. He wanted all of it. He wouldn’t be distant the way his own father had been. He would love his wife, worship her forever, and love their children. It was almost like he could see his whole life before him then, and it was perfect. How had he gotten so fortunate?

He placed a hand on her belly and imagined how her body might change, what she might look like when she was swelling with their child.

He kissed her.

“That is all right,” he said softly. “I want that.”

She smiled. “Good.” She parted her legs.

She was still pliant, still a little boneless from her orgasm, but she put her arms around him and hugged him close.

He kissed her, feeling overwhelmed with love all over again.

He took her into his arms as the press of her skin against his brought back his arousal.

He touched her breasts, her waist, her hips, and kissed her body wherever he could reach her.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered in his ear.

He didn’t need any more invitation than that. He rested his hips between her legs and kissed her again. Then he guided himself forward and slid inside her slowly. She gasped then clung onto him as if willing him to push forward harder.

She was hot and slick and tight and perfect, and he moved in her as he tried to show her how much he loved her, because his body was too overwhelmed to speak.

She gasped and moaned beneath him and kissed his chin, his cheeks, his lips.

As a lover, she was still a little unsure and tentative, but she would be a quick study and they’d have the rest of their lives to do this again and learn new things from each other.

It didn’t take long for the cliff to rush toward him. He pressed his thumb against the little button between her legs and rubbed in a way he’d already learned would make her fly apart, and she rewarded him by arching her back as her eyes rolled back into her head in ecstasy.

He was not far behind her. He held her close and thrust forward one last time before spilling inside her.

They kissed long and languorously afterward, lazily tasting each other. Adele looked like she might drift off to sleep, but then her stomach grumbled.

“Oh, all that food you brought up must be cold now.”

He laughed. “I’m sure it’s still good. Shall we eat?”

“Yes, please.”

They fed each other bits of the feast on the tray, including a roast goose, some sliced beef, a deliciously tart cheese, boiled potatoes, and a variety of other food that was suddenly the second most delicious thing he’d ever tasted—after Adele.

She made a face any time he fed her anything, as if she agreed.

When they’d finished and then done an admirable job of licking any wayward food from each other, Adele lay back on the pillows, still completely naked under the bright light of his bedside lamp, and smiled at him.

“I know you don’t love attention,” Hugh said, “but I hope today was not too much of an ordeal for you.”

“It was worth it.”

“Was it?”

“Yes. If all of our nights are like this one, then I think we shall have a very happy life together.”

He couldn’t help but smile back. “I agree, although I suspect not everything will be smooth sailing.” He stood and carried the tray over near the door.

Then he lifted the covers on the bed and motioned for Adele to get under them.

He slid into the bed beside her. “You seem to be winning my mother over, at least.”

“She was very kind to me at the wedding breakfast.”

“That’s good. I just mean, well, there are financial and legal matters and things that I’m sure will distract me in the coming weeks and I—”

Adele pressed a finger to his lips. “We do not need to discuss them now, do we?”

“No. Although also, one thing in the back of my mind, we still do not know who hit me over the head.”

That snagged her attention. Her eyes snapped open. “Do you think he will try again?”

“I have no earthly idea, but it’s something I’ve worried about since coming home. The guard is that fellow in the brown coat usually skulking about in the side yard.”

“Oh. Indeed? That is a relief, I must say.”

“My point is, I believe we are safe here. It’s just a concern I have.”

“Well, if we are safe here, then let’s forget all about it tonight.” Adele yawned. “I am quite tired.”

“Sleep, my love. We can talk more tomorrow.”

“I don’t have to sneak out or anything, do I? I belong in this bed with you now that I am your wife.”

He smiled at her. “Yes. And I quite like the sound of that. My wife.”

“My husband.”

He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest.

“Sleep, my Adele.”