Page 19 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride (Duchesses of Convenience #7)

Chapter Nineteen

M agnus woke covered in a cold sweat that he could feel seeping through the sheets. His body ran hot, shaking uncontrollably, and his chest hurt from how ragged his breathing was.

Blast! Not again...

It was a nightmare that had woken him. His second one this week. As was always the case, he could not remember them fully, a fact that he was glad for. But he could feel them, buried deep inside his subconscious, the fear that they provoked like a specter perched upon his shoulder, watching him always, refusing to leave him so he might never feel truly safe.

He hated that he was plagued by these nightmares. That even now, a man of thirty and three, there were times still when he worried going to bed as if he could sense the nights they would come for him. Worse too that there was nothing he could do to stop them.

Lying on his back, staring at the dark ceiling, he shifted uncomfortably, unable to settle himself back down. His heart still raced. His breathing still raged. And there was something else... a feeling on the back of his neck... that sense that he was not alone --

A creak from across the room had him sitting up suddenly.

The room was too dark to properly make out, but he noticed immediately that his door was open and through the shadows, behind his dresser, he saw movement.

“Hello...?” he said with hesitation, for a moment wondering if he was still trapped in his nightmare. “Who goes there? Show yourself!”

His eyes adjusted to the darkness just in time so see a body skulk from behind the dresser and into the room. The moment he saw who it was, he sagged in his bed, caught between relief and anger, while unsure how exactly he should react.

“Diana,” he sighed. “What on earth are you doing in here?”

“I am so sorry,” she said quickly, standing back and nearer the dresser. “I did not mean it. I...” She was shaking, no doubt expecting anger. “I was awake, and I heard... I heard noises coming from your room. I was worried.”

“Noises?”

“You were talking to yourself,” she said warily. “You sounded...” She paused again and through the darkness he could see just how worried she was. “You sounded afraid. I did not hear what you said,” she said quickly. “Only that something was wrong.”

Magnus winced, embarrassment flooding him. He could only imagine what he had said during his nightmare, knowing full well it was nothing he wanted repeated back to him. Knowing also it was nothing he wished for his wife to hear.

“I’ll go,” Diana said, and started to leave.

He almost let her, too. Hating that she had seen him in this state. Hating that she likely thought of him now as a weak and pitiful thing. Best that he let her go and then forget this sordid venture ever occurred.

Only, it was as she turned away that Magnus was struck by something else... a feeling he’d never had before... a desire, he knew, to reach out and explain himself. He tried to reason that he had to justify what she had seen, as if that might make it better somehow. Although he also suspected there was more to it than that.

Was he not the one who had told her that he would try harder? Did he not owe her that, at least? And after snubbing her where the Truscott Ball was concerned, perhaps this here was a means to set themselves back on an even setting.

“Wait,” he said softly, half hoping she might not hear. “Do not go.”

She stopped short and turned around, but she did not speak. Nor did she go to him.

“What you heard just now...” He hesitated, his heart still thumping painfully, now for a different reason. “It is not what you think.”

“I do not presume to know what I heard.”

He chuckled at that, appreciating that she was at least trying not to judge him.

Magnus thus shuffled up in bed so that he was sitting. If he had his head about him, he might have felt more self-conscious about the fact that he wore no pants, only a nightshirt, soaked through with sweat. But that was the least of his concerns.

“I...” He stopped when he saw her still standing halfway across the room. “You can come closer, if you wish. I will not bite.”

Through the darkness, he saw her smile and roll her eyes. “Well, only if you promise not to.” She approached the bed cautiously, lingered by the end, and then say down by where his feet were tucked under the blankets.

“I suppose telling you that what you just heard was a nightmare, won’t come as some shocking revelation, will it?” he chuckled bitterly.

“I guessed as much.”

“I cannot explain them,” he admitted. Even in the darkness, barely able to see her face, he could not look at her directly. And it did not help that her scent was intoxicating, reminding him fully of who he was speaking with. “But I have experienced them ever since I was a young lad.”

“Oh, that is...” She paused. “And you have them often?”

“Twice a week,” he said. “Although it has felt like they have been more lately. Ever since Victor passed.”

“Is there a connection?”

“Likely,” he sighed. “My hope is that in time they will rescind. Likely, I am just feeling guilt over his death, is all. Really, it is nothing to concern yourself with.”

He could see her nod her understanding. “That is good. I am glad to hear it.” Another pause and he hoped that would be the end of the matter. He had not told her the full truth, but it was a good start. “I am curious, however...” she then began.

He suppressed a groan. “Concerning?”

“You said you have been having them since you were a lad. So how can they be connected to your brother? It just seems unlikely, is all.”

He smiled and shook his head, unsurprised really that she caught onto the lie. That was her way, he was beginning to realize. Most women would have been glad to have been given an out, leaving quickly because who would want to be put in a situation like this? Diana, apparently.

“I --” Magnus caught his tongue, only too aware of where the two sat. He knew what his nightmares concerned. He knew why he had them. But did he wish for Diana to know? Yes, she wanted him to be more honest with her. And he wanted that too. But this... this was more than mere honesty. This was revealing a part of himself that he hated, and now he understood that as much as he hated it, he hated even more to think how she would react. “I am not weak...” he said pitifully.

“I do not think you are,” she said quickly. “How can you say that?”

“What grown man has nightmares?”

“One who has good reason,” she said and then she shuffled further up the bed. “It is not a weakness, Magnus. In fact, to have nightmares such as you do, I can only imagine that you have suffered. One might even say to survive something like that, whatever it is, is the opposite of weakness.”

His brow creased and he tried to see through the darkness, to read her face and see her meaning in her eyes. The words she spoke hit home and were exactly what he needed to hear. Why, it was almost as if she knew.

What has my grandmother been telling her?

That thought almost emboldened him, as if it took away the burden of revealing his past because there was a good chance that Diana knew more than he realized. With that in mind, Magnus began to speak.

“I don’t know if you know this, but as a child, I was very sick.” He waited for her to say something, but she remained silent. He could feel her watching him, however. “For the first ten years of my life, I didn’t once leave my bed. Physically, I couldn’t. Most thought I was going to die.”

“That’s awful,” she said in a whisper.

“You have no idea,” he agreed solemnly. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to feel so weak. So... so powerless. I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody.”

“And these nightmares?” she pressed gently, shuffling closer still so that she was right beside him. Then, she reached out and rested a hand on his leg. His leg was beneath the blankets still but the feel of her hand imbued strength in him that he didn’t realize he needed. “They are related?”

“I never remember them fully,” he explained, doing his best not to think of them. “But I know how they make me feel. Trapped. Alone. Back in that bed again, unable to escape or do anything. Forced to watch as those I love...” He swallowed and realized he was shaking. “I cannot help them, not matter how hard I try.”

“Magnus...”

“Other times, it is my nieces who are in that bed, pleading with me to help them. But I can do nothing but watch. The feeling that leaves me with...” A shake of the head, and he tried to look at Diana but could not bring himself to. “I can only imagine that you heard me pleading.”

“I do not know what I heard.”

He scoffed. “Do not lie.”

She hesitated. “You were asking for help. But it did not sound as if it was for you, but for another. And truly, Magnus, to me, that is not a weakness but a strength.” Her grip on his leg tightened. “That even in your weakest moments, all you care about is the safety of those you love. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”

He snorted and shook his head. “You do not need to placate me.”

“I assure you that I am not. Just telling you how I feel. And Magnus...” Through the darkness he finally looked up, meeting her big brown eyes. He could see how concerned she was for him, and how worried. And something else... an emotion that was hard to recognize in the darkness but that he could feel. What is that? “ Thank you.”

“Thank you? What for?”

“For sharing,” she said earnestly. “Truly, I know how hard that was, but I am so glad you did. That is all I ever asked.”

Magnus found his hand resting on top of her own. A beat passed between them. A shared moment that recognized how impactful this right now was. And despite how foolish Magnus felt, how embarrassed, he was also relieved and finally he was beginning to understand the value found in sharing.

It was then that he noticed something else.

“Diana...” His eyes adjusted further, and he realized what she was wearing. A cream-colored nightgown, barely catching the little light, but still somehow shimmering. “Is that...”

“Oh...” She half pulled back. “It is nothing.”

“The nightgown you bought. You’re wearing it.”

“I...” She looked away. “Just making sure it fits.”

He put the pieces together quickly. “I did not wake you, did I? And you did not come to my room because you heard me?”

It was Diana’s turn now to shake from nerves. “I... I was just trying it on. That much is true. But when I saw how good it looks, I thought... well... I thought you might wish to see.” She snapped her head up and forced herself to look right at him.

Oh, how he wished there was more light, for no doubt she looked beyond comprehension in that gown. Her curves struggling to be contained. Her light skin flowing from the material as if they were one. And the feel of it...

Without realizing what he was doing, Magnus reached out, taking a piece of the silk between his fingers. Then, silently, he opened his hand and wrapped his palm around her bosom. She stiffened as he groped her, and she moaned as he found her nipple and pinched it.

They were so close. Less than a foot apart. Diana shuffled in even closer, her breath warm on his face. Magnus leaned in but did not try and kiss her. Rather, he let his hands take over.

They rubbed up her exposed thighs. Soft at first, a light touch over her skin which sent her legs to quiver. Further still, to her waist now, he lifted the nightgown, his hands stroking up her soft body until they found her breasts. She leaned in as he wrapped his hands around them, but he did not kiss her. His fingers pinched her nipples, his breath caressed her neck, and his member sprung to attention right by where her hand still rested on his leg.

It shifted the blankets, and she noticed right away.

“Magnus...” she breathed as he continued to fondle her. “It is my thinking that... seeing as you have been woken the way you have, that you might struggle to get back to sleep.”

“Is that right?” he purred, his lips nuzzled into her neck, breathing on her but still refusing to touch with his lips or tongue.

“And I...” She hesitated. “I would like to help you relax, if you would want it?”

Magnus’ manhood literally pulsed because he could sense what was on her mind. “And how would you do that?”

“The other day in the garden...” She leaned back and reached for the hem of her nightgown, raising it over her head and tossing it to the floor. Even in the darkness, Magnus could see her glorious, full breasts fall free for the first time. As large as he had ever seen, nipples swollen, perky and perfect. “I was rather upset that I did not get to finish what I started.”

“Oh?”

“There is just one problem...” Her hand reached down, and she pulled back the blanket, releasing his member finally.

“And what is that?” Magnus leaned back, gaping at her nakedness, not caring how smitten he looked. It was her eyes, he watched, the way they stared so intently at his erect manhood.

“I am afraid that I am quite inexperienced in...” She giggled softly. “In that. I was wondering if you would teach me?”

“Teach you?”

“Tell me,” she said firmly. “How to...” She tore her eyes from his member and looked right at him, licking her lips. “Tell me how.”

Magnus couldn’t remember a time he had ever been so turned on. His member throbbed painfully. Blood rushed through him so that he was sweating once more. Even his legs shook. Not inexperienced in these matters at all, this was something new entirely.

Nonetheless, he took charge, feeling a need to assert himself once more. He had been honest just now in a way that he felt challenged his masculinity, and this right here was a chance to ger it back.

“As you wish...”

Magnus shuffled back and spread his legs so that he was sitting. Then he reached forward and took Diana by the hand, guiding her forward so that she was kneeling before him. His member was right in her face but before he got to that...

“Come here.” Magnus rested a finger under her chin and kissed her on the lips, an action which sent a pulse through them both, reminding the two what it was they had and why nights like this were so important.

And then, Magnus helped guide his wife in the art of oral sex.

He took her hand and wrapped it around the base of his member. “Just like that,” he instructed, his voice soft. “That’s right...” He then moaned as her grip tightened. “Not too tight... yes...” He groaned further. “And move your wrist like – urgh.”

“Like this?” she asked, looking right at him as she began to stroke his length.

He nodded, taking a deep breath.

For a few moments, he let her work him, the whole while looking into her eyes as she looked into his. It might have been her first real time, but that did not show. As she stroked up and down his erect cock, his entire body spasmed.

“Now...” He reached down and rested a hand on the side of her face. Then, he ran a thumb over her lips, and she opened her mouth and began to suck on it. “Do you wish for more?”

She nodded, still sucking his thumb, still looking into his eyes.

“Good girl,” he purred. He pulled his thumb out and rested his hand on the back of her neck. “Open your mouth for me,” he told her, which she did. Next, he guided her head forward, her lips apart, his member sticking up hard and full, the head disappearing into her mouth. “Urgh...” He sucked through his teeth. “Like that... your tongue, use it on me – yes,” he said, body stiffening as her tongue began to massage his head. “And your lips, wrap them around like... Oh, God...” She did it without him having to explain.

Magnus found himself falling back, prostrate on his bed, happy to leave Diana to her work. Work which she took to with a sense of enjoyment and passion and desire that more than made up for her lack of experience.

Her tongue was magical, the way it licked over the tip of his penis. Her lips were sensual, the way they wrapped around his head and sucked. Her hand was devilish, always stroking, never stopping. And best of all, it was wet and sloppy and damn near perfect.

Magnus’ hand found the top of her head as she bobbed up and down. He gripped her by the hair, holding on as she continued to pleasure him. She showed no signs of stopping. No signs that she wanted to. As she made perfectly clear, this was about him, and dammit wasn’t he perfectly fine with that.

It was no surprise then that when it happened, it happened suddenly.

Magnus felt it in his legs. Then his testicles. His right leg began to shake, and he sat up. “Diana...”

She opened her eyes at him but did not stop.

“I’m... do you know what... do not stop...”

She started sucking harder. Faster. Magnus closed his eyes. He gritted his teeth. He grabbed her by the head with both hands. And then, he exploded in her mouth.

And still, Diana did not stop. Not until every last drop was gone. Not until Magnus was back on the bed, puffing and panting. Not until he had to tear her free, otherwise she might never stop.

When she was done, she climbed up the bed next to him, snuggling into his arms, resting her head on his chest. The two had never spent the night together but in this, Magnus figured it was time for that to change. At least for tonight.

What would happen tomorrow, he could not say. But he could not have been gladder for how tonight had went and surely that said everything.