Page 18 of The Duke’s Defiant Angel (Dukes Gone Dirty #1)

18

E vangeline trembled where she stood leaning against the wall.

She heard Foley’s parting shouts that he wasn’t through here. She heard Raff slam the office door shut behind him.

She stayed where she was, shaking, her mind racing, as the house fell once more into silence.

I trust my wife.

She tilted her head back, trying to get her pulse under control.

She hadn’t heard it all. But she’d heard enough. Betrayal had held her its frozen victim at first, and then…

Curiosity.

Shameful as it was, she’d been desperate to hear what Foley had planned. Even more desperate to know how Raff would react.

She’d come here to talk to him. To confront him on the fact that he’d never told her about her parents, but now...this.

Her head spun as she tried to make sense of it all, but her heart…

She clutched her chest as an ache made her gasp. Her heart knew very well what this meant.

He trusted her. And she…

She trusted him, as well.

Without knowing what she would say, her pounding heart drove her to his study door. She gave a short knock before letting herself in.

Her chest nearly split in two at the sight of him looking so ragged and overwrought. The cold, unfeeling, arrogant duke was nowhere to be found.

Maybe he’d never really existed at all.

That was just the mask he used to keep the world at bay. It was the defense he’d needed because, despite the servants and even his friends, Raff was alone in this world.

Just as alone as she’d been, if not more so, because he’d been expected to lead.

He stared at her in surprise for a long moment. “Evangeline, where did you…” He raked a hand through his hair. “That is, when did you return home?”

Home. The word wrapped around her and made her warm.

“Just now,” she lied. She wasn’t sure why. She just…

She didn’t want him to have to explain. She didn’t want him to worry about her or be upset for any reason.

She moved forward into the room, watching as he sank into his leather seat, exhaustion and so many other emotions there, but not for long.

He’d cover it up. He’d smile for her sake and make some high-handed pronouncement about their dinner plans.

A smile tugged at her lips. She didn’t know much, but she knew her husband.

This house was new, their marriage still fraught with unchartered territory to explore. But this was her home.

He was her home.

With that thought, she moved in further, her heart galloping away from her as he frowned.

“You’re flushed, Angel. Are you all right?”

She didn’t stop until she was right in front of him. “Yes, I’m all right. I just want…”

I want you to know that I trust you, too.

I know you hid my parents’ secrets from me, and I know why.

“I want you,” she said simply.

His brows arched in surprise as she dropped to her knees before him. Nerves had her pulse clamoring, but she ignored the trembling in her fingers as she went to work unfastening his trousers.

His hand over hers made her still. “Angel,” he said in a low, gruff voice. A voice filled with warning. “What are you doing?”

She peeked up at him, wetting her lips nervously. “Nothing you haven’t done for me.”

“Angel, I—” He stopped short with a groan when her hand slipped into his breeches and gripped his already hard member.

A teasing smile tugged at her lips. “What was that, Raff? I didn’t hear you.”

He let out a hiss of air as a wicked gleam filled his eyes, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Do you know what you’re doing, Angel?”

She leaned in closer, settling herself between his thighs as she freed him, her eyes widening at the formidable sight. “No,” she admitted. “But I was hoping you’d teach me.”

His head fell back with a groan as his hands slid into her hair. “You’re teasing the devil, love.”

She pressed her lips to the tip of his erection and smiled against the hot, smooth flesh that throbbed insistently in her hands. “I don’t see any devils here. Only my husband.”

He groaned again. “Part your lips, love. That’s it. Now slide my cock into that sweet mouth of yours.” His breathing hitched as she did what he said, shocked when a now-familiar heavy sensation filled her low in her belly.

She moaned as he grew thicker in her mouth, the taste of him so perfectly male. So perfectly Raff.

Her breasts were straining against her corset, her thighs pressing together insistently to find relief.

He gripped her head, tugging her up. “I want to come inside you,” he growled.

She didn’t wait for him to guide her this time. She hitched up her skirts and straddled his lap with a desperate moan.

She surprised herself when she took him inside her, sliding down onto him, sheathing his length with her slick heat. He filled her in one hard thrust.

They both groaned at the feel of him so deep.

“Like this?” she whispered through labored breaths as she rocked her hips.

His hands gripped her thighs. “That’s it, love,” he panted. “Now touch yourself for me.”

She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t even blush. She slipped her hand up beneath her skirts, rocking her hips desperately to get more of this unbearably sweet friction.

“Show me,” he growled.

He pinched her nipples until she screamed and then dropped one hand to cup her buttocks and hold her still so he could grind up into her so deep she could hardly breathe.

“Come for me,” he growled into her ear. That command was all it took to set her over the edge, shattering around him as she dug her nails into his shoulders and held on tight.

A few more violent thrusts, and he spilled his seed inside her, hot liquid filling her, claiming her.

She dropped her head against his shoulder and kissed his neck.

He might have claimed her with his body, but this time she’d claimed his, too. She wrapped her arms around him tight, letting out a squeak as he came to stand, holding her snug and safe in his arms as he strode toward the door.

“Where are we going?” she asked, a smile in her voice.

He turned his head to kiss her temple. “To our room.”

“Our room?” She felt hopelessly girlish with the way her heart flipped and her voice broke.

She felt his smile. “My room is yours whenever you wish to join me there.”

She threaded her fingers into his hair. “Then I would like to join you there tonight, please.”

He clutched her so tight she could hardly breathe.

And she loved it.

When they were in his room, he set her down on the bed. “I want you again, Evangeline.” His gaze roamed over her with a frown as if looking for injuries. “Is it too soon?”

She shook her head, already eager, a hunger starting anew as she watched him undress.

He paused with his back to her, and she was certain she could see his hesitation in the way his shoulders rose, the way he drew in a deep inhale.

“What is it?” she asked.

He cleared his throat, his head down, gaze fixed on his fingers as he slowly disrobed. “I don’t want you to hear this from anyone else, Angel, so I’ll tell it to you plain.”

“All right,” she said, her voice shaky even to her own ears.

She clutched her fingers into the covers, her toes curling as she braced herself to hear the awful truth.

That the man she’d thought she’d loved had only ever been lying to her. That he was threatening to destroy Raff unless he paid him off. That?—

“Your former suitor is still in love with you.”

She sat up. “I beg your pardon?”

“You’ll hear it from the servants or some busybody soon enough, I’m sure.” He gave her a wan smile, but his gaze didn’t meet hers. “Mr. Foley has not taken his rejection lightly, I’m afraid.”

She frowned.

He was lying. Why was he lying? He ought to be rubbing it in her face—if he were a cruel man, that’s exactly what he would have done. But any man in his position would at the very least tell her what a fool she’d been. Tell her just how horrid Foley was.

“I had to run him out of the house,” he continued. “He’s besotted, the poor fool.”

“Raff,” she started warily.

“I know,” he interrupted. “I know you’ve done nothing to encourage him, just as I know I have nothing to fear. As I told Mr. Foley.” His gaze finally lifted to meet hers. “I trust you.”

Her heart tripped and fell in her chest. I trust you. It wasn’t flowery words of love. It wasn’t even a mention of affection. But from this man…

She wet her lips. “I trust you, too,” she whispered.

His gaze darkened. With desire, yes, but affection, too.

“Do you?” he asked. His voice was mild, but she knew how much that meant to him. He’d been on his own for so long, only letting in his friends from his school days. Only trusting those men who he thought of as family because he had no family of his own.

He was letting her in. That’s what his words told her.

And the enormity of that left her throat choked.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His smile was crooked as he returned to the side of the bed, his gaze already greedy as it ran over her disheveled bodice.

“Thank you,” he repeated, his tone lighter now with wry amusement. “For what? Trusting you to uphold your vows?”

She sat upright, her gaze holding his as she reached for him. “No,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion. “For trying to spare me from the truth.”