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It wasn’t loud. Nothing more than a stifled mew.

But what she lacked in volume, her body more than made up for.

Every part of her reacted. Wave after wave with him riding her from behind.

He wasn’t inside her, but he might as well have been for the pleasure it gave him.

She was wild, and he held her tight through it all.

Every muffled cry. Every gasping breath. Every wave of her hips pulsing back against him.

Until it eased. Until her breath slowed, and she lay nearly limp in his arms.

“That was a quickening?” she gasped.

“Yes.”

“No wonder they don’t tell girls. We’d never stop trying for it.”

He smiled against her back. Lord, it was going to be impossible for him to stand up. Truthfully, he had no desire to leave this position, but she began to move. She pushed upright. He let her go and stepped back.

Oh my. He couldn’t be seen like this. He couldn’t even fully straighten up.

She turned with her breasts still out and her body still flush. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“My pleasure,” he returned.

Then she frowned. “Was it? I mean… I was told…” She bit her lip in embarrassment as she looked down at the thickness in his pants.

This was insane, but he wanted it so desperately. “Would you like to see it? Would you like to touch me?”

“Yes!” she whispered. “Can I do for you what…” She glanced sideways at the table.

“Yes. I would like that very much.”

And so he did what he had never done. At least not in the tack room like a stable hand. But she was here, and the scent of her perfume was thick in the air. Indeed, his hand was covered with it, and her breasts were still free.

He opened his clothing, undid his falls, and let his organ spring free. It was so hard and desperate.

“Do I touch it?” she asked. “Do I suck it?”

What images flooded his mind. “How do you know about that?” he asked.

“I went to My Lady’s Apothecary yesterday. They told me about it.”

She had asked in anticipation? Because she’d known he wouldn’t be able to resist her here? Not where there were so many private corners where they could play.

“Do you want to?”

In answer, she reached out for him. He let her explore him for a bit, then he taught her how to wrap his organ in her hand.

He showed her the stroke he enjoyed and began to thrust in a steady rhythm.

But this was difficult positioning. And there was so much he wanted to do with her.

So before he exploded, he disentangled her.

“Did I do it wrong?” she asked.

“No. But there’s something else I’d like.”

“Yes?”

He arranged her then. Just as he had imagined her. He set her against the rack. He played with her breasts and saw the flush deepen in her skin. “You’re so voluptuous,” he said. “I want to look and look forever.”

“Voluptuous?” she said.

“Oh yes. Demure gown. Modest demeanor. But here with me…” He brushed her hair back. Then he kissed her deep. She melted just like before. And when he stepped back, she was a sight he’d never forget. “A vixen.”

With one hand, he kept fondling her breasts. With the other, he worked himself. It didn’t take long, but it held it back just to prolong his view. And while he tugged at her nipples, she began to undulate again. So ready, so soon!

It shot him over the edge. He had a handkerchief ready, but it still was a scramble to get it in place. He was overcome by her. And when he caught his breath again, she was looking at him with wonder.

He had no restraint to stop himself. She was still open and ready. He grabbed her skirt and hiked it up. Then he dropped to his knees and drank her. Lips, tongue, every part of his mouth on her. Until he thrust his fingers inside her and felt her glory again.

Such wonder.

Such bliss.

And when she shuddered again beneath his tongue, he felt such powerful emotions fill him that he could not contain them. He gripped her thighs, he straightened up from where he was, and he held her as he would the most precious treasure in the world.

In time, she recovered. In time, she turned her face to his. Which is when he spoke his truth.

“This thing—sex and all that can happen between a man and a woman—it should be between two people who love each other. It should never be sold to the highest bidder.”

Her gaze focused, her expression tightened, but not so much that she withdrew from him. “And do you love me?” she asked.

Part of him screamed, Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes .

But a century of ducal breeding held his tongue.

He could not promise that and not promise all the other things that went with it.

Respect, status, her place at his side. A duke could not be devoted to a woman so socially compromised.

And he certainly couldn’t choose her against Prinny’s command.

And yet, how could he not? How could he do what they had done without giving himself to her? Without loving her as he had just declared was the only reason to be with one another this way?

And as he fought with himself, with his responsibilities to his title and the Crown, she slowly withdrew from him. Her expression fell, her eyes slid away, and she steadily set her clothing back in order.

He helped her, and she did not fight his aid. But she certainly didn’t welcome it either. And in the end, when they were both attired as they ought to be, she looked at him one last time.

“If the man I want above all else cannot claim me, then I shall make what future I can without him.”

He wanted to argue with her, but what could he say? She was right. But he couldn’t promise to help her. Not into another man’s arms. And apparently not into his own. Because the idea of making her his mistress was abhorrent. She was worth so much more.

He didn’t know what the solution was. And in his silence, she left him. Then, once the door shut behind her, shame brought him to his knees.