Page 14 of The Marquess’s Stolen Bride (Dukes Gone Dirty #3)

14

M adeline had been acting oddly all night. All day, too.

Truly, she’d been behaving erratically ever since her mother came to visit. But she’d shut down his every attempt to find out what that wicked woman had wanted.

“Nervous, sweetheart?” he asked as the carriage slowed to a crawl behind the other coaches arriving at the townhome where the ball was to be held.

“I suppose I am,” she said, her smile weak.

“We can turn back,” he offered.

“No.” She shook her head quickly. “I must face this sooner or later, mustn’t I?”

He watched her for a long moment. Somehow, he didn’t believe she merely meant facing the ton . Her chin was set in such a way that it looked like she was about to head into battle.

He reached for her hand and tugged until she was nestled against his side. “There now, that’s better.”

She laughed even as she burrowed into his chest. “We’ve nearly arrived. Now is hardly the time for us to be caught doing something improper in the carriage.”

He grinned as he tilted her head up for a long, lingering kiss. “Tell me, wife, is this so very improper?”

“No, I suppose not,” she said breathlessly when he pulled away.

“Hmm, and this?” He dipped his head to kiss her neck, careful not to muss her coif.

“I…I don’t think so,” she breathed.

He grinned before nipping at her neck. This was better. Much better. A breathless, dazed Madeline was far superior to the anxious, fidgety lady she’d been just a moment before. He despised seeing her on edge like that. But fortunately, he knew exactly how to relax her tense muscles.

“Now, my dear,” he continued, his hungry gaze taking in the way her nipples were jutting out against the fabric of her bodice. “It’s clear to me what you need.”

“Is it?” Her eyes were dazed as he trailed his fingers over those hard tips making her shiver. She pressed one perfectly rounded tit into his palm, silently begging for more. But a second later, she recoiled. “Wait, we mustn’t.”

He pushed the curtain aside to peer out. “We still have plenty of time.”

“Oh, but…oh!” She squeaked in surprise when he pulled her onto his lap, her back to his chest and her legs straddling his thighs.

“Too many bloody clothes,” he muttered against her neck as he went about hitching up her gown.

“But we can’t,” she said.

Her protests would have been more effective if she wasn’t pressing her bottom against his erection, wiggling and shifting like a wanton mistress.

He grinned as he bit the soft skin at the bottom of her neck, just hard enough to make her gasp. “No more of that, my sweet. You’ll have me losing control before I’m inside you.”

She whimpered but kept her hips still as he released his shaft from his trousers and found the slit in her undergarments. It prodded against her backside, rigid and throbbing, ready to be encased in her tight heat.

She moaned when his fingers slid inside to touch her wet, slick heat.

“You’re drenched for me, darling.” He slid his free hand up to the edge of her bodice, tugging until her breasts spilled over. Her hips ground back.

“Uh uh,” he said with a tsk as he pinched a nipple hard in admonishment. “You do as you’re told, my sweet.”

Her back arched, and he rewarded her with another hard pinch that made her gasp.

“That’s right. You’re mine to command tonight, aren’t you, darling?”

“Oh, yes. I’m all yours.”

He squeezed her tit as he pressed his erection up against her, loving the way her breath grew rapid and ragged.

He slid his other hand around, just beneath her skirts to cup her sex. Oh hell, she was so wet for him he had to clench his jaw to keep from tossing her on her knees and thrusting into her from behind.

“Tell me, wife, do you enjoy knowing we could be caught?” he whispered in her ear.

Her moan was answer enough, but he used his knees to pry her thighs wider apart and gave her quim a light spank that had her whimpering with need.

“Say it aloud,” he commanded, his voice low in her ear. “You like it, don’t you, my naughty girl?”

He already knew she did. And he liked it, too. The danger of being caught made his every sense heightened.

“I…I…” She shuddered in his arms when his palm pressed firmly to her heat.

“Tell me the truth,” he whispered. “Tell your husband just how naughty you are. Does it give you a thrill knowing that at any moment we could stop. That the high and mighty of society could hear you being fucked in a coach?”

“Yes,” she hissed.

“Good,” he said. “Because I am your husband, so there is no shame here. No guilt. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Only pleasure,” he said. “And you can be as wicked as you want with me, can’t you?”

“Yes, William,” she whimpered as his fingers slid inside her drawers to play with her slick folds.

She turned her head and he claimed her mouth in a hot, open kiss that made her moan.

They had to be quick, but he’d make sure it was filled with pleasure.

“Such a sweet little wife,” he said. “But I love that you’re naughty for me.”

“Yes, you,” she whimpered as his fingers pinched her nipple again, hard enough to make her gasp. “Only you.”

“Mmm, good girl,” he praised, satisfaction clear in his voice as he nipped at the bottom of her ear.

He’d discovered that nothing made him harder than when she pledged herself to him and him alone. Even now, he swelled against her, his bollocks so tight and hard he was blinded with lust.

“Will you scream, my sweet wife?” he whispered. “Will you scream my name so every lord and dandy knows that you are mine to bed whenever I wish?”

She moaned and trembled, his words making her writhe in his arms. “If you want me to,” she said

He grinned against her neck. “Such an obedient bride.”

He gave her quim another light slap as he spread her thighs even further. They both looked down, and he groaned as she whimpered at the sight of her wet cunny on full display as his hand gave another smack.

“You like the sting of it, don’t you?” He barely recognized his own voice.

They’d been exploring new boundaries every day and every night, but here in the dark, secretive, forbidden setting, they were both discovering something new.

“Do you like it?” he asked. For a moment, he stilled. Her body was reacting to his harsh touch, but until she said so, he forced himself to stay still.

She placed one of her hands over his and ground his palm into her sex. “I love it,” she panted. “I want more.”

He smiled against her neck before lapping at her skin. “When we get home, I’ll give you a proper spanking, hmm?”

Her breath came in shallow gasps, and he knew she was imagining it, too. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, please.”

“Tell me what you need from your husband,” he commanded.

“I need you inside me,” she said.

He sucked on her earlobe. “How do you want it?”

“Hard,” she said. “I want you to take me hard.”

“Good girl,” he growled.

Her whimpers grew high and needy as he adjusted his hard length and lifted her slightly. Then he tugged on her hips and thrust up inside her with a rough shove that had them both groaning in pleasure.

“Do you like sitting on my cock, love?” he teased as he forced himself to stay still.

“I love it,” she breathed, her hips moving as she tried to find satisfaction. He helped her to bounce up and down a few times, giving them both a taste of the pleasure to come.

“Touch your tits, love,” he growled into her ear.

He dipped his head over her shoulder to watch, and his sweet wife didn’t waste a second. She teased her nipples and fondled her breasts with abandon, showing him exactly the way she liked to be touched as he looked on.

The carriage rattled as they moved again, and he felt her tense. “We’re almost there,” she whispered, reality returning as her hands froze over her nipples.

His fingers bit into her thighs. “You’re not going anywhere until you find pleasure, do you understand? I don’t care if the door is thrown open and all of Mayfair sees me tupping my wife.”

He growled in her ear. “You will ride my cock until you come. Is that understood?”

Her breath caught at his commanding tone, and then something seemed to shift in her, just like it did when they were alone in bed and he took control. He could all but see her relinquish her fears as she gave herself up to his commands.

“Yes, William,” she whispered as she rocked her hips vigorously. He gripped her thighs to help her find purchase and soon his sweet little wife was riding him with hard thrusts that had them both panting as he hardened even further inside her.

The carriage rattled again, and the driver called out for the horses to stop.

He moved his hand to her cunny, fingering that hard, sensitive nub. “Now, love,” he gritted out. “Come for me now.”

She came with a muffled cry.

She was already readjusting her bodice by the time he was through, and he helped her to slide off of him and right her gown.

“I’ll be a mess,” she said, though she still wore a satisfied grin that made his heart slam erratically against its cage.

“Your gown and your hair are still perfect,” he assured her. “But if you mean you’ll have my seed spilling down your thighs all evening…” He leaned over to kiss her blush with a grin. “I must admit, I love that.”

“You would,” she muttered, but her look of disapproval was ruined by the laughter in her eyes.

“All night I’ll be imagining when I can do it again. Where I can take you…”

She pursed her lips. “Are you trying to scandalize me, husband?”

“That depends.” He gripped her hand and brought it to his lips. “Is it working?”

Her answering giggle made his heart trip.

Then they arrived, and the carriage door was thrown open. If anyone wondered why his wife’s cheeks were such a vivid red, no one asked.

And then they were in the midst of a crush entering the already crowded ballroom.

“You’re certain you’re up for this,” he said to Madeline.

She smiled sweetly and squeezed his arm. “No. But I have to do this.” She drew in a deep breath. “I must.”

He leaned down because the closer they drew to the ballroom where musicians played, the harder it was to hear and be heard. “Only say the word, my darling, and we will leave. You have nothing to prove to me.”

She shot him a wry smile. “No, only to all the rest of society.”

He chuckled. “Who cares what they think?”

She arched a brow. “Don’t you?”

He laughed outright then. “My dear, you do know I spent the better part of my adulthood attempting to scandalize this lot, don’t you?”

She arched a brow, and for a moment, he was certain the rest of this crowd ceased to exist. “Is that why you proposed?”

He leaned in closer. “I proposed because I was caught in your room alone. I married you because you were the sweetest little creature I’d ever met. But I’m bringing you here tonight to show you off because marrying you was the smartest thing I have ever done.”

She arched her brows in disbelief, and he knew she was thinking of the night they first met. “The smartest, hmm?”

He leaned in so only she could hear. “Let every other man here weep for not having had the good sense to climb that ghastly tower wall before I did.”

She burst out laughing at his teasing, and the sound made his heart warm. The sound was better than any music. And that light in her eyes was so genuine and so pure, it humbled him.

“Now, now, Hayden,” Philippa’s voice cut into the moment, and he backed away from his wife to see that Benedict and Philippa were on her other side. “I hope you don’t mean to keep your darling bride all to yourself tonight.”

Malcolm and Vivian joined them, and Vivian greeted Madeline with a warm embrace. “I’ve been meaning to check in on you this week to see how you’re adjusting.”

“I’m not that difficult to live with,” Hayden joked.

“Aren’t you?” Raff and Evangeline joined them as well. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone and matured on us, Hayden, old friend.”

His friends laughed as he pretended to be horrified. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Madeline grinned up at him. “I hear so many stories about your reckless behavior and yet you’ve always been so honorable and upstanding with me.”

Malcolm cleared his throat. “Have you forgotten the state he was in the night you first met?”

Madeline laughed. “No, indeed. But he sobered up quite quickly when he realized he was forced to marry me.”

Hayden smiled down at her. “I’d do it all over again, any day.”

Her eyes were so soft with affection, he nearly missed the glint of wariness and regret that flickered in her gaze before she quickly looked away.

He placed a hand on her back, that earlier nagging sensation back. She’d been on edge today. But he did not think it was merely nerves over her first ball.

Especially not now when she was surrounded by friends.

“Come, Madeline,” Philippa said, holding out her arm. “Let us ladies show you about the room.”

Vivian and Evangeline followed Phillipa, laughing.

“She just wants to fill you in on the latest gossip,” Vivian said.

Evangeline glanced back at him. “Don’t worry, Hayden, we’ll bring her back to you soon enough.”

He smiled as they walked away, but he felt a knot of tension forming with each step she took away from him.

Raff clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t keep her at your side every moment of every day. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Hayden laughed.

“He’s right,” Malcolm said. “Madeline has come a long way since that first night you rescued her, but at some point, you’ll have to trust her to stand on her own.”

Trust. That work rankled. He did trust her. Though that night when he’d read her note to her brother…

Well, he wasn’t proud of where his thoughts had gone. Nor how quickly.

“How do you trust someone when you’ve really only just met?” The words tumbled out of him before he’d even decided to talk.

To his surprise, it was the normally quiet and gruff Benedict who responded. “You make the choice to trust, and time will tell if you’re right or wrong.”

Hayden stared at his wife’s receding figure as she was swallowed up in the crowd. Was it really as simple as that? Choosing to trust. Was that what it came down to?

“Madeline hasn’t given you any reason to believe she’s not trustworthy, has she?” Raff asked with concern.

“No,” he said quickly. “No, of course not.”

Malcolm watched him quietly. They’d all known him for an age, but it was Malcolm who’d been there during the worst days of his stepmother’s brief reign in his father’s household. He suspected Malcolm understood more of what he was feeling than anyone.

But his stepmother’s actions were best forgotten, just like he’d all but forgotten the woman herself when he’d sent her off to the continent after his father died.

His wife wasn’t anything like her.

“What’s he doing here?” Benedict growled.

Hayden didn’t even bother to look. That was the question they all raised whenever that lowlife Foley arrived. Raff suspected the man was blackmailing and exploiting his way into society as no one seemed to enjoy his company.

Well, no one except for Madeline’s mother.

“And what’s he doing talking to Hayden’s wife?” Raff added.

That had Hayden turning to stare. Though there wasn’t much to see. Madeline and Foley had a brief exchange and then she was back to taking a turn with her friends around the dancefloor.

It was over in an instant, but Hayden found himself stewing over it for an age.

“Honestly, how has that man not been killed yet?” he finally spit out.

Benedict arched a brow. “I assume you mean Foley.” He nodded as he thought it over. “Valid question.

Raff scowled. “I should have done it when I had the chance.”

“And I,” Benedict added.

Malcolm was eyeing the weasel thoughtfully. “From what we know of him, I’d guess he holds too much power over the wrong people.” He eyed Hayden thoughtfully. “Don’t you think?”

Hayden stiffened. Foley had been there with the countess on the night he’d arrived in her room. He clearly had some interest in Madeline’s family, and he knew far too much about the circumstances behind his and Madeline’s marriage.

That was enough to have him stopping Foley when he passed. “What did you want with my wife?”

“Pardon?” Foley’s feigned confusion as he glanced around him at the curious onlookers passing them only made Hayden’s anger grow.

“What did you want with her?” he repeated through a tight jaw.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, my lord,” he said in that ingratiating tone of his that never failed to rankle.

“I saw you talking to her.” Hayden leaned in close so only Foley could hear. “If you have any sense of self-preservation you’ll stay far away from Madeline.”

Foley laughed. “Oh, my lord, you misunderstand. I do not deny that we spoke, but it was she who asked to speak to me.”

Hayden glared. “She would never seek out the likes of you.”

Foley smiled, and the smile made Hayden’s gut twist with apprehension. “Apologies, my lord. But it is rather amusing the way you have bought her little act.” He held his hands up to his cheeks, his eyes wide with feigned innocence. “Oh, poor me. Such an innocent, helpless creature.”

Hayden snagged Foley’s cravat and gripped it tight.

“Not here,” Raff said, a hand on his shoulder. His friends crowded behind him, and Hayden let go with an oath.

“You dare to speak ill of my wife?”

“Oh, no, no, my lord. Once again, you misunderstand. You see, I find her to be quite delightful. I admire her theatrical skills immensely.”

Hayden growled, and Benedict stepped between them. “I’d leave now, Foley, before a challenge is issued and your life comes to an abrupt end.”

Foley paled at that but he sneered at Hayden. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Hayden snarled, a fist forming before Malcolm caught his arm.

Foley was backing away. “I’d check my pockets if I were you. The mad earl’s daughter has a light touch…”

“Why you?—”

“But if you really want to know the truth about your wife…” Foley smiled when he realized all four men were listening. “Head to the gaming hell on Vestry Lane. Ask for Mr. Percer. He’ll tell you what she’s really about.”

Foley turned and disappeared.

“Don’t listen to him,” Malcolm said in a low voice. “He’s just trying to rattle you.”

And he’d succeeded.

Hayden’s gut churned. He wanted to trust his wife. He wanted to laugh off Foley’s veiled words and that ominous warning. “To what end?” he muttered aloud. “What is his game?”

Philippa was the first of the ladies to rejoin them a short while later and Hayden took her aside.

“Philippa, did Foley approach Madeline? Or did my wife seek him out?”

She blinked in surprise but then her brows came down in thought. “She sought him out, I believe. She said something about having him pass along a message to her mother.” She paled. “Did I do wrong in letting her talk to him? I should have known better than to let her so much as go near that poor excuse for a man.”

“No, no,” he rushed to reassure her. “He is a friend to her mother, I just…I just wanted to be sure he wasn’t preying on her.”

She nodded. She’d been one of the ladies the louse had preyed upon, so Hayden supposed Philippa understood better than anyone.

He turned back to see Madeline laughing at something Vivian said.

The trouble was, he wasn’t entirely certain if Madeline was the prey. Why had she sought him out?

He tried to swipe the thought aside, but his gut coiled with anger, the whiff of betrayal getting stronger with her every nervous glance and shuttered gaze.

Could there possibly be any truth to what Foley had said?

No.

Never.

But then again…he had to be certain.