Page 9 of The Marquess’s Stolen Bride (Dukes Gone Dirty #3)

9

O h goodness. So that was what all the fuss was about.

Madeline’s head rested against Hayden’s shoulder and she had no concept of how much time passed, only that she was lulled into a blissful state of half-sleep as he stroked her hair and her back, her thighs and her cheek.

He stroked her for so long and with such care, she found herself wondering if she’d died and gone to heaven.

And apparently she said it aloud, because she felt his low chuckle through his chest beneath her cheek. “Not heaven, love. Though right now, I feel as though I’ve found my very own angel.”

She smiled shyly. When at last she had the energy to move, she pulled back to find him gazing down at her with the kindest smile she’d ever seen. Her heart gave a painful thud that seemed to steal her breath.

“May I?” he asked.

She wasn’t sure what he meant, but a second later, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He joined.

Oh.

Oh.

His chuckle was low and warm. “No, no. I don’t want to see that fear returning. Not around me.”

Her lips quirked up. Had she looked scared? She supposed she was…a little. But not like she’d been before. The way he’d touched her…

His gentleness, the unselfishness and the consideration for her feelings. It had helped her to forget those vile men who’d made her feel so ashamed of her body and dread a man’s touch.

“I’m not afraid, necessarily,” she said slowly as he turned onto his side beside her, stretching out as his free hand trailed idly over her arm and then her belly, like he had all the time in the world to explore her.

Like there was no rush whatsoever.

If it weren’t for the rather difficult to ignore bulge in his trousers, she might have believed he didn’t care in the least if she spread her legs for him.

“What…” She started and then stopped. “What should I do?”

Amusement flickered in his eyes, but she didn’t feel as though he was laughing at her. “You, my dear, don’t have to do anything. It’s a man’s duty to ensure that his woman is ready to take him.”

“T-take him?”

“Mmm.” His murmur was a growl that seemed to rumble low in his chest as he leaned over her, his lips so close, all she had to do was strain upward and they were meeting again. Molding together in that way that felt so very blissful.

He kissed her long and slow, until she was mindless with sensations. And it wasn’t until his body was pressed along the length of hers that she realized he’d been slowly, oh so slowly, lowering himself on top of her.

He was careful about not scaring her, and that only made her response to him heighten. Her skin seemed to spark with sensations wherever his touch roamed. And that tension she’d thought was gone returned tenfold low in her belly, making her squirm and wriggle, seeking out that heady relief he’d given her before.

“I want to see you, love,” he whispered against her neck when her legs spread for him, when her hips arched.

She held her breath when his hand came to the buttons on her gown.

He noticed. Of course he did. No one had ever paid such singular attention to her in all her life.

“No?” he said. There was no pleading there, no hint of disappointment. It was just a question, and there was no wrong answer.

“No,” she whispered.

He dropped a whisper of a kiss on the tip of her ear. “One day,” he said.

It didn’t sound like a threat, but rather like a promise. Like he understood, somehow, and that he would help her to overcome entirely all the bad that had been done to her.

She was grateful, so touched, she drew in a deep breath and reached for the bottom of the nightdress. She could not bring herself to bare her body completely. The mere thought had her mind filling with the stench of cigar smoke and the sight of dark, cruel eyes.

She shivered as she swept the thought away. They were not here, and thanks to this man, they would never see her again.

Her fingers grasped the frilly lace edge and tugged up as William stilled above her.

William.

She liked that name. She liked that she was free to use it. It felt so very intimate. Nearly as intimate as what she was about to do.

Swallowing hard, she focused on his eyes, which were heavy on her—eager, excited, lustful…but concerned. For her.

Lord, but she’d been so lucky to find this man. Or rather, that he’d found her.

Her hands began to shake, but she did not stop hitching up her skirts until she was bare below the waist.

She saw his jaw work as he shed his trousers, and when his pulsing manhood met her wet, swollen sex, they both let out a moan.

But for a long moment, he didn’t move, and she saw the strain in his eyes and around his mouth as he held still, giving her time to adjust to this new sensation of skin against skin. Of her most sensitive, intimate place pressing against his.

He was wedged between her thighs, and that hard shaft prodded against her, but still, he did not move.

Instead, he lifted one of his hands to cup her cheek. “Wife,” he gritted out through that clenched jaw. “You are my wife.”

She nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. That this was not wrong, nor embarrassing. That this might hurt but that it was right and good.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His hips rocked a bit, widening her thighs to make room for him.

She swallowed hard and watched as possessive need clouded his gaze. The last time she’d seen that look it had scared her. It had reminded her too much of the way her father’s eyes would cloud over just before one of his fits.

My untouched daughter. No man will defile you.

She gave her head a shake. This was no time to be thinking about her father’s madness or those men who’d defiled her with their hands and their eyes.

He moved his hand down to grip her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. To return to him in the here and now.

“I am the only man who touches you,” he said.

She nodded, swallowing hard. This time that dark, possessive heat in his eyes didn’t scare her. This time it made her feel protected. He would not let her father or those men touch her ever again.

“You are mine,” he said. “My wife.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He pressed his forehead to hers as he pushed his shaft inside her. Slowly at first, pausing each time her breath hitched to let her adjust.

She wasn’t sure time would help. Surely he would never fit.

He kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. “Christ, you’re so tight,” he muttered. “So tight and so wet for me.”

She felt heat spike in her cheeks. He’d said not to be embarrassed, but it still seemed so odd how her body reacted to his touch. Even now, when he felt hard and big inside her, the pressure uncomfortable to the point of painful, she was still keenly aware of how good his hands felt as he stroked her thighs, like he could ease the tension there with his touch.

And he did. After a few moments, the rhythmic feel of his hands had her inner thigh muscles loosening and her knees fell apart, opening for him.

He groaned, trailing kisses down her neck in praise.

“This will hurt, love, but I promise you after the pain there will be more pleasure.” He nipped at her ear. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes.”

He stilled at the quickness of her answer. “Do you trust me?”

The moment felt weighted, as if her answer meant everything to him.

She buried her fingers in his hair, a bold move that felt very intimate. Also…empowering. He was hers to touch just as she was his to bed. She nodded, tears choking her for a moment as she realized the truth of it. “Yes, I trust you.”

He growled his pleasure as he withdrew and then plowed into her.

She cried out at the sharp pain, her head arching back and her hips jerked in some primal need to get away. But when he stilled again, tense and frozen above her, she started to calm. Her heart rate slowed as she focused on the feel of his breath, harsh and ragged against her neck.

The pain between her legs began to fade as she adjusted to him.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said. His voice sounded different. Harsh and…pained. He was in pain, she realized. Staying still like this was causing him pain.

The thought had her cradling his head in her hands, and she tugged him back so she could see his face.

He looked like he was steeling himself for battle. Like he was bracing himself for torture.

“I’m okay,” she whispered. She nudged her hips, and indeed…she was okay.

It was not a pleasant sensation, but the pain was gone, leaving only pressure and an odd new tightness. But she could feel her inner muscles adjusting, making room for him.

His mouth claimed hers in a brutal kiss as he moved, slowly at first. And then she kissed him back eagerly, with more urgency.

In and out he slid, that thick member filling her over and over until she started to welcome the feel of him so deep inside her.

She shocked them both when she lifted her knees and arched her hips to take him further.

“Christ, love, you feel so good,” he growled into her ear.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer still. When he shifted, wedging a hand between them, she started to protest. She liked the feel of his hard chest pressing her into the bed. There was something comforting about his weight, like his body was a shield between her and the bad memories. Between her and everyone who’d ever done her harm.

But then his clever fingers found that swollen nub he’d been stroking earlier, and her body reacted to his touch like kindling to a spark.

Her whole body tensed when he stroked her there and her inner muscles tightened as if trying to keep him inside of her longer.

“That’s it,” he said as he timed his thrusts with his strokes. “Take it deep, love. Take all of me like the good girl you are.”

She moaned and whimpered as he teased her, his praise-filled voice soothing her nerves and her thoughts. The pain and the pressure was forgotten as she did as he commanded, welcoming his thrusts as his fingers worked magic along her slick skin.

“I’m going to fill you with my seed.” His low growl next to her ear made her shiver. “I’m going to get you with child. My child.”

He was murmuring the words as if caught in a fever. If so, it was contagious, because she felt it, too. This fervent, senseless need to be joined. To make this permanent. To belong.

“Yes,” she hissed. The thought of him filling her with a child had her head falling back, and she lifted her knees, taking him as deep as she could.

“Just like that, love,” he said. “You know just how to take your husband, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she breathed. And she did. It was like some primal part of her understood this act and craved it.

“Will you come for me, my little love?” he growled against her lips. “Will you take my cock deep inside you and come all over it like a good girl?”

“Yes,” she was whining now. She didn’t even understand the words, but she knew the meaning.

And when his hands gripped her hips and held her down so he could ram his rod deep inside her, she threw her head back and shouted her pleasure. His fingers circled her nub with furious strokes, and she couldn’t fight it. She didn’t want to.

She let him lead her to that furious release, and this time was even better because when her inner muscles clenched and tightened, she was full, so very full…of her husband.

A second later he growled incoherently and his thrusts grew fast and hard until she felt him spurt hot liquid inside her before falling on top of her with words of praise.

“So perfect, love. You are so bloody perfect,” he murmured.

She was dimly aware of him pulling out of her a moment later. She lifted her hands to try and bring him back, but her eyes refused to open.

She didn’t feel safe without his weight.

How odd. From going her whole life being on her own, to needing someone else just to feel safe.

But then again, maybe she’d never felt safe before.

Before Hayden.

Her husband.

The thought didn’t send her into a panic this time, but had her smiling against the pillow.

He was back a moment later, and Madeline felt a warm rag cleaning her thighs.

She ought to protest. She ought to be embarrassed. But sleep had dug its claws in and she felt him lay beside her and tug her into his arms just as sleep took her under.

She awoke sometime later to the feel of his hard length digging into her bottom, his arm a heavy weight over her waist. She gasped and stiffened.

It took her a moment to realize where she was.

“Are you all right?” His voice was gruff and sleepy.

“Yes,” she said, forcing herself to relax. “I just…I’ve never slept with someone before.”

His low chuckle had her dipping her head into the pillow with a silly smile. “You know what I mean.”

Odd how something could feel so bizarre and unfamiliar…and yet so wonderfully right all at the same time.

She snuggled into his embrace, wiggling her hips a bit to get comfortable. The thick protrusion against her bottom swelled in response. She gasped, which made him chuckle again.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her shoulder. “Don’t worry, love. I know you’re too sore for another round.”

Was she? She wriggled again and winced. Yes, she supposed she was.

He groaned. “I’d beg you to stop wiggling your bottom like that. I’m trying to be a gentleman here, but my willpower is only so strong around you.”

She grinned because she didn’t believe him for a moment. “I don’t think you do yourself credit,” she whispered. “I trust you not to hurt me.”

He sighed, and she felt his smile against her neck. “I love that you trust me. I can’t imagine trust comes easily for you.”

“With you it does.” She turned her head. “Why is that?”

She could see the laughter in his eyes, even in this dim light with only a low fire crackling in the hearth.

“Why? Well, I suppose because I swept into your life like some prince in a fairytale.”

She giggled at his teasing. “Swept in, did you? I thought it was more like…stumbled through my window reeking of liquor.”

His chuckle warmed her from head to toe.

“You have your story and I have mine.”

She found his hand against her waist and squeezed it. “No matter what brought you there or how it came about, I am so very grateful you came for me.”

He was quiet for a long moment. “I don’t want your gratitude, Madeline.”

“Then what do you want?” The question came bursting out of her, and she wished she could call it back. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

But he went quiet again, for so long she wondered if maybe he’d fallen asleep. But then he squeezed her tight. “Get some sleep. Tonight is the start of a new life for you. And I have it on good authority that new lives require much rest.”

She smiled at his teasing tone. “Is that right?”

“Mmm.”

She started to think about what the next day would bring and some of her giddiness faded into nerves. “I’m afraid.”

Something she wasn’t sure she would have admitted if she were facing him in broad daylight. But it was dark, and he was a warm, strong, a reassuring presence at her back.

“Of being a marchioness?”

She nodded.

“My housekeeper and the butler, all the servants…they will be overjoyed to teach you all there is to know of this estate.”

She nodded again. “That’s nice of them.”

“But that’s not all that worries you.”

She shook her head. “It’s being out there that scares me.”

What a foolish thing to say. And yet he seemed to understand. He burrowed his face against her neck with a long exhale. “My beautiful wife, you’ve been kept away from the world for too long. You deserve to be seen and heard. You ought to be shared with the world, for to hide you away is a disservice to others.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she smiled all the same, and her laugh when it escaped was genuine. “You are very kind to me.”

“You deserve kindness,” he said simply.

So simply. Like it was the truth.

And maybe…maybe it was. Her eyes started to drift as she let this new idea wash over her.

He kissed her neck. “Get some rest, love.”

Maybe this was what she deserved…

Or maybe this was all much too good to be true.