by Olivia Drake
His words moved her, even as she tried to wrap her mind around his revelation. “But I’m not a lady.”
“Bosh. You most certainly are a lady. Perhaps not in the narrow-minded opinions of some, but I’m finding that I care less and less for convention.”
Reaching out to clasp her hand, he led her to a long pier glass mounted on the wall beside the door to her dressing room. She went unresisting, still in a state of stunned confusion. He placed her in front of him, nestling her back against his chest while his arms held her in a snug embrace.
His breath stirring the delicate skin at the nape of her neck, he murmured, “You’re a woman of character and warmth and charm, not to mention great beauty. There isn’t a lady in society who is your match. You’ve only to look in the mirror to know that.”
She studied her shadowy reflection. The stylish gown of saffron sarcenet lent distinction to her figure in a way that would please even the most critical eye. But more than that, Natalie was deeply aware of the attractive couple that she and Hadrian made. Handsome and enticing, he stood directly behind her. She was tall, but he was that much taller, the ideal height for kissing. And she craved his kiss with an intensity that threatened to sweep away all reason.
She drew a shaky breath. “Outward appearances cannot change the fact that I’m not bred to your world.”
“Perhaps those differences are part of the reason why we’re attracted to one another. It’s a way for both of us to break out of the dullness of norms.” He tucked a wisp of her hair behind her ear, her skin tingling from his touch. “I was raised with the fixed belief that the perfect wife was a docile young lady with impeccable bloodlines. That it was my duty to wed a wellborn debutante. Then I met you, Natalie. And all of that went out the window. Simply put, you’re everything I never knew that I needed.”
His declaration melted her heart. There could be nothing more romantic than to be chosen by a powerful man who made her feel alive, body and soul. A duke who could have any woman he wanted. Yet logic whispered that it would never work. She could list a hundred reasons why he was all wrong for her, not the least of which was the life she had planned back in America. Still, the fire that heated her blood could not be denied.
Turning in his arms, she stroked her fingers over his smooth-shaven jaw. “I have to be honest, Hadrian. I don’t know if I can ever marry you. It’s impossible for me to think straight right now. Yet I do know that I need you. I crave you with an urgency I’ve never felt for any other man.”
His eyes darkened. “Then allow me to convince you.”
He brought his mouth down onto hers in a crushing kiss that surpassed all of her starry-eyed dreams. She gave back as much as she took, reveling in his potency, savoring the taste of him. With her bosom pressed to his hard chest, she felt his heart beating with a wild rhythm that matched her own.
A rising excitement made her dizzy with desire. Nothing had ever seemed so right as being clasped in his arms. Their clothing formed a frustrating barrier as she slipped her hands inside his coat in an effort to learn the solid contours of his body. She could think only of experiencing again the amazing rapture he had shown her. And this time she wanted him to share it with her.
They were both gasping after the long, luscious bout of kissing. He nuzzled her cheek and hair, his damp lips sending delightful ripples down to her core. His hands followed the curve of her waist and hips, caressing in a way that bespoke intense passion.
His breath warm on her face, he murmured, “There’s a bond between us, Natalie. I felt it from the very moment we met. Tell me you felt it, too.”
“Yes, I did. As I do now, too.” A reckless fever swept her with the irresistible urge to become one with him, to discover if intimacy might clear up her doubts about a future with him. “Hadrian, come to bed with me. Show me what we never finished the last time we were here.”
His fingers tightened around her waist, and he drew a ragged breath as he kissed her brow. “My God, I want that, you can’t imagine how much. But your virtue belongs to your husband.” He paused, a hint of deviltry lifting one corner of his mouth. “Unless, of course, you’ll accept my offer of marriage.”
The wicked glint in his eyes challenged her. So he thought to bribe her with the promise of pleasure?
Natalie decided that two could play that game. “If you hope to win my favor, denying me my dearest wish is hardly the way to do so.”
To entice him, she rubbed her hips against his, to spectacular effect. A groan tore from deep in his chest. He lifted her more firmly against him so that she could feel his rigid length, as his lips sought hers in another fierce, openmouthed kiss. Her arms around his waist, she clung tightly to him, returning his ardor with her own.
“Saucy wench,” he muttered against her hair, his voice vibrating with amused passion. “You’re making it damnably difficult for me to be honorable. I don’t want you to regret this later.”
“I’ll suffer regrets if you walk out on me. So I suggest we dwell no more on the future and simply enjoy the here and now.”
Giving him a smile of wicked provocation, Natalie traced his lips with her fingertip. His teeth caught her finger in a tender love bite, his tongue laving her skin so that her insides contracted with a pulse of desire.
Then he drew her palm to his cheek and held it there a moment while he looked deeply into her eyes. “It shall be as you wish, my lady.”
Releasing her, he went to the door and turned the key with a metallic click. The sound sent a shiver of excitement over her skin. Their need for privacy underscored what was about to happen in this darkish bedchamber lit only by a single candle and the glow of the fire.
Watching as Hadrian stripped off his coat and dropped it onto a chair, she felt on fire with nervous anticipation. He removed his waistcoat, too, leaving him clad in only a white cambric shirt tucked into dark trousers. Her heart beat faster at the sight of his strong, muscled form.
Natalie realized this wouldn’t be like the other time when he’d simply reached beneath her skirts. Instead of gawking, she, too, ought to be undressing. Taking her cue from him, she stepped out of her shoes, turning away to place them neatly by the wall before stretching her arms to reach the buttons at the back of her gown.
She sensed his presence behind her in the instant before he spoke. “Allow me.”
He undid the row of tiny gold buttons, pausing now and then to kiss her exposed skin. Wanton yearning swept away all trace of misgivings in her. When the gown lay open to her waist, he untied her stays and then worked his hands inside the loosened garments. He cupped her bare breasts and feathered his thumbs over the tips. As ribbons of heat unfurled downward to feed the fire in her depths, Natalie sighed in pure delight.
Her knees wobbly, she leaned back against his chest, tilting her head to tuck it into the crook of his neck. “Mm, Hadrian.”
His lips nuzzled her cheek, his fingers continuing their skillful stroking. “So many times I’ve imagined doing this,” he murmured. “Undressing you, holding you, learning every inch of your beautiful body.”
“I confess to harboring such thoughts about you, too. Though perhaps a lady shouldn’t speak of such matters.”
From behind, Hadrian divested her of gown and corset, leaving her clad in only scanty lingerie. “There is only one rule in the bedchamber. That we are to give each other pleasure.”
He turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. His gaze lowered to the filmy chemise that allowed him a titillating glimpse of her breasts and hips. The hot gleam of appreciation in his eyes awakened Natalie to an awareness of her own sensual powers. If she had enjoyed watching him remove his coat and waistcoat, perhaps the tables could be turned.
When he reached for the undergarment, she batted his hands away. “Not yet, Your Grace.”
She sauntered to the bed, braced her foot on the edge of the mattress, and drew the hem of her chemise to mid-thigh. To her gratification, he paced after her with all the keen interest of a stalli
on following a mare in heat. Folding his arms, he leaned against the bedpost to watch. She took her time untying her garters and then rolling down her stocking. As she tossed the scrap of white silk in his direction, he reflexively caught it in his fist.
Natalie felt a little anxious that he might find her behavior too bold. But his face wore a look of stunned hunger, encouraging her to perform the same ritual on her other leg. She sent that stocking fluttering at him as well.
He made a growl deep in his chest and dropped the hosiery to the floor. As he started forward, she wordlessly held up her hand to stop him. Clearly intrigued, he stood waiting for her next move.
Did she dare do it? The total absorption on Hadrian’s face made her feel recklessly naughty, so she slipped the straps of her chemise off her shoulders. A flick to help it clear her breasts, then a little shimmy of her hips, and the garment slithered to the floor, leaving her stark naked.
He scanned her in a sort of concentrated daze, and Natalie held her breath, wondering again if she’d gone too far. Never in her life had she allowed any man to view her unclothed body. A sense of vulnerability caused the warmth of a blush to creep upward from her neck and into her cheeks. She crossed her arms to shield her bare bosom, murmuring, “Have I … done something wrong?”
He snapped out of his stupor. “What? No.” In two steps, he closed the distance between them and pulled her against him, directing that dazed smile at her. His questing hands glided over the smooth skin of her back and hips. “You’re adorable. How did you know I’d love that?”
“You inspired me when you undressed.” Placated, she fingered the open collar of his shirt. “Although I’m very sorry that you stopped halfway.”
“A situation that can be easily rectified.”
She was beset by a sudden, swooning dip as he tilted her backward, guiding her down onto the bed. Her head landed on a cloud of feather pillow, the linen sheets cool and sensual beneath the rest of her body. It felt wickedly decadent to lie here in all her fleshly glory, gazing up at the handsomest, most intriguing man she’d ever known. Hadrian, with his granite eyes and the chiseled features that other people found haughty.
But they didn’t know him as she did.
Her arms still looped around his neck, she smiled up at him, feeling bubbly with happiness, as if she’d drunk too much champagne. “Have I thanked you for providing me with this wonderful bed, Your Grace?”
“What happens in it can be even more wonderful.”
His mouth sought hers in another deep, drowning kiss that stirred a wild hunger in her soul. She felt his hands on her breasts again, kneading the heavy globes in a way that made her burn with longing. When he tried to draw away, she moaned a protest.
He soothed her with a soft finger over her lips. “One moment.”
As Hadrian arose, she pushed up on her elbow to watch him. He stood beside the bed and yanked his shirt free of his waistband, pulling the garment over his head in one swift move. Enthralled, she stared at the ripple of muscles in his chest and arms, the breadth of his powerful shoulders. How differently a man was built, the perfect complement to feminine softness.
When he unbuttoned his trousers and pushed them down over his lean hips, she experienced a deep throb of desire. Never had she imagined that a man in full arousal could look so magnificent. She glanced away, blushing, not wanting to be caught staring.
The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he sat down beside her. His fingers touched her chin to draw her face back to his searching gaze. His muscles were taut, his jaw clenched, his eyes fierce with passion. “Having second thoughts? Tell me.”
Lifting her arms, she drew the pins from her hair and dropped them on the bedside table. Then she shook her head and combed her fingers through the heavy sable mass, the curls cascading over her shoulders and bosom. She curved her lips into a come-hither smile. “Does that answer your question?”
He muttered her name with lusty reverence as he came down over her, a mutual hunger drawing them together. As they kissed and caressed and whispered sweet nothings to each other, she reveled in the weight and strength of him. It was a joy to finally have the freedom to learn the hard contours of his body, to run her hands over his chest and waist and backside. He truly had a superb form, and tonight he belonged to her alone.
In a haze she realized it somehow made all the difference to learn that Hadrian was ready to commit his life to her. The knowledge filled her with a tangle of radiant emotion that took too much effort to examine at a time when she wanted only to rejoice in the pleasure of being in his arms.
When he bent his head and suckled her breasts, she whimpered from the rush of liquid heat that poured through her body. His seduction of her was relentless and intense, sensual and spellbinding. He knew precisely how to touch her, finding places she’d never known to be erotic, from the hollow of her throat to the backs of her knees. His warm palms glided over every inch of her skin until Natalie thought she might expire from need. At last, he slid his fingers in between her legs for the most intimate caress of all.
With breathy cries of pleasure, she moved restlessly beneath him. Her head tilted back on the pillow, she dug her fingers into his shoulders and abandoned herself to the scorching sensations aroused by his touch. The irresistible blaze increased its torment until a white-hot flare of euphoria convulsed her body.
As the fire subsided into glowing embers, she strove to catch her breath. The tension in Hadrian’s jaw and the sheen of perspiration on his brow indicated his relentless control of himself. He had given her ecstatic release, and she longed to return the favor. If only she knew how.
Drawn by temptation, she shifted position slightly and slid her hand down to touch the hard length that lay against her thigh. It felt hot and heavy in her palm and she experimentally rubbed it. “Do you mind if I do this?”
He sucked in a breath, his male member leaping with urgency. “Mind?” he said on a choked laugh. “Certainly not.”
He groaned as she lightly squeezed him, moving her fingers up and down his silken heat, intrigued to discover a dab of moisture at the tip. Gasping, he managed to add, “But there’s a better way.”
He shifted slightly, parting her legs and positioning himself so that his shaft probed against her privates. A pulse of that earlier excitement assailed her again, and she intuitively tilted her hips to him. He kissed her deeply until she was half delirious before penetrating her with slow, inexorable pressure.
She had heard enough whispers among married ladies to expect a stab of pain, but it was not so dreadful as she’d been led to expect. Any discomfort swiftly melted away beneath a stunning sense of fullness. Hadrian whispered her name, skating his lips over hers in a tender kiss. As he moved inside her, leisurely at first and then faster, she yielded to the instinctive urgings of her body, rocking her hips in rhythm with his. That blissful inner friction reignited the wild passion that she’d naïvely believed already sated.
Panting, she tucked her face into the lee of his shoulder, her tongue tasting his salty skin. Their intimate joining transcended anything she could ever have imagined in her sheltered innocence, for she felt connected to him not only in body but in soul as well. They were two parts of a whole, male and female, designed for each other as perfect mates.
As the sensual storm broke again, she clung to him as her anchor in the waves of pleasure. She was still blissfully adrift when he gave one final thrust, his body shuddering from the force of his culmination. Against her hair, he breathed her name in a hoarse groan, “Natalie.”
Utterly spent, she welcomed the weight of his body settling over her. It felt perfectly right to be entwined with him as their heartbeats slowed and their breathing returned to normal. But as passion ebbed and sanity returned, so did her awareness of their impossible dilemma.
* * *
Hadrian sensed the subtle change in her even before he opened his eyes. He couldn’t say exactly how he knew she was withdrawing into herself, the feeling was just t
here, twisting his gut. He wanted desperately to ignore it.
Lying in her arms, he inhaled the subtle fragrance of her hair and exulted in the womanly curves beneath him. The shattering intensity of their coupling still resonated in his cooling blood. When he’d come here to her chamber, he’d thought only to hone her desire to a fever pitch, not to consummate their relationship. But he was fiercely glad they had made love. It had been perfect in every way.
Except one. Natalie had not committed herself to him.
That knowledge made his chest tighten. She’d teased him, traded wits with him, craved him with such fervor that she’d given him the gift of her virginity. Yet it might not be enough to overturn her reluctance to wed him.
There had to be a way to convince her.
Disengaging their bodies, he rolled to the side to gaze into her face. She looked charmingly tousled, her dark hair tangled, her lips reddened from his kisses. Ah, those emerald eyes. Always candid, they held a combination of warmth, wonder … and distress.
Hiding an inner rawness, he brushed a curl from her cheek. He ought to say something romantic and charming, something that would capture her heart, but all that came out of his mouth was the unvarnished truth. “I suspect I haven’t yet won your favor.”
A naked goddess, she sat up against the pillows. “Oh, but this was marvelous, Hadrian. I haven’t any regrets.”
“That isn’t what I meant. You still don’t want to share my bed for the rest of our lives.”
Natalie parted her lips so swiftly, with such a look of yearning, that he had a searing flash of hope she would prove him wrong. Then her eyebrows drew together in a look of tender remorse and she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I—I just don’t see how a marriage between us can work. We come from different worlds. Your life is in England, and mine is in America.”
“Don’t make a final decision just yet,” he urged, cupping her face. “Give me a chance to court you properly, to convince you to be my wife—and a mother to Leo. We can have children of our own, a nursery full of them.”
