by Aubrey Brown
Anna stopped skating at his words. “You will force me off the ice, Your Grace?” she asked.
“Indeed. So I suggest you move under your own feet, or I shall move you,” he added.
Anna felt her blood race through her veins at his words. She delved into the bay of his dark-brown eyes and only saw truth and determination.
“Why, Kingsberry? I have given you free leave to quit this crazed idea of marriage. And you intend to enforce the contract?”
“I always fulfill my obligations, invariably, my lady. You would do well to remember that.”
“Fat lot you cared since I turned of age, Your Grace.”
“Blast it! I realize I could have come for you almost three years ago. However, the contract did not expire until this New Year’s Eve. It should not matter when I came, only that I did come for you. This is silly, yelling at you from across a pond,” David retorted.
* * * *
Anna’s spine stiffened. He was telling her what to do? Why, the cad. She had no intention of doing anything he suggested or demanded. If he was determined to take her as his wife, she would make him pay for his folly and be sure to make it as difficult for him as she found waiting arduous for her. He inconvenienced her for almost three long years.
Anna skated toward him and saw satisfaction reflecting from his eyes, and she felt white-hot anger burn in her belly. She approached the duke and accepted his hand. Her mind in a whirl, she took off the skates that were attached to her boots. David helped her stand once more and smiled into her eyes.
Anna hated him. She hated herself for her rioting feelings. He was as gorgeous at thirty and one as he was at sixteen. His hair was as black as a raven’s feather. His eyes were the shade of dark brown. His chest was strapping against his waistcoat, and his breeches fit snugly to his legs. Anna felt her face flush and her pulse race. She was desperate for a solution. She did not want to want this man, so she did the only action she could think to do. As he brought her hand up for a kiss upon her glove, she snatched her hand back and pulled her knee up toward his groin.
It was a maneuver Anna’s father had taught them to stop any amorous boys, and it worked. Her knee connected with his manhood, and he yelped high and long as his body sank down to the cold, wet ground. Anna could not think beyond running back to the house. The butler’s eyebrows rose to his hairline as she ran through the home and yelled, “Do not let the duke near my room. I do not wish to be disturbed.”
Anna slammed her chamber door and locked it into place. She walked briskly to the window and watched the woods. A few moments later a limping and cursing duke came into view. She smiled to herself, certain he would leave now. She looked down to find a few men run out of the house to help the duke firmly on his feet. Then her eyes connected with his, and he grimaced as he cupped the area between his thighs. He then shook his head and walked into the home. Anna felt her breath hiss from her lungs. The duke was staying for the moment. Her action may have been rash, but she was desperate. Wasn’t she?
* * * *
The duke was placed carefully upon his bed and given a snow pack from outside. He grimaced at the cold, wet feeling so near his cock and ballocks, but he was in pain. When she unmanned him near the pond, he fell upon his knees bereft of voice and breath. He cursed Anna’s name at least a dozen or so times around his head. He had no idea of what he would say to her from here. He watched as a few footmen and his valet crossed their own legs at his discomfort.
David felt beads of sweat spring forward on his forehead as the nausea rose in his throat. He flicked his wrist in an indication that he wanted to be left alone. He still could not speak from the hurt radiating from his ballocks. He gathered his composure and tried to look about the room. It was a quaint room, tastefully decorated. It was wholly unlike his lavish home. This place felt like a home and not the tomb his mother had made his childhood home.
Red ribbons and festive trinkets lined the room with cheer. Was it not a tad bit early for decorations? Christmas was a full month away. He could smell baking sweets from the kitchens and began to feel a measure better. Why had Anna maimed him in such a way? He should let the girl go hang and be done with her. However, an image of her skating on the pond arose in his memory. Her delicious waist-length red hair blowing in the breeze, her radiant smile, the way her cloak molded to her perfect form, and her manner in which she spoke to him was…intoxicating. He had never wanted a woman so desperately in memory. Not even during his adolescent years, when he slept with a number of experienced women. David had mastered the art of declining invitations over accepting them. It had begun to bore him, but Anna was…different. She was a feisty, spirited wench, and he could see great pleasure in bedding her.
His cock was still throbbing at the idea of engaging in sexual release with Anna. And that should have been the very last idea in his mind, but it was not. He groaned as he felt his member harden and react in pain to his still-sensitive flesh.
He needed to think of something else, any other image than that of his betrothed, who slept not but in the same household as he. It had never occurred to him that Anna would be beautiful beyond measure. If it had, he may not have dallied in his marriage to her. However, he was here now, and he would make Anna his wife, even if he had to drag her in front of a clergyman!
Chapter Four
Anna sat in her room until the dinner bell rang. She considered having a tray sent up, but she did not want to give the duke the satisfaction of knowing he disturbed her. It was bad enough she kneed him in his manhood earlier. She was desperate to be away from the devastating duke. He had affected her as no other man had. Her tummy was sent awhirl at just one look.
So she skirted down the stairs to the dining room. She then collided with the duke at the landing.
“Oh…” she squeaked.
David raised a brow at her and grimaced as he finished walking toward her. Clearly, his manhood was still smarting over her treatment.
“Miss Snowe, may I escort you to supper?” he asked.
Anna rolled her eyes in a vain attempt to stem her laughter at his attempt of gallantry. “There is no need for formalities out here in the country, Kingsberry.”
“I realize this is the country, Miss Snowe. However, I am a gentleman, whether you choose to believe that fact or not, and I am your fiancé. I will treat you as if you are my wife,” he stated in a tone that brooked no argument. “You may have caught me unawares earlier, but I am willing to overlook the incident.”
Anna took his preferred arm and felt a jolt from the point of contact down to her toes. She looked to David in shock. It was a simple touch, as light as the wind, but it was the most profound contact she ever had with another human being.
David delved into the banks of her green eyes as a tremor coursed through her body. The contact was heavenly to Anna, albeit odd. David seemed to be similarly affected, for his cheeks burned a bright red.
She shook her head of the wayward thought and walked toward the table. David dismissed the footman and pulled Anna’s chair out for her on his own. Anna felt her heart melt slightly at the gesture. She sat in the seat he offered and was further surprised that the duke took the seat next to hers.
Anna’s auntie was already seated, and the meal commenced. At the end of dessert, her auntie excused herself to go to bed. Her children would be in residence any day now, and she stated she needed as much rest as she could get to play with all the new grandchildren.
Anna had remained silent through the meal, as David seemed to enjoy talking to her aunt about the estate’s history. Anna was nervous. She had hurt him terribly earlier, and she now felt ashamed for her rash action.
As she placed her silverware on the almost-full dish, she sighed. It was time for her to retire for the evening as well. She tried to stand, but the duke stayed her arm, and she looked to his face, terrified of what he would do.
David must have seen the terror in her eyes as he softened toward her.
“Anna, we have to talk
about what happened this afternoon near the pond.”
Anna quivered at his words and began to babble. “I am terribly sorry I hit you in your…you know.” She gestured toward his cock. “I did not mean to hurt you that badly. I reacted incorrectly, and I ask for your forgiveness, Your Grace.”
David seemed confused by her apology. His eyes crinkled at the corners. “I am grateful you realize your error, but I was referring to your inability to admit that the marriage contract needs to be fulfilled before your birth date.”
Anna’s eyes immediately contracted at his statement. “As I said before, Kingsberry, we do not suit. And I believe it would be best to move on.”
“Why do you think we do not suit, my lady? We have never met before now. We hardly know each other. You cannot make an assessment on our marital future based upon the fact that you feel slighted by my not coming for you at the start of the contract,” David explained.
Anna felt her temper snap. He wanted to know why she thought they did not suit. She would tell him. “We do not suit because you waited until the end of the dicker. You let me languish around for almost three years as my sisters made happy matches and produced children. I sat on the shelf, while your peers came into our home and enjoyed my father’s food and drink, and gossiped about your ‘unique’ talents with the fairer sex. Do you think it right, Your Grace, that I was made to feel a fool in my own home? Noblewomen made fun of the country bumpkin that was to be your duchess?”
David tried to speak. However, she trotted on as if he was silent. “I have never kissed a man before, for I knew I was to be your wife, and to what end. You were clearly enjoying your time as a bachelor when you should have come for me. I ask you, Kingsberry, if the situation were reversed. How would you feel?”
She came to a halt with a face that felt as red as her hair. David seemed to assess her words carefully and replied, “Miss Snowe, I am sorry that your feelings were hurt by cuts direct. However, I must say that the social circle I move within is very cunning and conniving. You have been raised in a sheltered country setting where truth and friendships are valued above all else. It is an unfortunate effect of being born to privilege. As my duchess, you will have to learn to conceal your feelings more closely.
“Have you not heard a word I said, Kingsberry?” Anna huffed.
She stood and walked away from the duke. She was tired and wanted to seek the oblivion of sleep. She was quickly stopped at her bedroom door. David turned her around to look into her eyes. She was close to tears, and David swore under his breath and crushed her lips beneath his.
He moaned low in his throat. She had not been jesting when she said she had never kissed a man before. Her innocent kiss must have sent his head spinning.
Anna closed her eyes and gave into the sensation of David’s lips against those of her own. He tasted of wine and the dessert they had eaten at supper, and something entirely new. It was exciting to be kissed by this man. She placed her palms down on his hard chest and moved them upward to clasp the hair at the base of his neck. She then moved closer to connect their bodies from chest to pelvis.
* * * *
David’s kiss was meant to be that of a lesson, to show her they did suit in the most basic way. He wanted to show her they could have a well-matched marriage in the bedroom. However, it would seem the little vixen had turned the tables on him. Her balmy kiss was setting his loins aflame. He should stop this encounter, but he could not seem to speak past repeating her name into her hot mouth and groaning his pleasure as she shifted their bodies into closer contact. Her innocent touch was apparent in her kiss, but she was a delicious creature he wanted desperately to bed. She thought they did not suit? He would show her differently.
Anna pulled her mouth away from his to gather air into her lungs. David was not deterred. He moved his mouth to her neck to nip and suckle her. Anna shifted her hips against his cock, and it sent a shaft of longing and pulsing. He moaned and then realized the little vixen was now alert to his cock’s erection, and she was at present seducing him.
“Anna, sweet, we must stop this before I take your innocence,” David said, hissing between clenched teeth.
* * * *
Anna was beyond coherent reason. She wanted the duke. The realization should have stopped her, made her turn and run from him. However, she stayed and hoped he would take her to bed. It was a sinful thought. Marital relations only happened within a marriage bed. She was taught that concept at a very early age. Nevertheless, she wanted him. She had musings of his body and having intercourse with him since she was eighteen.
“Anna, if you marry me, it will be like this always. I promise you,” David said persuasively. “We can go to bed together and make love, create babies, and have a family.”
The words were sweet, and she wanted to believe them, but she had some thinking ahead of her. So she stopped his hands and moved back from him. “I want to believe that. However, how am I to count on you in the future? You broke my heart when you stayed away for so long. Whether or not you intended to, you did, and I am scared you will do so again.” She backed aside from David and opened her door. “I have some thoughts to consider, Your Grace.” And with that she left David outside her door.
Anna fell into a fitful sleep with images full of lustful kisses and touching from her duke. She tried to resist, but his mouth was skillful, and his body was tight with sinewy muscles. As his hands moved over her body, she quivered with need and want. He was moaning her name and only her name. His tongue played slowly with that of her own. He tasted of port and mint, an intoxicating combination.
His fingers played her as if she were an instrument. She felt a wetness seep in between her legs. She shifted her hips to relieve the pressure, only to find his erection against her belly. It was warm and very hard.
“Anna, Anna, please let me…” he begged.
She had no words. She could only nod her head. He divested her of her dress, corset, and shift slowly. She stood naked save her stockings. She was not at all surprised that she wanted David.
He then deposed of his own clothing. He was huge, heavily made, and as she stared at his prick, it seemed to grow harder and longer. He approached her as if she was a skittish colt, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. He placed his hands upon her warm flesh, and she sighed. He took her mouth and moved his fingers to her heaving breasts, where he pinched her nipples and brought such pleasure to her center. Her womb contracted with every stroke. She wanted something more, and she knew exactly what that was. She wanted his cock.
Anna whimpered at his touch, which had changed paths and was now heading southward to her pussy. Her legs were shaking. She was on fire for him. And then came her undoing. He placed his finger on her clitoris. She was slick with lust. She felt a tingle begin at her toes and rise upward. His seductive fingers and skilled words had her breathless. She was lost to desire. A fallen woman, and she loved it.
When her pussy was slick and ready for his cock, he growled. He then placed his erection at the opening of her slit. A banging began inside of her head. She tried to focus on David and his magnificent body. The banging became persistent, and the corners of her eyes began to see light. As he slid inside of her, the light of the day intruded, and she was awakened by her maid. Hot and frustrated, she sent her away, then she closed her eyes to try to recapture the moment, but it was lost.
When Anna realized the dream was gone, and it was the cold light of the day, she felt wanton and shameful. She slept poorly the previous night, and it showed. As her maids helped her dress and organize her hair, she was more confused than ever. She was so sure she did not want to marry the duke. She had no doubt that he was a rake and a cad. However, his sensuous kisses left her mind spinning and her heart whirling. She had been definite they did not suit. Now she was not so certain.
When her maid was done, she left the room to break her fast. When she entered the dining room, she saw that her aunt was not eating, but the duke was filling his plate at the sideboard. H
e looked so very handsome in his breeches, linen shirt, cravat, and snug-fitting waistcoat in dark blue. He was sinfully sexy, and she could not take her eyes off of him. She joined him in filling a plate.
“You look beautiful this morning, my lady,” David stated.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Anna replied. She was wearing a simple cotton day dress in pale green.
David suddenly leaned in and kissed Anna full on the lips. Anna was so shocked she said nothing, but she put her fingers to her mouth.
“If you call me by my title again, I will kiss you in full view of the public. We are engaged. Call me David,” he insisted. He went back to fill his plate as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Anna leaned in and whispered, “You wouldn’t dare.”
David stared into her green eyes and simply said, “Take your chances, Anna.”
He turned and placed his plate on the table and began to eat with gusto. Anna was confused. Aroused and confused. No one of any consequence was about to see his quick kiss and hear his declaration, but she still reddened under his words. Everyone was embroiled in preparations for the festivities.
They ate in silence for a while until David was finished with his plate and threw his napkin down. “I say we take a stroll through the garden. The sun has come out to brighten the day. We should take advantage of its beauty.”
A time later, Anna followed him outside to feel the sun’s rays upon her face. She smiled up to the warmth and held her arms out.
David looked at her with a smile and said, “The first day I saw you on the pond you smiled up to the sun as well. I remembered thinking you had a brilliant smile.”
