The warmth surrounding her had unlocked her muscles. Safe, certain-determined to prevail-she slid into untroubled slumber.
She woke the next morning neatly tucked in her bed. Blinking her eyes wide, she was almost at the point of dismissing her memories of the night as dreams when her gaze alighted on the odd blanket draped across the bed's corner. She narrowed her eyes at the inoffensive plaid; her recollections became much clearer.
With a disgusted humph, she sat up and threw back the covers. It was clearly time she had a long talk with his Obstinate Grace of St. Ives.
Gowned appropriately, she swept into the breakfast parlor primed to declare herself won-only to discover he'd left the house early, ostensibly on business. He was not expected to return until shortly before dinner, after which he would escort her to the Theater Royal.
She amended her plans-he invited some country neighbors passing through town to join them in their box. The Draycotts were charming, and utterly unshakable. At Devil's invitation, Lord Draycott accompanied them back to Grosvenor Square, the better to discuss repairs to the Five-Mile fence.
There was no storm that night.
The next morning, Honoria rose early, determined to catch her worm. He didn't even appear, taking breakfast in his library, in the protective presence of his steward.
By evening, she'd reached the end of her tether. Why he was avoiding her she had no idea, but his actions left her no choice. There was one approach guaranteed to gain his complete and undivided attention-as far as she was concerned, there was no reason she couldn't employ it.
Chapter 16
Donnnnnnng.
Devil spared not a glance for the long-case clock as he passed it on the stairs. Crossing the gallery, he lifted his candle in insouciant salute to his father's portrait, then strode on, into the long corridor that led to his rooms.
His sire, he was sure, would applaud his night's work.
In his pocket lay three notes inscribed with Viscount Bromley's square script. Bromley was already deep in debt, although by how much he was probably unaware. Of course, the last hand had seen the luck change. Devil smiled. He'd have Bromley tied tight in less than a week.
Despite his success, as he drew nearer his door, he tensed; the frustration he continually held at bay exerted its power. An ache settled in his gut; muscle after muscle turned heavy, as if he was fighting himself. Grimacing, he reached for the doorknob. As long as he limited his time with Honoria to public, social venues, he could cope.
He'd told her the truth-he was more than capable of manipulating, coercing, or seducing her into marriage. Indeed, his very nature compelled him to do so, which was why he felt like a wild beast caged. He was a born conqueror-taking what he wanted came naturally. Subtleties, sensitivities, were usually of little consequence.
His expression hardening, he entered his room. Shutting the door, he crossed to the tallboy; setting the candlestick by the mirror on its top, he untied his armband, unbuttoned his waistcoat, then eased the diamond pin from his cravat.
Reaching out to lay the pin in its box, his gaze slid past his reflection-white glimmered in the shadows behind him.
His head snapped around. Then, his tread utterly silent, he crossed to the chair by the fire.
Even before he touched the silk, he knew to whom it belonged. The fire, a mere glow of coals, was still warm enough to send her scent rising, wafting upward to ensorcel him. He only just stopped himself from lifting the soft silk to his face, from inhaling the beguiling fragrance. Stifling a curse, he dropped the peignoir as if it was as hot as the fire's coals. Slowly, he turned to the bed.
He couldn't believe his eyes. Even from this distance, he could see her hair, a rippling chesnut wave breaking across his pillows. She lay on her side, facing the center of the bed. The sight drew him like a lodestone. He was beside the bed, looking down on her, before he knew he'd moved.
No woman had ever slept in his bed-at least not during his tenure. His father had been of the stated opinion that a duke's bed was reserved for his duchess; he had agreed-no other woman had lain between his silken sheets. To return late at night to discover those sheets warmed by the one woman he wanted to find asleep there, breathing gently, soft, sleek limbs sunk deep into the down, left him reeling.
He couldn't think.
The realization left him shaking, battling a too-powerful urge to put aside all explanations and react-act-do what he wished with all his conqueror's soul to do.
But he needed to think-to be sure, certain, that he wasn't being led by the nose-no, not his nose, but another protuberant part of his anatomy-into committing a deed he would later regret. He'd taken his stance, one he knew was right. Demanding her knowing commitment, heart, mind, and soul, might not be a customary requirement, yet for him, with her, it simply had to be.
His gaze roamed her face, softly flushed, then slid lower, filling in what the sheet concealed. Swallowing a savage curse, he swung away. He fell to pacing, his footfalls cushioned by the carpet. Why the hell was she here?
He cast a glittering glance her way-it fell on her lips, slightly parted. He heard again the urgent, intensely feminine moans she'd uttered in the orangery while writhing beneath his hands. With a muted oath, he paced to the other side of the bed. From there, the view was less torturing.
Three minutes later, he still couldn't marshal a single un-lustful thought. Muttering one last, disgusted expletive, he swung back to the bed. Sitting on it was too dangerous, given her hands and her propensity to get them on him. Standing beside the carved post at one end, he reached across and, through the covers, grasped her ankle. He shook it.
She muttered and tried to wriggle free. Devil closed his hand, locked his fingers about her slim bones and shook her again.
She opened her eyes-blinking sleepily. "You're back."
"As you see." Releasing her, Devil straightened. Folding his arms, he leaned against the bedpost. "Would you care to explain why, of all the beds in this house, you chose mine to fall asleep in?"
Honoria raised a brow. "I would have thought that was obvious-I was waiting for you."
Devil hesitated; his faculties remained fogged by seething lust. "To what purpose?"
"I have a few questions."
His jaw firmed. "One o'clock in the morning, in my bed, is neither a suitable nor wise choice of time and venue to ask questions."
"On the contrary"-Honoria started to sit up-"it's the perfect place."
Devil watched the covers fall, revealing her shoulders, clearly visible through translucent silk, revealing the ripe swell of her breasts-"Stop!" His jaw clenched hard. "Honoria, just-sit-still."
Tartly, she hauled the covers up as she sat, then folded her arms beneath her breasts. She frowned at him. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
Devil returned the frown. "I would have thought that was obvious. You've a decision to make-I cannot conceive that private meetings between us, at present, would help. They certainly wouldn't help me." He'd intended giving her time-a week at least. The three days so far had been hell.
Honoria held his gaze. "About that decision-you've told me it's important to you-you haven't told me why."
For a long moment, he didn't move, didn't speak, then his folded arms lifted as he drew a deep breath. "I'm a Cynster-I've been raised to acquire, defend, and protect. My family is the core of my existence-without a family, without children, I'd have nothing to protect or defend, no reason to acquire. Given your past, I want to hear your decision declared. You're an Anstruther-Wetherby-given all I know of you, if you make a declaration, you'll stick by it. Whatever the challenge, you won't back down."
Honoria held his gaze steadily. "Given what you know of me, are you sure I'm the right wife for you?"
The answer came back, deep and sure. "You're mine."
Between them, the atmosphere rippled; ignoring the breathlessness only he could evoke, Honoria raised her brows. "Would you agree that, at present, I'm free of your seductive influence? Free of coerci
on or manipulation?"
He was watching her closely; he hesitated, then nodded.
"In that case-" She flung back the covers and scrambled across the bed. Devil straightened-before he could move away, Honoria grabbed the front of his shirt, and hauled herself up on her knees. "I have a declaration to make!"
Locking her eyes on his, locking both hands in his shirt, she drew a deep breath. "I want to marry you. I want to be your wife, your duchess, to face the world at your side. I want to bear your children." She invested the last with all the conviction in her soul.
He'd stilled. She tugged and he moved closer, until his legs hit the bed. He stood directly before her as she knelt, knees wide, on the bed's edge.
"Most importantly of all." She paused to draw another breath; her eyes on his, she spread her hands across his chest. "I want you. Now." In case he hadn't yet got her message, she added: "Tonight."
Devil felt desire soar, triumphant, compelling. Excruciatingly aware of her hands sliding as his chest swelled, he forced himself to ask: "Are you sure?" Exasperation flared in her eyes; he shook his head. "I mean about tonight." Of the rest, he had not a doubt.
Her exasperation didn't die. "Yes!" she said-and kissed him.
He managed not to wrap his arms about her and crush her, managed to cling grimly to his reins as she wound her arms about his neck, pressed herself to him in utter abandon and flagrantly incited his possession. He locked his hands about her waist, steadying her-then responded to her invitation. She opened to him instantly, her mouth softening, a sweet cavern to fill, to explore, to claim.
She took him in and held him, took his breath, then gave it back. Devil set his hands skimming, fingers finning, thumbs pressing inward at the tops of her thighs. Her nightgown was a mere cobweb of gossamer silk; he let his hands fall, tracing her sleek thighs before closing one hand above each knee. Slowly, he slid his fingers upward, feeling the silk slide over satiny skin, his thumbs drawing lazy circles along her inner thighs. Higher and higher, inch by inch, he raised his hands-the long muscles of her thighs tensed, then locked, then quivered.
He stopped with his thumbs just below her soft curls. Drawing back from their kiss, he watched her-and waited for her lids to rise. When they did, he trapped her gaze with his-and drew two more circles. She shivered.
"Once I take you, there'll be no turning back."
Determination flared, steely blue in her eyes. "Hallelujah."
Their lips met again; Devil loosened his reins. Desire, hot and urgent, rose between them; passion rode in its wake.
Honoria sensed the change in him, felt his muscles harden, felt his hands, still gripping her thighs, tighten. An expectant quiver ran through her tensed muscles. He released them. One hand slid around to spread across her bottom; her skin turned feverish at his touch. He caressed her in slow, sensuous circles-her senses followed, distracted by the silk shifting between hand and naked skin.
Then his hand finned, cupping her bottom-in the same instant, she felt his other hand slide between her parted thighs.
His head angled over hers; his kiss became more demanding. He stroked her through the gossamer silk, stroked and caressed and teased until the silk clung, a second skin, muting his touch, tantalizing her senses. Honoria tensed, fingertips sinking into the muscles of his back. She felt his hand shift; one long finger slid into her, probing gently, then more deliberately.
Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. She pulled back with a gasp-he let her go, his hands leaving her. Grasping her waist, he toppled her back on the bed.
"Wait."
Devil crossed to the door to his dressing room, opened it, confirmed Sligo had not waited up, then locked it. Striding back across the room, he shrugged out of his coat and threw it on the chair. Flicking the intricate folds of his cravat undone, he tugged the yard-long strip from his neck, then stripped off his waistcoat and sent it to join his coat, before unlacing his cuffs and pulling off his shirt. The flame from the candle on the tallboy gilded the muscles of his back, then he turned and picked up the candlestick.
Sprawled, breathless, across his bed, Honoria watched as he set flame to the two five-armed candelabra upon the mantelpiece. Concentrating on each graceful movement, on the play of the flames over his sculpted frame, she held back her thoughts, too scandalous for words. Anticipation had soared; excitement shivered over her skin. Her lungs had seized; a delicious panic had tightened every nerve.
Leaving the single candle on the mantelpiece, Devil carried one candelabra to the side of the bed, tugging the bedside table forward so that the candles' light fell across the covers. Blinking, aware that in the light she'd appear next to naked, Honoria watched as he placed the second candelabra similiarly on the bed's opposite side. She frowned. "Isn't it usually night? I mean dark?"
Devil met her gaze. "You've forgotten something."
Honoria couldn't think what and wasn't sure she cared; her gaze roamed his chest as he walked toward the bed, bathed in golden light. He stopped by her feet, then turned and sat. While he pulled off his boots, she distracted herself with his back. His cuts and scrapes had healed; she reached out a hand and traced one. His skin flickered at her touch; he muttered something beneath his breath. Honoria grinned and spread her fingers-he stood, casting one black glance back at her before stripping off his trousers. He sat to pull them free of his feet; Honoria stared at the long, broad muscles framing his spine, tailing into twin hollows below his waist. He reached, and muscles shifted; the view was almost as good as his chest.
Free of his last restriction, Devil half turned and fell back on the bed. He knew what would happen-Honoria didn't. With a valiantly smothered shriek, she rolled into him, into his arms, unable to gain any purchase on the slippery sheets. He lifted her over him, her legs tangling with his, her hair fanning over his naked chest.
He expected her to be shocked, expected her to hesitate-this had to be the first time she'd touched a naked male. The shock was certainly there-he saw it in her stunned expression; hesitation followed-it lasted a split second.
In the next, their lips met-there was no longer any distinction between him kissing her and her kissing him. He felt her hands on his chest, greedily exploring; he ravaged her mouth-and felt her fingers sink deep. He spread his hands over the firm mounds of her derriere and held her against him, easing the throbbing ache of his erection against her soft belly. She writhed, heated and eager, thin silk no barrier to his senses.
Some women were catlike, elusively seductive-she was far too bold to be a cat. She was demanding, aggressive, intent on, not just fraying his reins, but shredding them. Deliberately invoking his desire, his demons-all the possessiveness in his soul. Which, given she was a virgin, qualified as abject madness.
Breathing raggedly, he pulled back from their kiss. "For God's sake, slow down!"
Engrossed in caressing one flat nipple, Honoria didn't look up. "I'm twenty-four-I've wasted enough time."
She wriggled; Devil gritted his teeth. "You're twenty-four-you should know better. You should at least have some measure of self-preservation." Intent on impaling herself on her fate, she seemed to have no concept of how much he could hurt her, of how much his strength overshadowed hers, of how much harder than her he was.
She was intent on learning-her hands reached lower, exploring the ridges of his lower chest. Devil felt desire rise, full-blown, ravenous-too strong for her to handle. Releasing her buttocks, he grasped her upper arms.
Just as she grasped him.
The shock that lanced through him nearly shattered his control. He froze. So did Honoria.
She looked into his face-his eyes were shut, his expression graven. Carefully, she curled her fingers again, utterly fascinated by her discovery. How could something so hard, so rigid, so ridged, so blatantly, elementally male, be so silky smooth, so soft? Again, she touched the smoothly rounded head-it was akin to stroking hot steel through the finest peach silk.
Devil groaned; he reached down and closed his hand over he
rs-not to pull it away but to curl her fingers more tightly. Eagerly, she followed his unspoken instructions, obviously much more to her taste than slowing down.
He let her caress him until he thought his jaw would break-he had to pull her hand away. She fought him, squirming all over him, soft, hot, silk-encased flesh writhing over his by-now-painful erection.
With an oath, he caught her hands, one in each of his, and rolled, trapping her beneath him. He anchored her hands to the bed and kissed her, deeply and yet more deeply, letting his weight sink fully onto her-until she had no breath left to fight him, no strength to defy him.
They both stilled; in that instant, she was open to him, heated, her thighs spread, soft and welcoming, her hips a cradle in which he already lay. All he needed to do was reach down and rip the thin silk from between them, then sink his throbbing staff into her softness and claim her.
Simple.
Gritting his teeth, Devil let go of her hands and lifted away. He moved back. Knees spread, he sat back on his ankles in the middle of the bed. Locking his eyes on hers, he beckoned with both hands. "Come here."
Her eyes widened; they searched his, then fell-jaw locked, he suffered her scrutiny, saw the age-old question form in her eyes.
Giddy, not only from breathlessness, Honoria slowly blinked, then raised her eyes to his face. He looked like some god, seated in the candlelight, his maleness so flagrantly displayed. The soft light gilded the muscles of his arms, his chest-and the rest of him. She drew in a deep breath; her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Slowly, she rose on one elbow, then freed her legs from the folds of her nightgown and came up on her knees, facing him.
He took her hands in his and drew her closer, then closed his hands about her waist and lifted her. As he set her down astride his thighs, Honoria frowned into his eyes. "If you tell me we have to wait, I'll scream."
The planes of his face looked harder than granite. "You'll scream anyway."
She frowned harder-and saw his lips twitch.
"With pleasure."
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