What the Dashing Duke Deserves (Lords of Happenstance, #3)

by Sandra Sookoo

  “Behave.” She swatted at his shoulder. “But you’re not wrong. We were three months in the mission when we’d attended a social function—”

  “—and don’t tell me, you waltzed with him.” There was nothing like a dance to promote romance.

  “You are quite good at this.” Though amusement danced in her eyes, it didn’t quite banish the haunted shadows. “But yes. There was dancing and we talked. Everything shifted and changed, and suddenly I found myself rather enamored of him.”

  Crispin’s chest tightened with jealousy for a man he didn’t know, and a dead man at that. Get hold of yourself, man. This is not becoming. “Did you marry soon after?”

  “We did.” She heaved a shuddering sigh. “He always told me that King’s men were a special breed of people, and once they made up their minds about what they wanted, rarely did they change them.” Her smile was sad. “And that sometimes, a man knew where fate was leading.”

  “Well, he wasn’t far off with that thinking.” He wanted to touch her, stroke his fingers along her cheek, but he didn’t wish to distract her from the tale.

  “We returned to London. I had to debrief and toil over reports, but Phillip was sent to France for three months more. Then Rathesborne ordered me to Rome. Phillip had none of it. He wrote an angry letter to the duke saying that any missions we took would require us to go together.”

  “Understandable.” Crispin laughed. “Though, of course, the duke frowned upon married or involved partners, it happens within the organization. Some couples are content to work missions alone, but the bulk team up, like Archewyne and his wife.”

  “That’s how it was for Phillip and me.” Juliana drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. “We were tracking spies, which necessitated embedding ourselves deep into that life and culture. But when we weren’t working...” She smiled. “There were stunning moments of leisure, and Rome is quite conducive to romance.”

  “I can just imagine.” Though he didn’t want to think of her with any other man.

  “We were happy, perhaps blissfully, ignorantly so, but we didn’t care. Phillip worried that when we returned to England there would be hell to pay.”

  “Why? Family issues or Rathesborne’s censure?”

  “The duke, primarily. Phillip never spoke of family, so I assumed he didn’t have much, if any.” She rolled her eyes. “Though that was a huge error on my part, for Lord Archewyne told me that Phillip was the only nephew to Lady Rathesborne and that the two of them doted on him like a child.” Her voice wavered. “That Rathesborne had wanted Phillip to work exclusively in France.”

  “Well, damn.” No wonder she’d taken everything so hard or that guilt rode her shoulders like a demon. “I’m sorry.” He’d never known that about the duke, but then the man hadn’t exactly been chummy with any of them.

  “Thank you.” Her throat worked with a hard swallow. Tears welled in her eyes. “I had almost a year and a half with him. Six months of married life.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t enough.”

  “I think if you truly love a person, fifty years wouldn’t be,” he said softly and this time he dared enough to take her hand and squeeze her fingers. “Had you and he planned on having a family once you went back to England?”

  “We talked about it when time allowed, but we were having too much fun catching spies.” Her laugh held a wistful ring. “He took precautions so I wouldn’t become enceinte.”

  Crispin rubbed the pad of his thumb along her knuckles. She shivered. Was it from her story or his touch? “Do you regret that decision?”

  She was quiet for long moments, keeping her gaze on his cravat. “After everything that happened once our last mission together went south? No.” The word sounded pulled from a tight throat. “I regret him dying, and I regret that it was my fault. All of those deaths were.”

  “Do you wish to talk about that?”

  “No.” Juliana shook her head. “Not right now.” A tear splashed onto her cheek, its trail silver in the moonlight. “I cannot completely kill your respect of me.”

  “I can guarantee you that will not happen.” After a while, Crispin shifted his position so that he could look fully at her. “What can I do to help you?”

  She lifted her watery gaze to his. Need flared to life deep in those blue depths, and that blatant desire had him catching his breath. “Hold me. Make me believe that life is still worthwhile, that I will succeed on this mission, and that I’m not as horrible as I think I am.”

  “Come here.” He slid an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close. “Lean on me for as long as you want. Let me carry your worry and give you rest so that your mind is free to see your worth.” For several moments, she cried softly into his chest, and when she quieted, he lifted her chin with his free hand, sliding his fingers along her skin to cup her cheek. She looked so vulnerable, so tired that he lost a piece of his heart to her while his chest swelled with protective instincts. “Ah, Juliana.” He brushed a gentle kiss along her petal-soft lips, and that tiny taste only ignited the hunger he had for her. “I’ll be whatever you need tonight. Just say the word.”

  Then he settled her in his arms as much as their uncomfortable position allowed, and he set out to kiss her, show her that he would never leave her, that he understood, that he cared... and if she gave him the chance, he would be more.

  Perhaps it was folly, but her husband had been correct on one point—sometimes a man knew exactly what he wanted.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Juliana gave herself over to Crispin’s kisses with a little sigh of her soul. He was everything decent and respectful and dashing, and she didn’t deserve him, but in this moment when romance was in the air and the insistent press of his lips against hers promised everything, she wished she was worthy.

  The wont to forget about her reality grew strong with every new kiss. She wrapped her arms about his shoulders, furrowed her fingers through the hair at his nape. Lud, but he was so strong beneath her hands, so comforting, and the spicy fruity scent of him teased her into a new awareness.

  It was wonderful being held by a man again. After she had been set to Cairo with the Duke of Rathesborne’s ire heaped upon her head, she’d felt worthless and small and shamed. None of that was true with Crispin; it never had been. Always he’d treated her as if she’d mattered.

  “You are so very tempting, Your Grace,” she murmured against his lips while scooting a fraction of an inch closer. The warmth of him beckoned all too much; the solidness of his embrace comforted her in a way she hadn’t counted on.

  “As are you,” he whispered and continued his conquest of her mouth.

  When she’d met Andrew, all she’d desired from him was a physical connection, to feel wanted, for she’d been lonely at that point in her life. He was vital and exciting, and he took her to the Giza sites, indulging her request to see the pyramids. But when her personal life crashed into her professional mission and he’d showed too much interest in the staff, she’d broken things off with the lord before she did something stupid.

  Again.

  Romance—or even lust—had no place in a King’s agent’s life, and especially not a female one, so she’d devoted herself to her mission once more, only to stumble and stall.

  With Crispin, her priorities shifted once more. No longer did she crave mere carnal relations in the bid to banish loneliness of self-loathing. She wanted everything life would offer, and she wanted this man in her arms.

  But he was a King’s agent, and that meant quite possibly he’d end up hurt or worse if he remained in her company. She’d bring danger upon them because she ultimately didn’t have the essential something needed to succeed as an agent.

  A whimper escaped, and Juliana shoved the thoughts away. She applied herself to returning his kisses with more vigor. Tonight, it was her and him. They existed in this one perfect moment where nothing could harm them, where an uncertain future hung suspended in the balance. After the incident with th
e cobra, life had been brought into sharp focus, and she’d vowed she would grasp at an opportunity offered.

  That moment was now.

  “Crispin.” She pulled away enough to meet his desire-darkened gaze. That need echoed deep inside of her and her heartbeat accelerated.

  “Yes?” When he grinned and the gesture held a wicked edge, flutters danced through her lower belly.

  “I want you.” Juliana moved. She straddled his waist. Her skirting flowed around them and she ignored the tiny pebbles that dug into her knees. She stifled a moan when he slipped his hands to her hips. “Right here, right now, with no questions asked and no reasons given.” Oh, he was handsome with the moonlight bringing out the golden highlights in his hair.

  In London society, her reputation had already been hopelessly ruined. She was considered one of those wicked widows who craved bed sport. But it wasn’t like that at all. She enjoyed being with a man, adored the companionship and camaraderie and the challenge, wanted only that, but Crispin had changed her mind once again with his partnership and insistent friendship and his unfailing defense.

  He took in a shuddering sigh and gave his head a slight shake, perhaps to clear the fog. It seemed that passion-induced clouds weren’t limited to her. “You’re certain?”

  “Yes.” She drew her fingertips along the side of his face, and for a tiny half second, his eyes closed as if her touch was the most enjoyable thing in the world. “Quite. Haven’t we danced around this attraction for far too long?”

  “We have.” Crispin plucked the pins from her hair. They fell to the gritty ground with tiny pings. “This is a large step for you. It means you must show a smidgeon of trust in me.”

  Juliana smiled. She wriggled her hips against him, felt the evidence of his regard for her, and that ignited tiny fires into her blood. “Perhaps I need to surrender control on some things, and who better to do that with than you?” For the space of a few heartbeats, she sobered, stared into the tea-colored depths of his eyes and tumbled into an accidental freefall. “I’m finding that having a partner isn’t as bad as I first thought.”

  A low-pitched cry of triumph left him, and he burrowed his hands into her hair, framing her skull, holding her close. “I have waited to hear those words.”

  She barely had time to grin before he pounced, his lips once more on hers, the intensity of his kisses sweeping her away into a sea of heat and need.

  This wasn’t a polite meeting of mouths. Oh, no. Too much had remained unsaid between them for too long. This kiss was frantic and full of frenzied passion, desire and lust. Juliana framed his face between her palms and more or less devoured him. She sought to find a temporary refuge that would calm the storms inside, and he was more than willing to offer her that shelter. Heat swamped her, consumed her, urged her onward; she wanted his tongue and lips on her skin, on all the sensitive parts of her, wanted to drown in the sensations he invoked.

  When he yanked down her bodice and her breasts popped free, she guided him to a tightened nipple with the slightest pressure of her hand at his nape. The second he took that aching tip into the warm cavern of his mouth, she moaned and pressed more firmly against him.

  Oh, yes, he is exactly what I need.

  She took his hand and put it on her other breast. “Touch me here.”

  Crispin grinned against her skin. “There is something to be said for a woman who knows what she likes.” He rolled that nipple, increased the glorious pressure until she gasped from the pure, raw pain-tipped pleasure that streaked through her. “Takes the guess work away.”

  So much cheek in the man. Then another thought occurred, and one she didn’t wish to contemplate. “You have lain with a woman, haven’t you?”

  “Of course I have.” Humor flashed in his eyes as he brought his head up. The night air across her wet flesh sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Good. Show me how much I affect you.” She followed the command with a light nip to his bottom lip.

  “Why don’t you discover that for yourself if you’re so bold?” He took her hand and slipped it between their bodies and then he planted her palm against the rigid outline of his hardened length. “Take from me what you need.” The next kiss he claimed was forceful and allowed no room for error. “I’m yours for the night.”

  Flutters filled her lower belly. Perhaps it was for the best. If that was all they had allotted to them, so be it. She’d use the time well. “I don’t wish for you to play the gentleman tonight.” So saying, she manipulated the buttons of his frontfalls, fairly wrenching the flap of fabric down so that his hot, straining length fell into her palm. “There is a time and a place for chivalry, but this is not one of them.”

  His chuckle reverberated in her chest as he shifted his position to better accommodate her. She responded by curling her fingers around his member and gliding her grip up and down until he squirmed. “I’m amenable to that, for the way I’m feeling, I rather doubt I have it in me to give you slow and gentle.”

  A thrill went down her spine, which enhanced the need throbbing through her core. Her mouth watered; she wanted to taste him, wanted him inside her so badly. From the way his cock felt in her hand, he’d fill her nicely. “Now, if you please. I cannot wait any longer.” She kissed him with every ounce of desire she had, telling him with her lips and tongue that she needed him, fondled his stones and gave them a firm squeeze for good measure.

  A gasp escaped him. “Bloody hell, woman. Turnabout is fair play,” he said when he wrenched away. His breathing was as labored as hers, and he delved a hand beneath her skirting. When he found the slit in her drawers, he quickly undid the buttons.

  Juliana held her breath, only squirming slightly as his knuckles brushed over the swollen center of her pleasure. “Please, let me—”

  “Not until I make certain you’re well and truly primed.” With a wicked gleam in his eye, Crispin rubbed two fingers over that all-important bud. Her back went ramrod straight and she clutched at his shoulders. “Is there an issue, Miss Barrington?”

  “No.” She could barely force the word out, so great was the pleasure that rushed through her at his touch. Her husband had been a decent lover; had always gotten the job done as it were. Lord Ramsay had skill, and he’d left her sweaty and sated more often than not. Yet with Crispin, there was something all too personal about the act. Of course they’d flirted over the years. If her life had been different, she would have encouraged him, and now that she had him, it was everything she’d hoped.

  “What was that?” He increased the friction, didn’t let up while a slight grin curved his sensual mouth.

  Pressure built and stacked in Juliana’s lower belly. Her heartbeat raced in double time. She dug her fingernails into his shirt. “Oh, oh, oh!” All too soon she shattered with a keening cry she didn’t even try to stifle. Perhaps the men guarding the tomb would think the sound came from a deranged wild animal. Waves of sensation contracted within her core. She stared at Crispin with another level of grudging respect as she shuddered. “That was amazingly quick.”

  “I live to serve.” He withdrew his fingers and slid his hands up her legs to grip her hips. “If you want me to finish you, best ride me now else I’ll come without you.”

  “At least you’re honest.” Juliana flashed him a grin. He’d always been so in all of their interactions. Her chest tightened. She rose up onto her knees and moved her skirting out of the way. He looked at her with a mix of innocent expectation and blatant need that sent trembles down her spine. Then she once more took him in hand, resting the wide head of his member at her opening. He nodded and she slammed her body downward, impaling herself fully on the hard, long length of him. “Oh, dear God,” she whispered. Her eyes temporarily crossed as exquisite pleasure danced along every nerve ending. She was right; he filled her completely and then some.

  “That is the best testament of prowess a man can hope for.” Crispin kissed her and then his fingers tightened on her hips and he thrust upward. They both groaned an
d white hot frissons flowed through her body. His next kiss bordered on savage. “Use me. Take what you need to chase away your demons.”

  She nodded. Though she enjoyed intercourse, none of her other partners had let her assume the lead or take whatever she wanted from them without thought to their completion. Her heart stuttered, but she banished the thoughts as she rose up and then plunged downward upon him once more.

  From that moment on, their movements were frantic, raw, determined. On every down stroke she made, he thrust upward until they flowed together in a frenzied rhythm all their own. He kissed her, drank from her as if she held the last drop of water in the world, and she kissed him back with equal enthusiasm. Their tongues darted and lanced in a mimic of what their bodies did with wild abandon.

  Urgency guided her to quicken her pace. Passion drove her to claim him as hers. Over and over she rode him as if her life depended upon it, bouncing up and down or grinding on him for maximum enjoyment. Her nipples scraped against his jacket, adding more heat to the inferno ready to consume her. He gave all of himself to her just as he’d promised, never attempting to wrestle control from her.

  Her eyes popped open and she met his gaze. They stared at each other, their hips pumping, their strokes fast which sent him deep time and again. Tension mounted and swirled. Tears misted her eyes when he murmured words of encouragement, told her to fight for what she wanted. Leaning on another person for support didn’t mean she was less. Being with someone of like mind made her all the stronger.

  The coiling need broke. The pressure behind that barrier rushed through her, caught her up in the most intense vortex of release she’d ever experienced. In that second, while she peered into his eyes, right before he found his own completion, something was exchanged between them, and she felt it all the way down into her soul.

  But it left her trembling with more need than she started with, and she shook from it as her body sagged and she collapsed against his chest. She cradled the back of his head to protect him from the cliff wall behind them.