Page 67 of Disciplined by the Duke
She sank back. “Mandy, my sister, she killed our father. He deserved it. He was . . . hurting her at the time. You have to believe that.” She tangled her fingers around a button on his coat. The heat from her hand sank through his clothes and soothed the furious beat of his heart.
He covered her hand with his own. “I believe you.” He couldn’t think about what her father must have done right now. That would be a conversation for later.
“The court wouldn’t accept my sister’s testimony, wouldn’t hear any evidence against my father. The jury convicted her and the judge sent her to Newgate, but she hasn’t been sentenced yet. The judge is in Westmore’s pocket. If I did this last job for him, stole your letter, he’d tell the judge to sentence her to time already served. If I don’t . . . She’s been sitting in prison for the past year.” Her eyes shone in the lamplight. “I have to get her out. I’d do almost anything. But I couldn’t give Westmore that letter. He’s a traitor.” Astonishment colored her voice, as though the breed were as rare as a purple elephant, and Marcus almost smiled.
Damn, she was adorable. He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. She blinked at him in surprise. She also wasn’t a traitor. Relief pulsed through him, making him feel so light he was surprised he didn’t float to the ceiling. She had flirted very close to the edge of treason, but with the letter back safely in his control, her actions need never be brought to light.
After he dealt with Westmore, he could return to his plans, make Liz his mistress. His eyes narrowed. It wasn’t optimal. His stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought of hiding Liz away. But it would have to do.
Her sweet scent of soap and woman teased his senses, drawing his attention back down to her. Tension strained her face.
He cupped her jaw, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “I’ll speak to the Lord Chancellor, see what I can do to get your sister released.”
She turned her face into his touch. “Thank you. But that’s not good enough. She doesn’t have time to wait for the wheels of justice to slowly turn. Now that I’ve betrayed Westmore, Amanda may only have days. I have a plan to secure her release tomorrow. So long as you don’t have me arrested, I’ll have her out by dinnertime.”
He leaned into her, pressed her back against the door. Her nipples hardened beneath her thin cotton dress and frayed spencer, the points rubbing against his chest. Lust coiled low in his gut. His balls grew heavy at her sharp intake of breath. His body recognized Liz as his mate, and his cock strained towards her, wanting contact with his woman.
His desire almost distracted him from her words.
“Of course I’m not having you arrested,” he growled. “But we have to discuss this plan of yours. Whatever it is, it’s no longer necessary. I’ll take care of it.”
She lifted onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “We could discuss it, if you’d like. Or”—she flicked her tongue out and ran the tip up his throat—“we could do other things.”
“I’ve created a harlot.” Her teeth nipped at his earlobe, and he groaned. “If you’re trying to distract me, woman, it’s working.”
Her lips curved against his neck, and his heart lurched. He wanted to spend his life making this woman smile. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and frowned at the smear of dirt he found, at the possibilities of how it got there. “What—”
She wrapped one leg around his hip and ground into him.
His mind emptied. Cupping his hands under her pert arse, he lifted her so she cradled his erection fully. With her back steady against the door, Marcus rocked his hips into her, reveling in her heat, her soft moan. He ached for this woman.
And he couldn’t wait one more second to have her.
Chapter Twenty
His fingers fumbled in her skirts, and Marcus shoved the fabric aside. With two sharp tugs, he tore the front of her drawers for unfettered access. Cock throbbing painfully against his smallclothes, he was seconds from exploding. He needed to take a step back, get control over himself. Figuratively at least. There was no way he was separating his body from hers.
He rested his cheek against her temple and tried to rein in his heaving chest. He wouldn’t take her like a beast, over and done with no thought to her pleasure. The way he was feeling now he wouldn’t last two minutes.
Focusing on her, her responses, he stroked his hand from her hip up to cup her soft breast, the slight weight a pleasant balm. He flicked his thumb at the tight bud, leaned in to brush his lips across hers. He lightly pinched the tip and, when she opened her mouth in a gasp, plunged his tongue between her lips.
So sweet. Hot. He licked around her teeth and suckled the tip of her tongue, wanting to devour her in one bite. He increased the pressure of his fingers on her nipple until she began to wiggle. Drawing back, Marcus saw the dazed look in her eyes. His lungs expanded to their bursting point. He did that to her. She responded that way for him.
Reaching around to the back of her neck, Liz started tugging at the buttons that ran down her back. “Marcus, please . . . I need you.”
There was no way he was waiting to undress her. Unless he tore the clothes off her body there wasn’t enough time. He clasped her hands in one of his, and pressed them to the wood above her head. He took her lips while his other hand skimmed under her skirts, along her inner thigh. Swallowing her moan, he parted her folds with one thick finger and pushed into her core.
The smooth glide almost undid him. She was wet. So damn wet. Pushing deeper, he searched for the spongy ball of flesh that lay inside, and added a second finger.
Liz jerked her mouth from his, her chest heaving. “Oh God. Marcus. Please.”
“Shh.” He nuzzled her one clean ear, licked around the rim. Whispering, he said, “You were very bad, Liz, running away from me like that. Not telling me of the trouble you’re in.” He circled his thumb around the tight bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs, never ceasing the plunging of his fingers. Her slick flesh clutched at him.
“Very bad.” Dragging his hand from her body, he smiled at her whine of protest. He brought his fingers to her lips, painted them with the evidence of her own desire. Her scent invaded his senses, clouded his mind, and his cock ached.
He traced the outline of her lips with his tongue, licking her essence into his mouth. “Because you’ve been bad, I’m going to take you against this wall. Hard.” He jerked his groin into hers to emphasize his point, grinding his erection into her heat, losing his mind. “This is for me. Your body, it’s all for me.”
Not wanting any separation but needing to read her eyes, he pulled back enough to see her face. “Do you understand, Liz? Do you want this, too? I’m going to take you, how I want, for my pleasure, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Tell me yes.”