Page 92 of The Duke's Sinful Deal
“When we go to bed,” he said, “I would have you trust me in a different way.”
Arabella felt the words rather than simply hearing them, the meaning not yet fully clear, but the intent unmistakable.
“How? What do you mean?” she asked.
His hand shifted again, not withdrawing, but grounding her more firmly in place.
“I would ask,” he said, more quietly now, “that you allow me to take you as I wish.”
The words settled between them, heavy with implication, though not spoken with force.
Arabella did not answer at once.
She could feel the change in him, the way the control she had first known had not disappeared, but had been altered into something more difficult to maintain. It was not frightening. Not entirely. But it was different enough to make her aware of the choice being offered.
“And if I say no?” she asked.
“Then I will not press it,” he said at once.
There was no hesitation in that answer.
Arabella studied him, searching for something in his expression that might give her reason to doubt it. She did not find any.
“And if I say yes?” she asked, softer now.
Maxwell’s jaw tightened, just slightly, though his voice remained steady. “Then I will not hold back in the same way I have before.”
The admission did not feel like a threat.
Arabella’s mouth went dry, her pulse steadying even as the tension between them sharpened. “Okay, then… yes,” she said.
Maxwell stilled for a fraction of a second, as though confirming he had heard her correctly.
Then suddenly, the distance between them closed, as he leaned in closely and opened a door that had been just behind her.
She turned, surprised.Were we moving toward his room this entire time?
His hands were on her hips in the next breath, and his broad frame was positioned flush against her back as he led her into his room. The faint click of the door was her only cue to know what might happen next.
And her guess was right.
The warmth of his body behind her disappeared as he made quick work of the laced corset and frock. The next thing she heard was the sound of him shrugging out of his coat and tunic, and them landing on the floor.
His bare chest leaned up against her now bare body, and he guided them toward his bed.
“Do you trust me?” she heard him say, but his lips were within an inch from her bare shoulders, and she shivered; she felt rocked through her entire body… all the way down to her bare feet.
“Y— yes,” she said, voice shaking, unsure of what was about to happen next, but comforted to feel the heat of him close to her.
He leaned against her then, wrapping his arms around her hands and placing them atop the bed before they caressed her as he straightened, his voice, a low growl, “Stay there.”
Arabella nodded her head in understanding.
His hands mirrored each other as they slid over her shoulders, down her ribs, and cupped her bottom before traveling lower still. Next thing she felt was both hands wrapping around her thighs, urging them wider.
“Good, wider,” Maxwell demanded, and she complied.
She felt his hands travel back up her thighs, wrapping around still until one of them slid between her thighs, rubbing her now sopping core with the knuckle of his thumb, nearly causing her knees to buckle.
