Page 39 of The Three-Month Duchess
“And when he touches you, do not stiffen up or try to hide the noises threatening to escape your lips. Do not hide from him, orhe will not know how good you feel. Be honest with yourself and him –”
Jane shook her head, holding a hand out to her friend, silently asking her to stop. Penelope looked amused, which only increased the intensity of the blush in Jane’s cheeks.
“I think... I think it is best if I return home now. I don’t – Reuben might miss me if I am gone to long. Thank you again, for having me.” She babbled, walking backwards to the door.
Penelope watched her with a smile, choosing to let her go.
“Of course, dear. You are welcome here, always. Do not forget to tell your husband about my party. I will be counting on your attendance. Both of you.”
Jane nodded, waving slightly before she slipped through the door, Penelope’s laugh seemingly seeing her off to the front door.
Jane felt as though she could not breathe until she was in the carriage. Penelope’s suggestions were utterly ridiculous, even more so knowing that she had crossed that line with Thomas already.
I will be all right, if it never happens again, Jane told herself. However, those words felt rather silly, because she felt as though she had just lied.
She could not deny that it had felt good, every kiss, every caress, every press of his fingers into her. She had wanted more, even, and when she awoke alone in his bed; she had craved his presence greatly.
It was unbecoming and improper and she had only herself to blame. She could only hope that she was strong enough to resist temptation next time.
Jane had not expected to see the duke so soon, much less to nearly collide with him in the foyer after she entered the house. She stumbled backwards and he caught her securely in his arms.
She froze in his embrace, her heart beat getting faster with every moment that had passed.
“I was just... thinking of you,” he muttered. “I had wondered where you’d gone and if you would be coming back at all.
Jane’s eyes widened in disbelief and she quickly extracted herself from his grasp.
“M-My apologies, Your Grace. I went to see a friend and it seems I lost track of time,” she sputtered, smoothing down her dress in a bid to look busy.
“Jane, what must I do to rid you of your desire to be formal?” Thomas sighed, looking mildly irritated.
“I'm sorry, Thomas –”
“Do not apologize. You have returned, that is all that matters. You look as though your little excursion added to your well-being,” he said lowly as he stepped closer to her. “There’s that lovely flush on your cheeks again. It really does make an alluring sight.”
Jane felt the flush in her cheeks spread even further and she stepped back like a startled animal, forcing herself to hold back the whine of compliant as she noticed the tell-tale sign of amusement in the small quirk of his lips.
“That is not – your bedroom. The furniture I picked out for it should be arriving tomorrow. Please be a little patient.”
Thomas shrugged, nodding in the direction of Reuben’s room, as though he had already deduced where she intended to go.
“That is fine. I did not care about any changes being made to my room, but I have surrendered to your orders. Whatever will happen is fine with me.” He told her curtly.
“That is nice... I suppose, knowing that I have your trust. But I can’t help but wonder if perhaps you would be better served by making your own wants known. If there was something you did not like about what I was doing – even the fact that I had come into your room without permission, you should have told me.” Jane huffed with a frown.
Thomas frowned, clearly taken aback by her words.
“But I had no problem with it. I understood why you did so. And I have seen the changes around my house, enough to know that it was the right decision to allow you to do whatever you wished. I have no problems with the choices you make, duchess, as long as they are the right ones. Especially for Reuben.”
“Yes, all right,” Jane started, running forward a little bit to catch up to his long strides when she noticed she had started to linger behind him quite a bit. “I appreciate that you trust me so much, but I want to know what you want. I want to know what you get out of this marriage deal between us.”
Thomas regarded her for a moment, then he turned away, muttering,
“Nothing you should concern yourself with. I will be fine as long as my son is well.”
Jane found it stifling, trying to speak with him and getting absolutely nowhere. She wished it would be easier, to know what to do in order to get close to him, but it appeared that he was rather intent on maintaining the mystery he was shrouded in.
“Then... might I make a request? Two, actually? One of them is for Reuben’s benefit. The other is... for me.” She informed him nervously as they came to a stop in front of Reuben’s room.
