Page 36 of The Odyssean Duke

“I was unaware that I wanted it to sound romantic,” said the Dowager Countess, a gleam of a challenge in her eyes. “I doubt that you would have said it any better.”

He took a deep breath and dared make another step to her. “I shall prove you wrong,” he murmured.

His breath fell against the back of her neck, and he smiled, observing the way the gooseflesh rose along her skin. “Will you?” she asked.

“The beautiful Psyche marries Eros,” he murmured, keeping his voice husky. “And they love each other very much. Every night, Eros joined Psyche in bed, and he shows her all his devotion.”

“Yes,” she said tightly.

Stephan raised a single finger and made a slow trail from Evelina’s jaw, down her neck and to her smooth, round shoulder. Her breath hitched, and she clasped her hands together so tightly that the fabric of her gloves bunched a little around her fingertips. “He would only come to her when it was dark, so she could not lay eyes upon him. Can you imagine what that would be like, my lady? Lying and waiting, leaving yourself open and aching for your husband’s touch.”

He touched her sleeve, his fingers worrying the delicate beading woven into the fabric. Evelina hummed, the sound uneven. A delightful flush of pink had spread across her cheeks, and a quick glance revealed that her chest rose and fell quite quickly. Stephan smiled.

“I imagine that he would have touched her breasts first,” Stephan said. “He would have held them in his hands and kneaded them very gently, and he would have coaxed her lovely nipples into little peaks, as he has on this statue.”

“Oh, you…” she breathed, a shaking laugh following. “You are—you must not?—”

“And she wouldache,” Stephan continued. “She would need him so badly that she would lose all her eloquence. Her sex would ache and grow hot for his touch, and he would be soslowto fulfill her needs, making the desire between them grow and grow until she could bear it no longer.”

The Dowager Countess of Thornwall tore away from him and glared at him with a dark expression. “You are unkind, Your Grace.”

She was magnificent, lustful and wrathful, and Stephan could only smile. “If you are going to marry me,” he said softly, “it will be very soon. There is no need to delay. If it is only the difference of a day or so, no one will know. Will they?”

The Dowager Countess’s breath audibly hitched. “But there—where should we?—”

Stephan grinned. “I know the perfect place.”

CHAPTER 15

The Duke of Rothbury led her to a small room, which appeared to serve as some man’s study. Lavinia swallowed hard as His Grace locked the door behind them. She found that it was nothewhom she feared but a potential passerby catching them there.

It was difficult to be dissuaded by the threat of being caught, however, when her core pulsed with need. Evelinasmelledthe evidence of her attraction, a subtle musk that filled her nostrils. Even if she knew what His Grace was implying by bringing her to this room, her face still grew warm with embarrassment that he might notice how eager her body was for his own.

“I—I have not given you my answer yet,” she stammered. “We should not be hasty in producing an heir.”

“No?” he asked.

He walked to her, keeping an unruffled and leisurely pace that made her heart race. She stepped backwards, the back of her thighs colliding with the desk. “No, we should not work on producing an heir until we are properly married. I was overly hasty when I spoke earlier.”

His Grace smiled coyly. “But you seem so very eager to have a congress.”

“It is your fault,” she said. “You tormented me with your words, knowing that you would awaken desires within me.”

“At least, you admit that you desire me,” the duke said, grinning rakishly.

“Only because of what you might give me,” she retorted, the words sounding hollow to her own ears. “That is all I am thinking of.”

“Oh, Iknowyou are thinking of what I might give you,” he purred. “I can give you far more than a child, my lady. Don’t you know that?”

Her eyes darted to his sinfully full lips. “Of course, I know it.”

“How much?” His Grace asked boldly. “Was your husband a generous lover?”

He stalked to her, and Evelina’s mind whirled. Could she manage to escape him? If she tried to run for the door, shesuspected that the Duke of Rothbury could catch her with ease. The thought of being caught in his strong arms only made the ache between her thighs grow. Her mouth was dry and her pulse thundering. What could she do? What could shesay?

“No.” The words sounded as if someone else had spoken them, some other Evelina who was dissatisfied with her husband’s lack of attention.

“I see.”