Page 70 of The Odyssean Duke

Evelina’s eyes flashed with anger. “Maybe we would have already produced an heir if you cared to be home more often. You might blame me for being hesitant, but you have not seemed especially eager either. One can hardly blame me for trying to buy you more time.”

Her face was flushed with fury, her eyes bright, and Stephan’s blood roared in his ears. “Is that what you think?” he asked, laughing harshly. “Do you think that I am entirely cold? That I do not feel desire? You are driving me mad, Evelina. Marriage of convenience or no, you are an attractive woman. Do you think I am not moved by your charms?”

Evelina’s breath shuddered. Her fingers tangled in her skirts. Stephan’s eyes drifted to her breasts, straining against the confines of her gown, rising and falling quickly as her breath came faster. ‘Well, then,” she said.

His restraint snapped, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. Evelina gasped as her hips collided with his thighs. Stephan smothered her gasp with his mouth, drinking her in. She tasted of the cake, of sugar and honey, and smelled like English lavender and rose oil. He kissed her hard, and she moaned. The sound reverberated through his whole body, and he ached for her.

Stephan kissed her until his chest ached for want of air, and when he broke the kiss at last, Evelina stared at him with wide eyes. Her lips were parted and swollen, her breath coming in quick, hot pants.

“I want my heir,” Stephan growled.

She shivered in his arms, her body still pressed flushed against his. “Then, what are we waiting for?”

Stephan grinned wolfishly. “What, indeed?”

Then, he swept her up and into his arms. She cried out in surprise and hastily wrapped her arms around his neck. Stephan’s laugh rumbled in his chest as he carried her from the kitchen. Evelina was soft and pliant in his arms, so infinitely lovely that he wanted to hold her forever.

She was his wife. Even if they did not love one another, she was a beautiful and intelligent woman, and finally—finally—she was going to give him his desired heir.

CHAPTER 30

Evelina marveled at Stephan’s strength, as he laid her back on the bed. She had scarcely drawn a breath when his lips crushed against hers. Evelina groaned, her hips shifting reflexively. Already, that familiar heat had begun to bloom in her core, and her body ached with need. At last, they were going to consummate their marriage. She was to produce his heir.

She shivered in anticipation as Stephan kissed her hard. He let one hand wander, kneading her breast beneath her gown and stays. Evelina shifted beneath him, her heart in her throat. Last time, she had been unable to consummate the marriage. Once more, the fears that she might fail lodged in her throat. Her pulse jumped.

How many times could she fail before her husband decided that it was best simply to be rid of her? Stephan broke the kiss and pressed his lips against her jaw, her throat, her collarbone. He trailed kisses down to the tops of her breasts, and Evelina curledher fingers in the bedlinens. She bucked her hips against him, and he sat back on his heels.

Evelina gasped at the dark lust she saw burning in his eyes. “Stephan,” she breathed.

“My wife,” he said, his voice gentle. “Are you ready?”

Evelina’s breath caught in her chest. She understood what he was doing; Stephan wanted this. He needed an heir. Still, he was giving her a final opportunity to refuse, to tell him that she still needed more time when the clock was ticking so quickly.

She had only been half-serious when she suggested that the signatures were forged, echoing what her own solicitor had suggested in jest. If the signatures were real or could not be proven to be false, they needed this heir. There was so little time left, and yet Stephan was still willing to wait for her. Evelina softened a little, her doubts melting away.

“I am ready,” she said.

Stephan needed no further urging. He put his leg between her thighs and went onto his knees and forearms. Evelina curled her fingers in his hair and groaned as he kissed her breasts. She bucked her hips, her sex rubbing against his leg.

A jolt of pleasure shot like lightning through her. Evelina rubbed herself against him in earnest, groaning as her muscles all wenttaut, and that familiar tightness twisted within her. “Oh, please!” she gasped.

Stephan chuckled against her breasts. Then, his fingers deftly untied her gown. Next, her stays. He grasped her breasts, rubbing her nipples through the thin material of her chemise. “You are driving me mad,” he rasped.

Evelina bucked against him, twisting and squirming and letting the tightness grow and grow. It was not enough to reach her release, and a low, wanting sob tore from her throat. All her thoughts scattered apart, focused only on how she might achieve that glorious sensation which Stephan was so adept at bringing with his mouth and hands.

“You are…” Evelina trailed off.

Her first instinct was to argue that it washewho threatened to drivehermad, but her thoughts were too hazy to put that desire into words. Evelina’s longing for pleasure was so great that it obliterated any other thoughts. Sweat gathered beneath her breasts and at the small of her back, and when Stephan seized the hem of her chemise, Evelina lifted her hips. He heaved it up past her waist, and cool air swept over her hot, damp sex.

“Look at you,” Stephan said. “So beautiful. So eager and ready for me.”

Evelina moaned. “Stephan,please.”

“Please?”

He dipped his head and placed a trail of slow, lingering kisses along the inside of her thigh. “Tell me what you want,” he murmured. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I…” she trailed off, struggling for coherence.