Page 72 of The Odyssean Duke

She laughed. “Take me, then.”

He pulled out and plunged inside her. Evelina gasped as waves of pleasure swept over her. Stephan quickened his pace, and Evelina clung to the bed linens. His every movement jolted her against the bed. Her thighs trembled, and her hips bucked. Evelina’s body moved against his without conscious thought. She met his every thrust with a snap of her hips, urging him onward.

Stephan’s face reddened, and he grasped her hips tightly. He dove into her, and Evelina gasped. Black spots obscured her vision, and the blissful sensation of her release swept over her unlike anything she had ever felt before. This release was so powerful that her whole body trembled, and when it faded, she lay bonelessly and satisfied against the bedding.

Stephan grunted and continued thrusting into her, and Evelina watched, fascinated, as his muscles tensed. He growled, and a new heat spread through Evelina’s core. “Oh!” she gasped, startled.

It took her a heartbeat to realize that it must have been his seed filling her. She gasped for air and let out a small, wondering laugh. Stephan withdrew with a wet sound.

“Done,” he said, smiling.

“How often will we do that?” Evelina asked.

She pressed her damp thighs together, her face warming. Evelina might have conceived a child with this act. She might have completed her plan!

“As often as we can manage,” said Stephan.

He bent down to remove his shoes. Evelina watched, her vision partially obscured. After a moment, he removed his trousers and stood only in his shirt. Evelina’s eyes swept over his powerful thighs and to his muscled torso, visible even through the material of his shirt. Her throat was dry.

“You are welcome to stay in my bed,” he said.

Evelina blinked, suddenly utterly exhausted. “I think I will.”

She did not know if she even had the strength to continue to her own bed. Stephan smiled down at her. “Good. If you are able, we might do this again once you wake. We must be careful, though, given your inexperience.”

Evelina nodded, but her thoughts had already wandered away. She held a hand over her stomach and dared to imagine that she might already be with a child. Aboy. Stephan needed a boy to be his heir, so it was best to contemplate that possibility.

Maybe she was already going to bear a perfect baby boy, and after that, perhaps Stephan would be pleased enough to give her a girl as well.

CHAPTER 31

Stephan woke to the soft, orange glow of the morning sun flitting through his bedroom window. For a moment, he simply lay in his bed and gazed at the ceiling. He blinked, awakening slowly, like a cat stretching in a pool of sunlight. A sense of peace filled him. Stephan sighed contentedly and rolled onto his side.

Evelina. He inhaled sharply.

She lay fast asleep. In sleep, her face was softened and calm. His eyes swept over her soft curves, only partially hidden beneath the linens. She reminded him of a statue he had once seen of Aphrodite, her body draped in fabric that provided modesty while also emphasizing every part of her beautiful, feminine form. Evelina’s hair had taken a golden tinge from the sun, and he flexed his fingers, thinking about stroking her lovely ringlets.

He would not touch her, though. Otherwise, she might wake. Stephan frowned and tried to determine precisely when he had begun to care so much about her desires. He had grown to caresome for her, of course. Evelina had many appealing qualities. She was beautiful and quick-witted and independent. He would not be vexed to find that she had passed those qualities along to their son.

This was…something else, though. There was no conceivable reason for him to care so much about the inconvenience of waking her, except that the world was so serene in that moment that he could not bring himself to shatter the peace between them.

He lay there for a long time. At last, Evelina began to stir. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she stretched her arms over her head. The motion lifted her breasts, and Stephan inhaled sharply, seized by the memory of touching them not so long ago.

Evelina blinked sleepily at him. “You are here,” she mumbled.

Stephan smiled. “So I am. How do you feel?”

Knowing that she had hesitated awakened a softer side of him, one which Stephan seldom acknowledged. He wanted to ensure that Evelina enjoyed their time together.

“I feel great. I enjoyed…” she trailed off, pink rising to her cheeks. “I can scarcely believe that I was worried about having a congress with you. That was hardly a chore.”

“I believe it is a chore with some men,” Stephan said.

Still, a deep satisfaction settled in his chest. Evelina had enjoyed the encounter. Practically, that meant she would likely be willing to have another congress with him and another—hopefully as many as it took for her to conceive an heir.

“I think…” Evelina furrowed her brow and wrinkled her nose. “I will admit that I had not given it much thought previously, but I suspect that I hesitated because…”

Stephan let his hand rest in his cheek, patiently waiting for her to finish. Maybe she would be willing to try again right in that very moment. His pulse jumped at the thought of having yet another congress. That sounded like a pleasant way to begin the morning.