Page 47 of The Haunted Duke

“No need to rush,” he whispered against her lips, gently guiding her hips to first tilt back, then swoop forward.

Their heads bowed forward, foreheads pressing together as a sigh escaped both their lips at the pleasure the subtle move released.

“Evander,” Helena breathed. “I just… I need to feel you against my body.”

“Are you, too, very soaked for me?”

Helena nodded shyly.

“I want you to feel how hard you make me, Helena.”

He moved her hips again, as softly as before, and a wet warmth seeped into his trousers as pleasure once more erupted between them. Helena’s grip tightened on his shoulders, and the next time she moved, she did so of her own volition, grinding her pelvis slowly against his aching cock.

Frenzied need coursed through his veins as Helena moaned his name, but no matter how badly he wanted to take control and grind into her faster, he did not. Instead, he let Helena take control of her own body, of his as well, and with each flick of their hips, their pleasure heightened until they were both gasping at every breath.

“What is happening to me?” Helena breathed, her hips moving faster and bolder as he neared his climax. “This feels so wonderful…”

She opened her eyes, and the look of her helpless innocence nearly drove him to his end right then and there. He held back, not wanting the pleasure to end until he knew she got hers first.

“It is just your pleasure mounting, sweetheart,” he rasped, undulating his hips beneath hers. “Let it. Nice and slow. Let your body guide you as you grind yourself against me.”

Helena whimpered.

“I feel as if I am coming apart,” she moaned.

“Then come apart on me, sweet Helena. I will catch every piece of you, I swear it,” Evander vowed, then captured her lips in another deep kiss.

Helena’s whimpers grew louder as their lips fused together, and her hips began to grind harder and faster. He could feel her giving him that part of herself that she kept from everyone else as she finally found confidence in her movements, and as she suddenly went still, let out a strangled moan, and then he felt her wetness seep against the fabric of his strained trousers. Evander took her hand in his and pulled her into another kiss.

“Your touch is my undoing, sweet Helena.”

Evander felt himself spill in his own breeches, unable to contain himself any longer. He captured the nape of her neck, locking her in a deep kiss as they both trembled uncontrollably. Long, silent moments passed until he could release her again, and when he did, they both began to pant and catch their breaths as their bodies calmed down.

“Oh, my God,” Helena panted, melting into his chest. “Oh my God.”

Evander could only nod in agreement, unable to speak as pleasure took over him in that moment while they both tried to recover from the intensity of their shared release.

Years ago, he had known his fair share of pleasure. Yet nothing had compared to what he had just shared with Helena—and they had not even removed a single scrap of clothing. He could not imagine what it would be like when they got the opportunity to touch skin to skin.

First, though, they would have to get such an opportunity. Reality came screaming back to him as the cloud of lust that had encompassed them lifted, and he realized what he had done.

“Helena,” he whispered, then captured her lips in another sweet kiss before he gently untangled her from his lap. “We should not have done this.”

Hurt and betrayal flooded Helena’s eyes with a quickness as she curled her arms around herself.

“Do you regret this?”

“God, no. You have no idea how much I want you. But I need to speak with Jeremy,” he told her, adjusting his clothing. “He might have brushed you aside when you tried to speak with him, but I will not allow him to do the same to me. I will tell him about us, and whatever happens after that, we will deal with it together.”

Helena visibly relaxed and uncurled from her protective stance on the chaise.

“You will?” she asked, her soft voice full of hope.

“I cannot wait another moment,” he promised, helping her to her feet.

“What should I do?” Helena asked.

“Go back to your mother,” Evander told her. Unable to help himself, he ran his hands once again over her waist, down her arms, anywhere he could find purchase, he touched. “Tell her that this issue with Lord Ingram will soon be resolved, and that she need not worry any longer.”