Page 82 of The Governess and the Brooding Duke
She was a girl of absolutely no known parentage from Scotland.
There could be no question.
But she was here.
Because he had asked her to be.
Or maybe simply because she wanted to be, which was something he wanted to believe more than he wanted anything else.
More than he wanted his next breath.
He stood then, because he could not hold back any longer.
And he crossed the room to her, slowly.
As he had done many times since she had first come to work for him. But this time, there was no leash.
This time, they would not spar around what they both wanted.
This time, they would go right directly at it.
This time, they would lay claim to that which they truly desired.
He stood there. Looking at her.
She looked down, and one might have thought it was a genuflection. It nearly made him smile. Nearly. Except he was so hard he was quite past the point of smiling.
He put his finger beneath her chin and tilted her face upward.
‘You came.’
‘I did,’ she said.
‘Look at me,’ he said. And on his command, those green eyes flashed up to connect with his. ‘Very good. I am an exacting man. And my desires are no less exacting.’
‘You are a duke. I would expect nothing less. And it is my job to serve your needs, is it not?’
‘No. For if your needs are not served, there is no point in the coupling. I desire your pleasure.’
‘I have a feeling it shall be easy for me to give that to you.’
He could see the pulse at the base of her neck beating rapidly.
‘We shall see. I need you to understand that your job is not in jeopardy if you leave this room right now. What I need from you, what I desire from you, is capitulation. Absolute and total. It cannot be forced, and it cannot be under duress.’
Her eyes widened. ‘It never occurred to me. Perhaps a woman such as myself, a woman who has spent her entire life protecting herself, and her work, should have thought of this above anything else, but I did not. In any other household, I would have. But I never once thought that if I did not come tonight you would relieve me of my position. Not once. I trust you. And if I did not I wouldn’t be here. So whatever your exacting desires entail, I am here. For them. For you.’
‘Good. You must tell me if ever something falls outside of your comfort. You must. You understand me?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. I do. Your Grace.’
And this timeYour Gracewound through him like an aphrodisiac, igniting his lust. Inflaming his need. It was sensual. The closest he was going to get to genuflecting, he imagined.
And it was exactly what he needed.
She was exactly what he needed. He moved his hand to cup her cheek, and slid his thumb over her cheekbone. He would take it slow.
He would.
