Chapter Twenty

Sophie had no clue what she was doing or how to continue what she had started. She kissed her way down Henry's stomach. His strong, muscular frame brought a smile to her lips, and she nibbled and teased him the further she delved.

How she adored him.

Before meeting Henry, she had not imagined men of nobility could be so striking. Indeed, Lord Carr, the only gentleman she knew growing up, was lean and gangly, with very little substance to him except his brute force when he wanted his way.

Henry's manhood jutted against her stomach, and she shifted to look at it, to study what she had never seen so clearly before. A little trepidation thrummed through her of taking him into her mouth. Could such a position even work?

He was larger this close, wider too. And yet, still, she wanted to gift him the pleasure he had bestowed upon her. Surely the concept worked both ways. Determined to succeed, she wrapped her fingers about his length, stroking him, and watched with amazement as a little bead of pearl-colored liquid pooled at his manhood's opening.

She leaned forward, tasting it. The texture was odd, the liquid salty.

"Deuce, take me, Sophie. You're going to kill me," Henry groaned, leaning on one arm and watching her with hunger-filled eyes.

She grinned, happy that he liked what she was doing so far.

She licked him again, bolder this time, stroked the top of his cock with her tongue before taking him into her mouth.

As well as she could, she suckled him, stroked him, and mimicked what she hoped was correct. She really ought to have studied some of the naughty books Lord Kemsley thought were hidden in his library before she embarked on seducing her husband. At least then, she would know if she was doing this right.

"That feels so damn good." His fingers curled in her hair, holding her against him. "Do not stop sucking me. I want to come in your mouth."

His words pooled heat between her legs, and she drew them together, wanting him yet again. Sophie worked his manhood, licked the engorged vein that ran his length, teased, and did everything she believed pleased him.

His bottom lifted off the bed, grinding into her mouth, mimicking sex. He groaned, a sound of contentment, of need that left her euphoric and powerful. More mighty and in control than ever in her life.

"Don't stop, my love." His body thrust harder, quicker, into her mouth.

She did everything to keep her rhythm. The vein on his manhood pulsated against her tongue before warm liquid burst into her mouth. She fought to swallow his pleasure, sucking him until she was sure his satisfaction had ceased.

She kissed her way up his body before nestling at his side. "Did you enjoy that, Your Grace?" she asked.

He sighed, chuckling at the question she already knew the answer to. "You know that I did. Blast it, Sophie. How are we to attend our ball this evening when I feel like doing nothing but making love to you all evening?"

"Hosting our first ball on our wedding day was probably not as good an idea as I thought it would be. But do not worry, we have the rest of our lives to enjoy such evenings."

"And I presume we're both very much satisfied this afternoon. A ball will be a reprieve for an hour or two."

Sophie laughed. "An hour or two. I do believe the ball will last longer than that. But at least we can leave together now, and no one can say a word about it."

He dipped his head and kissed her on the top of her head. "That time will be the highlight of the night for me."

Sophie did not reply but knew it would be the highlight for her too.

***

The evening went off without a hitch, and Henry was happy for his new bride, who stood with Lady Kemsley and Lady Billington across the ballroom. All the ladies held champagne in their hands and appeared rosy-cheeked and lively as they discussed whatever it was that ladies debated.

A smile lifted Henry's lips, and he was unable to factor in how he had met and fallen headlong in love with a woman and was now a married man. Of course, he had always hoped to find a wife this Season, but the love, the devotion Sophie brought forth in him was beyond anything he had ever hoped for.

"I must offer you my congratulations, Your Grace. You must be thrilled with your choice of bride."

The uninvited voice of Lord Carr caught Henry by surprise, and he spun about, glaring at the man he knew had not been on the invitation list. There was something about Carr he did not like or trust. That he was here when he ought not to be only doubled his suspicions of him.

"Thank you," he said, willing to let his being here go for the moment, but when he saw him next at Whites, he would certainly have it out with the man.

"I suppose you've won the bet and will collect your thousand pounds. I do believe Lord Bankes is here this evening. Maybe he will even give you your winnings and make your day doubly joyful." Lord Carr looked about the room and pointed our Lord Bankes to Henry. "There he is. Shall I go and fetch him for you, Your Grace?"

A cold chill ran down Henry's spine, and he glared at the viscount. "As I said to Lord Bankes, I placed my name in that book well before I knew Miss York, and I asked for my name to be removed. There will be no collection of funds for such a bet."

Lord Carr wagged his finger at Henry as if the fiend had the right to chastise him for anything, even marrying the woman he loved. Who did this little lord think he was?

"Come now, Your Grace. As per the rules of the betting book and as a gentleman, you must collect the blunt. You wagered that you, like many others, would be able to make Miss York fall in love with you, and you succeeded with that gamble. She is now yours. You are married, all contracts are signed. Few would say you did not best us all."

Henry took a calming breath. The man was beyond irritating and too loud for his own good. He did not need Sophie or her friends to hear what he had done. Lord Kemsley had only agreed to keep his secret after discovering he had proposed.

Should Sophie find out, she would be heartbroken and think his affections were only because of some stake. That Kemsley knew of it, too, would be a double blow since she was so close with her cousin and her husband.

Dear God, he needed to keep Carr's mouth shut.

"I will deal with the betting book in good time. Not that it concerns you, Lord Carr. Why do you seem to take so much interest in my wife? And for that matter, why are you here? I did not think you were invited," he said, his temper getting the better of him and causing him to confront the viscount here instead.

"I have known Her Grace for some years. Longer than you, in fact. I think you have forgotten we're old friends. She was a pretty young lady. I remember her well, ripe for the picking. How fortunate you are that you've been the one to pluck her, Your Grace."

Bile rose in his throat, and he fought to tame his temper. "Perhaps it would be best if you turn your attentions toward your own wife and never speak of the duchess again after this night," he warned.

Lord Carr whistled, his smile grating on Henry's last nerve. "Now, now, Your Grace. There is no need for either of us to get into fisticuffs over a woman whom, had she not had a cousin who married a lofty lord, would still be in the country, possibly a maid at my country estate." Lord Carr threw back his head and laughed. "How amusing is that image? A maid hired to be at my beck and call and do everything that I order her."

Henry fisted his hands at his sides and, catching sight of his wife's concerned glance, fought not to break the viscount's nose.

"But she is not a maid. She is a duchess, and you will never assume such a life for her that is not the one she lives now. Do not denigrate her again, or you shall not like the outcome, my lord."

Carr smirked, lifting his glass of amber liquid in a silent toast. "The duchess should count herself fortunate that her husband thinks so highly of her. She lost my respect many years ago, and I would not hire her now. Gossip in Highclere is very damaging, you understand, and I hear she fled to her cousin's with the help of her mama. Lucky that she did, is it not, since she's now a duchess. Good evening, Your Grace," Lord Carr said, striding away from Henry without a backward glance.

He frowned after his lordship. What gossip was Carr talking of? Sophie was promised a Season with her cousin and nothing more. There was no other reason she left Highclere.

That he knew of …