Chapter 19

Two Weeks Later

Alice awoke with a gasp and smiled, feeling her husband’s wicked tongue waking her up in his now-usual way. Relaxing back into her pillows, she let her legs fall apart a little wider and let him enjoy his breakfast.

Perfection was the word she had used when Lydia, Barbara, and Juliet had last visited. In the last two weeks since she and Duncan first made love, all of his invisible barriers had come down. He’d confessed why he’d stayed away from her despite wanting her, how he was terrified to get too close to her.

With every morning they woke up together since then, Duncan’s unease seemed to lessen, and his state of happiness had not just affected them but the rest of the house and beyond. Complications that had kept him busy and away suddenly disappeared, and situations he once needed to handle personally were now being handled well by the appropriate staff. A balance had settled over Baxter Manor, and it was felt by all.

Duncan let out a moan of approval as Alice’s thighs clenched around his head and her orgasm spilled out of her, and she could not help the blissful smile that spread across her face as he burrowed further into her sex.

Her husband, she discovered, was a man with a very big appetite, and she was happy to feed him whenever he hungered for her.

When her legs finally released him, Duncan slowly kissed his way up her body, and she saw her unmasked husband smile in satisfaction before dipping his head to kiss her lips.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

His tongue, still coated in her juices, slid seductively against hers, and Alice couldn’t help the familiar wicked tingle of pleasure it gave her.

“It certainly is,” she agreed, wrapping arms around his neck as he settled his hips against hers.

She sighed as his hard length finally parted her wet petals and slid slowly, deeply inside her.

“What would you like to do today?” he asked, his blue eyes glowing with need as his hips slowly ground into hers.

“You know I hate it when you do this,” Alice gasped, not meaning it.

Now and then, Duncan would wake up and choose torture by making love to her painstakingly slowly, all the while making her carry on a normal conversation.

“And you know I love to see you come apart,” he whispered wickedly, pinning her wrists above her head. “Now answer me, sweetheart.”

“Riding,” she gasped, giving in. “I-In the fields, maybe?”

“Mhmm,” Duncan murmured, pressing kisses to her jaw as his hips began to move faster. “What else?”

Who cares?!Alice wanted to cry out, but she knew such a response would only make him slow down again.

“And a picnic by the stream,” she forced out next, sighing with relief when his hips moved faster.

“Good girl,” Duncan praised, rising to his knees so he could grip her hips more tightly.

From this angle, he began to pound into her, his length repeatedly hitting that sweet spot deep inside her until she felt her orgasm and his rip through her.

They lay there, locked and panting for only a moment, before Duncan gave her one more deep, possessive kiss and got out of bed. As he did so, Alice rolled onto her stomach, burrowing into the covers, and then let out a yelp when she felt a sharp but light slap on her left buttcheek.

“Get dressed,” he told her.

Alice could hear him fumbling with his trousers already, and she turned her head just enough so that she could take a peek at her husband getting dressed. She loved seeing him like this. Half-naked and raw, still recovering from their lovemaking. She could still catch droplets of sweat glistening on his half-exposed chest, and his unruly black hair fell devilishly over his blue eyes.

As now with most mornings, he didn’t put his mask on until they were ready to leave the room, and she loved seeing the real him.

“What is the hurry?” she asked, making no move to obey him.

Duncan looked up at her, smirking. “You know why,” he replied, keeping his eyes on her naked figure as he buttoned up his shirt. “We need to get out of this room every few days, or else the servants will fear I’ve done something awful.”

“Let them fear,” she tossed back, snuggling back into the covers. “Your making me leave this bed is the awful part.”

Duncan delivered another sharp slap to her backside, this time to her right cheek, and she finally slithered out of bed with a pout that quickly turned into a smile.

Satisfied with her obedience, Duncan grinned back at her and planted a quick kiss on her lips before he headed to the door.

“Be ready in an hour,” he instructed, letting her handmaid in as he let himself out.

“I love this part of the estate,” Alice sighed happily, looking over at the meadows and trees that surrounded them.

Duncan felt his heart swell with happiness as he took in her relaxed posture and blissful expression. He’d finally let it all go. His fear. His past. And it felt wonderful.

“I know you do,” he replied, his tone gentle. Then, with a small scoff, he added, “Are you not glad I made you get up this morning?”

Alice’s close-lipped smile turned into a wide, toothy grin as she blushed a pretty pink. “I suppose,” was all she was willing to admit.

Duncan chuckled at her haughtiness and turned back to guiding his horse steadily alongside hers.

“You seem much changed, husband,” Alice noted, her tone gentle.

“Does that please you?” Duncan asked, both of them turning their full attention to one another.

He took in her sudden thoughtful expression and waited patiently for her to answer.

“It pleases me to see you at peace,” she said at last, looking at him with pure affection.

“You seem to have that effect on me,” he admitted, giving her a seductive grin.

Alice returned it, then turned the conversation toward Thomas and Camilla.

“They are well,” Duncan informed her happily. “Ambrose and Helena went to visit them yesterday. Shall we plan for another visit next week?”

“I would love to,” Alice agreed happily. “I can teach Camilla how to ride, perhaps, or maybe Helena could tag along and we could escort her to a local tea shop…”

Somewhere in the back of his head, under his rapt attention to his wife’s joyful presence, a warning was calling to him. His ears were picking up sounds, and his thighs were picking up anxious vibrations from his horse, but he was too late to stop it. As Alice’s horse stepped forward into the high grass, a loud hiss followed by a shrieking yell of a feral cat cut through the quiet noon air, terrifying both of the horses and making them rear back on their hind legs.

“Easy!” Duncan shouted above the terrified neighs, pulling his reins harshly as he clung to his saddle with his thighs.

His gelding’s front hooves came back down to the ground with a hard thump, jarring him, before it kicked both its hind legs and knocked into Alice’s horse.

Duncan fought the large beast, forcing it to move the opposite way in order to save his wife from another collision. Dreadfully slow moments ticked by as he struggled to rein in his frightened horse, but finally, he was able to get him to calm down and stop. The moment he did, he turned his focus back to Alice and felt all of his blood drain from his face as he saw his wife lying in the grass and her horse bolting across the meadow.

“No, no, no,” Duncan whispered over and over, riding quickly toward her.

Fear overtook him as he threw a leg over his saddle and jumped off, not bothering to take the time to stop the animal, and knelt down next to her.

Alice was lying on her side, her eyes closed tightly, her arms over her face.

“Alice,” he rasped, feeling his fear take full control as he drew closer.

“Is it over?” she asked, not changing her protective position.

Duncan felt the weight of a thousand bricks lift off his chest as he drew in a ragged breath, and he shifted his legs from under him so he could pull her into his lap.

“Oh, thank God,” he huffed, feeling his hands shake as he gathered her to him. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine—oh!” Alice’s reassuring words turned into a sharp hiss as he moved her left leg, and he felt his panic rise all over again.

Looking down, Duncan saw her skirts had hitched up to her thighs, and that a trail of blood had started to trickle down her inner left thigh.

Not again,he almost cried out, feeling his fear of death consume him, not again.