Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Whites was crowded, and smelly, and the refreshments were lukewarm and tasted about as good. Chloe had to confess, this was not the experience she’d hoped it would be.

And then there was the fact that a large and very intimidating duke was doing his absolute best to frighten away any prospective suitors.

How was she supposed to make him mad with jealousy if he wouldn’t give her the chance?

He glared at every man who even glanced her way. In terms of the little game they’d constructed, he’d made a very strong strategic move using his position and his physically dominating presence to limit her options. Well played.

She huffed a breath. “Console yourself in one regard,” Caroline whispered, clearly understanding Chloe’s frustration. “He’s been completely distracted from his original goal, and he’s absolutely focused on you.”

“How can I make him mad with want if another man can’t even come within feet of me?”

“Oh, he’s plenty jealous,” Caroline returned in a whisper.

“What are you ladies discussing?” he asked, his voice dropping dangerously low as he leaned in as well.

She turned to him with a glare. “I had no idea you were this nosy. Gads.”

He quirked a single brow a moment before he moved so close, his lips grazed the lobe of her ear. “I’m going to trail the tip of my nose over every inch of your body until I reach your?—”

“Ryker,” she hissed, heat flushing up her chest and into her cheeks. He was most definitely winning.

She looked back at Caroline, her eyes wide, knowing that she needed help. How did one win the heart of an unrepentant rake?

Caroline’s lips had pressed into a tight line, her gaze flitting back and forth between the two of them. “I’m in need of a repose. Will you join me?”

She slumped her shoulders in relief but a hand at her waist stopped her as Ryker pulled her torso scandalously close to his, sending a shiver through her. “Don’t be long.”

Ignoring him, she linked her arm with Caroline’s and the two women moved about the edge of the ballroom.

“What’s going on?” Caroline hissed.

“I might have made a mess of things,” Chloe whispered back. “I only wanted to make him jealous but?—”

“He’s following us.” Caroline said glancing over her shoulder and then pulling Chloe faster. “He’s like a man obsessed.”

Chloe paused, cocking her head the to side. “Do you think that’s a good thing?”

“How would I know?” Caroline asked. “I want a simple man, remember? Not some complicated duke with all sorts of entitlement and power.” Caroline attempted to move faster again, but Chloe held her back.

“Don’t bother. We’ll never move faster in these skirts than he can and besides… the faster I go, the more likely he is to chase. This is as close to a private conversation as we’re going to get.”

Caroline’s brows lifted. “My dear, you are learning quickly.”

Chloe shrugged. “He’s determined to marry me and the more I resist, the more insistent he grows.”

“Then you’ve won.”

Chloe shook her head. “While the marriage is permanent, his interest is likely temporary. What I want to figure out is how to win his affection. Not just now but well into the future.”

Caroline wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know, Chloe. My experience is rather limited. And what you’re attempting, it’s…”

Caroline didn’t need to finish. She knew. It was difficult. Worthwhile endeavors often were. “You go ahead.” She let go of Caroline’s arm. “Ryker and I need to talk.”

Caroline wrinkled her nose. “That’s better than him just stalking after you. People are starting to stare.”

Chloe looked around to see that Caroline was correct. Several groups of women were talking behind their fans, their gazes darting from herself to Ryker, who was in turn watching her with a look of aggressive intensity that might make another woman shrivel in fear. Or swoon. That was a possibility too. But it only made her heart beat with excitement.

She let go of Caroline, turning back to her surly duke.

Ryker continued toward her, the crowd seeming to part for him until he stood in front of her.

“You’re acting beastly again.”

“I’m feeling beastly,” he grunted back. “I hate the way they are all looking at you.”

“I’m fairly certain most of the ladies are looking at you and the spectacle you’re making, not me.”

“Not the ladies. The men.” A man passing by looked up at Ryker’s words. Ryker snarled at the fellow, who promptly dropped his head and scurried off.

Chloe shook her head, turning on her own heel and trailing Caroline, knowing that Ryker would follow. Whatever conversation they were about to have, it needed more privacy.

And for whatever reason, they only conversed when they were out.

Ryker followed her down the hall toward the ladies’ repose. But Chloe, the hall empty, continued down a set of stairs. She tried a few doors and blessedly found one that was open.

She stepped inside, not even bothering to close it as Ryker slipped in behind her a moment later.

A small window lit the room, with only a table and a few chairs. “What is this?”

“A private meeting room for club members, I’m sure.” Ryker closed the door with a decided click.

Now that she had him alone, she struggled to decide which questions she ought to ask first. Why are you so aggressive this evening? What are we moving toward?

“Why don’t we ever interact at home?”

He turned back to her, the moonlight casting over his face. His face was set in taut lines, tension evident around his eyes and mouth. “I don’t know.”

She paused, assessing him carefully. She’d never heard him utter the words I don’t know . Some people might say such a thing all the time, but Ryker always knew…

“Why are you upset tonight?”

“I’m not upset, just frustrated.” He ran a rough hand through his hair, keeping his distance. He’d been hovering over her all night. And now he remained three feet away.

“Frustrated by what?”

He let out a long breath. “Leave it, Chloe.”

“And what?” She couldn’t be timid with this man. If she wanted her way, she had to push. She’d learned that much. “Allow you to ruin me with your glares alone?”

“I can’t ruin you with glares.”

“Really? All of London will be talking tomorrow about the duke and his charge. If keeping our match a secret is your game, you’re losing.”

“Fuck,” he muttered.

A smile tugged at Chloe’s lips. She was fairly certain she’d just scored a significant point.

But how to win…

* * *

Chloe was working her way closer to the truth. How had she realized he kept his distance at home because she was just too tempting? If he allowed himself access even once in the privacy of their home… There it was again. That word… home.

He pushed that thought away for later. Their two trysts in the carriage had only whetted his appetite, but then again, he’d not been satisfied either time.

The idea that he’d tie them together and not have her in his bed was so unsatisfying that he scrubbed the back of his neck, his teeth gritting together. His plan was falling apart, his original goals dying a slow death.

She moved closer, the sway of her hips in the moonlight mesmerizing as she studied him. “How come…” she began, and he tensed. These questions only spelled trouble for him. “You only touch me?”

His mouth went dry. “Chloe.” His voice was tellingly rough.

“What will happen if I touch you?”

“I don’t…” He’d been going to say he didn’t know. Again.

“The older women in my village used to warn the young ladies. Don’t give a man your body without a promise. A commitment. He’ll only tire of you after he’s had you.”

“Good advice.” She was so close, her floral scent filled his nostrils, her large blue eyes looking at him. And that was when she began to unbutton her glove.

He could leave. Turn and go. But he wanted her so damned much…

The glove came off, dropping to the floor, her bare fingers lifting to the top of his collar. And then she ran her fingers over his bare skin. He nearly groaned aloud. Her fingertips so soft and light, her touch was like being caressed by a feather.

She slid even closer, her breasts pressing to his chest as she placed a kiss into the spot her fingers had just been. “You know me intimately.”

He did. That’s what scared him. He just wanted more.

“I want to know you too.”

Fuck. He was in trouble.

“Will you…” Her lips were sliding closer to his ear as she pressed her body to the length of his.

He couldn’t help himself. With both hands he grabbed her hips, pulling her into him and letting out a feral noise at the pleasure of the pressure on his aching cock.

“Will you let me know you?”

He groaned then, burying his face into her neck. He should say no. This is what he’d been attempting to avoid. He knew he was losing, but her combination of passion, beauty, and innocence cast a spell over him, and he couldn’t deny her. Instead, he let her hand wander down his back, tracing his body as he ground their hips together, creating friction and pleasure.

When was the last time he’d enjoyed a bit of grinding? He’d been a young, inexperienced buck.

But everything was different with Chloe. He was learning that. He was learning everything he thought he’d known all over again. Because she was more, unique, better.

He pushed them both back, until they reached the table, the back of Chloe’s legs pushing into the wooden top. He had visions of laying her down, burying his face between her legs again...

But she pushed against his chest. “It’s your turn.”

His turn. His eyes closed as he let her turn them both, the table bumping his legs as she pushed him down on the top.

And then she was undoing the falls of his breeches. The moment the last button gave, he pulled them down his hips, exposing his stiff cock, which already wept his seed. Christ.

Ryker heard Chloe gasp. He opened his eyes to see her staring, her mouth agape. “Ryker,” she whispered. “It’s so…”

What was she going to say? Big? Scary? But he didn’t ask, and she didn’t say, as her hand wrapped about the thick length, her thumb coming to the tip, sliding over the pearl of seed that had collected. She smeared the milky liquid over his skin, pulling a half-strangled groan from his chest.

“Can I taste it?”

He lifted his head then, just in time to see her lick her lips.

Ryker blinked several times, sliding his hand into her hair, sending pins cascading to the floor. He knew he shouldn’t ruin her hair but in this moment he just knew.

Chloe was his. Not his for tonight. Or his until the wedding, or his after he tired of the club. She belonged in his arms. All. The. Time.

Her tongue darted out, swirling over his tip, his entire body jerking at the feel of her warm, wet tongue on his most sensitive flesh.

And then she placed a soft kiss where her tongue had just been. Words began to fall from his lips.

“Chloe, please, more.” She obliged, tentatively at first, but his hand in her hair guided her movement until she understood the rhythm, her mouth taking him over and over, her breasts pressed to his thighs.

And Ryker just knew. He needed her in his bed. Needed to explore every inch of her. She’d won because he was going to marry her and then he was going to keep her in London where he could make love to her over and over.

All his other goals fell away as he touched her face, his body drawing closer and closer to the orgasm he’d needed for days.

And that’s when the words he never thought he’d say fell from his lips. “I love you.”