Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

I t was everything Christine had been hoping for. Yet, as she stared at the Duke, his body leaning toward her as if he were ready to pounce on her and pin her to the bed, she felt some voice whisper in the back of her mind to be careful

The Duke spoke about breaking down the wall that was erected between them, but what about the wall surrounding and protecting her heart? She had been rebuked once, and she did not know if she could deal with another rejection when she did not have anything in her marriage except for the hope of another intimate interaction.

"You shall just have to wait until one of our suppers." Christine folded her arms over her chest. She knew the bottom half of her robe showed off her crossed leg, and she could feel the top of her robe open a little, but there was some power in how she displayed herself. "One of our suppers sometime in the future. For now, I will not be goaded into talking smut for your pleasure, Your Grace."

"Then I have a demand," the Duke told her. "I do not wish to be referred to as Your Grace by my wife. I have accepted your demands, and I ask that you accept this one. I would prefer to be called Theodore. In fact, if you do so in public, it will show everyone that we have become close even if we haven't."

"That is a much more reasonable demand than trying to get me to confess my sexual desires to you in my bedroom."

Theodore stood up and placed a hand on his chest. "Now, you are putting words in my mouth, Christine. I only asked about your needs and desires. That could have been riding a horse across a meadow or traveling to the colonies, but you immediately spoke of sexual desires. What is it I do to you, my dear?"

"Oh," Christine scoffed. "You do nothing to me." She knew that was not true at all. "You are twisting your own words in the hope of making me look like the rogue when you are clearly the rogue."

Something rose in her chest that she was not able to describe, and she found her hands untying the loose knot on the front of her robe. She pulled the robe open, offering a glimpse of the nightgown below.

Theodore's eyes were immediately drawn to her chest where they lingered for a moment before looking her up and down. Christine did not have time to think about why she had done such a thing—she could not think anything as he drew his eyes over her, his gaze feeling like soft hands caressing her.

"Well?" she managed, trying to keep control. "Who is the one with the impure thoughts in my bedroom?"

Many impure thoughts were invading Christine's mind, but she would not tell her husband that. They had fought for control, and he had come to her room to relinquish that control, but now that the wall was being dismantled brick by brick, there was a new form of control to be had.

"I will admit to my impure thoughts if you will admit to yours," Theodore said.

Christine took a deep breath, both to calm herself and to display her bosom better. She only had eyes for Theodore's eyes at that moment, finding pleasure in watching him observe her. She was a woman with desires and needs, and one of those needs was to be desired by a man.

Not just any man. She needed to be desired by Theodore. She did not know if it was because he was her husband or because he'd had many women in his bed, and she wanted to be more desirable than them, or maybe she just needed some form of connection.

She did not know her exact desires, but she did like that he enjoyed looking at her body.

"And I would like to dance at the ball," Christine blurted.

Theodore looked from her breasts to her eyes with a slight smirk on his face, more amused by her comment than her luscious mounds. "At the upcoming ball?"

"Yes," Christine maintained. "We are attending together as a loving couple, so we must dance together."

"What if I am a complete blackguard and leave you in the middle of the dance floor when we are done?" he asked.

"I don't believe you would do such a thing," she replied with her eyebrow raised.

"What if I hold you too tight when we are dancing, and the Ton can't stop talking about us?"

"Then let them talk," Christine said. "They could gossip about much worse."

"I notice that your reply was to dismiss what they might talk about, so I can assume that you are perfectly fine with me holding you extremely close to me when we are dancing."

Christine smiled and let out a quiet snort. It was still a battle between them, and he had engaged a devious tactic to push her again.

Yet you have played right into my trap.

"One dance is all I ask for." Christine was already thinking about being held close by Theodore.

"And one dance is what you shall have," Theodore replied.

Christine stood up from the bed just as Theodore turned to face her, and she breathed in his scent. Her robe fell completely open, but Theodore did not look her up and down this time. He locked eyes with her.

His eyes were burnt umber in the dimness, and perhaps if a wind stirred them, the embers would flare up and burn bright. Christine's heart beat faster in her chest as she mustered the courage to make her final demand. She had not thought about it until that moment. Everything she had asked for had been accepted, and she was prepared to take the risk if it meant getting what she wanted.

"I have one more demand to ask of you," Christine said. Her eyes flicked to his lips briefly. "I, um…"

Theodore stepped forward, and a wave of warmth hit Christine. Her knees weekend; her legs tuned into jelly. Now that it had come to it, she could not bring herself to say it. The hand he placed on her cheek was too much, and she let out a gasp as his strong touch.

"You don't need to say it," Theodore told her. "I know what it is you want."

Christine looked him in the eye again, aware that his face was only inches from hers now. The flickering candle on the wall was reflected in the brown of his eyes so that it looked like embers roasting on a fire. She could almost smell the richness of a fire crackling in the hearth.

She could not respond to what he had said or even nod. All she could do was remain still under his touch as he gazed back into her eyes. There had been thoughts of hope, regret, and rejection until moments ago, but all that was washed away like a line in the sand erased by a foaming wave. She would give up everything and accept her fate for one more kiss.

Perhaps she would feel differently after, but it was all she wanted at that moment.

And he obliged her.

Theodore brought his face closer until their lips touched just enough to know they were touching. It tickled a little at first until he pushed his lips more fully into hers, and the tickling moved into her body, coursing through her veins.

Their lips became one, and one, two, three seconds ticked by with their lips locked in embrace. Then, the embers in the fire were stirred, and bright flames erupted from the heat.

Theodore's hand moved from Christine's cheek to the back of her head, and his free hand slipped under her robe to touch her waist. He gripped her tightly at first then loosened his grip as his hand moved up slowly.

Christine's back tensed then arched, and she had to push herself forward to keep her lips locked with his. The Duke helped with that, holding the back of her head and then darting his tongue into her mouth as if spearing a fish. He had her caught up in whatever net he had cast.

A moan escaped Christine's mouth, sliding between their lips, and she licked at Theodore's tongue, tasting his essence and memorizing every single moment of absolute pleasure as if it were her last, which she feared it might be.

Her fingers tingled, and she remembered about her hands, bringing them around to his back, clawing with her fingertips at his flesh through the thin shirt. She lifted one leg at the knee and pointed it backward. She though about lifting the other, fully expecting to float in the air.

Christine would never tell a soul, not even Theodore, but it was the single greatest moment of her life, easily beating out the second greatest moment: their first kiss.

She brought her hands around to his front and finally got to feel his chest, even if it were through her shirt.

I have pushed my luck so far, so why not a little farther?

She fumbled for the shirt buttons and undid the top one. She pressed her fingertips to the tuft of hair below. The warmth had filled her, but one touch of his chest set Christine on fire. She became engulfed by it, and her fingertips went from tingling to becoming numb—so much so that she had a hard time undoing the second button.

She finally succeeded and was able to press her hand to his chest. His heart beat below her palm, and it pulsed in her hand, up her arm, onto her own chest, and then up and out of her mouth as a deep moan. It pushed them apart, and Christine stood before her husband with her chest heaving and his moving rhythmically under her hand.

The look in his eyes told her that he wanted what came next as much as she did.

He raised his hand to her cheek once more and caressed it before moving it to her hand on his chest, pressing it there.

They had fought venomously at times and playfully at others, but the Duke's fight that night was not with her. There was an internal fight within him, and though Christine could see he wanted more with her, she saw the other internal combatant slowly push forth its forces. The look in his eyes changed from animalistic to more human, and it coursed from his chest, down her arm, and into the pit of her stomach.

Christine was not done fighting. She nodded at the Duke in understanding. There was rejection and helplessness, but the joy and pleasure the kiss had brought pushed the negative feelings down, so she could cope with them.

More than cope with them! She knew the kiss was at an end, but she did not care. She stepped forward this time and placed a hand on the Duke's cheek.

"You gave me exactly what I demanded," she said. "I did not expect anything more."

"We must take it slow," Theodore told her.

Why? Because you don't believe I can cope with more? I came to you on our wedding night fully intending to go through with it.

The negative thoughts were quickly trumped by the way her heart fluttered and floated in her chest. Her entire body vibrated at what had transpired. She knew she had been angry at her husband earlier that day, but she did not hold any anger in her heart after the kiss.

"I understand," Christine said. "Thank you for coming to talk with me tonight. I feel much better about our situation."

She could not stop her body from trembling before the Duke. There was a slight chill in the air, but she did not close her robe and tie it. She had seen the way he reacted to seeing her in her new nightgown, and she wanted that to be the last thing he saw before he left the room.

Hopelessness and rejection had been pushed down by the elation of the kiss, but on top of the mountain of elevation was a peak of hope, new hope. He might have his reasons for not wanting a family with her and not wanting her in his bed, but she knew his Achilles heel, and it sent a ripple of pleasure down into her core.

Christine watched the Duke's back as he left and then closed the door behind him.

It thrilled her that he reacted as he had to her body. It made her feel more of a woman. It was not something she could lose, and that meant she could use it to tempt the Duke some more. All she had to do was be patient.