Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

“ T hat is not true.”

Selina hated how petulant she sounded, but she would not stand for such an insult.

Aaron did not say anything else to refute her claim, and she felt urged to clear her name after his attempt to shamelessly slander her.

“I am not na?ve. After all, I had no trouble at all handling you.” Selina felt a rush of satisfaction at the way his jaw twitched silently, but she was not done. “ You are the one who backed down first, or did you forget, Your Grace? It was likely for the best as there was no way I was going to fall for you, no matter how much you kissed or touched me. Of that, I am certain.”

She was hoping to be awarded the credit she was due. Still, she soon realized that it seemed as though she had forgotten exactly what Aaron was like in the days they had spent together.

Because the Aaron she knew would never let her have the upper hand over him.

“Prove it, then,” he challenged lowly.

Eventually, Selina realized that she had a few options there and there.

She could have walked away. She could have expressed her disinterest in doing such a thing. The problem with those would be that none of them would be what she wanted to do.

In the end, Selina did what she wanted to.

She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulled him towards her, and kissed him.

Almost immediately, she melted against him, hit by the weight of obtaining what she had craved for days.

But quickly, she realized it would not be so easy to simply take what she wanted because she wished to take the lead and silence him for once but was lost on how to do just that.

Aaron pulled back, a slow smirk forming on his lips as his eyes quickly took in her expression.

“You need to come closer, Selina,” he urged quietly, putting his hands on her hips to guide her forward. “Do not be afraid or shy now, not when you weren’t in the past.”

Selina swallowed and shifted closer, already intoxicated by his manly musk, trying not to jump when he took one of her hands and let it rest against the side of her neck.

“Don’t hesitate to touch me,” he mumbled, nosing along her jaw. “Confuse my senses completely by making it difficult to pick a part of you to focus on. The sight of you already consumes my resolve. Your scent makes my mouth water, and the taste of you makes me yearn for more. And your touch eats away at every single responsible thought in my mind. Use all of that to render me utterly hopeless for you, Selina.”

She nodded, fingers curling into the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him into another kiss. This time, he responded the way she had hoped he would, pressing impossibly closer as his hands found solace on her hips, holding her in place as he kissed her back ferociously.

Selina sighed into the kiss, unable to keep herself from moaning as one of his hands slipped lower down her back, grabbing a generous handful of her behind. His tongue danced with hers, licking and sucking as she clung to him, desperate for even more.

“You have to touch me too,” he reminded her as he mouthed at the column of her neck, alternating between pressing light kisses and teasingly nipping at her skin. “Don’t be shy now, sweetheart. How else can you prove that you are wholly unaffected, despite all the charm I shower you with?”

“You are infuriating,” she huffed, pushing off his jacket and trying to make quick work of the buttons on his shirt, ignoring his dark chuckle and the way it made her hair spin.

“If I were any other way, you wouldn’t adore me as much.”

It was ridiculous. He was ridiculous.

But still… he wasn’t wrong. Selina was learning he hardly ever was.

She felt incredibly hot, drunk on the desire between them, and relieved that she was seemingly gaining what she had wanted for days now. A voice in the corner of her mind reminded her that these were very dangerous games with high stakes, but it was soon drowned out when her hand met his naked chest.

Shamelessly, she looked to her fill, in awe of how built and carved to perfection he seemed to be. She ran her hands from his chest, noting how the muscles rippled beneath her touch as she traced every groove and dip of his flesh that she could.

“Do you like what you see?” he asked huskily, tilting her head back with a finger under her chin, so she could meet her eyes.

“Perhaps,” she muttered, gasping when he grabbed at her behind again, kneading and squeezing the flesh with his hands.

“Tell me what you want, darling,” Aaron instructed with his lips on hers. “Whatever you wish, I’ll do it, just this once.”

Selina could hardly form a single coherent thought in her head, not when his kisses were so mind-numbing. Not when the weight of his hands on her body made her feel as though she never wanted to leave his side. Not when the heat of his skin beneath her fingertips burned deliciously.

“I… I want to feel good,” she said eventually. “Make me feel good. Please.”

She was unsure if he would willingly give into her ‘demands,’ nervous about what his reaction would be. Needless to say, she was pleasantly surprised when his hand cupped her face, and he kissed her deeply, his lips slowly moving over hers in a way that pulled her apart and put her back together after each breath.

“As you wish,” he mumbled, sweeping her off her feet into his arms.

He continued to kiss her as he maneuvered them to a chaise, lowering her onto it gently. Aaron settled himself between her legs, his hands slowly tugging up her skirts as his mouth continued to ravish her. When they parted for breath, he kept kissing down her neck, nuzzling over her cleavage as one of his hands came up to fondle her breasts through her dress.

She held onto his shoulders, arching into his touch as heat pulled at the bottom of her stomach, desire clouding her senses completely. One of his hands caressed up the bare skin of her thigh, and she shivered, wondering if she should have thought this through.

As if he sensed her sudden unease, Aaron kissed her, this time soft and slow, until the haze of pleasure settled over her like a blanket once more.

“Relax, Selina. I’ll take good care of you.”

She wanted to make a joke about how that was likely part of her concerns, but with how syrupy her mind felt, she thought it would fall flat. Instead, she nodded wordlessly, watching as his eyes darkened slightly.

He kissed her again then he sat back on his heels as he pushed her skirts up the rest of the way, bundling the fabric around her hips. Then, slowly, without breaking eye contact, he lowered himself to settle between her legs, mouthing along one of her thighs while his fingertips caressed the other, his fingers like a brand against her skin.

Selina pressed a hand to her mouth, anxious yet excited for whatever was to come. She was rewarded when he gave her one last look right as he licked at the wetness between her legs.

“Aaron!” she half hissed in shock, reaching out to stop him, her pulse quickening.

The Duke didn’t falter, even as her fingers were buried in his dark hair. He simply ducked low again, teasing her with his wicked tongue. Her breath stuttered in her chest, and she tried to contain her noises, pleasure pulsing in her veins as his mouth continued to work at her center.

Selina threw her head back with a little moan, shame and desire mingling hot in her chest as her body quaked under his insistent ministrations.

“Let me hear you, darling,” he urged, lifting his head with a lick of his lips. “Do not hide any of those pretty sounds from me.”

Embarrassed, she tried to shake her head, her breath hitching as his clever tongue set off a blinding heat within her, teasing and conquering her. A moan left her lips, and she tightened her grip on his hair, whining when he seemed to increase his ferocity, devouring her noisily.

“A-Aaron,” she cried, her body moving out of her control as she arched into him, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming as he sheathed his tongue in her. “Aaron, please…”

It seemed as though her begging spurred him on as his licks and sucks became even more insistent, eating away at every hint of coherency she was capable of, leaving her a flushed, babbling mess.

The knot of heat in her stomach continued to grow, throbbing and flaring each time Aaron’s tongue pressed against the nub. His hands kept her legs spread open, leaving her completely at his mercy.

“Ah — Aaron ,” she whined again, pressing his head closer as the sensation within her grew out of her control.

Aaron didn’t relent but rather remained consistent in his passionate exploration of her, and in moments, pleasure shot through her, white-hot and crippling. Her body tensed up as thrills ran up and down it, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

Her bosom heaved with each deep breath she took in an effort to center herself, but she ultimately gave up, feeling far too exhausted to spend her efforts worrying about what she might look like.

“Heavens,” Aaron sighed, sitting up as he ran his dark daze over her sated form. “You are truly beautiful, sweetheart.”

She sighed as he bent forward to kiss her, trembling slightly as he nibbled her lower lip, sharing the taste of herself on his tongue.

Much like their last eventful encounter, Aaron helped make her presentable once more; his touch seemed to linger a bit as he adjusted her dress and patted her hair down.

“I know that you feel as though my goal is to control you,” he spoke up suddenly, holding onto her hands, “but believe me when I say that I really am concerned for your well-being. I do not want you to meet or to speak with Lord Honeyfield, moving forward. The next time he approaches you, end whatever lies between you both.”

Selina’s lips parted to question his instruction, but her words left her mind as he kissed her deeply, devouring every single thought in her mind.

“Say you will do as I ask,” he mumbled against her lip before kissing her again.

It took a lot to find enough presence of mind, but eventually, Selina nodded, managing to speak when he gave her enough room to do so.

“I will.”

“Good girl,” he muttered, leaning in again, this time to bite her lower lip, just enough to settle on the brink of pain before his tongue flicked past his lips to soothe the ache.

Before she could ask him why he had such convictions about Isaac, Aaron kissed her forehead next, whispering softly, “Good night, Lady Selina.”

Swallowing hard in hopes that whatever signs of her rigorous vocal exercise from moments ago had faded, Selina felt herself strangely giving into the urge to smile up at him.

“Good night, Your Grace.”

He appeared conflicted for a moment then he stole a chaste kiss from her lips and was out of the room before she could question it.

Selina allowed herself the grace of sitting there for a little while longer, her wild heartbeat echoing through her body.

Aaron ignored the tightness in his chest that seemed to grow with every step he took away from where he had left Selina.

Once again, he had given in to his desires and had participated in the dangerous games that always claimed their senses whenever they were together. But… this time had been different somehow.

He had been less focused on his needs and curiosity and more determined to satisfy her as well as he could.

The things he had felt… listening to her moans, watching her body quake beneath his ministration, noting how flushed and breathless she looked after he was done, they all tested his self-control immensely. He had barely been able to hold himself back, nearly giving in to the lust that made him ache to take her completely.

But there had been something else that had stirred with him.

Something gentler and warmer, something that ached for her in ways that were beyond sating his desires.

The realization hit him heavily, and he stopped in his tracks, shocked and disturbed by the knowledge that he had somehow fallen for the one person he certainly could not.

“Damn it,” he cursed lowly.

Enough was enough. He must put an end to this foolishness for good this time.