Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

L ouise bid her farewells to Charlotte and Sybella, who had both danced a great deal and were in high spirits.

Christian seemed in great haste to leave, and she could not understand why. Many at the ball would remain until the early hours, and she had not been able to dance at all, much to her disappointment.

As they made their way down the steps to their carriage, Christian’s body was practically vibrating with energy, and she hesitated as he opened the door for her before the footman had a chance to.

“Are you quite well?” she asked, looking at him in confusion.

“Get in the carriage.”

The clipped and cold response startled her, and she felt concerned as she wondered if she might have displeased or embarrassed him in some way. She climbed inside as he gave a brief instruction to the driver, and then the door slammed shut behind him and they set off.

“What is it?” she asked, frowning at him.

“Take down your hair,” he instructed.

She frowned all the more at that demand. “Even if I wished to, I could not. There must be thirty pins holding it in place, and I cannot enter the carriage in one state and leave it in another.”

Christian was moving before she could process it, and his body was suddenly hovering over her, his face inches from her own.

“You do not have a choice in whether you will leave this carriage in a different state. You have spent the entire evening flirting with another man, and I shall remind you who you belong to.”

Louise made a high noise of protest, even as lust roared through her at his proximity. “I have done nothing of the sort and I wholeheartedly reject your accusation.”

“I do not care. I shall make it all the same.”

She shuddered as his hand grabbed the folds of her dress and drew the fabric up and over her knees. His hand slid beneath it, and his fingers ran up her inner thigh.

“You admired him, admit it.”

Louise let out a shuddering gasp.

Christian’s eyes smoldered as he moved his fingers further up her thigh, pulled at her underclothes, and drew them down her legs.

“You are mad,” she said breathlessly. “I admire his knowledge of plants ? — ”

But Christian did not let her finish her sentence. He lowered his head, his lips covering hers as he groaned in pleasure. Louise gasped again as his fingers brushed against the heat between her legs, and she let out a sharp cry as he pushed his tongue into her mouth, massaging hers with a low moan.

Pulling back, he stopped moving completely, watching for her reaction.

“I would have you this moment if I had not made that damned promise, but I will remind you who you are married to.”

“I know who I am married to, you brute.”

“Yes, and that brute is going to have his way with you. Tell me, Duchess, do you want me to continue, or do you want me to stop? I will respect your wishes despite the torture you have put me through tonight.”

“Torture?” she asked, desperate for him to touch her again. His fingers were hovering just out of reach, and she felt an alarming urge to ground her hips against them and force him inside her again. “I have spoken to a man you introduced me to. Did you wish me to say nothing and ignore him completely?”

“He was very handsome.”

“Was he, indeed? Well, you seem to have noticed his looks more than I.”

His other hand pulled the rest of the fabric down her knees until her thighs were completely exposed.

“You are mine, is that clear?” he asked, pulling her closer to him so that her hips were hovering over the edge of the bench, held suspended by his hands. “You belong to me. ”

Louise melted against the seat at his words, overwhelmed by the same need to please him. She thought of that forceful kiss in the private room in his club, the desperation she had felt for his touch.

Will I let him have me now? Will I be so reckless when I myself have told him we must wait?

“Tell me you do not want me, and I will release you. We shall sleep in separate rooms, just as we should,” he said softly, his voice laced with intense desire.

Louise closed her eyes, pushing her hips against his body in a silent entreaty for him to continue.

The low chuckle he gave at that was music to her ears, and no more words were needed as he lowered himself to the floor before her.

Christian was almost mad with lust. He had watched every man in the ballroom stare at his wife as though she were theirs for the taking. He had counted five men in total whose gazes had lingered on her for minutes, and if he had not reined in his anger, he would have been in duels for the next three weeks.

He could not bear it and intended to stake his claim on his wife once and for all.

“You will need to be silent,” he murmured as those blue eyes tracked his every movement. “I said once that I would like you to scream my name, and I would be happy for you to do so, but there are servants not far away. See if you can remain quiet for the remainder of the ride, and I shall do my best to prevent it.”

Then, he leaned forward and slid his right hand further up her thigh until he felt her wet heat against his fingers.

“Feel this, Duchess, and remember who commands your pleasure.”

She started as he pushed one finger inside her and straightened to watch her face. She was leaning back in her seat, her head resting on the soft cushions as she moaned.

He slid his finger inside her, almost to the knuckle, and then curled it upward, eliciting a moan from her. He withdrew it and thrust it back in, holding back his groan of ecstasy as her walls rippled around him. He continued stroking her for several minutes until her hips were thrusting upward repeatedly and she was almost lying on the seat.

Her hands were braced against the carriage walls, and her eyes followed him as he withdrew his finger completely and placed it in his mouth, sucking on it while she panted beneath him.

With a coy smile, he lowered two fingers this time and slowly slid them inside her. She let out a strained cry as her back arched off the seat.

He moved over her, their chests pressed together as he thrust his fingers inside her again and again, her low moans growing louder as her legs fell open for him.

“Turn over,” he ordered as he pulled his fingers out, and she looked up at him in surprise before she followed his command.

He ran his hands over her waist until he found the laces on her bodice and began to untie them. She was breathing harshly as each fastening loosened, but there was no protest in her movements.

He untied every lace until her corset was loose enough for him to reach what he truly wanted.

Flipping her over, he pulled down the top of her bodice, exposing the white linen of her shift, and then roughly pulled it down, exposing her breasts to his hungry mouth.

Louise raked her fingers through his hair, before gripping it hard and making him groan. He sucked each nipple into his mouth, licking it with his tongue and biting gently as she shuddered and convulsed beneath him.

“Who do you belong to?” he growled.

“You,” she panted. “You.”

He bit down harder as she groaned without restraint, her legs falling open wantonly. He lowered himself again, pushing his head beneath the folds of her dress and lapping at her entrance. She tugged at his hair and started to thrust her hips upward with every lash of his tongue.

Christian opened his breeches desperately, stroking himself to the fastest climax he had ever experienced. He had never been so overwhelmed with need or pleasure, and he groaned loudly as she cried out above him and shuddered, her hips bucking as pleasure overtook her.

He watched her breasts rise and fall as she caught her breath and slowly sank back onto the seat. Their eyes met as he rose from between her legs, and the soft smile on her lips made something deep within him stir to life, as though it had lain dormant for many years, waiting for her to awaken it.