“Nor can I,” she admitted, tilting her head back further, hoping that he would continue to lean down and kiss her. And to her relief, he did.
The moment that their lips touched, Matilda felt all rational thought leave her. All that mattered now was that they were there, together, and he was kissing her. His arms snaked around her back, holding at the base of her spine even as he tugged her ever closer to him. They were flush against each other as Matilda’s hands instinctively found the buttons of the Duke’s dinner jacket once more.
Where his kiss had been warm and passionate the night before, it was now hot and desperate. He kissed her as if they had little time and he needed to get as much of her as he could before they were interrupted all over again. Matilda found herself praying that the wind would not pick up again and startle them just as it had the night before with the branch scraping against the windowpane.
Matilda’s entire body trembled the moment that the Duke removed his lips from hers only to trail them down the side of her throat, caressing along her collarbone even as his hands moved around to her front to tug on the lacings of her gown. Heart fluttering, Matilda worked quickly to release the buttons of the Duke’s jacket and shivered with desire when she felt him slipping his hands beneath the shoulders of her gown to slip it off her.
It seemed he was wasting no time as he had the night before and soon, she stood before him wearing nothing but her double stay and her stockings, her hair pinned up in the fashion that Helen had helped her with before dinner.
Matilda quickly pushed off his jacket from his shoulders and started to work on the buttons of his shirt, pushing that off just as quickly even as he came to kiss her again while kicking off his boots. In response, Matilda kicked off her own slippered shoes and in the next moment she had to take a step back as the Duke’s arm flung upward to remove his undershirt.
Just as quickly, they were connected again, and Matilda’s cheeks flushed with slight embarrassment even as she reached for the buttons that were the only thing holding up his breeches. Her hands were shakier than ever now, and she struggled to undo the buttons without a little help. Yet the Duke smiled against her lips even as he helped her and in the next moment, he shimmied out of his breeches to stand before her utterly naked.
For the first time, Matilda saw him in all his glory. Her heart raced at the sight of him. He was all hard muscle, broad shoulders, and thick banded arms. His torso was covered in a small amount of dark hair that did little to hide the muscles that ribbed his lower abdomen and his pectoral muscles looked as if she could have bounced a coin right off them.
Yet the rest of him was nothing compared to his manhood which stood tall and proud and ready for her. In just a glance, Matilda was sure that she could see it throbbing as if welcoming her to touch it. For a moment, she was frightened.
Not just because she was well aware of the fact that she ought not to be doing this but also because the Duke was well endowed. He was so well endowed that she was breathless at the sight of him, and she struggled to swallow past the fear that threatened to choke her.
As if he sensed her fear, the Duke stepped forward, cutting off her view of him from the waist down. He gripped hold of her face once more and turned it up to his as he whispered to her, “Do not worry. I will be gentle with you.”
“I…I…I know you will,” Matilda stammered, realising that deep down she did indeed know that. The Duke had never made her feel anything but safe in his home save for when her heart had been racing at the steamy thoughts that flitted through her mind constantly.
Gripping her up into his arms, the Duke held onto her rear and carried her across the room to the desk. Remarkably, for once, its surface was almost entirely empty, and Matilda felt the coolness of the wood beneath her buttocks as he set her down onto it. Instinctively, she opened her legs to him.
Hooking his fingers in the hem of her chemise, still beneath her stays, he forced it up around her waist and exposed the most sensitive area between her thighs. Heart racing faster than ever, Matilda felt his hand glide up her thigh and his thumb begin to stroke the delicate skin where heat had been pooling for so long that she could barely sit still.
When his free hand gripped hold of hers, she held her breath, feeling him moving her hand toward his own manhood with an urgency that told her he needed to be touched. Though his manhood was rock hard, the skin was surprisingly soft to the touch, and she reveled in the warmth that he was giving off even as she gripped her fingers around the shaft. He groaned deeply as she moved her hand up and down, stroking gently until she could feel him quivering beneath her touch.
“I need you, Matilda,” he whispered into her ear and his words felt as though they had lit a fire deep inside her. She trembled even as she pushed herself further to the edge of the desk, opening her legs ever wider.
“I need you too,” she responded, gripping hold of his shoulder with her free hand to stop herself from falling. In the next moment, the Duke’s hips thrust forward gently, causing her to release his manhood and making the tip brush delicately between her legs.
“Are you sure?” he growled into her ear, and when she nodded, the Duke gripped hold of her hips and guided the first inch of himself inside her. Matilda gasped, gritting her teeth as she waited for the pain to come. Yet when he slipped further inside her, she found that it was only uncomfortable for a few moments. He paused several times, allowing her body to grow used to his presence before allowing himself to slip ever deep inside her.
He did not stop doing so until she gasped again, and she knew as well as he did that was about as much as she could take. Though he clearly had much more to give, he did not try to force it upon her. Matilda’s eyes pricked with happy tears, knowing that even though it was wrong, somehow, she had given herself to the right man. He would never hurt her. She knew that now.
And so, she relaxed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and kissing him as he started to thrust inside her. His hands continued to grip her hips, holding her in place as though he was fearful that she might try to pull away.
There they made love for several minutes, both gasping and moaning and panting until Matilda could feel the Duke trembling between her thighs. For a moment, she thought he was going to stop, that he had enough. Yet she was sure there was more to it than that.
Then he picked her up once more. Still inside her, he hooked her up into his arms and began to carry her from the desk, moving around it to the sheepskin rug that sat between the fireplace and his desk chair.
Matilda breathed a sigh of relief as he laid her down onto her back in the soft fluffy rug and came down on top of her. Until then she had not realised just how rigid her body had been with the effort to remain on the desk.
Now she relaxed entirely beneath him, welcoming him deeper inside her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and urged him on. With her arms still wrapped around his neck, she held him to her, unwilling to let him go.
When he kissed her throat once more, she tilted her head up, enjoying the feel of his lips all over her. He trailed kissed right down to the low hem of her chemise, right where her breasts were hiding beneath the sheer material. When he tore at it with his hands, Matilda heard an audible ripping sound.
Heart hammering, she felt him take her nipple into his mouth. When he began to suck gently, a surge of pleasure shot throughout her entire body, pinpointing between her thighs, and causing her stomach to tighten into a giant knot.
What is happening to me?She gasped, throwing back her head and screaming, unable to deny the pleasure that was coursing throughout her body. Then it grew to an unimaginable sensation that exploded throughout her, causing her every limb to go weak. She started to scream all over again until she felt the Duke’s palm cup over her mouth, urging her to be quiet.
And yet somehow that was even more erotic than anything that had come before. Gently turning her face to one side with his hand still over her mouth, the Duke nibbled at her earlobe and trailed the tip of his tongue down the side of her neck, causing the pleasure to build inside her all over again, exploding just as it had before. Climaxing over and over again, Matilda began to feel as though she might lose her mind.
Then, just when she thought she might not be able to take anymore, she heard the Duke’s sudden sharp intake of breath and felt his body grow rigid. Part of her wanted to ask if something was wrong and yet she could not bring herself to spoil the moment. It was in that moment, as her own climax started to subside that she felt his own spilling deep inside her. It was then that Matilda knew without a doubt, there was no turning back.
***