He locked gazes with her. They had such a playful, fun relationship, and he relished that more than anything, but right now, nothing existed but Violet and the desire that swirled around them like a tempest.
Swallowing the heavy knot in his throat as she shifted enough for him to be able to undo his trousers and free himself and she returned to him swiftly.
Gripping her hips, he eased into her. Duke gulped down a breath at the first feel of her and his blood seemed to have been lit by a fuse. Fire flared all along his skin until he could wait no longer, and he urged her to sink down.
Their collective intake of breath resounded through the bedroom. Violet placed her hands to his shoulders and rose and fell against him, creating the most beautiful friction.
Duke put his mouth to her collarbone, gently at first and then he nipped her neck and the rise of her breasts through the fabric. She issued a slight moan of frustration, but Duke didn’t leave her waiting long. How could he when all his beautiful wife was on offer? He tugged and pulled at the wide neckline of the chemise, loosening the ties at the neck enough to shove it down until it sat useless at her waist. He drew her tight peaks into his mouth, one at a time. She moved faster, harder.
Violet’s breaths came heavily. Duke slipped his hands underneath her thighs and positioned her so that her legs hung over his arms. Her weight was supported with his hands locked around her and she clung to his neck. It brought him impossibly deep, and she was at his mercy.
He pounded into her with such desperation, sounds of pleasure escaped her and he answered them with a groan. The dam of ecstasy broke in one bone-shattering moment and all he could do was grip her tight as she pulsed around him.
When every ounce of pleasure was wrung from him, Duke let his head drop to her chest. She ran her hands through his hair and murmured soft words of love to him. He smiled against her skin, lifted his head and let her settle on his lap.
“You know, Vi, I think you’re a romantic at heart.”
She drew back, a furrow between her brows. “What makes you say that?”
“A swift Christmas wedding, a secluded house—”
“With my family a mere walk away…”
“Leaping on me as soon as I walked through the door.”
“I didn’t walk through the door—you carried me,” she pointed out.
He grinned. “I meant the day of your kidnap.” He smoothed a hand absently over her bare shoulder, eyeing the smooth, paleness of her skin. “I will not forget that day quickly but not because I thought I might lose you, but because of the look on your face when I stepped through the door.” He lifted his head to meet her gaze. “I knew then that you loved me, and I wouldn’t have to wait a moment longer.”
“Goodness, Duke, you are an arrogant—”
“Husband?”
“Man,” she finished for him. “But you are not wrong. I think I loved you for quite some time. I’m only sorry it took such a thing to occur for me to realize it.”
“Well, we cannot all be clever like me.”
She gave his arm a playful tap and gasped. “What you mean is,you were well worth waiting for wife.”
“Oh yes, of course.” He straightened. “You were well worth waiting for, wife,” he intoned.
“And I will love you until the end of my days.”
He allowed himself a soft smile. “Until the end of my days,” he repeated. “And forever after too.”
Violet returned his smile with a bright one of her own that made his heart flex. “Oh. I forgot!”
“I think I’ve forgotten everything after that.”
“No.” She took her golden locket in hand and flipped it open. “Look.”
He peered at it, his grin expanding when he spied the two tiny portraits—one of her and one of him.
“I finally decided what to put in it,” she announced proudly.
He couldn’t fathom where she’d found the miniature of him though he suspected his father had something to do with it, but it didn’t matter.
“Do you like it?” she asked softly.