Under A Duke's Hand by Annabel Joseph Read Free Book Online Page B

right.” He
wasn’t angry that she fought him. It seemed to please him. He
thrust forward again, chuckling softly when she refused to kiss
him. She was still too conflicted to do that, but her body welcomed
the breadth of his shaft driving deep between her legs. The
sensation was not to be believed. The Duke of Arlington had taken
up residence inside her , filling her body with his body over
and over, a continual ebb and flow she could not escape.
    But she didn’t want to escape. His chest hair
scratched her nipples as he arched over her, and his breath
whispered across her cheek. He let one of her arms go, and reached
beneath her to grasp her bottom and angle her for his thrusts.
    How she struggled then, kicking and arching,
pretending she hated this invasion when she only wanted more. She needed more, to assuage the growing pressure in her middle.
He held her down, whispering lurid suggestions she only half heard.
She was more concerned with reaching the peak that had started
building the moment he lay atop her. I want. I need.
    “I need...” she cried.
    She couldn’t express what she needed, but he
stroked her cheek and said, “I know.” He buried his face in her
neck and grasped a fistful of her hair. It hurt when he pulled it,
but it excited her too.
    This was so hot, so active. His strength no
longer frightened her. No, his strength made this all the more
spectacular. His power, his will, and her surrender to the way he
made her feel. Each time he pushed inside her, the visceral slide
triggered more waves of pleasure, until they built to a shivering
peak.
    “It’s all right,” he said. “Let go,
Guinevere. Let it come.”
    She had never in a thousand years imagined
their joining would feel like this. She wanted to let go, but what
would happen then?
    How easy it was to become lost in another
person’s body. She had done it in the meadow, to an extent, but
this was so much more powerful, because he held her down and forced
himself inside her again and again. Her body clasped around him
where he filled her. Her need exploded amidst his raw words and the
stretching pressure, and the world fell away. Marriage, anger,
love, rebellion, fear, all of it fell away, replaced by spiraling
physical bliss.
    Her sisters-in-law had told her nothing about
this. She wondered for a moment if this was not supposed to happen,
if this was some failure in her, but then she was too transported
to care. She gasped because she hadn’t the energy to scream, and
hooked her trembling legs around his. He was still buried within
her, pumping and jerking. He let out a deep groan which ended in a
shudder, and then he came to rest.
    Gwen lay beneath him, staring at the ceiling
and hearing the occasional rumbling shout from downstairs. At last
the duke raised up on his elbows and gazed at her, his blue eyes
burning with a new intensity.
    “That’s done then,” he said. “I’ve been
inside you. You’re officially mine.” His voice was light, as if he
jested still about marauders and consummation, but Gwen thought of
his earlier words, when his voice had been resolute and deep. I
own your wealth, I own your property, I own the children you have
yet to bear...
    If I ask you to join me in bed, you will put
aside whatever impedes you and join me in bed. Do you
understand?
    Just like that, all her pleasure fled. She
couldn’t bear his weight upon her. “I can’t breathe,” she lied,
pushing at his chest.
    He drew back and lay down beside her. When he
moved as if to stroke her cheek, she turned away and pulled up the
sheets, wishing to cover herself.
    “I’m cold.” Lies. So many lies.
    He moved again so she could hide herself
beneath the ivory linens. “Are you all right?” he asked after a
moment. “Is there anything you require?”
    “No. Nothing. I’m very tired now.”
    He made a soft sound that might have been
mockery. “I imagine you are.”
    She pressed her fingers against her eyes.
After his sneering and haughty