The Duke of Defiance (The Untouchables #5)(51)

“Joanna.”

“You could call me Jo. If you like.”

He kissed her in response, his mouth open and wet, claiming hers with a ferocity that drove her to the brink of madness. But a wonderful, delirious madness that she couldn’t wait to feel again.

He tugged at her nipple, drawing her to gasp into his mouth. Then he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger before pulling again. Sensation dove through her, making her dizzy with need.

He turned her and pushed her back onto the bed, following her onto the mattress. His hand moved down over her belly and found her sex once more. He tore his mouth from hers. “Are you wet for me?” He pressed his finger into her. “Oh yes. You are an amazing woman, Jo. I will thrash any man who dares say otherwise.”

Everything he said increased her urgency. She wanted him inside her now. She wanted that ultimate completion, that unattainable pleasure she’d never dreamed she’d find. “Bran. I need you. Now.”

“You are perfect.” He kissed her again, hard and deep, his tongue tangling with hers as he moved his body over hers.

She clasped his back, her fingers digging into his flesh as he positioned his cock at her sheath. He worked his way inside, slowly. Agonizingly slow.

Opening her thighs and bringing her legs up, she moved her hands down and gripped his backside, pulling him into her with one swift stroke. He filled her so completely and she instantly felt a stab of pleasure. It lessened as he pulled back but then came back tenfold when he surged forward again.

She closed her eyes and cast her head back, moaning. “Yes. Oh my, yes.”

He eased back, and she squeezed his flesh, urging him to come back, to move faster.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was watching her, the muscles of his face strained.

“Can I move?” she asked tentatively.

“God, yes. Please do.” He drove into her again, and this time, she rose to meet him, arching her hips off the bed.

He groaned and finally moved faster. He claimed her mouth once more as his movements became frenzied, his hips snapping into her thighs.

With each thrust, another stone in her wall crumbled to the ground. Until at last, she broke free. Ecstasy crashed over her, and she cried out, clutching at him as the only anchor in a world that had turned upside down.

He kept moving as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. Then he tensed, and he shouted. Something incomprehensible and wild. This was nothing like anything she’d ever experienced. She was profoundly grateful to him for this gift.

He fell against her but quickly moved to the side so that he was only partially on top of her. He cupped the side of her face, turning her head toward him, and kissed her. It was quick but delightfully thorough, reminding her of how wonderful she felt.

He rolled completely to his side, and she tucked her head beneath his chin, listening to his heartbeat slow. She closed her eyes and inhaled his fresh, sunny scent. There was something else now too, a musk that spiced the air around them. She nuzzled against his chest, happier and more satisfied than she could remember being.

They lay like that for a while before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I should return to my chamber. And you’ll want to clean up, probably.”

She didn’t want him to leave but knew he must. “Yes.”

He left the bed and walked around to pull on his pantaloons. As he buttoned the fall, she found her night rail and pulled it on over her head. She’d tidy after he left.

“I took no precautions, so if you are with child, I will marry you.”

He didn’t ask. He expected. Everyone always expected things of her.

But none of that mattered because she wouldn’t be with child. “I appreciate your concern, but as I told you, I cannot conceive.”

He swept up his shirt and took a step toward her, his sapphire eyes blazing in the lamplight. “I am not convinced, especially after what I learned of your marriage. Take heart, Jo.” He leaned in and kissed her. “Good night.”

And then he was gone. Jo stared into the empty chamber. Tonight had opened up a world she didn’t believe existed. After nearly a decade in the dark, she felt as though the sun had come out and bathed her in warmth and light.

Then he’d mentioned a child, and a dream she’d long ago buried had flashed through her mind. But that was foolish—she knew it wasn’t possible. Damn him for summoning even a hint of hope.

As much as it pained her, she almost wished she’d remained in the dark.





Chapter 12





Bran woke up feeling refreshed but also a bit unsettled. Which was odd since he’d enjoyed the best sex of his life the night before. To think that Jo’s husband had said she wasn’t a real woman… If the man wasn’t already dead, Bran would take him out and beat him.

And yet Jo’s revelations had made him feel strange. They’d reminded him a bit of his own marriage. It had been far different, of course, but they’d had problems in the bedroom. They’d maintained separate beds because Bran didn’t like to feel someone next to him. It stemmed, he knew, from his childhood when he’d loathed being touched by anyone. His brothers had made a game of it, going out of their way to bump into him or find some reason to touch him. It had just been another way for them to torture him.

When he’d gotten older, maybe twelve, he began to learn to suffer through it. He didn’t want to give them the satisfaction anymore of frustrating him. He thought he’d conquered that problem, but when he’d married Louisa, he realized he hadn’t. She hadn’t been too upset about having separate bedrooms, but when it came to sex, she was invariably disappointed when he left her immediately after.