Dark Duke Read online

  His brow furrowed. He glanced at Edward. “It’s…private.”

  “It can wait,” Edward grunted, countering her move, swiftly taking her bishop.

  She tried very hard not to smile. Fifty guineas.

  Malcolm watched a few more moves and then yawned hugely. Stretched. “It is so late. Aren’t you tired?” He fixed his attention on Edward. “You are rather old.”

  Kaitlin smothered a laugh. Edward was not amused. He glared at Malcolm.

  The boy pulled up a chair and pretended to study the board. He opened his mouth to say something, but Edward forestalled him. “If you’re going to sit there, be quiet.”

  “I was just going to suggest—”

  “Quiet! This is an important game.”

  “It’s only a game.” Malcolm’s foot knocked the table and several pieces toppled over. Edward set them back up with a glower. A glower so fierce, Malcolm winced. But it worked. He fell silent.

  The game continued.

  As the pieces disappeared, the tension rose. There was a moment when Kaitlin realized she’d made a mistake—sweat popped out on her brow—but she corrected for it. And then he made an error. A stupid, stupid error.

  Triumph flared in her chest as she gleefully took his castle.

  And then her heart stilled. Horror washed over her.

  Her dream of fifty guineas evaporated.

  “Checkmate.”

  He said it softly, oh so softly, shattering her hope. She looked up at him. His face was tight, his eyes shone with a flickering triumph. Something else shone there as well. She shivered.

  “Finally!” Malcolm gusted. He stood and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet.

  Kaitlin gaped at the board, still befuddled by her loss, replaying the past few moves in her head— Oh. Oh. Yes. That was where he had her. Damn. He was good. Her gaze snapped to Edward’s face. He smiled. Bowed.

  “Excellent game, my dear. I look forward to our continued…play.”

  Och! She could just bet he did.

  But a bet was a bet. She would pay.

  Would she.

  The prospect thrilled her.

  Malcolm tugged at her arm. “Come, Kaitlin, let’s go for a walk in the garden.”

  She blinked. “A…what? Malcolm, it’s late. I’m tired.”

  “I’m…tired as well,” Edward said through a small smile. “Perhaps it’s time to retire.”

  “Oh, now you’re tired?” Malcolm put out a lip. “Fine. I’ll escort you to your chambers.”

  “There’s no need.” Kaitlin disengaged her arm. “I’m perfectly capable of finding my way.”

  “I insist.” Malcolm took her wrist in a tight grip and hauled her to the door.

  “We shall all go up together.” The unsettling thread in Edward’s voice should have unnerved her, but it did not. In fact, she was rather thankful he was there, prowling up the stairs behind them like a large cat. A predator. When they came to the top of the stairs, when he should have turned right, toward the ducal chambers, he turned left. Followed.

  She caught Malcolm’s glare and was doubly thankful for their escort. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with Malcolm again. She couldn’t wait to be ensconced once more in her room—with the door locked.

  She had no idea when Edward intended to claim his prize, but he wouldn’t do it with a witness in tow.

  They came to her door and she turned to the two men. “Well, good night.”

  Malcolm glared at Edward again. Then he glared at Kaitlin. He put his fists on his hips and stomped a foot. “But I wanted to—”

  “Good night, my dear.” Edward bent over her hand, pressing a warm kiss on her skin. Shivers ran up her spine as his tongue flicked out, and he licked her. “Excellent game.”

  “Good night, Edward.” His eyes glowed when she used his given name. She really should not have done that, but it slipped out.

  Malcolm grabbed her hand and kissed it as well. It was a sloppy, slimy counterpoint to Edward’s elegant buss. Also, he did not let go of her hand. A small scuffle ensued as she attempted to wrench free.

  He probably would never have let her go if Edward hadn’t dropped a heavy arm around his shoulders. “What do you say to a game of billiards, young Malcolm?” he asked.

  Malcolm frowned. “I thought you said you were tired?”

  “I fancy a nightcap.”

  “Ooh. Whiskey?” Malcolm perked up at that.

  “Certainly.”

  “That would be fine.”

  Edward drew him away. His gaze, however, tangled with hers as she opened her door. “Until later, my dear,” he murmured.

  That was when she knew. She knew he intended to claim his winnings tonight.

  He would be back.

  Chapter Six

  As she waited for him, she passed the time reading. Probably a mistake, for as she followed Asha’s adventures in the harem bath, through several bouts of punishment—she was a very rebellious girl—and an erotic meal, Kaitlin’s tension, and something else, rose. When she got to the scene where Asha was required to minister to the Grand Vizier, with her mouth on his cock—which was both shocking and titillating—she was in a wad.

  She didn’t dare touch herself, as she had earlier, though the temptation was high. She didn’t know when Edward would return and she didn’t want to greet him with fingers drenched with musky cream.

  Although he would probably appreciate that.

  By the time he finally knocked, she was humming with excitement.

  She ran to the door and flung it open and—

  Mother Mary. It wasn’t Edward.

  It was Malcolm.

  “K-Kaitlin.” He teetered. Hiccupped.

  Lord have mercy. He was soused.

  He was also large. Much larger than she, so when he barreled through the door, she couldn’t stay his advance. He took hold of her hips and walked her back toward the bed, bumping into the chair by the fire and the stool and the table, knocking the latter over, sending the candlestick hurtling across the floor. Thank heaven that candle hadn’t been lit because Kaitlin doubted even a roaring blaze in the room would have stopped him.

  He pushed her relentlessly back onto the bed and fell on top of her.

  Naturally, she struggled.

  Naturally, he took that as encouragement.

  “Ah, Kaitlin!” He thrust his hips and ground against her in circles. She winced in pain.

  “Malcolm, get off!”

  “No, darlin’.” He grabbed her breast and squeezed. It hurt.

  She opened her mouth to bellow for Violet, but he mashed his lips over hers and insinuated his tongue into her throat. She gagged and wrenched her head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge him.

  He fumbled for her hem.

  Horror rose. “No, Malcolm. No!” His weight was heavy upon her, making it difficult to breathe. Her head spun. She pushed at him. He laughed.

  “Finally. Finally, I’ve got you.”

  They both jumped when the door slammed.

  In tandem, they turned to see Edward standing just inside. His fists opened and closed. A muscle bunched in his cheek. A dull red colored his cheeks. His eyes were…terrifying.

  “Get. Off. Her.” The low growl resonated through the room. Though it wasn’t directed at her, Kaitlin shuddered.

  Thank God it wasn’t directed at her.

  Edward, in a fury, was something to behold.

  Malcolm’s Adam’s apple worked. “B-but…”

  “Boy, do you value your life?”

  “My…what?”

  “Because if you don’t get off her, now, I may just snap your neck. Do you understand?”

  “B-but…”

  Edward took a step toward the bed, rolling up his sleeves. Malcolm leapt to his feet. Wobbled. His face went a little green.

  “She said no. Do you know what it means when a woman says no?”

  “I…”

  “It means fucking no.”

  “Oof.”
/>
  Heavens. There was no call for Edward to sink his fist into Malcolm’s belly.

  Well, perhaps there was.

  Kaitlin tried very hard not to enjoy the sight.

  The boy doubled over, but Edward yanked him up by the scruff of his neck. “I deplore bullies. Especially little lords who take advantage of helpless women.”

  Really. She was hardly helpless. Still, she appreciated the sentiment.

  “If I ever hear that you have been harassing the staff, I will personally put you on a boat for the colonies. Do you understand?”

  “I…”

  “Edward gave Malcolm a little shake. “Do you?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Yes what?”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “That’s right. I am Your Grace. I am a duke. And do you know what dukes can do?”

  “N-no, Your G-Grace.”

  Edward leaned in and hissed, “They can make people disappear.” He shoved Malcolm toward the door. “Now go. And if you so much as look at Kaitlin wrong, I’ll have you gelded.” His eyes narrowed. “Dukes can do that too.”

  Malcolm gave a little “eep” and covered his privates with one hand, wrenching the door open with the other. He skittered out of sight, yanking the door closed behind him. As though that could protect him from Edward’s wrath.

  Kaitlin gusted out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. “My,” she said. “That was impressive.”

  Edward glanced at her and rolled his sleeves back down. “Was it?”

  “Three threats in such a short span of time?”

  “I was angry.”

  “I noticed.”

  Edward sat on the bed and thumbed a tear from her cheek. Odd, that. She wasn’t aware she was crying. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I am now. Although I thought—”

  He snorted. “So did I. Thank God I came back. I’d considered waiting in my suite for you to come to me.”

  “I? Come to you?”

  The smile he sent her was sinful. “It is your debt.”

  “I would never presume to appear at your chamber door, Your Grace.”

  He tsked. “Now, Kaitlin. I thought we’d dispensed with such formality this morning.” Heat rose on her cheeks at the reminder. “However, be advised, you are always welcome at my chamber door.” He glanced at the book on the bedside table. Picked it up. Riffled the pages with a thick thumb. “So, where are you?”

  She fixated on the sight. “I’m, um…Asha has just, um, cared for the Grand Vizier.”

  “Has she? Did you enjoy that?”

  “It was…interesting.”

  “Hmm.”

  “And now she is being prepared for her first audience with the sheik.”

  His eyes glinted. “A charming scene. One of my favorites.” He tossed the book aside. “I fancy having you read it to me. But we’ll save that for later. Right now we have business to conduct.”

  “B-business?”

  “The matter of a debt of kisses. You knew I would hold you to it.”

  “Yes. I knew.” She didn’t know why she dipped her head. Didn’t know why sudden shyness overcame her. She was a brave girl, a brash one at times. She was hardly an innocent.

  He tipped up her chin. “How shall we proceed, Kaitlin?”

  “You’re asking me?”

  “Yes.” He surveyed her somberly. “I meant what I said to Malcolm. I deplore men who take advantage of unwilling women.”

  “That’s not precisely what you said.”

  “Regardless—you are…willing. Aren’t you?”

  Heaven help her. She was. Still, she couldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Kaitlin?” A whisper.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you willing? Because if you aren’t, I will still require those kisses…” When her gaze snapped up, he smiled. It was a tender offering. “But they will all be on my sore, sore lips.”

  She couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled out. He was irresistible. And charming. And, heavens, so handsome.

  He waited patiently for her answer. So she decided to make it worth his while. She set her palm on his cheek and turned his head, just so, and brushed her lips over his. “One,” she breathed.

  She placed another kiss on his jaw. “Two.”

  And another on his neck. “Three.”

  His Adam’s apple worked, so she kissed that as well. “Four.”

  When she began loosening his collar, he stiffened. Every muscle clenched. He was no help at all, so she had to undo his buttons all by herself. She drew in a gasp as his chest was revealed. It was layered with muscle and a fine sprinkling of dark curls. She loved the feel of those wiry hairs beneath her palm. During her exploration, the round discs of his nipples captured her attention. She kissed each one, whispering a “Five,” and “Six,” in turn.

  By the time she reached his belly, she’d lost count completely.

  Holy hell.

  Edward stared at the top of Kaitlin’s head as she made her way over his torso. With her lips.

  He’d never expected this. Never in a million years.

  When he’d proposed the wager, he’d imagined he would be the one placing the kisses—wherever he wished. He spent the better part of the evening planning where each of the thirty would go. In excruciating detail.

  This was good too.

  She paused when she reached his waistband and looked up. “I read that part several times,” she murmured.

  He nearly jumped out of his skin as her thumb skimmed over his cock. His very hard cock. It throbbed with every beat of his heart. “D-did you?”

  He was sure she was talking about something. A part of him acknowledged he should probably know what it was. But the other parts weren’t interested. She stroked again.

  “I think I understand how it works.” She unbuttoned one button on the placket of his trousers. Then another. “I trust you will…instruct me if I get it wrong?”

  Something wedged in his throat. It might have been his tongue.

  Had he ever been this aroused? He fairly quivered with it.

  Shocking that, because he considered himself quite jaded.

  She slipped off the bed. He thought to yank her back, but then she knelt between his knees and he decided it was probably more polite to simply let her continue. She spread the placket, then took hold of his waistband and tugged off his pants. He lifted his hips to help. Kicked them off.

  His cock sprang out, angry and rigid, a one-eyed warrior seeking solace. It wept. A single tear. He shivered when she took him in her fist. Her hand was so small, so delicate. The counterpoint was excruciating.

  And them something else was excruciating. Her breath. Teasing, tantalizing, warm as she bathed him with it. “Ah, Kaitlin.” He threaded his fingers in her hair, a thick silken mass. He didn’t guide her, but only because he wanted to see what she decided to do and—

  Ah! God.

  She enrobed the tip of his cock, just the very tip, in the velvet cavern of her mouth. Her lips worked, suckling him. Hellish sensation scored him. Had a mouth ever been so sweet? Not that he could recall.

  She took him deeper, sucking harder. His eyes rolled back. He hissed a groan. Her fist pumped as she worked—just as dear Asha had been taught to do in the book. Damn, Kaitlin was a diligent student.

  He hoped she remembered it all.

  And yes, she did. She alternated between sucking and stroking, varying her grip so he never knew what to expect. She licked at his shaft, from stem to stern, nibbling only where she should. Only where he craved it. He shifted up so she could cradle his balls. She fondled them gently. And then—good God—she licked them. Heat coiled within him. A pressure formed at the base of his cock.

  “Is this good?” She peeped up at him. The smile on her face made it clear—she knew it was good.

  “Yes. Darling—” His thought was scuttled when she stroked that tender spot between his balls and his arse. Pleasure snarled through him. He clenched his buttoc
ks in an attempt to hold back his orgasm. He really didn’t want this to end so soon.

  He didn’t count on her naughty finger scraping against his pucker.

  He nearly shot off the bed. “That wasn’t part of the scene!”

  She grinned. “I read ahead.” Then, proving this assertion, she took him in her mouth again and stroked insanity on him with one hand while with the other, she toyed with his hole. The barrage of sensation nearly did him in. Somehow he managed to hold off. Though he was on the knife’s edge.

  He wanted, rather desperately, to come.

  But he didn’t want to come.

  He wanted—

  “Kaitlin. Sweetheart. I need to be in you.”

  “In a minute.”

  He didn’t have a minute.

  She did something with her tongue that made his eyes cross, then opened her mouth and took him in—all the way. Her throat worked him, rubbed him.

  He made the mistake of looking down. The vision of Kaitlin, sweet Kaitlin, on her knees before him, her mouth stretched wide over his member, nothing visible but the very root, sent a snarl of something hot and white burning through him. At that moment, she slipped her finger past the tight ring of his anus—and he lost himself.

  He came. It was glorious. Spectacular. Mindless and manic. Wave after wave of sweet release swept through him. Delight skated up his spine. Back down again. It nested in his soul.

  Her throat tightened as she swallowed his seed, sending more tremors through him. She milked him. She milked him dry.

  Her sucking sounds, twining with his groans of ecstasy, danced around them.

  When she finally let him go, he was boneless. He flopped down on her bed and she crawled up beside him.

  “Did I do that right?”

  “Dear God.” He pulled her closer and kissed her, tasting himself on her lips. “That was…” God. There were no words. No words at all. He tucked her head against his chest and just held her. After an eternity he said, “I wanted to make love to you.”

  She laughed softly at his sulky tone. “But I liked that. After I read that part of the story, I really wanted to try it.”

  He grunted and tightened his arms. “Making love would have been nicer.”

  He fancied she snorted at that, so he leaned back to look at her face. “You don’t think making love would have been nicer?”