The Duke’s Twin Lust by Lorena Owen

Chapter Eleven

His lips brushed hers, creating a wave of passion so fierce it took Amelia by surprise.

“Ernest,” she whispered, as his lips descended upon hers, planting a kiss on her mouth. Amelia felt her entire body shiver with pleasure. This was what she wanted more than anything.

She parted her lips, ready for his tongue to invade her mouth once more, to fill her with such pleasure as she had never known before.

But the duke lifted his head and stared at her.

“I fear it is unwise to go on,” he said in a whisper.

“Why?” she asked, her voice filled with passion.

“I would not be able to tear myself away, my dear lady,” he said. Before she could respond, he held out his arm to her.

Amelia took his outstretched arm, disappointment curling up within her. Already, she wanted to pull him to her and have her kiss him again. It was unwise, though, as he said, to lead him on when she was not ready to delve in fully.

“Shall we resume our conversation?” he asked, and Amelia jumped. She could not remember what they were talking about.

“About the estate’s finances?” he prodded.

“Oh… Yes, Your Grace,” she said, feeling slightly guilty. She should have remembered.

“The numbers are not the only problem on ground. Our coffers are also quite empty,” the duke said.

“What? How come?” Amelia asked.

“Well, it has been a terrible couple of seasons,” the duke said. “We’ve been charging the villagers less for tax, due to the surrounding circumstances. Gold is not easy to come by these days, and when we’ve emptied our coffers to buy things for the manor. Also, there is the huge ball coming up, and that will cost a lot more than it is worth.”

Looking up at the duke, Amelia saw he was really stressed. Her heart went out to him. She ached to do something to make him feel better, anything.

“I’m sorry,” she said meekly. It would have been surprising that Lady Gillingham did not inform her of all of these, if Amelia didn’t know the kind of person Lady Gillingham was. Apparently the woman was also in the dark about all of this happening.

“We are just trying to work our way through all of this,” the duke informed Amelia. “We are waiting in haste for the next planting season. Hopefully, things will get better then.”

“Perhaps the steward really is stealing. I fail to imagine why the coffers of a manor as large as this would be empty after only two bad seasons,” Amelia said.

“That may be so, but I highly doubt Paul has the money stashed somewhere, ready to give it back if we confront him about stealing. We have to assume the money is lost for good.”

“But, there are other sources of making money, aren’t there?” Amelia had learned quite a lot from the noblemen who frequented the inn. “What about the mills and the market stalls?”

The duke looked impressed. “Well, money has been coming in from them, I admit, but I am reluctant to charge the villagers as much as we used to in the past. Things are quite bad even for them.”

Amelia felt her heart fill with emotion for the duke. The duke had to be the best man she’d known. Amelia doubted that the other noblemen she had met would care enough about their villagers to decrease rent because of a bad farming season. Quite the opposite, actually. She had heard stories of dukes who raised the rent because their own coffers were empty, never minding what their villagers were going through.

“I see,” Amelia said.

“If you have other opinions concerning this, I would be quite happy to hear them,” the duke said.

Amelia’s heart warmed. She had not known any man who would give her the time of the day, much less ask for her opinion concerning quite a crucial matter. Again, she wondered why Lady Gillingham did not much fancy her husband. There was nothing about him that was unappealing. Frankly, his very essence appealed greatly to Amelia.

“I can’t think of anything now, Your Grace, but I’ll be sure to mull over options and get back to you.”

The duke smiled and gave a short nod.

“That is, unless you think I would be bad at reasoning as well,” she teased.

The duke gave an exaggerated expression of shock. “My dear wife, youwound me. I never suggested you would be terrible at anything. In fact, I quite think you would be excellent at anything you set your mind to.”

Amelia could not help the blush that creeped up her cheeks. She had no retort, and so she simply looked away.

“I see I have embarrassed you,” the duke said, smiling broadly. “Perhaps my sister is right, and the Duchess of Roxburghe has lost her famed wit.”

“I just put it aside for now, Your Grace,” Amelia shot back. “I would hate to hurt you with my sharp tongue.”

“You might soon realise I make a better sparring partner than my sister.” He looked at her then with heat in his eyes. Not the heat of anger, but of something else. Something that sent a shiver through her body.

Amelia looked at him in surprise. “You, Your Grace? I did not know men knew how to spar with words.”

“Now who is judging people based on their gender?” the duke said, his eyes twinkling. “As children, Rebecca and I fought a lot. As we could not exchange blows, our tongues were used to inflict wounds.”

Amelia laughed, imagining the duke as a young child running over the very fields they now walked, yelling barbed words at his sister.

“But you would not do the same to me, will you?” Amelia asked. “I am your darling wife, after all.”

The duke grinned. “I suppose I would not.” He looked down at her, a spark of amusement and what she thought was affection now present in his eyes. “Speaking of Rebecca, I am truly glad you are on your way to becoming friends.”

“I don’t know about that,” Amelia said. “She declined my apology.”

“Oh, I know Rebecca,” the duke said. “She acts tough sometimes, but she has a heart made of fluffy feathers. She will come around.”

Amelia nodded. “I hope so. I would like to make things right with her.”

The duke looked at her approvingly.

They had reached the ends of the grounds and were now close to the gate. Amelia stopped and turned around. The green fields and hills lay before her as far as she could see. It was a marvellous sight.

“I can’t believe you get to live here,” Amelia said. A moment later, she clamped down on her mouth. She could not believe she had just said that.

But the duke did not seem to notice anything strange. “It is your home now as well, my lady. You should start thinking of it as that.”

Amelia nodded quickly, relieved.

“What shall we do now?” he asked.

Amelia looked up at him. He was a busy man, but he did not seem to want to leave her just yet. Amelia knew how he felt.

“Shall we—?” she started, and then bit her lip.

“What, my lady?”

She looked up at him. She knew what she wanted to say, but she did not quite think she could.

Ernest looked amused. “It is quite surprising that there is something that even you would hesitate to say.”

Amelia glared up at him. The words poured out of her in a tumble. “I would ask you to kiss me again,” she said, her heart pounding fiercely. “But I suppose that is a risk you cannot take.”

The duke looked down at her with the strangest of expressions.

“I would never say no to an offer such as that,” he said, before his lips descended on hers once more.

He kissed her softly, his lips brushing across hers in the gentlest of motions. Amelia parted her lips, eager to get his tongue into her mouth. This time, he accepted her offer, slipping deeper in her mouth and exploring the cavity. He tasted like lemons, and Amelia thought she’d never tasted anything better. She raised her head to his, letting him tease, touch, explore.

The duke took a step forward. Amelia could feel her stomach tense in anticipation. She wanted him closer. She wanted him to bury his hands in her hair, to put his arms around her. She wanted to be in his arms. But the duke did not seem to want the same thing. His hands remained by his sides as he touched her only with his tongue.

“Ernest,” she whispered. She could feel her heart beating rather fast, and she knew she could not say what she wanted.

The duke gave a low groan as he took another step closer. The intensity of his kiss increased, and his tongue became more eager, prodding and pushing aside the layers of her uncertainty. Amelia took a step closer, reducing the space between them to nothing. She hesitated slightly before she kissed him back, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

She had never done this before, and it excited her to explore Ernest’s mouth. Ernest let her take the lead, succumbing to her methods. Amelia kissed him as best as she could, and when Ernest let out another low groan, she knew she was doing it right.

She could not bear the lack of contact any longer. Melting into him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his soft blond hair brush against her fingers. As if he had been waiting for her to do just that, he put his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer. Amelia felt her entire body tremble with pleasure as he touched her. Somehow, she wanted more. She wanted him to strip off her gown, to press his fingers against her bare skin.

The wetness between her thighs had started up again, and Amelia pushed herself against the duke, wanting to absolve some of the passion burning up inside her. Instead, she felt a sharp prod against her stomach. When she moved against the organ that was prodding her again, she felt her cheeks suddenly flame, realising what it was. She had never been up close to something like that before. Her stomach started to roil, partly from fear and partly from anticipation.

For the first time, she wanted to know what it looked like.

She pushed the thoughts away. She had no business thinking of that, especially when she was not even married to the duke. It was unladylike, and as much as she was starting to want him, she knew she could never let it happen. It was going to cause a lot of problems for her down the line if she gave in to her passion now. Not to mention that he was another woman’s husband.

She took a step back, unhooking her arms from the duke’s neck.

The duke looked down at her with passion-clouded eyes. “Christiana,” he whispered, taking a lock of her hair and twisting it in his fingers.

Amelia chanced a glance at his breeches. She could see the bulge, clearly outlined..

“Yes, I want you,” he said with heat in his voice.

Amelia looked up at him, embarrassed to be caught staring. His gaze was burning into hers. She did not know what to say.

“You are quite alluring, my lady,” he said as he pulled her closer to him. Amelia inhaled slowly, wanting his scent to fill her nostrils.

“Thank you, Your Grace.” She wanted to sound as though she was teasing, but her voice came out in a timid croak. When she shifted, she could feel his erection pressing against her. Amelia could not say whether she liked the feeling or not.

“I told you it would be difficult to contain my passion,” the duke said with a small chuckle.

Amelia smiled. “I apologise for being the one to cause that,” she said.

“No apologies needed, my lady.” He released her then, and Amelia immediately felt swamped by disappointment. Even with the present circumstances, she wanted him to hold her a little while longer.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Amelia said, brushing down the front of her gown for want of something to do.

“Our kisses seem to get better each time, do they not?” the duke asked with a glint in his eye.

“I’m quite good at this, Your Grace, as you have probably discovered,” Amelia said. They were starting to banter again, and she felt relieved.

“If anyone deserves to take that title, my lady, it is I,” the duke said.

“Only because you have surely kissed a lot of maidens in your day,” Amelia said, feeling a stab of jealousy at the thought of the duke with other women.

“Not as much as you think, my lady. I was a rather shy lad.”

When she looked up at him, she saw his eyes were twinkling with mischief. She burst out laughing. “Of course,” she said. “I was a fool to almost believe you.”

The duke shrugged. “You can’t tell if I’m lying or not, Christiana.”

“Actually, I can,” Amelia said. “You were a tall, handsome lad, heir to one of the most powerful titles in the country. You had to have had women throwing themselves at you.”

“Perhaps I was saving myself for my wife,” he replied with a wink.

Amelia laughed. She was almost pleased to think that the duke might be referring to her.

“I don’t believe you, Your Grace,” she said.

“Well, the truth is for me to know.” Turning to her, he said, “I would like to know if there were stories of young stable boys you tinkled with down at your father’s manor.” He was still smiling, but she could detect a little bit of anxiety in his eyes.

Amelia smiled up at him. “Do I sense a little jealousy?”

“Is it unimaginable for a husband to not want his wife to have kissed other men?” the duke asked with a mock frown.

Amelia laughed. “Perhaps not. As you very well know, I have never kissed any other men. It is undignified for a lady to tinker around.”

Ernest gave an approving nod. “Well, I am relieved.”

Amelia laughed again.

Ernest stared at her for a little while, and Amelia found herself holding her breath, wondering what he was thinking. Finally, he took a bow and said, “I absolutely hate to cut this short, but there are matters of state I need to attend to. Shall I escort you to your chambers or would you rather spend some time in the gardens?”

“The gardens, I think,” Amelia said. She found it too risky to let Ernest accompany her to her bedchamber.

Ernest took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Thank you for a dear afternoon, wife,” he said, before striding off back towards the direction of the castle.

Amelia smiled as she watched him go, already missing his company. It was strange, but this was the best afternoon she had ever had in her life. It was a shame that she should not get used to it.