[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.She had listened to others’ sage advice.And she’d remained amazingly loyal to Mason, even after that kiss Duke had all but forced on her.He didn’t like it, but he admired her for it.“Lovely name,” the witch said, then wriggled a bit on the bed.He risked a quick glance at her.In the shadowed room, he discerned her outline enough to see she’d dropped her little black skirt.She tossed a pair of lacy knickers on the bed between them.Wincing, Duke scooted farther away, his leg gripping the edge of the bed.She sighed.“Touch the glass jar on the table beside you.Think of your mate’s scent, then light the candle.That’s what you’ll smell during the process.”Thank God.He eagerly complied.Within seconds, Felicia’s scent filled the air and he inhaled deeply, relaxing for the first time since walking through the door.Perfect.Another moment later, the witch at his side whispered, “Um … we can’t proceed yet.You need to, ah … your zip, sir.”Yes, because this terrible train wreck wouldn’t be complete until he had to wank himself off beside a stranger.Biting back a curse, Duke unfastened his trousers, closed his eyes, and reached for his cock.“No offense.Let’s get this over with.”“None taken,” she murmured as her hands moved over her body in the dark and she moaned.With the scent of Felicia around him, Duke sank into a vision where she dropped every stitch and welcomed him with open arms, her blue eyes fastened on him as she whispered how much she wanted him and surrendered herself to him utterly.Getting lost in the fantasy, Duke stroked himself, imagining that he plunged deeply into Felicia’s warm wetness and felt her close around him while his spine all but melted with pleasure.His breaths accelerated.The feminine, keening cries around him fed his vision, his fever.His grip tightened, moving faster now, imagining Felicia raising her hips to him in offering, drawing him deeper into her body like she never wanted him to leave.The fever in him rose.Deep down, he felt Felicia’s aching emptiness and confusion.He’d make it better, be a true mate to her in every way, if she’d let him.Because he loved her.In his mind, he told her so.Her cries of pleasure nearing peak, she whimpered for him, then whispered that she loved him too.The ecstasy of those words blew the top of his head off.He shuddered, tensed, screaming through one of the strongest orgasms in memories.But when his breathing slowed and he opened his eyes, Duke was still in an unfamiliar bedroom beside an unfamiliar witch, his softening cock in his own hand.The buzz kill was instant.He hadn’t quenched his need for Felicia one bit.Instead, he’d only made it stronger.Cursing, Duke used the appointed towel to clean up.He zipped up his trousers, donned his overcoat, and was out the door before the surrogate could even turn on the lights.Bram stopped pacing and sat beside Felicia on the serviceable brown couch as he viciously pressed the button to end the call on his mobile.“Duke’s still not bloody answering.You mated two hours ago.You’re certain both of you spoke all the words?”Felicia didn’t appreciate Bram’s badgering.Truthfully, she was still trying to process the enormity of what Hurstgrove had pledged to her: his long life, his fidelity, his devotion.Sacred words, according to him.She hadn’t expected that.She’d been required to promise the same in return.Nor had she been unmoved by the vow.As soon as she’d spoken the last of the words, Felicia had yearned to throw her arms around him, kiss him.Merge with him.Cement their bond.All of that only deepened her desire for him.Only thoughts of Mason, the wedding they’d nearly shared—and her own fear of a broken heart—had stopped her from acting on it.Hurstgrove’s intensity overwhelmed her.Fighting him felt like trying to stay afloat in a life raft in the midst of a tidal wave.If he ever kissed her again … Felicia had no illusions; her will to resist him would crumble.“He spoke a few sentences, like a vow, then had me say this in return.” She uncurled her fist and exposed the ball of paper in her hand.Bram laid it flat on the dark wooden table in front of them and cursed.“Then that should be everything.I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you have no magical signature.”After explaining the concept to her quickly, her brow furrowed.“Does that mean the mating didn’t take?”“Normally, that’s not a possibility.If the words are spoken, the deed is done, but you … are different.” He sighed.“Did you feel anything once the Call was issued and the Binding given?”Other than the insane urge to offer him all that she was, body and heart? Those had been frightening, dizzying moments.He’d been so near, his mouth hovering right over hers, gaze delving deep like he wanted her soul.And she’d wanted to give it—and more—to him.That wasn’t magical, she feared, just desire for him asserting itself, as it had since the moment they met.“I don’t think so,” she hedged.“Did he kiss you afterward? Take you to bed?”Felicia drew back.“I get that you’re a right nosy bastard, but that’s none of your affair.”He gritted his teeth.“You spoke words, and now he’s absent, possibly out in public where others might see his signature.He must look as if he’s fully bonded and without any residual trace of your imprint.If the words alone didn’t do that, we need to rectify the situation.”How? Did Bram think he could order her to sleep with her fiancé’s brother?An arrow of heat pierced her at the thought of Hurstgrove peeling away her clothing, caressing his way down her skin, claiming her lips with an onslaught of the carnal need she’d seen in his eyes.Of her touching every inch of his hard, male form in return.Felicia cleared her throat, but it did nothing to dispel the heat swirling in her body.“Did he even try to seduce you?”Not for anything would Felicia tell Bram that she had rebuffed Hurstgrove moments after they’d exchanged vows.The last thing she needed from the wizard was a tirade.“Don’t badger her,” Olivia chastised as she stepped into the room.“I may not have the magical ability to read minds, at least not yet, but I don’t need it to know you’re making her uncomfortable.Of course Duke wanted to seduce her.Duh! But you don’t know a damn thing about being human.She can’t be pledged to one brother, then joined to another without some … transition.She needs time.” She sighed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]