The Duke She Wished For Read online

  With deft fingers, skilled from working on fine stitching for so many years, she undid his jacket and shirt and dared to touch the warm skin on his broad, muscled chest, causing Nicholas’ breathing to grow jagged and rough.

  “Be careful my sweet,” he said. “I want to wait, but I am not a strong man when it comes to you.”

  She was a woman on fire suddenly and she wanted to feel that everything was real. She pulled his jacket off without breaking the kiss and made sure his shirt followed, the whole time pushing and nipping at him with her kiss.

  “I do not want to wait,” she said. “I want to really feel you. Tonight. Right now.”

  He groaned into her mouth and in an instant, she felt his hands on the back of her dress, ripping it.

  “As my duchess commands,” he ground against her mouth.

  As her clothing pooled at her feet, Tabitha felt stripped bare and vulnerable suddenly, as though she could no longer hide who she really was. Nicholas bent down to lavish one of her exposed nipples with his tongue. Her head fell back at the sensation of it and she gripped his hair tighter when he moved to the other one.

  “This is…this is exquisite,” she breathed. She gasped when he lifted her suddenly and put her on the bed, removing her stockings and leaving her fully exposed to the night air. She heard the rustle of clothing and saw that he was in all his glory, his erection standing proud and intimidating between them.

  “Exquisite?” He said with a smile. “That was nothing. Just hold on, my duchess, it is only beginning.”

  Before she had a chance to wonder what he was doing, his tongue laved through her folds and her back arched as her body responded and she cried aloud.

  Nicholas worked her very core with his talented tongue and fingers and had her writhing as he mercilessly learned the very center of her and showed her the heights her body was willing to climb at his beck and call.

  The burning began and continued to rise and rise until she feared she would come apart.

  “Nicholas…” she cried.

  “Shh, darling,” he whispered. “Let it take you. We’re only just beginning.”

  At his insistence, she gave over to the sensations and simply shattered. Her nerves came apart and her body fell under the wave of bliss at Nicholas’ attentions. When she’d finally regained her breath, she looked to him and saw him watching her.

  “You are beautiful,” he said reverently as he crawled up over her body and caged her in with his elbows on both sides of her head. “Are you certain you want to keep going? As much as I would love to do this now, I am more than willing to wait until we’re married. But you must tell me now, as after this I will not be able to stop.”

  Tabitha gave a laugh.

  “I am nothing if not unconventional, Nicholas,” she said with a smile. “You should know that by now. I want this. I want you.”

  He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and she felt him settle himself between her legs at her very opening.

  “It will hurt at first, but I promise it will pass,” he said and she nodded.

  He pushed forward and she gasped at the burning sting of him filling her. She held her breath and clung to his shoulders, trying to remember what he told her.

  “Breathe, my darling,” he said. “It will pass.”

  She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she did what he said and just took slow, calming breaths. Soon, the sting turned to a delightful burn and she moved her hips to explore it further.

  He groaned on top of her.

  “Keep doing that, Tabitha, and this will be a very short first lesson.”

  “I need,” she panted. “I need more.”

  As though he were released from his tether, Nicholas rocked against her as he slid out then back in again.

  “Then more you shall have.”

  He moved his hips ruthlessly against her, driving his shaft in and out of her. Needing more contact, Tabitha wrapped her legs around his waist and crossed her ankles, angling herself to take him deeper.

  She could tell that he was struggling to maintain control as his breathing was rough and uneven and his hips pistoned him in and out of her. She was on fire.

  “Again,” she breathed. “It’s happening again.”

  While one hand cradled her face, the other reached between them and found the nub at the juncture of her sex and assaulted it with his thumb.

  It didn’t take long after that. The sensation started again and before she knew it, Tabitha was mindless and couldn’t deny the urgency she felt as her body began that glorious crescendo a second time.

  She didn’t fight it this time, instead letting Nicholas lead and carry her body over the edge of the precipice again. She cried out, clutching and clawing at him as her body convulsed around him.

  He followed soon after, crying out her name and pushing himself hard into her as he climaxed right after her.

  When their breathing slowed and the madness lifted, Tabitha opened her eyes to find Nicholas staring down at her, eyes glowing.

  “That was not my plan for bringing you to my bedroom,” he said with a grin. “I had planned to propose and then take you downstairs and announce our engagement to the party.”

  She laughed.

  “My stepmother would probably try to claw my eyes out on the spot,” she laughed against his shoulder.

  “All the more reason to share the joyous news sooner with her and her daughter,” he said, kissing her forehead, her nose, and her lips. “But first, Tabitha, you have yet to provide me with an answer.”

  “Yes Nicholas,” she said laughing. “I love you so, and I will marry you.”

  He sealed her promise with a kiss.

  “You ripped my costume,” she said, pointing to the pile of golden silk on his floor. He cast a glance over his shoulder at what remained of her dress.

  “Lorna left a spare gown in my closet,” he said with a laugh. “I wondered why on earth she would do that, but now I see she probably guessed that my proposal would either go incredibly right or incredibly wrong.”

  “Incredibly right,” Tabitha said, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him close. “Your proposal was incredibly right.”

  16

  Four months later

  “My cousin Alexander is simply fascinated by your friend Matilda,” Nicholas whispered in her ear as their wedding guests milled through the ballroom enjoying themselves.

  She followed Nicholas’ eyes and saw Matilda, looking resplendent in a ruby-colored gown of her own creation, moving through the crowd and a large blond duke-to-be weaving in and out of the mass of people just a few paces behind her.

  “I would say the feeling was mutual, but she is playing hard to get right now for some reason,” she laughed. Nicholas moved behind her and put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Do you feel different?” He asked, leaning close so nobody else could hear.

  “What do you mean?” She turned her face toward his.

  “Being a duchess, a wife,” he pressed. “Was it as difficult as you thought it would be four months ago when you agreed?”

  She laughed at that.

  When they had made their way downstairs after Nicholas proposed, he had done exactly what he said he would—he stopped the musicians and stood in the middle of the staircase, getting the room’s attention. Tabitha stood near the bottom of the staircase, as she had returned to the ballroom after taking her time re-dressing. Lorna had come in to help her with a sly grin on her face.

  “I know we are here for a masked ball, but I had other motives when I invited all of you here tonight,” he said, his voice booming. Tabitha had felt like her heart would beat out of her chest and she had been close to panicking. “I wanted to introduce my fiancée to you all, as she has just agreed to be my wife.”

  The room let out a collective gasp and people started looking around, trying to find the mystery woman who had won the duke’s heart. Instead of slinking back like she’d been wont to do, Tabitha held her chin and w
alked toward Nicholas when he held his hand out to her, motioning for her to come to him.

  “My fiancée, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “Miss Tabitha Blackmore.”

  The applause took a moment to start and when she saw Sabine Banon rip her mask from her face in anguish, she thought she’d have a revolt on her hands soon, with her stepmother and Frances joining in. But people followed Alexander’s lead with his boisterous applause and she clasped Nicholas' outstretched hand as the mostly approving crowd cheered.

  She had been nervous about Lady Gemma’s reaction to getting a commoner as a daughter-in-law, but Gemma had said that after living in a of marriage that had been made out of convenience and stature, she understood the importance of a marriage based on love and happiness.

  “You are that worthy woman for Nicholas, Tabitha,” Lady Gemma had said, nearly flooring Tabitha with her kindness.

  Ellora and Frances had been seething when she returned home later that week.

  “You little liar,” Ellora had spat as Tabitha walked through the door. “You were sneaking around in an attempt to snare yourself a husband!”

  Frances had nearly thrown a dinner plate at her head, but when Nicholas had walked in two steps behind her, their demeanor shifted instantly, all flattery and sweet words about being welcomed into such a prestigious family.

  Tabitha had done everything she could not to gag and had taken up Tillie’s offer to live with her until the wedding, essentially breaking Tabitha free from her stepmother and stepsister.

  As a wedding gift, Nicholas had paid a rather exorbitant price for all of the contents of Tabitha’s workshop. She did not need a storefront anymore, now that she was a duchess. Instead, she worked out a deal with the finer shops in town to carry her creations now that she had time and artistic freedom to create only what she wanted to—no more rushed orders or forced production.

  Sabine and her mother, Hester, had laid relatively low once the engagement was announced. Other than dirty looks and a whisper of “Kenmore fraud” for the first few weeks, they’d disappeared into relative obscurity, only to reappear around the time of the formal engagement tea.

  Naturally, they had gotten an invitation because decorum demanded it, according to Lady Gemma. And naturally, Sabine had tried her best to poke and jab at Tabitha while Lady Gemma was swiped at by Lady Hester.

  Except, neither of them had counted on the force that was Matilda ‘Tillie” Andrews and her lack of patience for entitled, prejudiced hornets.

  “You’ll behave or you’ll be shown out,” she smiled sweetly at Sabine when she said it.

  “You cannot talk to us like that,” her mother had hissed at her. “You are a commoner.”

  Tillie smiled at that.

  “A commoner whose family could buy and sell your home, your land, and your holdings ten times over,” Tillie said. “Now be nice before I ask daddy to blacklist your farm from ever exporting anything anywhere.”

  Common knowledge was that the Banon family were struggling with money thanks in part to Lord Archie’s penchant for gambling and brothels. To have the knowledge so common and spoken out loud, Lady Hester paled and nearly fainted from the retort. Sabine hissed instead and stood, pulling her mother with her.

  “We do not need to listen to this,” she said haughtily.

  “No,” Tillie said. “You do not. You should leave.”

  Left in the position to remain where their dirty secret had been aired or to be forced to do what a commoner demanded, they chose to leave.

  Needless to say, they had not been at the wedding. In fact, word was they’d gone to their country home for the remainder of the year with no immediate plans to return to London after Sabine’s third season without husband.

  Tabitha looked at her wedding guests and smiled. Some she knew. Some she would get to know better, and some she didn’t care to know at all. But with Nicholas' help she was learning to navigate the waters of who was who and what was expected.

  “You sure you will not miss this place for the next year?” He said, turning her in his arms to pull her against his chest.

  They were sailing in two weeks for France. Tabitha had classes to attend if she wanted to keep up with the latest in fashion trends.

  She’d broached the subject of school in Paris tentatively at first, worried he wouldn’t understand. But she should have known better—Nicholas understood her need to continue learning perfectly.

  “I love our home in France,” he said, running his hand down her back. “I think you will, too. We will spend the year there and I wager it’ll be difficult to convince you to return. You’ll need to resurrect that Kenmore character, though. A duchess would hardly be allowed to take a course and be graded objectively, you see.”

  The only loose end was Tillie. She was reasonably upset when Tabitha told her their plans to spend the year in Europe, but she cheered fairly quickly.

  “My father owns a dozen ships,” she said brightly. “I can travel to you whenever I want, can I not?”

  “Yes you can,” Tabitha said.

  Now, as their guests were settling into a long evening of dancing and cheer, Tabitha felt Nicholas grab hold of her hand.

  “It’s our time to make a grand exit,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. “Are you ready?”

  “Ready for what?” She teased.

  “A lifetime of happiness and adventure,” he said, pressing another kiss to her neck. “A night of passion and pleasure. So, as I said—are you ready?”

  She let him take the lead as they walked from the ballroom. Was she ready?

  “You know I am, Lord Nicholas,” she said, her voice low and full of promise. “The question is—are you?”

  THE END

  BRIDE FOR A TIME

  LOVE FOR ALL TIMES BOOK 1

  A Highlander Time Travel Romance

  By Audrey Adair

  Prologue

  The Abernathy family was anything but traditional and had always lived their lives one adventure after another. Jaime was an only child, and grew up as close as could be to her parents. They introduced Jaime to her Scottish heritage and instilled in her the idea that she only had one life, so live it to the fullest. She grew up in Massachusetts under the crinkling of the fall leaves and in the bitterness of the harsh winters, but her Scottish spirit shined through her strawberry blonde hair as she laughed loudly and spoke with intent. All through Jaime’s youth, she could feel the enticing spell of her heritage, and as she traveled and explored the world with her with her mom and dad, her thirst for adventure grew.

  However, that flame, fueled by her own bloodline, was quickly extinguished when her parents were killed in a boating accident during a vacation in the Caribbean. Jaime was in her first year of college and, for once, had to stay back from the vacation. The devastation tore Jaime’s entire world apart. She spent the summer locked away in her parent’s home, trying to contemplate what to do and where to go. She couldn’t find solace anywhere, including her boyfriend’s embrace. For weeks, she laid in her parent’s bed, flipping through old photographs and sifting through boxes of family heirlooms. She had moments of clarity but would then be overcome with grief. By the end of summer, though, the reminder of all her parents had taught her gave her the strength to clear out most of her parent’s things and put the house on the market. Her life was in Boston, and no matter how much she wanted to hold on to her childhood home, she knew she needed to move forward.

  Over time, her spirit lifted once again, and after college she took a job in Boston and moved in with her college sweetheart, Chris. The two took small trips, but Jaime’s adventurous spirit had been stunted by the tragedy. She no longer felt that pull to explore the world and discover all it had to offer. Chris had never met her parents, and she rarely talked about them, fearing if the memories escaped her lips she would begin to forget them. Instead, she put her attention into work and her art, expelling her feelings into the projects she was working on.

  Seasons passed slow
ly around Jaime, and though she was happy with her life, there was something that always seemed to be nagging at her, an attachment to her heritage she couldn’t seem to shake. Just a year after her graduation from college she landed a job in marketing, and worked for the VP of the graphics department. It was a fantastic job, great money, with significant benefits. Chris was a lawyer, who worked for a large firm in Boston, and the two seemed to be flowing right through life, just as society expected of them. It seemed like perfection, although, if Jaime were honest with herself, it was superficial perfection. It was fragile, and quickly shattered right in front of Jaime’s eyes.

  It was the yearly work retreat for Jaime’s company, and this time, spouses (or significant others) were invited. Jaime was excited to have a few days’ time away from the stressful life they woke up to every day, especially since Chris’s career had taken off and he was constantly at work. The first two days were the ideal mix of successful business relationship building and social networking. Jaime’s boss invited her and Chris for dinner with him and his wife, which was an incredible opportunity she hoped would boost her career. After dinner, Chris excused himself, exhausted from the day’s events, he told them, while Jaime stayed behind for one more drink with her boss.

  As she walked along the path back to her cabin, she looked up at the sky and watched as the stars sparkled over her, reminding her just how small she really was. Feeling nostalgic, she missed the extra pair of shoes sitting on the doorstep as she walked into the cabin. She tossed her keys on the side table and suddenly froze as she looked up to find Chris and her boss’s wife embraced on the couch. Her face went white, and she shook her head in disbelief. Chris jumped up and stood there, shocked, not knowing what to say. Sylvia stood slowly, straightened her dress, and smiled coyly as she walked passed Jaime and out of the cabin. Jaime put her hand up as Chris began to walk towards her. It was like when her parents died — she froze and turned inward. She couldn’t believe she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t seen this coming.