The Duke's Gamble (7 page)

The door opened abruptly, and Bella whirled around, startled. She found Castor standing in the doorway, his chest moving as he breathed rapidly. Tension held his body taut and she could see the muscles in his jaw bunch.
 

“Upstairs. Now,” he growled.

Her heart leaping into her throat, Bella hurriedly complied. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that she had never seen before, and it seemed rather unwise to point out to him that she had only agreed to obey his orders in her bedchamber. Not that he had needed to tell her what to do. She had been more than willing to accept whatever he did to her as everything he did brought her more pleasure than she had previously thought possible.

The moment the door closed behind them, he said, “Go stand next to the bed and brace yourself on your elbows. Feet on the floor, face down.” Her face must have reflected her shock, for he paused. “You told me the morning after our first night together that you would submit to me in the bedchamber. Tell me now if you have changed your mind.”
 

“I … no,” she whispered, nerves and excitement causing her heart to pound so hard that she felt dizzy. “I will do as you say.”

His eyes softened. “Go to the bed. Face down.”

Trembling, she did as he said. The satin coverlet was cool under her palms, the mattress dipping as she placed her weight on her forearms. The faint rustle of clothing told her that he was undressing, and she shuddered, tension tightening within her when she felt him lift up her skirts and petticoats, baring her lower body to his gaze.

“No drawers. Good girl,” he rasped, his rough voice making her core throb. He ran a finger over her cleft, the pressure harder than usual, and she whimpered at the all too brief stroke over her clitoris. She stiffened, shocked when she felt his thumb circle the rosette between her buttocks but before she could say anything, he walked away. A moment later, she heard the unmistakable sound of a jar being opened and then he was behind her again.

Bella gasped when she felt Castor apply something like an emulsion into the folds of her sex. His fingers were impatient as he pressed shallowly into her channel, massaging the cream into her. Her breaths came in short pants and arousal coiled tight in her belly. Her breasts felt swollen, pressing tightly against her corset.

“I need to fuck you now,” he said through gritted teeth as he gripped her hips roughly. “I’ll take care of you later, I promise. Nod if you understand, Bella.”

She nodded wildly, a low moan escaping from her as he began to shove his cock into her. Despite the cream, her passage was unprepared, resisting his entry. He grunted with the effort and pulled back before driving forward again, his shaft forging through the tight, sensitive tissue. Bella’s head dropped onto the mattress, her body jerking involuntarily when she felt his hips come to rest against her buttocks. Inside her, she could feel his cock throb. The position made him feel like a club within her, so huge and hard that she could hardly bear it.

He began to move, driving his erection into her with frenzied strokes, his hips slamming into her bottom with each thrust. His fingers dug painfully into her flesh, holding her still as he took his pleasure. For some reason the thought that in that moment, she was nothing but a receptacle for his cock made arousal spike through her and her sex responded with a wash of liquid. Castor groaned as the moisture eased his way and his thrusts began to gain speed. Moments later, he froze, groaning loudly as he buried his cock deep, his hips jerking against her.

“
Fuck. Fuck, Bella.
”

His hoarse voice growling the sexual profanity, combined with the awareness that he was spilling his seed into her, pushed her over the edge into her own orgasm.

“
Castor!
” Her back bowed and her sheath convulsed around his shaft.

Her body was still racked with small paroxysms of pleasure when she felt him pull out. He turned her over and she lay on her back as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes widened when she realised that he was still clad in his shirt and breeches. Castor caught hold of her ankles and pushed them upwards and realisation struck her. Surely he wasn’t … he couldn’t possibly …

Her breath rushed out of her lungs as he slowly pressed his still erect shaft into her. Although their combined fluids meant she was very wet, his inward thrust was still not easy as her tissues were now swollen from her orgasm and his forceful thrusts.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are when I am taking you like this?” His gaze bore into hers as he thrust into her. His movements were slow and languid, in sharp contrast to the edge of urgency in his tone. Her nipples tightened. They ached for attention, for his mouth to be on them, licking and suckling.
 

Bella placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling the searing heat of his skin under the damp linen as she arched her hips up to meet his. “You’re …” She whimpered as his next stroke rubbed against that magical spot within her, making her lose her train of thought momentarily. She swallowed. “You’re beautiful too.” And he was. His sable hair was damp with perspiration, his cheeks were flushed with desire and his eyes were slightly dilated as he watched her. She couldn’t see it now but she knew his chest would be slick with sweat, the muscles in his biceps contracting and releasing as his hips drove forward and retreated.

He smiled at her statement, exhaling slowly when she lifted her legs and linked her ankles behind his buttocks. “You feel incredible around my cock. Soft and warm and wet. I could do this forever.”
 

Helpless with pleasure, Bella stared up at him. Their previous encounters had occurred in silence, broken only by the sounds she emitted from the overwhelming sensations he brought her. His words, spoken in that husky rasp that she adored, were driving her to distraction. Her sheath contracted around his shaft and he closed his eyes briefly. Encouraged, she did it again and felt a shiver travel through him.

A thought struck her. If his words aroused her, perhaps hers would do the same to him. “I love how you feel inside me. Huge and hard, stretching me so deliciously.” His eyes widened fractionally and his next thrust was harder, deeper.
Oh, yes.
“You make me ache so, and yet each time you come into me, you ease that ache and make me want you even more.” Faster now. “I missed you when you were away,” she admitted, tightening her legs around him as he began to drive into her in earnest. “I missed your hands, your mouth, your …” Her voice faltered.

“Cock. Say it, Bella,” he ordered, his voice hard.

She panted, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
 

“Say it.”

“Cock. I missed your cock.” She gasped when he paused to grip the neckline of her gown. He gave a hard tug, freeing her breasts to his hungry gaze. She pressed her head back into the mattress when he bent his head and drew hard on her nipple, grazing it with his teeth as he released it. The fine edge of pain made her cry out.

“Tell me you like me pounding my cock into you.” Castor caught her other nipple between his teeth, worrying it with the tip of his tongue before letting go. “Tell me,” he commanded. Pausing, he reached behind him and freed her legs, pushing them upwards until the back of her thighs rested against his chest. He leaned forward.

“I l-like your cock pounding into m—” Bella cried out as his shaft sank deeper than it ever had before, the head meeting the end of her channel. “Castor,” she gasped, instinctively arching away to ease the pressure. “I c-can’t.”

“Christ,” he groaned deeply, baring his teeth in a grimace of pleasure as he pulled back slightly and then thrust forward again as she rose to meet him. “I’m so deep inside you.”

Their bodies were pressed so tightly together that each thrust brought him into contact with her distended bud. Their eyes met and held, and Bella saw within Castor’s eyes a fierce tenderness that made her chest ache. Again and again, his shaft sank into her, until she climaxed with a sharp cry. Her orgasm brought on his and she watched him stiffen above her, his throat cording as his cock pulsed with his release.

Chapter 10

Castor lay on his side, watching the woman he loved as she slept. This was his favourite time when they were together. He loved it even more than the times when they were physically intimate or when they spent time in each other’s company. It was because he revelled in the fact that he could look at her to his heart’s content. He was well aware that he was acting the besotted fool, unable to look at anything or anyone else when she was in the room. He still remembered how uncomfortable she had appeared that first meal they had shared when he could not tear his eyes away from her, unable to believe she was finally here, in his home.

It didn’t help that his conversational skills were woefully inadequate. He had little use for making small conversation, avoiding social gatherings unless there was to be some financial advantage in attending. It was a wonder she had not tried to escape after sitting through what must have felt like an interminably tiresome supper with a man who could only speak in stilted sentences and who had stared at her as if he were some crazed lunatic.

He brushed a few strands of dark hair off her cheek and she stirred. But she didn’t open her eyes, merely rubbed her cheek into the pillow. Just as he began to relax, she exhaled softly then smiled, murmuring his name. Castor froze, staring at her but she said nothing more and her breathing evened. Was she dreaming about him? For someone in his position and with his interests, the skill in being able to read his opponent was invaluable. Yet even after three weeks, he was still unable to decipher how she felt about him. She didn’t appear to mind being in his company, despite his inability to make polite conversation, and she was an enthusiastic bed-partner who never tried to hide her obvious enjoyment or response to his touch.
 

She was direct in other ways too; she never failed to make her reluctance or displeasure with him known, which he found rather amusing. Nor did she hide her joy when he did please her, like that other day when he had given her a small book of poetry which he had bought on impulse in a small bookstore in a nearby town. When she saw that it was by one of her favourite poets, she had thrown her arms around him, almost knocking him over in her excitement. She had shown her gratitude in other ways too, that night. Even now he could not believe how damnably lucky he was to have her. Now, he just had to find a way to persuade her to stay. The fact that she had come to him on the anniversary of his twin brother’s death was the only thing that kept his hope alive.

Castor frowned at the sound of a soft knock on the door. The servants knew he was not to be disturbed when he was with Bella in her room. He got off the bed quietly and walked to the door, fastening his breeches as he did so. “What is it?”
 

It was Beecham. He looked apologetic. “I am very sorry, Your Grace, but an urgent message has just been delivered for Lady Arabella.”

“I’ll give it to her.” Closing the door, he turned to find Bella regarding him with drowsy eyes.

“What did Beecham want?”

“A note came for you.”

She sat up and took the missive from him. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she broke open the seal and began to read.

Castor watched, a sense of foreboding filling him as the smile on her face changed to shock. “Bella. What’s wrong?” When she didn’t answer, he uttered her name sharply. “Bella.”

Her head jerked up. She looked dazed. “My father. He’s had some sort of seizure. Mrs Lane, our … housekeeper thinks I should return immediately.”

No,
he wanted to howl. It was much too soon. He was supposed to have three months to win her, not three weeks. But this was her father and she was not his prisoner.
Pull yourself together, you fool.
“I’ll order the carriage and call for Mrs Robbins to arrange for your things to be packed.”

She swallowed convulsively, nodding. “Thank you, Castor.”

He opened his mouth, about to ask if she wanted him to come with her when she spoke again.
 

She slid off the bed and walked up to him. “I will return as soon as I can. I know there is still two months left in your agreement with my father.”

“Do not concern yourself about the agreement. Go tend to your father.” He wanted her to return by choice, not because of the bloody agreement.
 

“Castor …”
 

“I release you from the agreement, Bella. I consider your father’s debt settled. You do not have to return if you do not wish to.” Just uttering the words made him feel ill.

She looked at him, her face pale. “I don’t understand. I thought … Do you not want me to return?”

Of course I want you to return!
he wanted to shout.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
“As I said, you may do as you wish.” It was a miracle he managed to keep his tone even because he couldn’t breathe. Could barely think.
Please come back.
Castor looked down and concentrated on tucking his shirt into his breeches. If he stared at her any longer he might fall to his knees and beg her to return. “I will give you some funds to take with you. If your father’s creditors are not already at the front door, they will be soon enough. 6,834 pounds is not a trifling sum.” He froze, immediately realising his error.
 

Bella looked at him, her confusion obvious. “How do you know the amount of my father’s debts?”

“I …” He tried to think of an excuse. Any excuse. Her eyes drilled into his, searching for answers and he tried to remain impassive. But the fear of losing her was causing his brain to seize.
 

Her voice dropped. “How long have you known? After the card game?” She drew a sharp breath. “Before?”

He tried to speak, but nothing emerged. Helpless, he felt his panic multiply a hundredfold, then a thousandfold as he watch her work through her thoughts.

“You knew how much my father owed. You knew he was penniless yet you played that card game with him.” She paused. “I’ve seen how proficient you are with numbers. No,” she corrected herself, “Not proficient. Gifted. Did you …” Her voice broke and Castor imagined a knife piercing his heart. “Did you … did you set my father up to lose to you?”