Kate Pearce - Educating Elizabeth

The duke began to stack the gold coins as he considered her. "Why does it offend you, Elizabeth? You obviously have a use for the money. You asked me recently for an advance on your wages."

Elizabeth gulped as she gazed at his cynical expression. "Is that why you think I went to bed with you--for money?"

"I'm not sure." He paused. "Did you?"

Her gaze dropped to the desk where the stack of coins leaned toward the duke's clenched fist. "I went to bed with you because I wanted you to be the first man who touched me." She winced at the flare of disbelief in his eyes. "I decided to take your advice and ask my next protector for money."

The duke's hand relaxed. "If I understand you correctly, you are saying that you chose to sleep with me for more, shall we say, sentimental reasons, before moving on to a new protector whom you would feel more comfortable taking money from."

Elizabeth cringed. Put like that, she sounded mercenary, but she couldn't dispute the bare bones of the truth. She nodded, and kept her eyes on his hands, not daring to look at him for fear of his contempt.

He leaned forward and suddenly knocked the tower of coins over with the back of his hand. He hit them with such force that two of them spiraled through the air and landed in her lap. He shot to his feet and strode over to the window, keeping his back to her.

"I did wonder, Elizabeth, if your timely surrender was an attempt to extort the money from me." He swung around to face her, his gray eyes hard, his voice soft. "I also wondered if you chose to tempt me beyond reason as a form of revenge."

She lifted her chin and stared back at him. "You are mistaken, Your Grace. I had no thoughts of greed or revenge when I came to your bed, only curiosity." She shrugged back the tears that crowded her throat and tried to smile as she got to her feet. "As I've achieved my ambition, I will make sure that my bags are packed and that I'm ready to leave at your convenience."

A sudden rush of tears blurred her retreat and she only realized Gervase had come up behind her when she was unable to open the door.

"I don't want you to go, Elizabeth. I want you in my bed."

She leaned her forehead against the door panel as he bent to kiss the nape of her neck. His harsh, quick breathing mirrored her own. "I fear that we are at cross purposes, ma belle ." His lips traveled up to her ear. "What if I told you that I left you the money because I wanted to give you a reason to stay with me? Would you stay?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes as the temptation to give into his demands engulfed her. She sighed as he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. She raised an unsteady hand to caress his cheek and he captured her fingers and held them there.

"I will stay until the code is broken and the assassin is caught, Your Grace, but I don't want any more money, like this, from you. I will stay because it pleases me to stay, not for financial gain."

"It pleases me, Elizabeth. I will endeavor to prove worthy of you."

His mouth descended, claiming her in a deep, possessive kiss that left her clutching his shoulders and leaning weakly against him. She bit back a sigh when he raised his head and stepped away. He grimaced, ran a hand through his hair and glanced down at the bulge of his cock.

"I wish that I had the time to take you upstairs and show you how much I appreciate you, but I'm due at the Foreign Office in an hour."

Elizabeth drew in a shaky breath and smoothed down her gown. "I've work to do as well, Your Grace. The code is proving particularly difficult to break."

Gervase swept her a bow. "Well then, my dear, I suggest that you leave me to make myself presentable and go do battle with the code."

Gervase closed his book with a snap and glanced at the library clock. It was past midnight and yet a light still glowed in the shadows of Sir John's office. He rose to his feet, stretched the tiredness from his shoulders, and strolled through the concealed door toward Elizabeth's desk.

He leaned against the doorframe and studied the intense figure at the desk. Elizabeth had a frown between her brows and a quill pen poised over a piece of parchment. Unnoticed, Gervase moved closer and looked over her shoulder. From the amount of scribbling, he deduced her latest attempt to break Le Fleur's code was not progressing well.

Gervase laid his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and registered the tension in her muscles. He squeezed and relaxed his fingers and she tried to shake his hand off. Gervase stilled as the warmth of her scent drifted up to tantalize and revitalize his tired senses. "Elizabeth, it is time for bed."

She barely glanced at him, her attention all on the page in front of her. Gervase suppressed a smile. It occurred to him that he didn't like to be ignored and was not used to it from the woman who occupied his bed.

"Elizabeth." He made his tone commanding. "I want to go to bed, preferably with you."

This time she did look up. She gave him a rather perfunctory smile and pushed her spectacles higher up her nose. "You run along, Your Grace. I will join you shortly. I just need to finish this piece."

Without bothering to reply, Gervase picked up one of the long goose-feather quills from the desk and ran his fingertips along the taut edge of the feather. He moved closer to Elizabeth and touched the tip of the feather to her earlobe and down the nape of her neck. He followed the feather's path with the tip of his tongue.

She shivered slightly but still refused to look up. With renewed intention, Gervase angled the feather to dip toward the front of her bodice. He sat sideways on the desk and used his finger and thumb to unhook the pearl buttons on the severely cut green velvet of her bodice. Her chemise and corset appeared and his breath shortened as he allowed the feather to caress the enticing swells and tips of her breasts. As he flicked the quill in an endless circling pattern over her exposed skin, he was gratified to see her nipples begin to tighten.

He breathed against her neck, an invitation and a command. "Let me touch you, ma belle , let me inside you."

She sighed and her quill pen dropped from her fingers. He gathered it up to double his sensual assault. Her head fell back against his waistcoat, allowing him to caress her throat and then her mouth with his kisses and soft touches. He slid further up the desk, taking her weight into his arms, loosening her stays and completely baring her breasts to his hungry mouth.

When her hands came up to clutch his shoulders and she began to kiss him back, he angled her to lie beneath him on the desk and pulled up her skirts. She made no further protest about her work as he opened his breeches, plunged inside of her and reminded her of her other obligations.

He waited until she had moaned her pleasure into his mouth before he realized he wanted more. "Elizabeth, hold on to me. We will finish this upstairs. I want you naked." He lifted her from the desk in one easy motion and smiled as she gasped when his shaft was forced even deeper inside her.

Elizabeth shut her eyes and clung to the duke as he mounted the stairs, each jolting step pooling low in her stomach, making her arch into him in a wordless plea. He began to breathe more harshly as they reached the top of the stairs but she didn't think it was because he was disturbed by her weight.

He stopped as she started to spasm around him again and his hand came up to cover her mouth. With a soft curse, he drew her into the shadows of the massive landing window and the concealment offered by the thick velvet curtains. Her back hit the paneled wall as he braced her against it and placed his hands on either side of her head. As her body, released from his hold, slid downwards, he surged upwards, concentrating her whole weight on where they were joined. She fought back a scream as his mouth covered hers, his tongue driving into her as his body drove into her.