Duke of Chance: Lords of Scandal Page 8

  Chance stared down at her, looking half furious and half impressed. “With the rumors about his first wife, that isn’t likely.”

  Edge hit the tree. Hard. “How dare you?”

  “I dare,” Chance growled.

  “I’ve heard about you too, you know. Don’t pretend to be any better than me.”

  Daisy’s stomach dropped. Her heart squeezed in her chest. What did Edge know about Chance’s past?

  Chapter Ten

  Chance followed Daisy’s carriage home, having every intention of catching her alone.

  In the end, he and Edgemere had both done as she’d asked. He still didn’t quite know how she’d managed it, and honestly, he couldn’t believe that he’d agreed.

  But in the end, she’d been right. Pretending was best for her reputation, even if becoming a duchess was still the easiest solution.

  He’d nearly lost his mind when he’d approached that tree, but then he’d heard Daisy giving Edge a firm and definitive goodbye.

  The woman hadn’t even sounded doubtful. More determined than anything else.

  Good God, she’d stolen his breath. He’d been so prepared to be hurt as Marissa had hurt him, and there was Daisy, holding her head high and maintaining her…well…goodness. Was it odd to say she might be restoring some of the faith he’d lost along the way?

  Their carriage arrived back at her aunt’s.

  Chance hopped down to help the ladies out, all the while racking his brain to come up with a way to catch Daisy alone.

  But his mental exercises were entirely unnecessary. The moment they reached the entry, her aunt gave them a sleepy smile. “Being at Hyde Park with everyone was exhausting. I think I shall lay down. Daisy, I trust you to call a maid to chaperone.”

  And then she disappeared.

  “No wonder Edgemere could get you alone,” he muttered, linking his hand into hers.

  Daisy shook her head. “They think the engagement a foregone conclusion, so all the rules are being relaxed.”

  “Is it?” he said, tugging her down the hall. “A foregone conclusion? Where is a room that we can speak more privately?”

  “The study,” Daisy answered, pointing down the hall. “It was my grandfather’s, but now it only gets dusted once a week. Other than that, it’s barely used.”

  Chance heard a sad note in Daisy’s voice and he turned back to look at her. “Your aunt doesn’t use it?”

  “Occasionally, I find her in there, just touching various objects,” Daisy answered as she moved quicker to walk next to him, her side pressing to his. “I don’t know if she misses her father or the ghost of the man she wished to marry but never did,” she said, a bit of sadness in her voice.

  She pointed to a door on the left, and he pushed it open, stepping inside. The furniture was still in perfect condition, a large desk in the center of the room and two overstuffed chairs near the empty fire grate.

  Chance closed the door and locked it.

  “What will she do when you marry?”

  Daisy didn’t answer right away, and Chance looked at her, wondering if he should have used the word if instead of when.

  “Did you mean what you said when you told Edge I was my own woman?” she asked instead of answering. She was still pressed close, and while he didn’t quite understand her shift in conversation, he knew enough to answer her and figure out the thread as they talked.

  “I did.”

  “Truly?” Her hand found his and held on. “You don’t think of me as a little girl that you need to care for?”

  He drew in a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. “I hesitate to say that I don’t wish to care for you, Daisy. But if I were to put our marriage in terms of a working relationship, I’m very aware that I would be less like your boss and more like your guard. Just look at today, I went behind that tree to mash Edgemere into a meaty pulp and I left smiling and pretending we were all the best of friends.” He couldn’t help himself. Bending down, he swiped a gentle kiss across her mouth. “Haven’t you noticed I make a habit of doing your bidding?”

  She smiled at him. “I have to confess, you know exactly what to say to soothe my fears.”

  He hoped that was true. But he didn’t care to talk more as he tasted her mouth again, running his tongue along the seam of her lips.

  She wrapped her arms about his neck as he deepened the kiss. He loved the way she tasted almost as much as he did the feel of her body molding to his.

  She slid her fingers up into his hair, her mouth so yielding under his as her body arched into him.

  He brought one of his hands around to her front and sliding up her waist and along her ribs, he cupped her breast.

  She tilted her head back giving him better access to both her mouth and her chest. He groaned into her lips even as he dragged his thumb across her nipple. He wanted to take her clothes off, see every inch of her. Moving them both, he steered her toward the large desk.

  With her behind pressed against it, he started working the buttons at the back of her frock.

  He couldn’t strip her bare, not here, but he was going to taste a bit more of her, that was for certain.

  And with any luck, he’d tie them a bit more firmly together.

  The moment her dress slouched down her front, Chance’s hand came back to her breast. Loosening her corset strings, he tugged her chemise down off her shoulder, exposing one side of her chest.

  Her pink nipple, already erect, puckered in the cold air, and he nearly lost his senses. Kissing a trail down her throat, he reached the little bud and sucked it into his mouth, reveling in her cry of pleasure as her fingertips scraped along his scalp.

  “Daisy,” he groaned, as he exposed the other breast, giving each of them equal attention. He could feel her heart racing in her chest as she held him more tightly.

  “Chance,” she said on a cry.

  Hooking a hand under one of her knees, he lifted the leg so that he could fit between her thighs. The moment he pressed against her core, he felt her shudder with need.

  She was so ready for him and it took all of his control not to flip up her skirts. She’d not even consented to be his wife. She was his best friend’s sister. He couldn’t just deflower her on a desk.

  But with her nipple still in his mouth, she pressed closer, squirming against his cock, surely looking for relief.

  And that made him smile, because relief…he could give.

  Daisy was on fire.

  In the best possible way.

  She could confess that she’d been doing a great deal of wondering about what it might feel like to be held by a man.

  Hours she’d lain awake imagining a moment exactly like this, but the reality…it was so much better.

  Chance knew all the places to kiss and touch her so that she ached for more.

  She wished she could say she’d stop him before this went too far. He’d been attempting to give her choice, and apparently, she preferred to choose the touch of a rake over the righteous path.

  She slid her hands over the breadth of his shoulders as he nudged her back onto the desk. As she settled on the top, seated so that her hips tilted even closer to his, he pressed his hardness between her legs causing her to gasp in pleasure.

  Closing her eyes, she knew she wanted more. More touches, more skin, more intimacy.

  In the back of her mind, she knew that she should wait, but she didn’t want to. Not really. Was she giving up the promise of unconditional love for the heat of temporary passion?

  That made her stop, and a bit of air filled her lungs that cleared her head.

  She should stop.

  She had a future she wished to preserve, and thanks to their actions in the park, she may yet come out the other side of this scandal.

  But then Chance’s hand slid under her skirt, climbing up her stockinged calf and over her bare thigh.

  Had she thought herself on fire before? All the air left her chest as a heavy tingle of need pulsed between her thighs.

>   And when he brushed his fingertips over her folds, her answering cry left no doubt about her pleasure.

  It was so much better than she ever could have imagined.

  But it was also just the beginning.

  He brushed his fingers over her again, and then again, the tingling growing into an aching need.

  Hardly able to hold herself up, she lay back on the desk, looking up at the strong line of his jaw, his normally light eyes dark with passion as he slid his other hand to one of her breasts again.

  Another jolt of pleasure rocked through her as his fingers moved with a sure quickness that only caused the pleasure to climb higher. “Please,” she begged.

  He leaned closer then, capturing her lips with his own. “Daisy,” he murmured against her mouth. “You have to trust me. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she replied kissing him back. “Oh, yes.”

  Their tongues twined together as her legs began to quiver with her building pleasure.

  “You belong in my bed, Daisy. You should be next to me.”

  “Yes,” she hissed back, riding his hand even as her arms wound around his neck again. “Oh, Chance,” she keened, sure he was right. Why would she not belong here with him like this?

  But his hand slowed and she let out a frustrated groan, digging her nails into his neck.

  His response was to grin. “Daisy,” he whispered, a wicked glint lighting his eyes. “Do you want to finish like this?”

  Finish? She never wanted this to be over.

  “Or would you like me to show you something even better?”

  “Better,” she answered without hesitation. She had no idea what he meant, but she knew she trusted him implicitly with her safety. Whatever he was about to do, she was going to enjoy it.

  His rakish grin was all the answer she needed as he pushed her skirts higher and then slid down her body.

  Her first thought was that she missed his weight. She tightened her grip on his shoulders but he didn’t stop, disappearing under her skirts.

  She lifted her head, confusion pulling at her brows as she tried to see what he was doing.

  But rather than see, she felt his tongue drag along her most intimate flesh. A cry tore from her lips at the sensation even as he growled, his hands wrapping about her thighs. “By God, Daisy,” he said just before he repeated the motion.

  Her head dropped back down on the desk, her body arching in pleasure as he started a rhythm that stole every thought but one.

  She never wanted to be without him.

  “Chance,” she cried, reaching to try and touch some part of him. One of his hands slid from her thigh, and their fingers laced together as her body began to shake and spasm.

  And then pleasure crashed over her with a force that made her scream.

  How could she have gone her entire life and never known such joy was possible?

  Her body went limp as Chance appeared from under her skirts, dragging them back down her legs, and gathering her to his chest. He picked her up, then carried her over to a chair where he settled her into his lap.

  Snuggling her forehead into the crook of his neck, her eyes fluttered closed. She might sleep the rest of the day away after that.

  But then he shifted and Daisy felt the hard shaft of his manhood press into her backside.

  Tilting her head back, she looked up at him even as he stared down at her.

  “Chance?” she asked, sliding a hand down his chest.

  “Yes, love?”

  Love? She liked that far better than little one or sweetheart. She gave him a slow sleepy smile. “How do men get their pleasure?”

  His brows lifted. “Daisy.”

  His voice rang with a touch of sternness that made her sit up a bit. “What?”

  “That’s a lesson for another day.”

  Lesson? Was that what these were? Those words stung the tiniest bit scraping against that old wound. They underscored her lack of knowledge. Knowledge Chance had always had. She supposed that wasn’t possible, but it felt that way.

  Why did she always feel at a disadvantage?

  But, at least she was old enough to start learning. And she had every intention of gathering more knowledge before this interlude was through.

  With that in mind, she slid her hand down his chest and over his stomach, not stopping until his rod rested in her hand. “Are you speaking as my guard or as my boss?”

  He closed his eyes, swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Neither. The longer we stay, the more likely we are to be discovered. Our little tryst on the desk wasn’t exactly quiet.”

  She squeezed his staff, causing him to clench his jaw even as he shifted to give her better access. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like the word little?”

  He gave her a ghost of a smile at that. “You’re right. There was nothing small about it. It was epically large.”

  So was he. As his length grew in her hand, she wondered if most men were so big. Perhaps she’d give him a more thorough inspection. Pushing off his chest, she slid down to the floor, her hands starting on the falls of his breeches.

  As she fumbled, he helped her, sweeping in and easily undoing the buttons.

  Daisy frowned. Perhaps she was the small innocent girl he thought her to be. She didn’t have his skills, that was for certain.

  But as he yanked at the clothing, pulling it down his hips, his manhood sprang free, and Daisy’s eyes widened.

  Large. That was the first word that came to mind. And as she ran her fingers over the skin, she was surprised by the velvet feel of it. “How delightful,” she murmured, moving closer to place a soft kiss at the base.

  “Jesus, Daisy,” he ground out, his teeth locked together. “You’re going to slay me.”

  She kissed a little higher, his scent, his feel wrapping about her. She traced her fingers around his edges, skimming over the tip and back down the other side.

  “What should I do?” she asked, half hating that she had to.

  But his tight chuckle made her look up. “I’m not sure you need any lessons from me.” And then he cupped her cheek. “Your exploration might drive me mad with wanting.”

  That might be the most wonderful thing she’d ever heard.

  She kissed him again and again, featherlight kisses until she reached the tip. And then, darting out her tongue, she gave him a lick.

  He twitched, his entire body spasming.

  Daisy had never felt more powerful.

  She wanted more.

  Chapter Eleven

  Chance looked down at Daisy, who gazed up at him from between his thighs.

  The woman was a natural.

  Those eyes staring up at him might just be enough to finish him.

  Then there was her pink tongue making delicate little licks of exploration as their gazes locked.

  He reached for her hand, holding it in his before he wrapped her small fingers around his cock.

  How was he ever going to convince her that he liked her small hands, her little frame topped with her mass of brown hair?

  Had he told her she had a choice? Damn, he was trying.

  But every day he spent with her, he was less able to let her go.

  Daisy belonged with him. Tucked safely against him, likely ordering him about like her willing slave.

  He should think about why that was, but as her mouth slid over the head of his cock, sucking him into her mouth, he nearly forgot to breathe, let alone think actual thoughts.

  His eyes closed as he guided her into a rhythm, pleasure building with a speed that made his head swim.

  When had being with a woman ever felt like this?

  There was the pleasure.

  But as he looked down at her again, there was something else too. Deeper, stronger, a connection that made him slide his fingers around her ear and stare into her brown eyes, wanting to get lost in them.

  Forget everything but her.

  That was the last thought he managed before he broke apa
rt with a guttural cry as his hand tightened.

  He reached down, hauling her up off the floor to crush her in a hug, kissing her mouth with a fierce possession to say without using words that she belonged with him.

  “Chance,” she sighed out his name against his lips.

  There was so much to say, but only two words managed to sift through all his feelings. “Marry me.”

  She paused for a moment before she kissed him again and then again. But she didn’t answer.

  Disheveled as they were, he had this sudden urge to bind her to him forever by any means possible. “Daisy.”

  “I know,” she whispered back. She held her face in his hands. “Don’t get impatient with me now, Chance.”

  What did that mean? “I’m more patient with you that anyone else. Ever.”

  That made her smile. “We need to talk about a few more things before I answer. I may be young, but even I know there are still some questions that need answering first.”

  Well that was a mature thing to say. And Chance had to confess, she was being more rational than him. Perhaps what both Hart and he had mistaken for naivety was just a kind heart and a sunny disposition. Because in reality, she was rather thoughtful and emotionally mature.

  He thought back to the way she’d handled Edge today.

  “What do we need to discuss?”

  But her head cocked to the side. “Did you hear something?”

  The sound of a closing door caught his ear.

  With a sigh he stood, making quick work of Daisy’s clothes before straightening his own. “We’ll talk tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  He leaned down giving her another quick kiss, strong kiss. “I grow tired of these stolen moments. I need far more time to explore you properly.”

  Her answering flush told him that she wanted that too.

  And that was a good sign. Very good. “Stay here,” he murmured by her ear. “I’ll go see what’s happening.”

  But he hadn’t made it past the foyer when he discovered the genesis of all the noise. Hart.

  “I knew you’d be here,” his friend grunted without any formality. “I didn’t even bother to check your home first.”