I should shove him away for saying something so filthy, but how could I, when every part of my body is begging him to make those promises come true?
I lift my face, looking up at him through my lashes. Tense. Wanting his hands on me.
He traces my mouth with the tip of his finger, his eyes locked on that spot. I open my lips and taste his skin.
Faster than I can think, his hand sinks into my hair, tugging, tilting my head back.
“I may be a duke, but I don’t fuck like a noble,” he growls. “I have a filthy mouth, and I’m going to make you beg for what you want. I don’t want a princess in our bedroom. I want my woman. Shameless, unrestrained.”
“All of this is hypothetical. We don’t have an agreement.”
I don’t even feel his mouth coming down on mine. When I realize it, I’m already clinging to him, kissing him back with hunger and greed. Our tongues clash in a reckless duel, one trying to dominate the other.
This time, I’m not simply letting him kiss me; I kiss him back with my whole soul.
I may know nothing about men, but even in my inexperience, I understand that Rodrick can unravel my bodyand my mind like no one else ever will. With him, I feel like a woman, like a female animal, lost in passion.
Nothing he said feels wrong or dirty. I want to experience everything. Learn everything. Demand and give. Possess and surrender just as much as I receive.
I tug his hair hard, pulling him closer, but when I realize what I’ve done, I try to pull away, embarrassed that I might’ve been too rough.
He doesn’t let me go. He lifts me easily, aligning our sexes, grinding against me so I can feel how much he wants me.
I moan and suck his tongue. He growls, and the sound makes my whole body throb.
He leans back just enough to look at me, still holding me off the floor. “Is fidelity your only requirement?”
I’m lost, intoxicated by what we’ve just done. Pleasure is buzzing through every inch of my skin, and it takes me a moment to process what he asked.
“Answer me.”
“Yes. Fidelity and my freedom at the end. A divorce without fights or scandals. We both walk away winners when it’s over.”
“And if it doesn’t end?”
“I can’t see that far ahead. I prefer one day at a time.”
He watches me like he’s trying to figure out whether I’m bluffing, but I’m not. The truth is, I don’t want to contaminate whatever this is by setting an expiration date right now.
“Do you have any idea what it means to be mine, Jazmina? Doesn’t it scare you?”
I don’t hesitate. Not for a second. “What just happened, was that a sample? Because if it was, I want more.”
Chapter 30
When we step out of the elevator, back on my floor, Athol is waiting for us, though I barely register him. My focus is entirely on her.
I know I went too far. From the few kisses we exchanged before, I jumped straight into laying out what I expect from her in my bed, but Jazmina drives me insane in more ways than one.
I wanted to shock her with the intensity of my desire, but instead . . .she welcomed it.
I’m not sure she truly understands what she’s getting herself into, but I keep holding on to what Athol said—that we both have something to gain from this alliance, and that this will be a game between equals.
Even so, it still feels like fate is mocking every decision I try to make.
I had already given up on marriage, and therefore the title, and suddenly my life seems to have slipped right out of my hands.
“I’m going to assume you two worked things out,” Athol says.