The tentative touch was like fire in Terrance’s veins. “You never had me of my own free will. I was bought to service you, remember?”
Aiden gulped. “And tonight?”
“Tonight is because I wish it. As I wish it, too.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Aiden’s lips so Terrance kissed him, and ended up stripping the duke himself. Damned foolishness to expect other men to take off your clothes and having no inclination to do it yourself.
When Aiden was bare, Terrance pushed him onto the bed, finished undressing and joined him.
Chapter Six
Aiden had thought he’d found Archer, but this man, Terrance, was a stranger to him. He might look like the handsome devil who’d given him pleasure while he’d been bound hand and foot to the posts of a massive four poster bed, but they were so different in nature. Had everything between them, everything he’d thought he’d had in the Hunt Club, been an act?
Terrance’s kisses were strange. Raw. Arousing. They had never had sex this way before. Not face to face, or on a soft bed. When he thought about it, they’d barely touched. Or rather, Aiden hadn’t been in a position to do so.
Terrance’s hands were everywhere, holding them close while they kissed. His fat, papery soft prick slid against Aiden’s, teasing him with the promise of more to come. Yet it would be different tonight, and part of Aiden was afraid of what that difference might reveal.
He twitched the long soft strands of Terrance’s hair away as they tickled his ear. His lover moaned, rubbing his prick harder against Aiden’s. His voice remained familiar. Terrance’s deep growls and moans still swept him with delicious shudders at the ragged need they contained.
Everything changes, he supposed. Perhaps this way might be better.
He set his hand on Terrance’s lower back and marveled in the heat of his skin. Tight muscle shifted, smooth skin slid under his palm as the heavy weight hovering over him pressed closer. Aiden followed Terrance as he rolled until they lay side by side. He rested his head on the tight muscle of his arm and set his hands to the broad, unfamiliar, vital chest heaving before him.
Aiden drew back, staring at the man who had shaken his world completely.
Terrance met his gaze and held it as one of his hands closed over his arse. A moan slipped past Aiden’s control as his fingertips delved along his cheeks. Terrance brushed over the crease with excruciating softness, teasing Aiden as he had never done before. Aiden liked the teasing. It made his prick throb impatiently for more.
He slung one leg over Terrance’s wider thighs and gave him better access.
Terrance shifted again, closer, as his fingertip brushed across his hole. “I want you. More than I thought possible,” he whispered.
Aiden shuddered as the tip of Terrance’s finger pushed inside him. The slow fingering took his breath away. He kissed Terrance, forcing his tongue inside his mouth to mimic the pace he wanted. But Terrance kept up the same slow penetration; denying him the swift end he craved.
Aiden writhed on that finger—tense, impatient, and desperate for something far larger. He ran his hands over Terrance’s chest, remembering everything that he’d had done to him while bound. He brushed his fingers over the tight peaks of Terrance’s nipples and then plucked at one.
When Terrance groaned, he did it again, and again—pulling harder on his flesh until his lover thrust harder into him in return. Terrance added another finger as well, stretching Aiden until it was almost enough. He nipped and kissed Aiden’s neck, sending exquisite thrills along his spine.
Aiden would explode in an embarrassing rush if this went on much longer. His prick ached for release, his seed leaked from the tip and painted Terrance’s belly. His arse begged for more than mere fingers.
“Please,” he whispered, and then he sucked hard on Terrance’s lower lip.
Terrance’s fingers withdrew and he flipped Aiden over onto his stomach. The bed rocked and then everything from his past and present coalesced as blistering hot skin pressed against his bottom.
Terrance probed with the head of his prick, and then drew away. Cold liquid, likely oil, drizzled over the base of Aiden’s spine, sliding into his crease and coating his hole. He shuddered as Terrance’s fingertips penetrated him again with greater ease, slicking his entrance with fast, hard thrusts.
The fingers withdrew and then . . . Terrance’s thick prick pressed against him, sliding slowly into his resisting body until they were joined.
The lingering sting brought moisture to his eyes and he wiped the sign of weakness away. But as Terrance slid in and out, his body betrayed him. He shuddered and shook in the grips of joy. This was what he’d loved and missed. This moment when he was part of someone else. Part of Terrance Bridgewater. The former whore who made him feel wanted—even when he caused pain.
He took deep, even breaths as the thrusts became harder, faster, and as deep as possible. He loved this. He loved Terrance fucking him.
Aiden froze. He couldn’t find his breath as that thought led to another.
Terrance dragged him upright, onto his knees, as his pounding took away Aiden’s absurd thought. His prick swung, stiff and ignored by both of them, so he took himself in hand and beat in time with his lover’s thrusts.
Too soon, the peak crested over him. He shouted out as ropes of seed coated the bed.
Behind him, Terrance stiffened and pumped up, up—always up—as he found his release too.
Aiden set his hands to the bed and hung his head, astounded by how different their coupling had been tonight. He had enjoyed that more than he thought possible. And there had been no real discomfort to heal from—just Terrance fucking his arse witless.
As Terrance withdrew, Aiden sought to find his place in the world again. He wanted more. He wanted this every night. Yet as Terrance cleansed himself and then Aiden of the oil, he couldn’t quite put those thoughts into words. He was afraid of revealing how much he needed this man in his life.
He’d been taught to guard his heart and show only indifference.
As Terrance pulled Aiden under the covers gently—always so gently—he was still tongue-tied. And when Terrance curled up against his back, his arm stealing around Aiden’s waist, his lips brushing over the top of his spine, he put off saying anything at all.
It was strange to be held by another when passion had passed, but he did not mind it so much tonight. It was comforting to know that he’d exhausted Terrance this way. That he’d done something correct for a change.
Within a minute, Terrance’s snore sounded through the room—leaving Aiden alone with his tumbling thoughts. He set his hand beneath his cheek and closed his eyes and prayed he wouldn’t wake to find it all a dream.
~ * ~
Terrance was in serious trouble.
He did not want to toss Aiden from his bed, but he had to wake him soon and get him out of the house unobserved. He had dressed himself in silence already, but he was reluctant to disturb his sleeping lover. Yet he couldn’t keep him like this. The duke had a reputation to protect and responsibilities elsewhere. Terrance had no place in his life bar this past night.
He set his hand to the sleeping man’s chest, marveling at the night that had passed. He’d enjoyed fucking Aiden again. He’d enjoyed touching him very much.
And Aiden had touched him back. There were no words to describe how his heart had leaped when his lover returned his attentions in equal measure. It had made the end of their association less bitter. Less disappointing. Knowing that he had been desired by the duke outside the Hunt Club’s strict confines had soothed his battered ego considerably.
But last night was a farewell, not a new beginning for them.
Once Aiden returned to his world, and Terrance boarded ship, they would likely forget all about each other. At least now Terrance would not feel so much regret. Now he would have fonder memories to cherish at night.
He shook the duke. “Time to go before the sun rises, Your Grace.”
Aiden sat up suddenly, his chest heaving with surprise.
Terrance smiled, smoothing his hand over the duke’s back to calm him. “I’ll help you dress.”
He stood and collected the duke’s garments—fine clothes, but too fussy for his taste.
The duke scrambled from the bed in a rush and consented to being dressed in silence. A lump formed in Terrance’s throat at how helpless Aiden often appeared. Yet he was a powerful man—a wealthy duke with more than enough servants to cater to his needs. All bar the need Terrance fulfilled, that was.
He turned the duke to face the mirror, curled his arms about his shoulders, and tied his cravat the way he remembered he liked. “There now, perfect once more.”
“Hardly perfect, but it will have to do.” Aiden smiled ruefully. “Never have been a perfect duke.”
Terrance cupped his hand around the duke’s jaw and peered deeply into his dark eyes for the last time. “And I make a poor showing myself. Barely good enough to be any man’s master.”
Aiden lurched forward and kissed him suddenly, tongue invading and tasting his depths. He drew back just as swiftly. “Good enough to be mine. Clever enough to fool me into believing you enjoyed our time together. It is hard to admit, but I missed you.”
Terrance lurched back in surprise. He hadn’t missed Aiden’s company, except for the thrill of fucking him. He doubted the man wanted to hear that, though. Terrance reached for Aiden’s fine coat, shook the fabric so it snapped, and held it out.
When the duke was dressed impeccably enough to walk along
London
’s streets, Terrance gestured to the door. They crept from the house, walked along the quiet streets in silence, and only stopped when Aiden’s house came into view.
Aiden turned. “Can I see you again tonight?”
Terrance rocked on his heels, considering. He did want to see Aiden again, but wondered what the chances were of Finnegan missing Aiden’s presence for a second night in a row. It was too great a risk. He licked his lips, prepared to say no.
Aiden swore. “Damn it. Not tonight. I’m expected to attend the Henderson Ball. Josephine will make my life a misery if I decline at the last minute.”
Terrance’s heart thumped hard. “Josephine? I hadn’t realized you’d married, Your Grace. Good evening then.”
He turned on his heel, prepared to sprint from his disappointment. The one thing he hated was married men who dabbled on the side with him. He had no time for them.
Aiden caught his arm in a tight grip. “My sister-in-law, my late brother’s wife, lives with me now. She’s slowly driving me insane with her meddling, but I promised her to attend.”
The tight bands squeezing Terrance’s chest eased. Yet he was alarmed by how upset he’d become over a mere woman—a woman that Aiden cared enough about to not want to break a promise. She must be dear to him. She was family, where Terrance was nothing more to him than someone to fuck him senseless.
He removed the hand still clutching his arm. “Then I wish you a pleasant evening, Your Grace. However, I am otherwise engaged for the next evening. Good night.”
With that, Terrance rushed away, alarmed that he missed the duke already.
Chapter Seven
The depressing clip of feminine footsteps and swishing silk crossed Aiden’s study and paused before his desk. Aiden didn’t look up from his calculations immediately, not when he was close to completing the vexing task. With evening approaching, he was eager to finish and turn his mind to more interesting matters. But he’d been slowed down by Robert’s incessant but perceptive questions all day long and what should have taken half a day had swallowed the whole of one.