The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

Damian pressed the seal onto the letter he had written for Roman, making sure the wax had properly marked the paper. Once it had hardened, he handed the sealed letter to Maurice.

”Give this to the messenger and make sure it is sent to my son at the earliest,” he instructed.

Maurice bowed respectfully. ”Yes, Your Highness.”

He took the letter and left the study to carry out Damian’s orders.

Damian remained in the temporary study he had arranged in the cottage. The room contained only the necessities he needed for his work, a writing desk, a chair, a few documents, and a small lamp. He leaned back in his chair and spent some time going through the matters that still required his attention.

After several minutes, he decided he had done enough for the day. He left the study and went upstairs toward the bedroom.

Eilika had just woken from her nap. She folded the blanket and placed it neatly at the foot of the bed before smoothing the creases from the bedsheet. She was still fixing the bedding when she heard the door click open.

Turning around, she saw Damian walking into the room.

”Damian, why didn’t you wake me?” she asked, glancing toward the window. The sunlight outside had already begun to fade, and the room was noticeably darker than when she had fallen asleep. ”The sun has almost set. You said you were going to take me for a drive.”

Damian walked closer to her, watching as she finished arranging the bed. ”You’re the Duchess, yet you do small chores instead of asking the maids here.” He grasped her hands gently while moving his face closer to her.

”Making the bed doesn’t require a maid every time,” Eilika replied, placing her hands against his chest. She looked up at him with a faintly amused expression. ”Are we going out or not? And before we leave, did you send the letter to Roman?”

”Yes, I did,” Damian answered.

Before she could ask anything else, Damian leaned down and kissed her, catching her completely off guard. His hands came up to hold her face as he deepened the kiss.

Eilika took a step back without realizing it and lost her footing. She fell onto the soft blanket she had just spread over the mattress, while Damian followed her down. She let out a startled breath, her hands instinctively catching his shoulders as he hovered close to her.

”Damian...” she murmured, still surprised by his sudden change of mood.

He smiled against her lips, clearly in no hurry to let her get away. He continued placing soft kisses along the exposed neckline of her gown before moving toward her collarbone.

”Damian, what’s gotten into you?” Eilika asked in a low voice, still trying to catch her breath. ”We did it yesterday only.”

”I couldn’t get enough of you yesterday,” Damian replied, lifting his blue eyes to meet hers.

The intensity in his gaze made her heart beat faster. She instinctively held onto his shoulders as his hand moved along her thigh, while his other hand reached for the front of her gown and began undoing the knots.

Once the gown loosened, Damian lowered his head and buried his face against her neck, breathing in her familiar scent before pressing lingering kisses to her soft skin. A quiet moan escaped Eilika as she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the warmth of his touch.

Moments later, Damian shifted farther onto the mattress, drawing her with him until she was positioned above him.

”Damian, ever since we came here, you seem to have lost all control over yourself,” she whispered, placing the tip of her finger against his lips.

He caught her finger gently and pressed a kiss to it, his blue eyes holding hers.

”It’s hard to resist,” he murmured. ”And you keep your focus on Roman all the time. You neglect me then.”

”When did I neglect you?” Eilika chuckled.

”You never have. That fault was mine before.” He propped himself on one elbow and slid his hand to the nape of her neck.

They kissed, the contact deepening as they rose together. The fastenings of their clothes had already come partly undone. Damian lifted her onto his lap. Her breasts slipped free of the loosened gown; he took them in his hands, feeling them, then set his mouth to the side of her neck and marked the skin with a bite.

A low cry left her throat as her fingers tightened in his hair.

”You are beautiful, Eilika,” he whispered, his free hand settling at her back to draw her closer still. He took one nipple into his mouth, drawing on it with steady pressure, the tip of his tongue working against the sensitive flesh until she cried his name and her breath broke into soft moans.

The force of the sensation left her wet and aching between her thighs. This time, she guided the hand at her back forward so that he might take her other breast as well.

He understood at once, cupping and stroking it while his mouth continued its work, steadily driving her toward the edge of her pleasure.

He did not rush. His mouth remained at her breast, the slow pull of his lips and the careful sweep of his tongue drawing another tremor through her.

The hand that had cupped her other breast shifted lower, sliding over the soft skin of her ribs and the curve of her waist until his fingers found the gathering of her skirts.

He pushed the fabric aside, baring her thighs to the cool air coming from the balcony.

Eilika’s breath caught as his palm moved higher, tracing the inner line of her leg. When his fingers reached the damp heat between them, she arched against him with a sharp intake of breath.

He stroked her there once, lightly, then again with firmer pressure, learning the places that made her hips shift and her fingers tighten once more in his hair.

”Damian—” she managed, the word half a plea.

He lifted his head only long enough to meet her eyes. ”That expression of yours is lovely,” he said, and returned his mouth to her breast while his hand continued its work.

Two fingers slipped inside her. He set a steady rhythm, neither hurried nor gentle, each movement designed to carry her further.

”Ngh...” She moaned loudly and hugged him tightly. Her nails dragged hard down the bare skin of his back, leaving long red trails as the tension inside her coiled tighter and tighter, offering no release yet only greater demand.

”Kiss me,” he whispered against her ear.

She turned her face at once. He took her mouth fully, lips firm over hers, and drove his tongue deep.

The kiss was thorough, almost rough in its insistence, matching the relentless movement of his fingers inside her.

He felt the first flutters of her release that signalled the edge. So, he did not ease the pace.

Instead he pressed deeper, the heel of his hand grinding steadily against the swollen flesh above, holding her exactly where she needed to be.

”Damian,” she moaned his name this time as her hips jerked against his hand. She held on through every shudder, forehead pressed to his, until the intensity finally began to recede and she turned her face away, gasping for air.

Damian withdrew his fingers slowly. The wetness of her clung to them. He lifted his hand toward his mouth.

Eilika’s eyes widened; she caught his wrist, trying to pull it down before he could go further, but she was a fraction too late.

He drew the two fingers clean with his tongue, tasting her without hurry or shame. But she clearly saw a teasing smirk across his lips.

She could not look away from him. His gaze remained fixed on hers.

”That was wonderful, wife,” he murmured. He leaned in and pressed a quiet kiss to the point of her chin, then another just beneath it.

Damian turned her over onto the mattress gently, his body hovering above hers. Eilika reached for his trousers, but he caught her hands before she could undo them.

”I am not going any further today,” he said, gently pinning her wrists above her head.

”Why?” she asked, looking up at him in confusion.

”Because I do not wish to hurt you.” His voice softened as he held her gaze. ”Today, my only focus is your pleasure. Yesterday was more than enough for me. Besides, I was rather harsh on you, and I did not stop even when you begged me to.”

Eilika averted her eyes for a moment, a faint blush warming her cheeks before she murmured, ”I am fine now.”

”No, you are not,” Damian replied firmly. ”It will only cause you discomfort if I push you again today. Beyond that, I intend to take you out.”

He released her wrists and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face.

”Let us bathe together first,” he added, a faint smile touching his lips. ”Then we shall go out.”