Free The Duke of Morewether’s Secret by Amylynn Bright

was almost like he wasn’t even gone. Stuffy and better than everyone, all because of a title which meant less than nothing on her island, yet he had lorded it over everyone, and they’d let him because of his air of complete authority. Even her mother had been completely intimidated by him. She was certain his other lovers had been as well. It was only his children who defied him.
    But Christian, even with all his fears of embarrassment, knew how to have fun. He was an interesting study, and the more she got to know him the more transparent his motives became. He had a well-cultivated reputation as a hellion, but he wasn’t one at all. A profligate lover, certainly by all accounts and gossip that was a true statement, but she’d never met anymore more concerned about what people thought of him and those he was connected to than the Duke of Morewether. His lovers and the, oh-so-scandalous, tales of his derring-do were exactly what was expected of him, a handsome, wealthy, titled man of society. Even as she thought back to the scores of tales she’d heard told, none of them were truly awful. They were all related with a chuckle and wink and were accompanied with coveted invitations to every social event in the land.
    So what his reputation really amounted to was that of a lothario, but none of the gossips ever hinted at any spoiled young maidens. The duke busied himself with married women, merry widows and courtesans. Now in the pleasant cool of the garden surrounded by privacy inducing shrubbery, Thea wanted to learn what he knew. At least, she wanted to taste what had every other woman in London yowling after the man like cats in heat.
    And that, it would seem, would be Thea’s undoing. It was intellectual curiosity that would cause her to look at him in the darkness with want in her eyes. Surely it must be her desire for truth and knowledge that had her lean against him in the fragrant darkness and tilt her head and kiss him back. Yes, a quest for knowledge of all things is what drove Thea to slide her hand behind his neck and cling there like the bodice of her dress was stitched to his suit coat.
    The Duke of Morewether was simply one more cryptic English mystery to solve while she was in London.
    It would seem by the expertise of his kiss he knew about a lot of things.
    He wrapped one arm around her waist, drawing her closer still until her skirts crushed against him and she felt his knee come between her legs. Simultaneously, the soft caress of his tongue slid inside her mouth, filling her with velvety softness.
    A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she inhaled deeply through her nose adding the scent of his cologne to the aroma of primroses that draped over her and brought all her senses alive.
    “You taste like a sea breeze,” he murmured into her ear before taking the lobe in his mouth and giving a soft bite.
    “Oh?” She wanted to believe his fanciful complement.
    His lips brushed over the sensitive skin of her throat. “And warm sunshine,” he whispered. “I knew you’d taste this good.”
    She felt a tug on her sleeve, and then he was kissing her bare shoulder. His lips feathered across her collarbone, and she tilted her head back and to the side to grant him easier access. He paused at the indent at the base of her throat, skimmed his tongue in the hollow before placing an open-mouthed kiss at the swell of each breast. A cool breeze chilled the warm dampness left by his mouth and she shivered.
    “Are you cold?” Christian whispered in her ear.
    “No,” she sighed. She was decidedly not cold. Heat steadily rose within her, and Thea was certain her cheeks must be inflamed with it. The warmth of his hands skated along her bare shoulder, heated breath fluttered over her nape where he lifted the hair which had come loose. Christian whispered words against her skin, words she couldn’t discern but that sounded sweet and compelling.
    Mindlessly, Thea swayed against him. Oh, she understood what everyone was