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The rain lashed against the tall windows of the old coastal manor like a lover’s impatient fingers. Elena Voss stood in the dimly lit library, her silk blouse clinging damply to her skin after her frantic dash from the car. She had come to catalogue the late duke’s rare book collection, not to reignite a flame she had buried three years ago.
The door clicked shut behind her. She didn’t need to turn around. She knew that presence, the slow, commanding footsteps, the faint scent of cedar and rain-soaked wool.
“Still running from thunderstorms, Elena?”
His voice was deeper than she remembered, rough velvet that stroked every nerve. Alexander Kane, the new duke, stepped into the firelight. Tall, broad-shouldered, with midnight hair falling across his brow and eyes the colour of storm-tossed seas. The years had only sharpened him—stronger jaw, more commanding mouth, a body that filled his tailored shirt with raw masculine power.
“I’m here for the books, Your Grace,” she said, lifting her chin even as her pulse thundered. “Nothing more.”
A slow, knowing smile curved his lips. “Liar.”
He crossed the room in three strides. Before she could protest, his large hand cupped her face, thumb brushing her lower lip. The touch ignited her. Three years of careful distance, of pretending she didn’t ache for him every night, crumbled in an instant.
“Alex....”
He swallowed her protest with a kiss that claimed. Hot. Hungry. His mouth moved over hers with devastating skill, tongue teasing until she moaned and opened for him. Strong arms pulled her flush against his hard body. She felt every inch of him, especially the thick, insistent ridge of his arousal pressing against her stomach.
He broke the kiss only to trail his lips down her throat. “I’ve dreamed of this,” he growled against her racing pulse. “Of stripping you bare in front of this fire and reminding you exactly who you belong to.”
Elena’s fingers curled into his shirt. “Then remind me.”
With a low, triumphant sound, Alexander lifted her onto the heavy oak table. Books scattered. His hands were everywhere—unbuttoning her blouse with impatient tugs, pushing it off her shoulders. The cool air kissed her heated skin as he stared at her lace-covered breasts, eyes dark with hunger.
“Beautiful,” he breathed, before dipping his head. His mouth closed over one taut nipple through the lace, sucking hard. Elena cried out, arching into him. He yanked the bra down, freeing her, and lavished her with teeth and tongue until she was writhing, thighs squeezing around his hips.
His hand slid up her skirt, fingers tracing the edge of her soaked panties. “So wet for me already,” he murmured, voice thick. “My good girl.”
Two thick fingers pushed inside her without warning. Elena gasped at the stretch, at the perfect way he curled them, stroking that secret spot that made stars burst behind her eyes. He pumped slowly, deliberately, thumb circling her swollen clit while his mouth devoured her breasts.
“I need you,” she whimpered, tugging at his belt. “Please, Alex.”
He straightened, eyes blazing. In one fluid motion he freed himself. His cock sprang heavy and thick against his stomach—long, veined, the head already glistening. Elena’s mouth watered at the sight.
Alexander hooked her legs over his arms, spreading her wide on the table. He rubbed the blunt head of his cock along her slick folds, teasing her entrance.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
Their eyes locked. With one powerful thrust he buried himself to the hilt inside her. Elena screamed in pleasure, the delicious burn of being so completely filled overwhelming her. He was so big, so deep, stretching her perfectly.
“Fuck, you feel like heaven,” he groaned, forehead pressed to hers. Then he began to move—long, punishing strokes that rocked the heavy table. Each thrust drove him deeper, the wet slap of skin and her breathless cries filling the library.
Elena clung to his shoulders, nails digging into muscle as he took her harder, faster. The angle hit that perfect spot with every plunge. Pleasure coiled tighter and tighter inside her.
“Come for me, darling,” he rasped, thumb returning to her clit. “Let me feel you break.”
The orgasm crashed over her like the storm outside. She shattered around him, inner walls pulsing, milking his thick length. Alexander cursed, hips stuttering. With three final, brutal thrusts he followed her over the edge, flooding her with hot pulses of his release as he roared her name.
They stayed locked together, panting, the fire crackling softly. Alexander brushed damp strands of hair from her face, his expression suddenly tender.
“I never stopped loving you,” he whispered. “Not for one damned day.”
Elena smiled, heart full, body still trembling around him. “Then keep me this time, Your Grace.”
He kissed her softly, already hardening inside her again.
“Forever,” he promised, and began to move once more.
Outside, the storm raged on. Inside, theirs had only just begun.
