Becoming Countess Dumont Read Online Free PDF

A warmth floods my veins at the memory of it.
    “We’ll convince him, husband.” I smile conspiratorially at him.
    His full lips spread into a grin, and his eyes flash me his appreciation. A woman like myself really could fall for a man like him. She wouldn’t even have to try that hard.
    “I’m pleased that you’re so confident, wife,” he teases.
    I lean forward and surprise him with a chaste kiss on his lips. The moment I move away from him, he growls and seizes my lips again, but there is nothing hasty about it. He kisses me as if he intends on living there—owning every inch of me with his mouth.
    “Why haven’t we done this before?” he murmurs between kisses as his fingers tangle in my hair.
    I fist his shirt and pull him closer. “You were too busy with your whores.”
    He grumbles in response, and before I know it, he’s dragging me onto his lap. I gasp when he shoves my dress up and pushes my leg over him so that I’m straddling him.
    “No more talk about the whores. While in my father’s estate, we won’t speak of it all. Understand?” he questions harshly.
    I release his shirt and glare at him. “Understood.”
    When I go to slide off him, his hands grip my hips and prevent me from moving.
    “Where are you going, wife?”
    I shake my head as I stare at him in disbelief. He doesn’t want me. He needs me. And not in the way I would like. I’m a partner in his game. I’ll do well to remember that.
    “I asked you where you were going.”
    The desire to the slap him is overwhelming, but instead, I throw myself into character. I thread my fingers in his hair and nearly laugh aloud when his eyes widen in surprise. Leaning forward, I kiss him as if he were the sweetest lover in all of the land. I kiss him as if he were the love of my life. I kiss him as if he were to be gone tomorrow.
    He is erect beneath my spread legs, and I wonder what it would feel like to make love to him. I’m sure he would be the same overbearing arse in the bedroom that he is outside of it. But would he touch me in ways no other has? Would he be there for me afterwards to hold me? Before I can allow myself to give into the hope of something more, I squash it. These men are all the same.
    Just as he really gets into the kiss and rotates my hips so that he can control how I rub against him, I pull away.
    “Dear husband,” I purr, taking satisfaction in the way his eyes darken at my tone, “this act we’re engaging in is quite enjoyable.”
    “Yes,” he agrees before he attempts to kiss me again. His efforts are in vain, because I tug away and pin him with a firm stare.
    “It’s an act and nothing more. You can count on me to put on a stellar performance in front of your family, but behind closed doors, you can shove your officious attitude up your arse. I know how this ends if you make love to me,” I tell him in a matter-of-fact way. “I will fall in some sort of infatuation with you and then you’ll discard me for another whore. I’m far too much of a jealous woman to handle that. In fact, I can’t be held responsible for my actions if that were to happen. So, if you want to keep up the feint, then I suggest we keep this strictly business like our original agreement.”
    His jaw works as he listens to my words. I become mesmerized by his lips for a moment before shaking away the weakness.
    “Understand?” I throw his word back at him.
    After shoving me off his lap, he rises and stalks over to the door. Before he leaves, he spits out his response. “Understood.”

    “There it is.” Jasper grins as he points through the small coach window.
    The ride from the train station to Alexander’s family estate has taken longer than I imagined it would. Being in close quarters with Elisabeth, who hates me, and Alexander, who is angry with me, has only made the journey seem even longer. Poor Jasper has filled the silence, rambling on about God only knows what—I wasn’t listening. Instead, I thought about how