in his big bed, but not still asleep. She had the feeling he had been watching
her for some time without her knowing it, and the thought disturbed her, for he
looked too serious by half this morn.
?You should have awakened me, my lord, and sent me about my duties.?
?Should I? Why, when one of your duties now, by your own behest, is right where
you are??
The blush spread across her cheeks with exceptional speed.
?Does that mean I am to ignore my other duties??
?Ah,? he said, as if in sudden understanding.
?Now do we have a motive for why you sought my bed.?
?I did notthe labors that presently fill my day do not overtax meas yet.?
?As yet?? He frowned, until his gaze dropped to her belly, and then those silver
eyes were like shards of ice. And yet his voice continued mild, deceptively so.
?I see. Once again you prove yourself incredibly stupid to remind me of the
child you stole from me. But then, this is just another motive that can be
attributed to your sudden passion for me, is it not? Or do you tell me now that
you had no thought to bargain with me for the babel?
?I want it. I cannot deny that.?
?Enough to spread your legs for me whenever I say??
How could she have forgotten his cruelty, or how much she hated it, when that
was what she was trying to end? Obviously, what passed between them during the
night had changed him not a whit, which was a crushing realization but she was
forgetting that he did not believe she really wanted him, and that was why he
was taunting her now. And she could think of no further way to convince him, be
it lie or not.
It made her angry, suddenly, to have failed so completely. Why could the man not
simply accept what she offered? Why did he have to search for hidden motives?
And his damn questionwell, she was just angry enough to spread her legs wide
beneath the cover, just wide enough for him to notice, and taunt him back.
?Come, then, Sir Dragon, and breathe your fire on me.?
His frown turned black as sin.
?I want a reason, wench, and I want it now.?
She began heatedly, glaring right back at him.
?You are cruel in all your demands, vengeful in all your motives, yet when you
touch me, you are naught but gentle.?
She was amazed that the words were coming to her after all, and so she quickly
amended her tone, adding uncertainty to it, and a blush for good measure.
?I did not want to admit it to myself, certainly not to you, but I find II crave
your touch.?
God?s mercy, but she was getting good at lying. And his expression changed. She
could tell that he wanted to believe her, and thatthat put a tightness in her
throat that was distinctly unpleasant.
?Were you so hot for my body, you would not wait this long to tempt it into
pleasuring you again. Must I needs teach you the ploys of a whore??
The insult did not touch her this time, for she recognized it for what it was,
an attempt to fight the temptation to believe her. Did he think no woman could
want him without an ulterior motive? She recalled Emma?s words that the women
were awed that she did not fear him. And Mildred had said that for half his life
he had been the hard, vengeful man he was today. Was that all he expected then,
fear? And what woman could truly want him if she feared him?
She spared a moment to wonder why she did not fear him anymore, before she put
her hand to the center of his chest to push him down from his half leaning
position.
?Mayhap you will have to teach me, my Lord Warrick/? she said softly, now
leaning over him.
?I have some little advice to go by, yet I am sure I could benefit from more.?
Her hand slipped under the cover and she found to her amazement that he had not
been immune to their close proximity. Neither had she. Nor was she immune to
touching him. It should have been difficult. She should have had to force
herself. But it was easy, too easyshe liked doing it. So did he. His eyes closed.
His breathing quickened. And ?twas not long before she was flat on her back
again, with his mouth fastened on hers, and his hands paying her back in kind
for the sweet torment she had just brought him.
But before he got around to giving Rowena what she now desperately wanted,
Bernard walked into the chamber unannounced, as was his habit. The poor boy went
up in flames of embarrassment when he saw that Warrick would not appreciate
being disturbed, and to give him credit, he did try to leave without disturbing
the occupied occupants of the bed. But Warrick was too much a man of war and
quick responses not to have heard the intrusion.
He lifted his head to snarl ?What??
And Bernard could only stammer ?Father? here? with bride.?
Rowena heard the message in confusion. Since Warrick?s father was supposedly
dead, the squire might mean his own father, or one of Warrick?s two fathers in
law. But that word ?bride? half succeeded in blunting her aroused senses.
Warrick, however, suffered no bewilderment over the cryptic message.
?Are they only approaching Fulkhurst, or have they already arrived??
The calmness of that question gave the boy back his own composure.
?They are within the hall, my lord, and are desirous of your presence. Do I tell
them??
?Tell them naught. I will be there in a moment to make them welcome.?
Rowena gathered from that answer that Warrick was not going to finish what they
had started, and her body was screaming in protest. Her face, however, was
utterly void of expression when he turned his attention back to her. His was not.
He looked frustrated, chagrined, and after he studied her for a moment, resigned.
?Lord Reinard?s timing leaves much to be desired.?
He sighed and rolled away from her.
She found she wanted to grab him back to her. That word ?bride? was now giving
her a distinct chill. But she did naught to let him know how disturbed she
suddenly was.
?Twas safe, however, for her to ask ?Is Lord Reinard one of your fathers by
marriage??
?Soon to be.?
There it was, her worst fear confirmed. Gone now was her opportunity to gentle
this man. With his betrothed arrived, he would no longer dally with Rowena. And
soon a wife would share this bed with him. What, then, would he do with his
prisoner? Put her back in his dungeon? Make her serve both him and his new bride?
?So your betrothed is found,? she said tonelessly as she watched him rummage
through a chest for clothes, something splendid, no doubt, for his precious Lady
Isabella.
?At least that is one crime no longer set at my door.?
He gave her a sharp look.
?Do not count yourself free of blame yet, wench, until I learn what, exactly,
has kept her missing these many weeks.?
She said naught to that. She did not care what the lady?s excuse was; she only
knew that she wished Isabella had not been found. And that was a disturbing
realization, for she should not care either way.
Warrick was ignoring her again, his mind on his waiting guests. Rowena could not
ignore him as easily, though her mind was likewise on his guests. But even as
he
r worry increased about how this new situation would affect her, her eyes were
fastened to Warrick?s splendid nakedness, the long bare flanks so thickly
muscled, the tight curve of his buttocks, the muscles bunching and rippling on
his broad back with his movements. Strength and power in every hard line, and?
beauty, aye, there was beauty in such stark masculinity. In no wise could she
deny it, nor the need still coursing through her to feel that splendid body
pressed tightly to hers.
He turned slightly before he bent to put on his braies, and she saw that the
same need was still prevalent in him also, though he was ignoring it just as he
was ignoring herat least that was what she thought until her eyes drifted up
again to find that he had caught her in her blatant scrutiny of him.
He came back to the bed then and, without a word, caught her behind the neck and
drew her toward him until his mouth was grinding hard against hers. Her heart
thudded with relief, but before she could get her arms even halfway around him
to urge him back into the bed, he released her. His visage was a terrible
mixture of desire and anger just then, anger, no doubt, because she was tempting
him to ignore his precious Isabella. Obviously the temptation was not quite
enough.
In that she was not entirely correct.
?Stay exactly as you are, wench,? he ordered harshly.
?I will return ere the fire dies from those sapphire eyes, and we will see if
you can fulfill the promise in them.?
He did not see the blush creep up her cheeks as he turned away to finish
dressing with haste. She was not supposed to be as easy to read as he was, but
obviously this once she had hidden naught from him. It made her feel more
vulnerable than she had at any other time with this man. It was one thing for
her to admit to herself that she could want him, did want him, at least right
then. It was something else again to let him see it for himself without her lies
to convince him of it. Lies? Mayhap earlier when she had been in control of
herself, some of her actions and words had been lies, but they were not lies now.
He left the room without looking toward her again. Vaguely she noted that he had
yanked on a bare minimum of clothing, none designed to impress a long awaited
bride. In fact, she thought smugly, he looked quite sloppy and harried, and with
his emotions still on the angry side, the cruel lines of his face were well in
place. He would be lucky if his lady bride did not take one look at him and
burst into tears.
The thought made Rowena smile, but only for a moment. Then her anxieties
returned with a vengeance. No matter how Isabella reacted to Warrick, she was
still here to wed him. A bride?s fear was the last thing that could stop a
wedding from taking place, so it would happen, and that meant Rowena?s situation
would change, and no matter how she looked at it, she did not see her own lot
improving with the change.
She might still inflame Warrick?s lust, but he would now have a wife to slake it
on, leaving only his subtle cruelties and little revenges for Rowena. Without
the intimate contact that his lust had brought so far, she would have no hope of
altering his treatment of her. Verily, it would only get worse.
She had been ordered to stay in his bed, but she could not. She got up, dressed
quickly, then paced the floor in her agitation, awaiting his return. But he did
not come back as soon as his parting words had predicted. And whatever desires
he had stirred to life in her were long since cooled.
She finally curled up on the hard bench of the window embrasure to do her
fretting. Twas not long before she drew the definite conclusion that it would
behoove her to reevaluate the possibility of escapemayhap during the excitement
of the wedding.
Warrick returned suddenly without warning, only he was not alone. The woman who
followed on his heels was tall and richly gownedand pale as new parchment. She
was hauntingly lovely in her paleness, with her raven hair and dark green eyes.
She was also terribly nervous about something, though there was a resigned,
determined look to her.
Rowena noted this with wide eyes. She could not understand why Warrick had
brought the lady here, when if Rowena had followed his orders she would still be
lying naked in his bed. He could not have forgotten that, could he? Nay, he
looked toward the bed first, and when he found it empty, his eyes searched until
he located Rowena tucked deep in the embrasure.
as before, when he had been chained in front of her and she had felt she could
read his thoughts. But she could not grasp what it was that he wanted this time,
until she heard what Isabella began saying.
The woman was afraid, aye, and with reason. What she was confessing to Warrick?s
hard back was why she did not love him. And now Rowena knew exactly what he
wanted of her. He wanted to show Isabella that what she was telling him mattered
not at all to him, but just to say so would not suffice. Rowena was not sure if
?twas only his pride he wanted to protect, or if he also wanted to relieve the
lady?s anxieties. Either way, he obviously had hoped he would find Rowena where
he had left her, a position that would have spoken more clearly than words.
She was not sure why she wanted to aid him or even how she could, but she stood
up to reveal herself to the other woman. That, unfortunately, was not enough.
Isabella was too deeply into her explanation to care that a servant was present.
She was trying earnestly to make Warrick listen to her, while he would not even
turn around to face her, but continued to watch Rowena instead.
Rowena approached them both, but she stopped before Warrick, telling him without
words that he could make use of her presence however he chose. What he chose to
do was face Isabella now with Rowena behind his back, but he put his hand behind
him until she took it, then drew her closer until she actually leaned against
his back. What this tableau would appear like to Isabella, if she deigned to
notice, was Rowena shyly hiding behind Warrick, with him trying to reassure her
without actually drawing attention to her.
Mayhap it was a bit too subtle for Isabella, for she had not even paused in her
lengthy explanation of how she and someone named Miles Fergant had loved each
other since childhood. Rowena could have been invisible for all the norice she
was getting. Better to have just brazenly returned to Warrick?s bed, mayhap even
stripped off her clothes again. She smiled to herself at the absurd thought,
then almost laughed aloud when it occurred to her that Isabella still might not
have noticed thatbut Warrick certainly would have.
The moment of whimsy put her in a mischievous state of mind that she had not
experienced in a goodly number of years. She considered wrapping her arms around
Warrick?s waist from behind. Nay, too bold. She slipped her hand out of his
instead, saw his back tense, but he relaxed when he felt her hands settle on his
sides, just above his hips. Her fingers were not actually noticeable, but she
was no longer even thinking about giving Isabella something to see. Twas Warrick
she felt like teasing now, and tease him she did, running her hands slowly up
his sides, feeling him stiffen, then try to stop her movement by pressing his
arms tight to his sides. She merely worked her fingers loose and moved them down
to his hips.
She almost burst out laughing when she heard him suck in his breath. But when
she brought one hand back to pat his buttock, he startled her by swinging around
and pinning her with a look that for once she could not read. She gave him an
owl eyed look of innocence in return, which brought the tiniest curve to his
lips before he recalled himself and glared a warning at her. She was supposed to
be aiding him in dealing with Isabella?s confession, not distracting him from
listening to it.
And then they both noticed the sudden silence behind them, just before Isabella
asked impatiently ?Warrick, who is that woman?? J
He turned back around. Rowena stuck just her! head around his wide shoulder.
?She is my prisoner,? was all Warrick offered in answer.
I
?Lady Rowena of Kirkburough,? Rowena added at about the same instant, well aware
that he would not have, and aware too that he would not like it that she did.
She was right. The rejoinder he came back with made her flinch.