Page 26

“T he earl is going to be furious.” Isabella closed her eyes and bit her lip.

Lord James was not a forgiving man, and he was going to make her pay one way or another for reneging on their deal.

Now that she had given in to her feelings for Martin, the perils to them both came crashing in, pushing away the initial elation of her surrender.

“Let’s go tell him and get it over with,” Martin said, taking Isabella’s hand. His confidence almost convinced her. With him by her side, Isabella felt stronger and more capable of standing up to Lord James’s wrath. But she still feared for Martin’s safety, as well as her own.

“He just went off for a ride. He may not be back for some time.” She wasn’t sure whether to be distressed or relieved that the confrontation wouldn’t be immediate. When the time came, she hoped she wouldn’t lose her nerve.

“Then let’s find a private place to talk where we won’t disturb your sister.”

Isabella nodded and turned to Adelaide. “Drink some water and get some more rest. We’ll return soon, hopefully with good news.”

They left Adelaide to recuperate, and they made their way through the castle halls, looking for a quiet place for a private conversation. But every room they checked seemed to be occupied. There were too many people in this castle for privacy.

“We could go to the dovecote. There was no one but the birds in there earlier.”

“Let us go and see.”

Hand-in-hand, they headed out into the bailey and across the open yard to the dovecote.

As she had hoped, no one was inside the round stone building but a lot of doves and pigeons.

Shafts of afternoon light filtered down through the openings in the roof where the birds flew in and out.

It was quiet except for the low warbling of the occasional bird.

She turned to face him and found him looking at her with such awe and longing, she could hardly breathe.

“I can hardly believe my good fortune, my love.” He raised her hand to his lips and turned it over, pressing a kiss inside her palm and then to the inside of her wrist. “I am humbled that you have chosen me, and I promise to spend every day of my life striving to be worthy of you.”

He kissed his way up her arm until he reached her neck. “So beautiful,” he murmured, taking her in his arms and turning her into a bonfire of desire.

But now was not the time to lose her head. They were beset by danger. Much as she wanted to give in and surrender herself to the heady mix of sensations and emotions he brought forth with his touch.

“We should plan.” Talking about Lord James was the last thing she wanted to do as Martin buried his face in her neck, breathing deeply, but they had to keep their heads until they were safely at sea.

“First, we need to talk.” He nipped at her shoulder, and she gasped at the burst of pleasure that obliterated every practical thought in her head.

“This doesn’t seem like talking.” Wrapping her arms around him, she melted against him, kissing and nipping at his ear. Never mind talking. They had other priorities at the moment.

He groaned as he pulled away and took her face in his hands.

“You shared what was in your heart. Now it’s my turn.

I need you to know that I am yours. You have utterly undone me.

I wanted to win you from the moment we met, but I quickly realized there was no winning with you.

I’ve lost my heart to you and there is no getting it back.

I am yours, body, mind, and soul, until the day I die. ”

Unable to find words to respond, she pressed her lips against his in a desperate kiss to show him all of the love and devotion she’d never allowed herself to feel before. She was drowning in the sensation, letting herself fall, letting herself trust for the first time in her life.

“Say you’re mine as I am yours. Let me hear the sweet words from your lips,” he murmured, forehead resting against hers.

“I’m yours as you are mine. You’ve won my heart. I can’t fight this any longer. I want to be yours for the rest of our lives and beyond.”

He made a guttural noise and pulled her into another bone-melting kiss.

She could hardly stand as he walked her backward until her back met the thick wood post at the center of the dovecote.

His body pressed against hers as he continued to caress and kiss, and the evidence of his arousal strained against her core, making her tremble and gasp with desire.

“Take me. Make me yours,” she murmured in his ear. “I need you.”

He shook his head as he rained kisses on her neck and chest, loosening the ties of her dress and reaching into her gown to free her breasts. “I need you too,” he said, taking her hand and holding it against his hard length. “Feel how much I need you.”

She squeezed, making him moan.

Pulling her hand away, he said, “But much as I need you, I won’t take you like this.

The first time I make love to you, I want to be somewhere where I can lay you down and strip every scrap of clothing from your body.

I want to touch and taste every inch of you, taking my time to pay homage to your beauty as you truly deserve. ”

“But…” How could she describe the hunger that consumed her? His kisses only made her more ravenous for something she could not put into words.

He licked and nipped at her chest, taking the tip of her breast in his mouth before pausing to murmur, “Have no fear. I know what you need, and I will give it to you. But truly consummating our marriage will have to wait.”

Whatever he was doing with lips and tongue to her nipple was absolute heaven, but it sharpened the craving lower down. She squeezed her knees together against the intolerable desire that was driving her mad.

“Do you trust me, Isabella?”

“Yes.” A short while ago, the answer would have been a resounding “no,” but everything was different now.

She trusted him more than anyone else in her life, save her sister.

It was terrifying and exhilarating, and she needed what he was offering so badly, even if she wasn’t certain what he would do.

“I promised I would never touch you without permission. May I touch you and bring you bliss?”

“Yes, please,” she begged, scraping her nails down his back.

Groaning, he rocked his hard length against her, and she gasped.

“Dear God, such sweet torture,” he rasped as he pulled away slightly, panting as he began to lift her skirt.

As he grazed his fingers up her inner thigh, she stopped breathing except in little gasps. Her body was an inferno as his fingers slid between her folds to the source of that terrible ache. She sighed deeply as he stroked her.

“You like the way I touch you, Isabella?”

Whatever he was doing, it was making thought and speech impossible.

He nipped at her neck and whispered, “Say it. I need to hear how much you want me, how much you need me.”

She needed him with a desperation that was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Hunger seemed an inadequate word for the sensations he had awoken within her.

A strangled “yes” was all the response she could manage, but it was enough.

His clever fingers quickened their pace. He played her as skillfully as his citole—strumming and plucking and making her dance to his silent tune. And he strummed with all the tender care and precision that he put into his art. She was his instrument, resonating as he brought her higher and higher.

It was too much. She didn’t know whether to clutch him harder or push him away. She couldn’t remain silent as he continued his sweet torture, and he kissed her to stifle the noises she was making—wanton noises that made her blush but seemed only to increase his ardor.

Her body was on some precipice, and she clung to Martin, digging in her nails, fighting to remain upright. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let go, Isabella. I have you. You can trust me.”

He slid a finger inside her and curled it to press some hidden place within her that set off a bolt of lightning, and she lost all tether to the world around her.

A burst of white light obliterated her vision, and she floated in the heavens.

She drifted back down, light as a feather, to find herself still entangled with Martin, both of them panting.

“What did you do to me? I didn’t know my body could feel such things.” She nuzzled against him, limp and sated, but still craving closeness.

“I told you on our wedding night that I would worship your body and bring you untold pleasure. This is but a taste of what is to come.” His voice was strained, and his arousal still pressed against her.

“But what of your pleasure?” She reached for him and brushed her fingers along his rigid length. “Do you wish for me to—?”

“Not today.” He pulled her hand away and kissed her fingers. “Today was only for you.”

But that flew in the face of everything she had been taught about men and the marriage bed, not that her understanding amounted to much.

“Mother always said men had needs and that they could not restrain themselves when aroused.”

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. The hard urgency against her leg lessened. “We can stop. A good man will always listen, no matter how caught up in the moment he may be. Thank you for mentioning your mother, by the way. That seems to have been just what I needed to cool my own ardor.”

He stepped back and looked her up and down with such deep love and appreciation that she almost felt the need to turn away. What had she ever done to deserve such devotion?

“You are absolutely glorious just as you are, my love, but sadly, we must put you to rights before someone decides to come check on the birds.”

With all the patient attentiveness of a lady’s maid, he helped her fix her dress and her mussed hair.

“I love your hair,” he said, re-braiding it on one side where her the bun covering one ear had tumbled down. “I was smitten on our wedding night when you let me comb it. It truly is a crown worthy of a queen.”

He pinned up her side bun with expert precision. She couldn’t have done it better herself.

“Well, you are welcome to comb my hair any time you feel inspired to do so, though I can’t imagine why it holds such a fascination for you.”

He seemed to revel in playing lady’s maid to her, which made no sense.

Why would he humiliate himself performing the duties of a servant?

But she had to admit that she enjoyed his attentions.

No one had ever fussed over her before. She had always been at someone else’s service.

It was a new experience to be cared for like this.

“Can you not? It cascades down like a river of night. I’ve never touched anything so soft and silky.

And the scent of fresh herbs from your bath oils mingles with the luscious scent of you to send my senses reeling.

If you ever wish to seduce me, simply take down your hair, and I’ll fall to my knees. ”

She smiled. “That’s good to know, since I wouldn’t want you to have an unfair advantage. It seems you are already well versed in how to seduce me.”

He grinned and brushed his thumb over her nipple, making her gasp. “I have hardly begun to seduce you, my love. Just you wait.”

His words made heat blossom between her thighs. “Promises, promises! I hope you can make good on these extravagant claims.”

“Oh, I shall, my love. Believe me, I shall.”

A delicious shiver of anticipation ran through her as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply and thoroughly, leaving her weak in the knees.

At the moment, hooves clattered in the yard, and the sound of Lord James bellowing at the stable hands reached Isabella’s ears. “He’s back.”

The delicious languor that had filled her moments ago drained out of her to be replaced by tension.

“So he is.” Martin nuzzled her neck, but his posture stiffened. “Shall we go speak to him together?”

It was so tempting to say yes. She wanted Martin by her side, but she feared what Lord James might do to Martin if they went together.

“No, I think it would be best if I spoke to Lord James alone. I worry that he might do something rash if you accompany me.” Truth be told, she was just as worried that Martin might do something rash.

Martin’s jaw muscle bulged. “I’d like to see him try.”

“I don’t doubt your valor or your bravery, but Lord James is twice your size.

I don’t want to provoke him unnecessarily.

I think I might be able to placate him if I can speak to him by myself.

” She could offer to give him the information he needed to insinuate himself into Lord Henry’s good graces, and hopefully he would be satisfied to let her go.

“I don’t like the idea of your being alone with him and delivering bad news. What if he loses his temper?”

“Martin, please. I can handle myself. I’ve been handling myself for many years in far more treacherous waters than these.

Please trust me.” The period between Lady Eleanor’s annulment and her marriage to Lord Henry had been downright terrifying.

Not one but two prospective bridegrooms tried to hunt them down and force Eleanor to the altar.

If Isabella could survive being in the eye of that storm with Her Grace, she could survive anything.

“Very well, but I’ll stay in the bailey while you speak to him. If he does anything untoward, just call out my name, and I’ll come.”

“Agreed.” It eased her mind to know that Lord Martin would defend her at a moment’s notice if needed. “I must go.”

“I know.” He pulled her close and pressed a brief, furious kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you shortly. Be brave.”

“I will.”

Holding her head high, she turned to go.

“I love you,” Martin called as she was leaving.

Warmth, confidence, and courage flooded through her at his words. Truly, she could do anything with his love to buoy her up.

“I love you too.” She back turned and smiled at him before forcing herself to leave the dovecote.

Whatever Lord James might throw her way, she was ready for it.