The intensity of his touch fragmented any thought.
“Dominick!”
His hand stilled. “Do you wish for me to stop?”
“No,” I feel as though I’m traveling a journey, but I don’t know its destination.”
His lips pressed near her ear and whispered, “Trust me. Let me take you on this journey of delight.”
He continued to move his fingers in circles at her core, fanning the flames that now consumed her. Thinking was impossible. Her body became a mass of sensation. Lost in the swirl of ecstasy, her hips moved to the rhythm Dominick set.
Closer . . . closer. Suddenly, her body slammed into the summit of her climax. Her soul shattered into thousands of tiny lights.
Eleanor’s climax stirred him to the brink of his own. Dominick pulled back hard on his desire. His voice called her back, but she was still in the throes of passion.
“Eleanor, look at me. I will take this as slowly as I can.” He moved on top of her and carefully entered.
She was slick with passion, but so very tight. Holding back on his desire was like trying to hold back Aries on a hunt. He forced himself to concentrate. Eleanor moaned slightly. He stopped. “Dominick, I don’t think I can do this,” she said desperately.
He was too far to stop now. He pulled hard on his control and tried to still her fears. “This will only hurt once, Eleanor, I promise.” With that said he tore through her maidenhead and buried himself fully in her sheath.
She cried out. Her body tensed, nearly undoing him. He stoked her face. “Shh..., sweetheart. Breathe with me. The pain will go away.” He kissed her again and again, licking her lips, until her body relaxed around him.
She responded with her own kisses. Desire rekindled between them.
Slowly he began to move inside her again, keeping his lips on hers. Bracing his arm above her head, he reached down between them with his other hand to stroke her core, rekindling the embers of her desire. Her hips began to move in rhythm with his. Her back arched further, taking in more of him.
“That’s it. Come with me.”
Her nails dug into his shoulders. “Dominick, it’s happening again,” she said breathlessly.
His rhythm increased. “Good sweetheart..ride it.”
Their climax exploded simultaneously. Their ragged breaths mingled.
He lowered himself onto his elbow so as not to crush her. Her skin glistened from exertion. Dominick couldn’t remember a more complete moment.
When their breathing calmed, Dominick looked into Eleanor’s eyes. “Are you all right?”
Cupping his cheek, she kissed him passionately. “I’m fine.” She smiled. “Actually, I’m better than fine. That was wonderful.”
“No monsters or demons from the past?”
“Not a one.”
He gave a silent sigh of relief and slowly pulled out of her. She winced for just a moment, and he regretted her pain. “The next time will not be so painful.”
“That is a relief.”
He slung his feet over the side of the bed and went to the table to wet a cloth with cool water. Then poured a cup of ale and took it to Eleanor. While she drank, he began to wipe away the blood between her thighs. Surprisingly, she didn’t balk at his ministrations. She was totally uninhibited. He smiled. There was no doubt she enjoyed their lovemaking.
When he was done she offered the cup to him. “You must be as thirsty as I am.”
He gulped down the last of it. “Would you like more?”
She lay back on the bed, yawned and stretched like a contented cat. “No. I’m very tired.” Cuddling a pillow, she promptly fell asleep. He smiled to himself as he covered her with the bed robes. Her slight snore made him chuckle.
He sat for a while in the window seat and watched the sky pale with the new morning and thought about the events that had brought about Eleanor’s change of heart. She had said she loved him, and deep down in his soul he knew she did, just as he knew he loved her. How long he’d known it he wasn’t sure. Maybe from the first time he'd laid eyes on her. Or when he'd discovered her spirit, her loyalty and her generosity.
He looked at her sleeping soundly on the bed. Now he faced the biggest challenge of his life. Keeping her safe.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Eleanor stood near the edge of the cliffs holding a bouquet of wildflowers. She tied a soft pink ribbon around the bouquet.
“Thank you, Mother,” she murmured, tossing the flowers into the sea.
Taking a deep breath, she washed away any sadness and held on to her gratitude. Eleanor sat on the cool grass and watched the waves crash against the rocks. The calling of the seagulls above her added to her serenity. Never had it been so before. She imagined her mother sitting next to her.
“Thank you, Mother, for saving his life. It was almost too late before I realized I loved him. He’s a good man, Mama, with a heart to match his size. And thank you for all the times you have been there for me and I never knew it.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I wish I could see you as Dominick has. All the questions I would ask. What would you tell me?” She paused to look out at sea. “I feel safe, Mama. McPhearson is still troublesome, but we have seen no signs of him or his men. Dominick has nightly patrol through the forest and around the castle just in case McPhearson tries to cause any more trouble. . We went for a ride along the shore yesterday and stopped for a picnic. Like today it was glorious. The sun was shining bright on the water. I could have stayed there forever. We ate, drank wine and laughed. Oh Mama, how we laughed. Then we lay on a blanket and watched the tide go out and the sun go down.” Eleanor sighed at the memory. “We built a fire on the beach and held each other.” She pulled back her sleeve. “Then he gave me this.” She revealed a delicate silver bracelet that had tiny stones dangling around it. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Eleanor turned her head up to the sky. “Can what I’m feeling be real, Mama? When I think of Dominick, it’s almost painful. I love him so much. Will he break my heart? I have never been so scared. I don’t think I could survive if he should deceive me.”
Eleanor took in more of the scenery. It felt good to talk to her mother. The conflicting emotions regarding Isolde’s death settled into closure.
When she turned, she hadn’t expected Dominick to be standing behind her. She started. Her hand flew to her chest. “Oh Dominick, you gave me quite a scare. Is it a habit for you and your brother to sneak up on women?”
“Not usually.” He took her hand. “I’m sorry, I thought you could hear me coming up behind you.”
“No, I couldn’t.” She punched him in the arm. “You must have scared at least five summers off my life. Not to mention another ten in the stable fire. I swear, if you continue to scare me I will die before my time.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry. I will try to be louder next time.” He placed a sweet kiss on her lips.
“You’re forgiven.” She turned back toward the ocean.
He slipped his arms around her and they both watched the waves smashing against the rocks. “What were you doing out here?” he asked.
“Talking to my mother. Strange?”
“No. I don’t think it strange at all.”
“I thanked her for saving your life and mine. I told her about our trip to the beach yesterday.”
The eyebrow rose again. “Everything?”
“Well...no, I didn’t mention that.” The memory of their love making on the beach sent a slight burning to her cheeks.
“It was wonderful, wasn’t it?”
Even though she didn’t answer him, she admitted to herself it had been wonderful and more.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Never in my mind did I believe I would have a home such as this or a wife as beautiful as you.” He turned her to face him. “Eleanor, I may not have said it, but I hope I have made myself clear enough for you to understand.” He rubbed her upper arms, looking at the ground as though searching for the right words. “I love you, Eleanor.”
He f
elt the smile grow within and rise to her lips. She placed her hand upon his chest, and her eyes captured his. “Your actions have spoken louder than your words. I do know that you love me, and I hold that closest to my heart.”
He wrapped her in his arms. The two of them together basked in their newfound love.
Finally, she pulled away. “I wish I could stay here with you all day, but I promised Ruth that I would see her this afternoon.”
“The two of you have gotten quite close these past few weeks.”
“Yes. And I have to tell you it feels good to have a friend like her.”
“You mean I’m not enough?” He smiled mischievously.
A chuckled escaped her lips. “Of course you are, but it’s sometimes good to talk to a woman.”
“Like magpies, gossiping.”
Her fists rested on her hips. “You do know you will have to pay for that.”
His hands circled her waist, pulling her closer to him, bending his head toward her. “I will pay any price you ask,” he whispered.
Visions of the night before sent the thrill of desire through her veins. “Don’t start this, or I will never meet my obligations today.”
When he nibbled at her neck, her skin prickled with delight. “What obligations could be more important than this?”
All her senses screamed for attention. It took every ounce of will to pull away. She moaned. “Dominick, as much as I would like to stay here and finish what we have started, I must return to the castle.” Struggling from his insistent embrace, she continued, “I had the seamstress make Abigail a gown, and I want to see how it fits her.”
Reluctantly, he released her. “If you must.” He took her hand and placed it on his hard shaft. “But I want you to remember this throughout the day, and come home to me soon.”
Giving as good as she got, she rubbed the length of it. “Be sure I will be counting on payment for returning home early.”
Bending toward her once more, he said through clenched teeth, “You’re a wanton wench, aren’t you?”
She pulled him close. “You have no idea.” Placing a kiss on his throat, she slipped out of his arms and headed toward the castle. Knowing he was watching her, she swung her hips from side to side in a seductive walk. She was sure it would leave him with little doubt of what she wanted.
Eleanor reached Ruth’s cottage with Abigail’s new dress in hand. The seamstress had done a wonderful job and Eleanor was anxious for the young girl to try it on.
Abigail answered the door on the first knock, looking worried.
“Hi sweetie, are you all right?”
“Mama is sick.”
Eleanor quickly stepped inside the dimly lit room. Ruth was lying on her straw pallet looking quite pale. Her forearm covered her eyes.
Unwrapping herself from her mantle Eleanor touched her shoulder. “What is it Ruth?"
Ruth was slow to respond. “I am fine, my lady. Just feeling a bit tired, is all.”
Eleanor knelt beside her. Abigail sat on the other side, taking her mother’s hand.
Ruth’s face looked as white as linen. Dark circles smudged her eyes. “I look worse than I really am.”
For the first time Eleanor noticed the woman’s slightly swollen belly. “Ruth?” she asked hesitantly, but before she could ask the question, Ruth confirmed her fears.
“The babe is just giving me fits today.”
Eleanor placed her hand on Ruth’s stomach. “How long?”
“I’m a bit over half my term.”
Eleanor plopped on the floor. “Where have I been? How could I have not noticed?” She turned her eyes back to the swollen belly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The discussion never came around.”
“Never came around? Ruth we have been together almost every day the last few weeks. Don’t you think you could have found some time?” Eleanor saw that Ruth was struggling with a new wave of dizziness.
“I didn’t want to worry you.” She took a long breath before she continued. Her friend’s suffering forced Eleanor to temper her emotions. “What can I do for you?”
“Just sit here and talk to me. It distracts me from the rolling in my stomach.” She gave a little chuckle. “Most women are long past this stage by now, but I was never so fortunate. I was always sick up to the very last day.”
“You feel this awful your entire pregnancy?”
“Not every day, but some.”
A sickening realization took hold of Eleanor’s heart. “Did Ralph know of the baby?”
Ruth’s eyes brightened. “Aye, my lady. He was hoping for another girl. Said it would give each of the boys a little sister to protect, instead of them fighting over Abigail.”
A cold crept in on Eleanor’s limbs, “Then he knew when he was sent to deliver a message to the King.”
“Aye,” the mother to be whispered softly, tears pooling in her eyes.
It felt as if a knife had plunged through Eleanor’s heart.
“Why didn’t he tell me Ruth? Why?” A lump grew in her throat. “I would never have sent him had I known.”
Her friend took Eleanor’s hand. “Our castle was under siege, my lady. Ralph knew what had to be done to save it. There was no other way.”
Tears stung Eleanor’s eyes. “But the sacrifice was too great.”
“My husband knew the risk.”
Eleanor felt her own kind of illness. How could she have let this happen? She looked toward Abigail. So young. She would never remember her father. Eleanor touched Ruth’s stomach once again. And what of this child? What would its fate be?
She had to leave the cottage or she would be as sick as the woman on the pallet. Bending down she kissed her friend on the cheek, then the top of Abigail’s head. “I must go. I just remembered something urgent I must see to.”
Refusing to acknowledge Ruth’s questioning look, Eleanor had to get out of the cottage as emotions churned up like a bubbling cauldron.
Donning herself in her mantle, “I will be sending Martha with tea and broth. She will stay as long as you need her.” Then she ran out the door, and shut it behind her.
She tried to run away from the guilt and sorrow. Feet taking flight, Eleanor ran all the way back to the castle. Once inside the great hall, with nowhere else to go, the feelings slammed into her like a tidal wave. Needing to spend energy, she grabbed a cup from the table and hurled it at the wall. The clanking sound of metal hitting stone echoed through the room. It gave her no satisfaction. Frantically, she looked for something else to throw, but there was nothing. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to hold back the guilt, the fury and the devastation that enveloped her.
Just then Dominick entered. At first he smiled. Then his face turned to concern. “Eleanor what is it?”
He reached to embrace her, but she held up her arms to ward him off. “Don’t.” Taking two big gulps of air to control herself, she said, “Ruth is with child.” The words rushed out of her mouth.
Dominick stepped back. “When did this happen?” Wariness crossed his face. “Is one of my men responsible?”
“No. She’s beyond her mid-term.” The walls of control were beginning to crack. Dominick waited for her to continue. Hot tears streamed down her face. Her stomach roiled ready to expel its contents. “Because of me that child will never know its father.” A sob rattled out of her chest. “I sent him to his death. A father who should be raising his boys and that sweet little girl.”
“Did you know Ruth was pregnant?” he said trying to reason with her.
“No.” She clenched her fists tightly at her sides.
“Eleanor, you’re not responsible for her husband’s death.”
“That’s not true. I may as well have killed him myself, because I was too much of a coward to deal with McPhearson.” Strength left Eleanor’s knees, and she crumpled to the floor, sobbing.
Dominick tried to reach out to her.
“No! Don’t touch me!” Venomous anger pooled on her tongue. D
esire to strike out overwhelmed her. She gathered her strength to pull herself off the floor. “It was all about land and borders. Players take one another’s pieces, and it doesn’t matter who gets caught in the middle. People die, and it’s all part of the game.”
Dominick stood straighter. “Eleanor, don’t put me in the same light as McPhearson.”
“Why not? You both draw your little lines in the sand, daring the other to cross it.” She waved her hands. “This border or that border. It doesn’t matter who gets killed. It’s the stronghold that counts,” she spat. “War is nothing but a big cock fight.”
He stood dangerously close to her. “Don’t presume to tell me what war is about.” His low voice rolled like distant thunder. “I have seen enough bloodshed to fill the Nile. I have seen men, women, and children slaughtered with less mercy than farm animals. The vacant eyes of widows riddled with grief haunt my dreams. Young men in my command died while serving their king. I have held them in my arms and watched life drain out of them. The wailing of their mothers is a sound I will never forget.”
He turned away to stare into the fire. “Do you think your people would have fared better under McPhearson’s thumb? Its people tortured and killed? Which was the better fate for Godwin, Eleanor, his, or mine?”
Eleanor couldn’t bring herself to answer.
She could see the hurt in his eyes. “I had hoped you finally saw the real man you wed, but apparently you still see the face of a warrior. There will never be hope for us until you can get beyond that.” He gazed into her eyes for what seemed an eternity. Then he strode out, leaving her emotions torn and tattered.
Dominick left with no destination. He would not admit that Eleanor’s words cut him deeply. He understood her pain. The decision to send anyone out to his or her death was a horrible responsibility. A responsibility one as young as Eleanor should not bear.
He agreed with her that war in many ways was all about power. Many battles he fought were an exercise in futility and waste. Too many men died for the gain of one man. She was not wrong, but what made the deepest wound was that she compared him to McPhearson.
Clouds of anger swirled around his heart. Was the woman blind? There was no bloodlust in him. No desire to have any more than what he gratefully now had. Their people were not persecuted and never suffered unjustly.
Immortal Love Page 19
