Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny)

by K. Young

  "Your time has come and gone, my dear. The king's plans have changed. I suggest you gather whatever you wish to take with you because we leave at dawn."

  Alice's heart slammed against her ribs so hard she was sure everyone in the room had heard it. Her window of escape had closed, and she would be stuck with this man forever. It was enough to weaken her knees, and she almost fell over. Instead, she took a seat and stared at Adrian in horror. He smiled at her, and she wished for just a moment, he could be as charming as he looked when he smiled. But, she knew better.

  "It pains me to see you look at me with such fear, my angel." He sat in the chair next to her. "What can I do to make that go away?"

  "You can die a slow death and leave me in peace." The words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them.

  Alice knew she was in trouble the moment she said the words, but there was no taking them back. She meant them, and her life would be a living hell anyway. She solaced herself with the thought that he knew she hated him with every breath she took. Adrian was arrogant enough to believe that every woman, no matter how he treated them, should fall madly in love with him.

  What Alice didn't know was that Adrian had a reputation to uphold, and it wasn't that he enjoyed treating his girls so horribly, but it was a matter of making them useful for the king. If they failed to be useful, they died. He would rather they live and hate him, not knowing all that he did to protect them, than to die at the hands of the king. And, since there were guards surrounding them, he was forced to be cruel so the king would not catch on to his plans, either. He slapped Alice hard enough to knock her to her knees, then knelt down beside her. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  "Stop fighting me."

  Alice looked up and searched his eyes. For the briefest moment, there was a softness there that she had never known. She couldn't be wrong about Adrian, could she? Was it all a show? No, she would be stupid to believe that, to believe anything that came from him. She had believed him once and that turned out to be a grave mistake. She stood up and moved away from him. But, she noticed several of the guards were taking an active interest in her. She heard Adrian sigh.

  "Take her to my rooms and tie her up." The cold, calculating tone to his voice returned. "We leave at dawn."

  Several of the guards stepped forward. Two of them grabbed her arms rather roughly and shoved her forward. She glanced at Adrian, and again she swore she saw the briefest emotion in his eyes before the mask of neutrality slipped into place. She narrowed her eyes at him but remained silent.

  ***

  Some time after his fight with his brother, Derrick went to find Kristen as they still needed to sort out their earlier argument. He found he didn't enjoy fighting with her. He happened across a maid and asked where he could find Kristen, but frowned rather severely when she directed him to Tristan's rooms, of all places. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly his anger flared where she was concerned. That she would even dare step foot in another man's rooms while she was with him was unacceptable. It didn't matter that those rooms were the most likely place for Chelsea to be, or that the man in question was his brother, who had his own lady problems and wouldn't pose the slightest threat to Derrick. It was the principle of the matter.

  He stalked up the stairs and down the hall that lead to Tristan's room. He was extremely familiar with Tristan's house and didn't need directions, though the maid had offered. When he reached the door, he slammed his fist onto it repeatedly until Chelsea opened it, alarmed from all the racket he was making.

  “Where is she?” Derrick growled.

  Chelsea opened the door wider to show Kristen sitting comfortably in one of the chairs. She looked up and furrowed her brow at his brusque manner.

  “Derrick, what - ?”

  “Let's go. Now.” He demanded.

  Chelsea shrank away from the rage emanating from

  him. She looked at Kristen and spoke to her in Spanish. “My god, he has a temper even worse than Tristan's.

  Be careful my friend. Do not poke the devil.” She warned as

  she shrank further from Derrick's glowing eyes.

  “Don't worry. His bark is indeed worse than his bite.”

  Kristen replied in English, for Derrick's benefit. She was

  certainly building up a rage of her own at the moment. Kristen lifted herself from the chair and walked toward

  him. If she didn't think he would simply pick her up and cart

  her off, she would have stood her ground. But, she was also

  confused as to what had happened to them in a few short

  hours and wanted to sort it out, despite his barbaric behavior.

  Earlier they had been perfectly fine. But, since showing up to

  this island, Derrick had been nothing but difficult. So, she

  swished past him and stood in the hall, arms crossed

  defensively.

  Derrick nodded at Chelsea and slammed the door shut,

  then rounded on Kristen. She lifted a brow at him, but was

  back to that unattached attitude he was beginning to dislike.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. “Do you not realize the impropriety of your actions? You

  belong to me, you will not be in another man's rooms. Ever.” “You are hurting me, sir. I suggest you let me go.” She

  said coldly.

  Derrick realized he was gripping her rather hard and

  immediately let go, his face flushing with embarrassment for

  hurting her.

  “My apologies - “

  “And furthermore, I do not belong to you. You are a

  seducer of innocents and should be ashamed of yourself. If

  nothing else, I should really thank you for taking away any

  illusions I may have had about wanting to marry you.” She

  spat angrily, tears threatening to spill over.

  She stalked past him to the room next to Tristan's and

  slammed the door behind her. She would have locked it, but

  there weren't any locks on the door. Tristan must have had

  them removed when he had brought Chelsea here. But,

  Kristen was desperate for some air, so she rushed to the

  window. Throwing it open, she inhaled deeply before her

  emotions got the best of her. She truly hated for Derrick to see

  her cry.

  God help her, she wanted to marry Derrick. She didn't

  know when she had finally admitted it to herself. She didn't

  even know how he had managed it considering she was so

  dead set against it after his initial refusal of the marriage

  contract. But, there it was. Unfortunately, she was certain he

  would cause her nothing but pain. Far too many of their days

  together would be spent like today, fighting over nothing and

  then seeking solace from each other. She just didn't want a

  marriage like that. Her mother had a marriage like that, and

  she would be damned if she wanted to spend her life hating

  the man she married.

  Derrick stood in the hallway grinning like an idiot. He

  had been too stunned at her outburst to say anything and

  hadn't moved when she had gone off and slammed the

  bedroom door. In all of that, only one thing had registered.

  She wanted to marry him, but for some reason changed her

  mind. Like hell! He stormed into the bedroom and slammed

  the door himself.

  “Kristen, we're getting married tomorrow before we set

  sail and that's final.” He crossed his arms over his chest,

  daring her to defy him.

  “No, we're not.”

  He closed the distance between them and turned her around to kiss her. He was gentle, even for all the rage they both felt, but she was stiff and angry. She pulled away from

  him and wal
ked away.

  “Stop! It won't work this time.” She warned.

  “Bloody hell, woman! You want to marry me, so what's

  the problem?”

  “It doesn't matter.”

  “It matters to me!” He shouted.

  Kristen rolled her eyes and turned her back on him.

  “Don't be ridiculous. Something as trivial as my reasons

  couldn't possibly be of importance to you.”

  Derrick took a deep breath to steady his patience, and

  his frazzled nerves. He had no idea why she kept him at arm's

  length when he had done everything he could to prove he

  intended to make things permanent with her. He wanted to

  shake her again; the girl was positively frustrating. Instead, he

  walked up behind her and put his arms around her. She was

  tense and tried to pull away, but he held her firmly against him

  until she stopped struggling. They stood like that for what

  seemed an eternity and finally, she relaxed into him. Derrick kissed the top of her head, then the side, then

  moved his way down to her neck. As he pressed gentle kisses

  on the side of her neck, he rubbed her arms until all the

  stiffness left her.

  “I don't like fighting with you.” He whispered softly. Kristen didn't respond. She was too caught up in the

  emotion of the moment. Derrick turned her around in his arms

  and cupped her face with his hands, pulling her in for a long,

  slow kiss. Just when she thought she might faint from the

  pleasure of it all, he lifted her up in his arms and crossed to

  the bed. As he followed her down to the bed, he tucked his

  hand under the hem of her dress and slid it all the way up her

  leg. Goose flesh tingled her body where he touched her, and

  when he reached the top of her legs, his hand danced across

  that intimate part of her. She gasped in pleasure and arched

  her back, moving her hips in a circular motion, trying

  desperately to get his hand where she wanted it.

  Derrick's free hand slid behind Kristen's back and deftly

  released each of the clasps holding her dress together. He

  watched her body tremble as he caressed her womanhood. Her moan of pleasure excited him and he had to clamp down his own desire before he simply mounted her with no thought to her pleasure. Keeping a steady pressure at her hips, Derrick released the final clasp on her dress and yanked it down to reveal her glorious breasts. He didn't think he would ever get tired of them. They were perfect in every way, and as his mind went there, so did his mouth. He sucked one exquisite nipple and swirled it around his tongue until it became a hard nub. Then he moved to the next one and did the same. She pushed at his shoulders, moaning softly. Derrick slipped one finger inside of her and felt her wetness

  envelop him as he continued his teasing of her breasts. Kristen was beside herself with heady pleasure. She

  didn't want to get to this point, didn't want him to affect her so,

  but there he was, driving her wild with need. She clung to him

  as his finger wreaked havoc on her system, and sucked in air

  as he withdrew his mouth from her breasts and began to blow

  on them, the crisp air tightening the buds even further. Just

  then, she couldn't think of anything she wanted more

  desperately than to feel him inside of her, moving with her,

  completing her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and

  pulled his head to her for a kiss of her own.

  Shocked, Derrick took what she gave him and

  channeled his excitement through his fingers, slipping another

  inside of her and sliding them in and out at a tempo that

  couldn't keep up with his racing heart. This woman was wild

  and passionate, and she was absolutely perfect for him. He

  pulled back and laughed softly at Kristen's cry of frustration. “Easy, little one. I'm only going to take my clothes off.” He watched her writhe in need as he removed his

  clothes and tossed them on the floor. He took the time to

  remove the rest of her dress and shift, as well. But, as soon as

  his body returned to hers, Kristen bucked her hips and raked

  her nails down his back. Whatever he had meant to do was

  lost in the primal need that unexpectedly erupted within him.

  He mounted her and thrusted deeply inside with a force he

  couldn't recall ever using. Kristen didn't mind, though. She

  seemed to welcome it and grabbed his forearms to hold on

  tight. Derrick moved swift and hard, pounding into her. Her

  breasts bounced up and down, teasing him further. He grabbed one and squeezed it gently as he continued to slide in and out of her. Kristen's breath came out low and raspy, and then she moaned in pleasure. Derrick pushed harder and

  faster the more noise she made.

  He felt like his entire world was slipping out of his

  control, and for the first time in his life, he didn't seem to mind.

  He simply rode the wave and let the sensations come. He

  pushed into Kristen, grinding his hips into hers and holding on

  for dear life. Her breath quickened and so did his. As she

  reached her climax, he thrust deeply inside and rushed over

  the edge with her, falling into bliss. He vaguely remembered

  grabbing on to her as he fell, but the line between reality and

  fantasy was blurred. Derrick fell over on top of her and was

  breathing heavily into her neck.

  He knew he should move his weight off of her, but he

  didn't want to move. He wanted to stay where he was forever,

  lost in her grip and the scent of her hair. After giving himself a

  few moments more, he started to lift himself up, but Kristen

  wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. He looked at

  her quizzically.

  “Stay.” She said quietly.

  He smiled and kissed her tenderly. He remained on his

  elbows so he could shift some of his weight off of her, but

  stayed where he was.

  “Kristen “

  “I'll marry you tomorrow.” She interrupted.

  He furrowed his brow. She looked like she was on the

  verge of tears and he couldn't tell whether it was from

  happiness or resignation. That bothered him more than he

  cared to admit.

  “Why'd you change your mind?” He asked, a little

  suspicious.

  “Why not?” She replied in her usual drollery. It irritated him that she was so flippant about it. He

  wanted Kristen, but he wanted her willing, not because she

  was resigned to it. And, he especially didn't want her with

  tears in her eyes for thinking what she was giving up to be

  with him. He pushed away from her and swiped his clothes

  from the floor. He walked a safe distance away from her and

  started dressing.

  “Why are you angry?” She asked, confused. “I thought

  you wanted to make me your wife.” She was hurt, but she was

  trying not to show it. Derrick didn't notice.

  “I'm not angry because you agreed, Kristen.” “Then explain it to me.”

  “I'm just...it's just that...oh, forget it!” He headed for the

  door, but Kristen jumped out of bed with the sheet wrapped

  around her and beat him to it. He came up short and just

  glared at her.

  “We'll have this conversation now, if you please.” She

  said and crossed her arms over her chest. “I'll not have you

  running off every time we make
love.”

  To Derrick's credit, he blushed. But, that did nothing to

  soothe his anger. He scowled and stalked across the room.

  Kristen stayed where she was in case he decided to run

  again.

  “Well?” She prompted.

  “I don't like the way you agreed.” He spat.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “No man wants to feel as if he was chosen as a last

  resort.”

  Kristen grimaced. She had never treated Derrick as a

  last resort, quite the opposite, in fact. She had gone to him

  first. But, that wasn't what stopped her from marrying him

  when he demanded it before.

  “I didn't treat you as a last resort, Derrick. If you'll recall,

  I came to you first.”

  Derrick's cheeks turned red at the reminder. It wasn't

  that he had forgotten that, it was just that her actions since

  then lead him to believe she didn't want the arranged marriage

  either.

  "You certainly didn't do anything to convince me that

  you wanted to keep the contract, Kristen."

  "Would it have made a difference?"

  "Perhaps."

  "Well, it's not like you gave me a reason to want to

  keep the contract. You asked me to be your mistress first. I

  assumed you simply wanted use of my body."

  “I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if that were the

  case.”

  “You know, I don't understand you. You stand here and

  speak to me as though you want me permanently, but I see

  how you are with the maids here. How do you think I should

  react to that, knowing on previous occasions they have

  warmed your bed? How do you think I feel to hear the rumors

  around town that women please you for so long as you are

  interested, and then you cast them aside once you are bored

  of them? How do you think it makes me feel to have you

  propose marriage in your high-handed fashion, but know it is

  only temporary until someone new catches your fancy? I can't

  honestly trust you, can I?”

  Derrick was surprised by her words. He knew he had a

  reputation, but he certainly didn't think he was as bad as all

  that. He had never made promises to the women of his

  acquaintance, in fact, he had made damn sure they

  understood the exact nature of the relationship. And, he could