by kps
The flames of the fireplace reflected tiny, golden lights in Dev's eyes as he faced Jenny and began to unfasten the row of buttons securing her gown's bodice. Despite their small size, his large fingers dextrously managed the task and when it lay open to the edge of her breasts, he pulled the gown over her head and tossed it aside. "You won't be needing this to keep you warm any longer, Mrs. Cantrell-my promise." His eyes drank in the slender perfection of her naked body before he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.
Despite the heat given off by the fire, the room was chilly. Another winter's storm was upon them, and outside, the winds had picked up, rattling the windows and driving the frozenanow against the glass with a soft whispery rustle. With Jenny tucked beneath the covers for the moment, Dev returned to the fireplace and added several logs, stoking the glowing embers to life. Then, with impatient, jerky movements, he stripped off his coat and shirt, sat and wrenched off his boots and pants, tossing them aside, careless where they landed. He bent and lifted the lamp chimney to blowout the burning wick, leaving the room lit only by the flickering, red-orange glow of the fireplace. Jenny curled beneath the embroidered comforter, warm as a kitten, with only the top of her head and eyes peeking from beyond its edge. When Dev joined her, her body warmed his chilled flesh, and for some time he simply held her close.
As his fingers traced her soft curves, Dev questioned his past foolishness aloud. "What kind of madman have I been," he asked, "to have denied myself the sweet pleasures of possessing you?" His hand gently cupped one of her breasts and as his fingers rolled the aching point of her nipple, Jenny closed her eyes. Three months since he'd last touched her, she thought· in wonder, three months, and at the first contact of their naked bodies, she was immediately responsive and ready!
Dev felt the muscles of his groin tighten as his penis surged against the satin texture of her belly. It grew tumescent, pressing eagerly forward in a blind, instinctive search, like a newborn seeking its sustenance. He reached up, gliding along her throat with his hands until his fingers found the scented silk of her hair as he ground his mouth against hers. A moment later, as her mouth yielded to the insistent pressure, his. tongue drove past her parted lips to explore the sweet taste of her surrender.
This was what he'd dreamed of for weeks. This unceasing delight in a woman's desire for him alone was what he'd longed for, not the overaggressive lust of a rutting bitch who could be had by any male who'd scented the musky odor of her heat. That kind of woman sucked the life out of a man, giving little but the most minimal physical satisfaction in return. In these last few minutes of closeness, Jenny had given him more pleasure than the possession of a thousand Cathys.
Jenny shivered, though the feeling had little to do with the room's temperature. Her skin tingled under the possessiveness of his touch, pulsed with a yearning need the driving urgency of his tongue had inspired. After so long a separation, she wanted the rampant length of him inside of her, needed the fulfillment of being joined to him.
Aware of nothing except that she had to sate this wild craving, Jenny reached down and boldly took hold of him. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, and the wiry, golden hairs covering it teased her enflamed nipples to hard points. Dev sucked in a hard breath as she slid her fingers from the base of his engorged member to its tip, then repeated the action several times until his hand stopped her.
"Sweet Jesus, that's enough!" Dev protested hoarsely as he drew her hand away and pulled it up to press a kiss on her captive fingertips. "You haven't yet learned that too much pleasure, too soon, makes for a very short evening!" For the few minutes it took him to gain control over the rising flood of feeling, his lips trailed little nibbling kisses along her throat and down the valley that divided her firm, milk-white breasts.
Jenny moved restlessly under the assault, her hips twisting against his loins in an unconsciously seductive invitation. This fluttering deep within the darkness of her womb, this urgent call to passion had taken command of her will, and she was its prisoner as well as its prison. Freedom could only come through Dev, and Jenny knew .a moment's brief despair as he drew away from her, then a spiraling exaltation as he knelt between her thighs. The head of his shaft touched the downy softness of her nether curls and parted them to probe the moist division of welcoming flesh with the gentle pressure of a lover's first, shy kiss.
Dev smiled at his wife's sharp intake of breath. Her mouth was pursed in duplication of the proud, pouting lips that accepted his member. Slowly, drawing out his pleasure and eliciting soft, helpless whimpers from Jenny's throat, he entered her an inch at a time, until ten throbbing inches of him was buried deep within the secret recesses of her body. Then it was his turn to be taken by surprise; the tiny, grasping muscles surrounding him caught hold, squeezing with animate lifeforce and greedily pulling him toward an all-encompassing explosion of feeling.
With every ounce of willpower he possessed, Dev fought to stave off that explosive release, determined that this first encounter after so long a time would burn an imprint on Jenny's mind and body, branding her as his woman. He had underestimated his desire for her, though, and her body's reaction to it. She had never been unfaithful; three months of sexual tension was coiled like a tightly wound spring within her.
His mouth slammed against hers with rough intensity as he plunged repeatedly into her softness like the piston of some perfectly precisioned, well-oiled machine. With a steady, hoarsely whispered litany of exhortation, Dev urged Jenny to come, crying out her name over and over again until at last she screamed, digging her nails into his back. Their bodies melted together, slick with perspiration, and the unbearable tenseness that had seized her found a channel of release.
Panting for breath, Jenny returned from the edge of ecstasy to find Dev still erect, still buried within her. He raised his head from her breasts, and a slow, triumphant smile bared a flash of white teeth. With a hand on either side of her waist, he supported his weight and, stillily smiling, began to rotate his hips, slowly rebuilding in rhythm until Jenny's eyes glazed over with a rebirth of desire. Damp raven's-wing tresses curled in wisps at her temples and framed the flushed impassioned features of a woman chasing passion to its peak.
A low, animal cry began in Dev's chest and broke from his throat as' he arched his back stiffly with the first, intense spasms of his climax. With no thought but to satisfy the hunger of his loins, he bucked his hips against her. Jenny whimpered, almost crying, as her head whipped from side to side and another wave of rapturous feeling left her floating in its wake, like a piece of driftwood aimlessly bobbing wherever the ocean's current would carry it.
Fifteen
Dev was home, Jenny was deliriously in love, and everything seemed right with the world.
Perhaps because the winter forced them to spend so much time together in the house, she and Dev grew so close to each other they were barely ever apart. In long, dreamy nights of sensual devotions, pleasant afternoons by the fireside with Jenny teaching Dev backgammon, sleigh rides with Luke and Sally, and wondering; whispered exchanges of secret hopes and fond memories, they discovered the dimensions of their love. It was a peaceful interlude Jenny would later cling to for solace.
Two weeks before Christmas she received a letter and two securely wrapped parcels from her parents-one of them a holiday gift for Dev. Her mother's letter was chatty, full of the latest London gossip and tidbits about mutual friends, Mariah asked how Jenny liked Dev, adding, didn't he remind her of someone? "And," Jenny said, quoting from the letter as they sat on the floor by the fireplace in their room, "Mama says, 'He is so like your father at the same age when I met him. Is there any chance of a romance blossoming between the two of you? Your father .would say I'm interfering-match-making-but both of us would be so pleased if one were to develop!' Now wouldn't they be surprised," Jenny added in wide-eyed innocence, "to find we've already gone beyond their expectations?"
Dev smiled at his wife's teasing, then pulled her over next to him
. His expression turned serious as he curved his arm around her shoulders and asked, "You never told them anything about us getting married? Why was that, love ... too difficult to explain the circumstances?"
Jenny nodded, slipping her hand into his as she leaned against his chest. "When I wrote last, I was sure ... wasn't sure ... well, I thought you weren't coming back, that you were serious about the annulment. That would have been even more difficult to explain!" Dev silently agreed. The sudden decision to marty would have been puzzling enough, but if it were followed by an annulment within three months, Jared and Mariah would have pressed for information they were better off not knowing. Jenny had insisted she didn't want them to know about the kidnapping or her miserable experiences in Denver. It was better this way; let them arrive for their annual spring visit and be pleasantly surprised. With the eagerness of a child, Jenny pressed a quick kiss on Dev's mouth and asked, "Why don't we open the presents now?"
Dev grinned at her impatience and shook his head. "We'll wait until Christmas Day the way we're supposed to. Don't you want to see a lot of presents under the tree? Luke and I had planned to go out tomorrow and cut down a fir … unless you don't care to have a Christmas tree?"
"I'd love one!" Jenny cried, clapping her hands with delight. "But you knew that, didn't you-you always seem to know what will please me."
. Dev gazed down into the loveliness of her upturned face and experienced the now familiar stir of desire her nearness always created. "That's what happens when you fall head over heels in love, baby. Right now ... it feels like I've always known you, always loved you." His fingers lightly traced the contours of her face, and as Jenny closed her eyes and sighed with contentment, Dev surprised her by changing the subject. "Your birthday's coming up soon.
What would you like for a present?"
Jenny's eyes opened wide. How had he known when her birthday was? With a start of guilt, she realized she didn't know his. "How did you ever know?"
"Guessed." Dev grinned and then shook his head. "No, that's not true. I remembered. Who do you think broke the mare you got for your thirteenth birthday?"
"Then why weren't you here that summer? Goodness, I would have fallen in love with you then, if we'd met!"
"I was off at college, miserably trying my best to fit in," Dev recalled. "Anyway, I hardly think Jared would have approved if I'd started sparking you. At the time, thirteen was a little young for me."
Jenny hugged Dev close, still wishing they'd met long ago. She would have loved him then, she was sure of it, and might even have been spared the disaster of her marriage to Rodrigo.
"Five years," she thought aloud, "it's not so great a difference in age now, Dev. When you ...
make love to me, I don't feel any younger than you!"
Dev smiled, amused by the artless way she'd introduced the subject of lovemaking. A certain someone was obviously in a romantic mood. "You no longer look thirteen, Jen." His hand stroked her back, curving beneath her arm to caress the fullness of a rounded breast through the thin, clinging material of her satin nightgown. "No," he added emphatically, raising her head to press a yearning kiss against her soft lips, "you definitely do not feel like a thirteen-year-old!" The compliment brought a most becoming blush to her cheeks. "By the way ... you never did tell me what you wanted for your birthday. Anything special in mind, young lady?"
Jenny nodded and shyly lowered her gaze, then, after a moment's hesitation, managed to blurt out, "Something very special ... you!"
Fora moment there was complete silence in the room, and then Dev started to laugh, a good-natured, rumbling sound that Jenny, lying so close against his chest, heard mix with the strong, even pounding of his heartbeat. His arms swept under her, lifting her body as he stood up and carrying her toward their bed. "That's easy enough to arrange, though I don't intend to save myself as a treat for just your birthday every year, darling," he said, gently placing her on the bed. "I'd be a raving lunatic by the time the day rolled around!" Jenny joined in his laughter as he suggested that for the special occasion, perhaps he should tie a big, red bow around himself.
The laughter died away to a tender smile as Jenny stared longingly into the dark, golden eyes of the man she loved. "No . ." she protested softly, "just you, that's all I'll ever need!" Dev answered with an ardent, bold kiss that assured Jenny he felt exactly the same way.
The day after her birthday, Jenny stood at the library window, staring out across the snow-covered ground at the corral adjacent to the barn. A beautiful bay gelding, spirited, but already broken to the saddle, pranced around the enclosure, tossing his proud head as he surveyed the limits of his new domain.
Dev had not mentioned her birthday again and with the excitement of opening the Christmas gifts, Jenny had nearly forgotten it herself. Then, two days ago, when Luke and Dev had taken the wagon into Langdon for supplies, Dev had bought the gelding and returned ahead of Luke, keeping Jenny occupied until his friend could hide the horse in one of the barn stalls.
The following morning, bright and early, he had dragged her protesting and sleepy-eyed from her bed, helped her dress warmly, and shepherded her downstairs for a surprise birthday breakfast. Luke and Sally exchanged looks of smiling collusion, though Jenny was too sleepy to puzzle out the reason.
Still full of energy, Dev bundled her into a warm, woollen cape and escorted her to the corral. "Dev ... what on earth ..." she protested when he slipped behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. The gate to the corral rattled, and then Dev had planted a kiss at her nape, whispered, "Happy birthday, sweetheart!" and took away his hands. The first thing she saw was Luke grinning, holding the reins of the bay. The animal raised his head and whinnied, snorting a frosted breath into the cold, morning air before he pawed the ground.
It was her happiest birthday ever. Jenny uttered a little scream of delight and whirled to hug Dev, thrilled by the surprise. She wanted to ride the gelding immediately, but Dev persuaded her to let the animal get used to his surroundings. Instead, she fed him lumps of sugar and apple slices that a beaming Sally brought from the kitchen.
Almost reluctantly Jenny turned away from the window where she had been watching Dev exercise her horse Excalibur and moved to the high-backed, comfortably padded chair behind her father's desk. Luke had come back from town this morning with another letter from her parents and a birthday present from them, a beautifully tailored Oriental robe. It was of a pale, frosted white silk, with flowers delicately embroidered across the entire material in a rich, vibrant array of colors. The high, mandarin collar flattered the slender column of her neck, and its long, full sleeves draped gracefully no matter how she held her arms. The robe fastened across the right side of her breasts, with three "frog" closures fastening the silk-covered buttons in an angle toward the collar.
Now it lay neatly folded between the layers of tissue in its box. Jenny couldn't wait until tonight to model it for Dev. Her mother never failed to produce an unusual and lovely gift each year, and this one had not been an exception. Using the letter opener, she slit the edge of the heavy vellum envelope and withdrew the letter, surprised, when she opened the folded sheets, that it was written in her father's hand. Usually it was Mama who kept up a correspondence. Holding the letter to the left, to catch the brighter light from the window, Jenny began to read.
Jenny darling, this. should reach Langdon by your birthday, so I will first offer the loving wishes of your mother and myself for the happiest of days. I find it hard to believe you've turned twenty-one. It seems only yesterday that you were a tousle-haired little imp who could charm her doting father out of anything!
Jenny smiled at that statement, remembering how she'd adored her father when she was little. He'd seemed like a handsome, golden giant who'd indulged her every whim. Mama, too, was sweet and adoring, but far more sensible when it came to discipline.
Your mother sends her love and the hope that you like your gift. She's been busy with her seamstress the past month, preparing for our
planned trip to the Cote dAzur, but due to the disturbing news we have just received, we've postponed the plans indefinitely.
A strong sense of foreboding assailed Jenny, and the letter vibrated with the trembling of her hand. She was almost hesitant to read further.
Your latest letters home seemed to reveal a contentment I find most gratifying. That is why I hesitate to inerrupt your happiness with the upsetting details of a letter I've just received from Adam Warrener.
Adam Warrener? Jenny puzzled over the name for a moment before she remembered him as the dark, charming man who had served with her father in the Crimea. He was a diplomatic attache who had held. posts in many different parts of the world and usually visited them in London when he was there on leave before his next assignment. What possible connection could a letter from Adam have with her happiness? Her father's next words answered her question.
When last you saw him, I believe Adam was stationed at our embassy in Madrid. Since that time he has been transferred to the consulate at Caracas, Venezuela. He wrote to inform me that …
Jenny dropped the letter, unable to believe what her father had written. Rodrigo had been seen alive in the Venezuelan interior nine months ago by someone who'd known him in Spain! How could that be true when she had seen his coffin interred in the family vault at EI Citadel? Adam had apologized for the delay in relaying the news, but the startling information had only become known to him in a chance conversation at a local diplomatic affair.
But if it were true ... whose body had taken the place of Rodrigo's corpse? Alejandro had told her a grisly tale of finding his brother's makeshift grave near the Indian village where he'd fallen ill and died of a wasting fever, of recognizing Rodrigo only by the heavy gold ring bearing the Vargas crest. No trace of Sebastian, the brothers' illegitimate half-brother who had loyally followed Rodrigo in his quest, had ever been found. Alejandro had shrugged off her concern for Sebastian by suggesting that he'd died somewhere in the vast forestland, a victim of the same fever that had claimed the Duke.
