At last, she crept from her bed and over to the door, the door to the room she’d been warned, on pain of punishment, never to enter. His room. She didn’t know if he’d yet retired for the night, but she was too unquiet to stay in her room alone.
She turned the heavy lock, the lock Henna checked every night. It opened with a soft click. She pushed the door and peeked into the moonlit darkness.
He was there, staring right at her from the bed.
* * * * *
Duncan was still awake, fuming over his father’s unannounced visit. Pretty much every word he’d spoken since he arrived had been some form of criticism or disrespect. And his father’s treatment of Caitlyn... It had taken every measure of his hard-won control and self-discipline to keep from throttling the old man to death by the neck.
His rudeness to her at dinner had been insupportable. She had looked to Duncan to save her, and he ought to have defended her, but it only would have fed his father’s ire and prolonged a humiliating episode he was certain his father enjoyed. Instead, all he’d wanted to do was get her away from his father’s presence. His father loved to insult and embarrass women, but it was something else altogether to see it visited on Cait. Until Douglas left, he’d do a better job of protecting her. He’d be sure to tell her guards to do the same.
He wondered if she was angry with him for not defending her, and whether she had cried after she scurried from the hall. Well, of course she’d cried. She cried at everything. He had the sudden urge to check on her, just to peek into her room and be sure she was sleeping. It couldn’t hurt, could it? The door would be locked, but he could use the hall door. And if she was still awake, he could hold her, soothe her. Explain that it wasn’t her fault, that it was his father, that he was the one flawed...
But no, if he held her there would be no explaining. There would be no talking or soothing or anything except him ripping off her shift and burying himself to the hilt between her thighs.
With a soft groan, he felt his member pulse to life just imagining it. Just imagining it for a second was enough to keep him up all night. He was just about to take himself in hand when he heard the lock click, a tiny sound, but unmistakable. The door opened a crack and her haunting eyes peered through the half light of the moon to meet his. She gasped softly, but she didn’t close the door. Instead, she opened it wider and sidled into his room, pressing back against the door as if, that way, she might not break the rule about entering.
He watched her from where he sat, in a conundrum. He was unclothed and fully aroused. There was no way to rise from the bedclothes and show himself to her without frightening her right back out of the room. And he didn’t want her to leave because she was obviously troubled. The very fact that she would break his emphatic rule and enter his room was evidence of that.
So he sat right where he was and waited to hear her speak.
“I...I’m sorry to disobey you. I...I had to come in.” The poor thing was terrified he’d be angry.
“Why did you have to come in?” he prompted softly.
“B...Because...I’m cold.”
He frowned. “It’s not at all cold, Caitlyn. It’s warm tonight, so if you’re cold I’m afraid you may be ill. Come here to the bed. Let me check for fever.”
She pulled her blanket more tightly around her shoulders in some unconscious gesture of defense, but he could have it off her in an instant, and the flimsy shift she wore beneath. She approached him as if she knew there was danger. He reached out to place roughened fingers against her forehead, then down the side of her face, against her porcelain cheeks. He looked into her eyes.
“No fever. You feel fine to me. Are you really cold, or do you have another reason for being here? Do not tell lies, Caitlyn. I don’t like it.”
“I... I...”
“Were you upset by my father today?”
“Yes,” she whispered in relief. “He...scares me a little.”
“I completely understand. He dealt with you very rudely and I apologize for it, although I’m sure he’ll do it again. You must understand that’s just his way. Unfortunately, he is my father, so you must show him respect as far as you can.”
“Yes, sir.” He knew she would, only because he asked it of her. She really was remarkably obedient. His cock throbbed from the trusting, open way she looked at him. She leaned closer so he could feel her heat. The sweetness of her soft breath washed over him, stealing his control.
“I’m... I’m so sorry if I embarrassed you. If you were displeased with me...”
“I was not displeased. I am never displeased with you. I know I...” Without meaning to, he reached to take a lock of her black hair between his fingers, twirling it. “I know it seems I am distant, that I don’t care for you. But Caitlyn, there’s a reason for that.”
Silence stretched out between them.
“What reason?” she finally asked.
Duncan frowned. “I’m not really certain if you’re ready yet to become my true wife.”
She drew a soft breath of surprise. “What...what do you mean? Your true wife?”
He dropped her hair and ran his knuckles down her velvet cheek. “Wives and husbands, they can share certain...intimacies with each other if they wish. But it requires bravery, and hard work.”
“What kind of work?” she asked, so eagerly that it touched his heart. “I’m good at doing work. I don’t mind it at all.”
“I know, Caitlyn. But it’s hard, complicated work, like no work you’ve done before. And it takes a lot of practice and a lot of courage. I’m not sure you’re ready for it.”
“No,” she protested, wide-eyed. “I am. If you’ll just teach me, I promise I will do whatever you wish.”
If you’ll just teach me... If she hadn’t said those words to him, he might have been able to resist. If she hadn’t said them so beautifully, with that perfect balance of eagerness and submission, he might have found the strength to say, no, not yet. You’re still too innocent to be used the way I want to use you. But she had said the words perfectly, and then, as if that wasn’t enough to break him, she’d followed with I promise I will do whatever you wish.
What could he do? Such words were impossible to withstand. So he put his hands on the coarse wool blanket she’d wrapped around herself and said, “All right. I’ll teach you, Caitlyn. If you’re absolutely sure you’re ready to learn.”
Chapter Six
He took the blanket from around her shoulders and laid it across his bed, so she stood before him clothed only in her shift. It was thin, fine linen and it left nothing to his imagination, but she seemed to believe it offered her some protection, because when he reached for the ties of it, she frowned.
“You are not ready,” he said.
“No, I am. But will I...will you...?”
“In this room, Caitlyn, when we are alone together, you will be unclothed. As soon as you enter this room you’ll bare yourself for me immediately, every time. Do you know why that is?”
“No,” she whispered, blushing furiously, but letting his fingers untie the ivory ribbons one by one.
“Because in this room, your body will belong to me. Your husband. And I will enjoy looking at it whenever and however I please.”
“Oh,” she said as he drew the flimsy garment away from her. By pure instinct, her hands sought to cover her breasts, her mons.
“And you will not hide yourself from me, of course. Wives do not do that. Not obedient wives, anyway.”
Slowly, her hands dropped to her sides.
“Let me look at you. You are a beautiful woman.”
“Am I?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t find the words. His hands basked on her skin, ran over the curve of her waist, the taut flatness of her belly, the hard tips of her aroused nipples. He ran his thumb over the dusky pink peaks and almost lost himself when she gasped and closed her eyes. Without thinking, he leaned over to take her in his mouth. First one lovely breast and then the other, laving and nibbling t
he treasures with his tongue and lips.
She moaned, her fingers scrabbling on his shoulders. “Oh, this isn’t work. This isn’t hard at all!”
He chuckled, releasing her. “There’s more to it than that, lovely girl. Go kneel by the window, in the moonlight, so I can take a long look at you.” She obeyed, looking over at him with breathless, aroused confusion.
“Like this?” she asked. Yes, like that. Submissive and open and sweet.
“Yes, very good. Keep your back straight and your chin up, and look at me. I’ll expect you to look at me when we’re...doing what husbands and wives do, so you’ll know what I want of you at all times.”
At that, he finally threw the bedclothes off and stood, walking towards her with his cock fisted in his hand. He could see she lost her nerve a little then, although she tried bravely not to show it. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if this was her first introduction to the aroused male anatomy. He stood before her in the moonlight, taking her chin in his hands.
“This is the hard part, and it may seem unnatural, but I want you to kiss me. There,” he said, indicating the part of his body she surely couldn’t miss.
“Yes...yes, sir.”
“Do you know how to kiss, Caitlyn? Have you ever been kissed by a man before?”
“No. Not actually.”
He pulled her up by her arms. He kissed her at length, gently at first, then more deeply. She shuddered and sighed, pressing against him. God, she was making this difficult with her gorgeous, innocent reactions. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her close. His hands strayed lower to cup her heart-shaped bottom in his hands. He finally broke from her, afraid of losing control.
“Okay. That’s how you kiss, Caitlyn, and you remember how tenderly I kissed you there,” he reminded, tugging gently on her puckered nipples.
“Yes, I remember.”
“Back to your knees then. Take me in your hands. God, yes... like that.” It would be a miracle if he lasted until she put her lips on him. Just the feel of her trembling fingertips caressing him was enough to make a drop of pre-cum shimmer on the head of his cock. “Now lick it. Kiss it. Just the tip.”
She rose up on her knees to position her mouth before him, and her pink tongue darted out to taste him. She licked him artlessly, clumsily, but he screwed his eyes shut and tensed to keep himself from shooting all over her face.
“Yes. Yes, that’s good,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Am I hurting you?”
“No. Don’t stop. Now open your mouth wide and take me between your lips. Let me slide into your mouth.”
Miracle of miracles, she opened for him. This had been the point where Lenore balked, where she’d turned on him and called him unnatural. A depraved, perverse villain. And he was all those things, but bless Cait, she didn’t know.
He thrust in her then, as deeply as he dared without alarming her, cupping her face gently to guide his cock in and out. He was going to come, and he was going to come hugely.
“Cait,” he gasped. “Very soon I’m going to release in your mouth. It’s going to taste strange and viscous, but you’re not to spit it out. You’re to swallow it. It won’t hurt you. Do you understand?”
She nodded and he grasped the back of her neck, groaning long and hard as he discharged in her throat. He felt her choke a little, but she swallowed him as best she could. Astonishing. Not one cry of displeasure or outrage. He pulled her up, overcome by the intimacy of the moment. He enveloped her in his arms and kissed her.
“Good girl. I know it wasn’t easy.”
She nuzzled against him, trembling in his grasp.
“Did I please you? I tried my best.”
“You did very well for the first time. Very well. And it will get easier in time. With practice.”
“How...how often...?” She wasn’t quite able to say the words.
“Every day, at least for a little while, until it becomes more natural to you,” he said, stroking her hair. “It pleases me very much to be inside you, to feel your warm mouth around me, pleasuring me. I’ll want you to do it quite often.” He chuckled at her expression. “I told you it would be work. But I promise there will be pleasure for you too.”
“There will?”
“Yes. If you obey me. Go to the bed, Cait. Lie down on your back. Trust me,” he said when she hesitated.
Drawing a deep breath, she turned from him and walked to the bed. She lay back, looking at him with wide eyes. He felt his cock tighten again. Just a look from her fathomless eyes could undo him. The image of her taking his cock in her mouth would stay with him forever. He would be hard for a week just remembering it.
“Spread your legs. Open them,” he said. She did, just a little, the modesty ingrained in all women hampering her. “Wider. I want to see you there. Wider,” he urged her repeatedly, until her thighs were spread wide apart and he could see the luscious treasure between her legs. He stood and admired her for a long moment. His cock was already hard again, but he wouldn’t take her that way. He knelt instead, pulling her to the edge of the bed and holding her legs. He could tell she felt exposed. Her legs tensed and she tried to close them, but he pinned her open. He dipped his mouth to her, blowing hot breath on her beautiful pink pussy. She squirmed. His hands tightened on her thighs.
“Be still. Let me have you. Be a good girl for me.”
And she was, oh, she was. He began to kiss her, lick her, lightly at first. She was so exquisite, so erotically sensitive, even the softest tease of his tongue made her buck under him. She tasted beautiful, musky and female.
“Oh, oh...” Her soft cries drove him on, and the way she moved, the way she writhed and sighed—he could have eaten her alive.
“Yes. Let yourself go for me.”
She moaned as he licked and caressed her. She was searching for something and he knew she hadn’t the slightest idea what. He would help her find it. He would help her learn the depths of pleasure she was capable of experiencing, no matter how long it took. He soothed her, then urged her on with his mouth until she was breathless and tense with coiled desire.
“Let go.” He breathed against her. “I’ve got you.”
She was gasping quick, heady gasps. Her hands twisted and twined in his hair. Carefully, he slid one finger up inside her slick opening, and both of them moaned. Jesus, she was so tight, so impossibly hot and slick. It was some kind of madness, that he didn’t stand up and thrust inside. He regained control of himself, concentrating on her pleasure. He bit and nipped gently at her clit, that little nub hard and swollen under his mouth. He thrust a second finger inside her and she gasped at the fullness, threw her head back and wailed. He felt her come, her velvet walls pulsing and clenching against his fingers. He didn’t remove them until she’d relaxed again, until her breathing slowed. She lay completely still, as if she understood the peril she was in, although she didn’t. Of that he was sure. He looked down at her, longing, craving. He touched her cheek lightly, tried to smile. Tried to reassure her in the face of the words he had to say.
“Caitlyn. I think it’s better if you don’t stay here. If you go back to your room to sleep.”
“Oh.” The disappointment on her face, the forlorn way her eyebrows drew together... “Wh...Why? I’m sorry...”
“No, it’s nothing you did. It’s me, Caitlyn. I’ll tire you out. I’ll want your mouth again and again and it’s not fair to you. You must go and rest now. It’s late.”
“I’ll do anything, please, if you’ll just let me stay. Whatever you want! I don’t want to leave. Please hold me in the dark while I sleep. I’m afraid to be alone.”
He stood over her, looking down at her. If he let her stay now, she’d expect to stay every night.
“Am I not your true wife now? I tried my best. I’ll keep practicing, I will—”
“Enough, Caitlyn.” She killed him. It was true, she had done everything he’d asked of her, been a more true and obedient wife than Lenore had ever been. It
was the tears shimmering in her eyes that finally undid him.
“Okay.” He frowned. It was a terrible idea, and it increased the danger to her significantly, but there was no way now to say no.
“I’ll be quiet,” she promised. “I won’t disturb you. I’ll lie very still.”
No matter, he thought. It had nothing to do with that. She could lie still as the grave, be quiet as a mouse in a cat’s sight, and he’d still burn to make her his. Now that he’d felt her, thrust his fingers up inside her hot, tight channel, he didn’t know how he would resist. Perhaps if he exhausted himself each day in exertions, he could fall fast asleep at night with her beside him in his arms.
Folly, to think there was any way he could manage to leave her alone.
“Kneel down, then, Cait,” he said, showing her his engorged cock. “Once more, so we can get to bed.”
* * * * *
Douglas waited until the castle was quiet. He could lurk about wherever he wanted, he was the elder earl after all. No one would tell him what to do. But he didn’t want to lurk about just anywhere. He’d planned all day, since the moment he saw her, to pay a very secret visit to his pretty little daughter-in-law in the night.
All in the family, yes? She was his son’s wife, and if she could take Duncan’s coarse cock between her legs, she could spread her thighs nice and wide for his. He’d clamp his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream and bring everyone running. It would be made all the more thrilling to know his son slept right next door, unaware.
Yes, he’d figured out all the particulars as soon as he decided he wanted her. Located her bedroom, insured that his son would be asleep before he went to her. It was all made much easier by the fact that Duncan elected to sleep apart from her.
Well, he didn’t blame him. Once the wife had been fucked, had yielded what was between her legs, what else was she good for? Keeping you awake? Driving you insane with mindless women’s prattle? Snuggling up against you, trying to steal your warmth? A saucy bit of goods like Duncan’s wife was good for one thing and one thing only, and Douglas intended to go and take it from her by force.
Cait and the Devil Page 6
