“Eliza.” Her name echoed in his head. “Do you want me? Truthfully, do you desire me?”
When her lashes fluttered upward, her eyes beheld a desirous sheen. Leo’s heart skipped a beat while his manhood surged upward in anticipation. Pray she didn’t reject him, for he’d not walk away a second time. Hope kindled the jagged pounding of his heart, even when her features lost their passionate glow.
“If I said no, would you leave me be?”
His gaze darted from her lips to her eyes. “I fear that is impossible. Feel the proof of my need for you.” He yanked her hand between their bodies, holding back a groan when her fingers grazed his erection. “I’ll not accept your denial as I did last night. No, Eliza, I cannot leave you be. Not now…not ever.”
She snapped her hand back. “You are in the same sorry state as all men when they cannot control their lust.”
“No, cara mia. You are the only woman who makes me grow hard just from thinking about you.”
Several expressions flitted across her face. the most visible was the war of indecision between giving in or sending him on his way. The righteous Englishwoman couldn’t deny her feelings for an Italian commoner. Jubilant over the small victory, he gathered her in a one-arm embrace and kissed her soundly as he stroked the petal soft lips of her entrance. He slipped his finger inside, the erratic pulsing of her inner walls reaching to the depths of his being.
“Ah, Eliza, you are ready for me. “I must—”
A waterfall hit the back of his head. Startled, Leo uttered an oath, his ripe words shooting to the dark corners of the hall. He gritted his teeth and glanced at the empty bucket dangling over his head. He sat up and cursed Eliza’s maidservant.
“Cover yourself, milady,” Letty said
Eliza’s eyes bulged the instant she realized she was exposed. How could she lose her senses and give in to the rogue where anyone could have walked in on them? Thanks be to God, it was Letty and not a man.
Her husband stayed her movements, clearly intending to carry on as they were before Letty interrupted. He didn’t stand, and neither would he allow her to. He bludgeoned her maidservant with a damning glare.
“Leave us at once, else I shall enjoy my wife in your presence.”
Letty huffed. “You are vulgar, signore.”
Leonardo closed his eyes. Eliza wanted desperately to know what traversed his mind. Would he banish Letty to the stable and purchase her a ticket home to England, as he had threatened? She chewed her lower lip, nervously awaiting her husband’s response. The air in her lungs diminished but didn’t interfere with her erratic breathing.
“Leave us.” His voice low and calm, Eliza feared he’d lose the control he had practiced, given that Letty continued to defy his orders.
“Please, Letty. You must do as he asks.”
The servant grunted her disapproval. “If you must rut upon her, take her up to your bedchamber.”
Eliza hung her head. Why was the woman goading Leonardo?
Rising slowly, Leonardo’s icy gaze encompassed Letty. “Remove your belongings from this castle and move into the stable. On the morrow, you are returning to England.”
“No!” Eliza scuttled to her feet. “Please do not send her away.” She hated to beg, but she couldn’t lose Letty. The woman was more than her servant and well Leonardo knew it. Yet he’d send her away, leaving Eliza without anyone to confide in. “Leonardo.”
His chest rose mountainously when he inhaled. Eliza feared he would burst through his clothes. He exhaled and turned to her. What Eliza saw stranded her senses. Compassion mingled with his dying fury.
“Think you I spoke in jest the last time I threatened to send her away?”
Eliza shook her head, uncertain of where he was going with his question.
“I do not jest in matters of disobedience or dishonor. Yet I am loathed to carry out my threat, solely because my name upon your lips soothed my anger.”
A huge sigh of relief carried Eliza’s worries away, and her knees almost gave out from under her. But her relief was short-lived
“However, carina, she will move into the stable. And while she remains here, she will no longer be your maidservant.”
The fight returned to Eliza. She stomped her foot, forgetting the water beneath her shoes, and tumbled to the floor. “Bloody hell!”
Leo stifled a laugh and glanced at the servant. “I expect you out of this castle by this eve.”
“You cannot,” Eliza protested as she floundered to stand. The servant mumbled her discontent and marched off toward the servants’ quarters. Eliza cast a brutal look at her husband.
Of a sudden, Leo sailed to the stone, incredulous that she had yanked his feet out from under him. “Woman—” He inhaled to thwart his fury. “Your disrespect is becoming a problem.”
“Your ill-manners are the problem.”
For some inexplicable reason, Leo’s passion rose. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her beneath him. This time, he would not be left unfulfilled.
He shoved her tunic up to her neck and swooped down to suckle one nipple then the other. He plunged his finger into her body at the same instant his tongue swept into her mouth. Her virginity was no longer a deterrent. She tried everything to stop him, but soon her fight died. He gentled his kiss and slipped another finger inside, groaning from the wetness drowning them both.
“Eliza,” he whispered gruffly. Kissing a path down her neck, he detested the garment obstructing his exploration. He ripped it over her head, but he was too far gone to heed her meek protest. He coursed quick kisses down to her breasts then lower. His fingers moved to and fro, preparing her, making her ready to accept him. As heated as he was, he’d not cause her more pain than was unavoidable.
Leo lifted his tunic and adjusted his hose. He gave her a forgiving look before fitting himself between her legs. The brightness awash in her eyes didn’t harbor tears. She was ready to accept him, physically and emotionally.
He positioned his heavier weight to avoid crushing her and reached down to part her nether lips. He set the tip of him at her entrance and eased into her, praying she’d not suffer overmuch. Or cry out a belated denial. In his heart, he knew he couldn’t force her to consummate their marriage. He wasn’t a boorish, insensitive man, regardless of what she thought. Her hands clamped to his hips. Taking her slowly would prolong her agony, so Leo inhaled and tightened his muscles. He claimed her lips in a ravaging kiss just as he swiftly snapped the barrier of her innocence.
Her cry rivaled his deep groan. She was so hot, so damp. His manhood stroked the inside of her, the pressure from her newness feeling like fingers closed around his erection. He took his time releasing her lips. Her rapt features embraced him with an odd sense of belonging. No lingering traces of disgust or regret did he see when she gazed up at him with eyes bluer than a mid-day sky.
“You are all right?”
Her smile filled him with relief, enabling him to move in and out of her with long, smooth strokes. Leo traced her collarbone with the tip of his tongue then nestled his face into her neck. He had not known true bliss before today. Eliza retrieved his guarded emotions and gave him a reason to set down roots and raise a family. Alas, he couldn’t dwell on what wasn’t meant to be. This moment and pleasing his wife were all he cared about.
But Eliza felt differently. Leonardo stole not only her virginity but her heart as well. He was a part of her in more ways than their fusion from sex. He had seeped into her soul. She slid her hands up his ribs to his shoulders, thrilling in the power of his shifting muscles beneath her fingers.
“The pain is gone, if that is what you are asking.”
“I am glad to hear that.” A shadow crept across his face. “Mayhap the physical pain has vanished, but what of the union itself? Do you regret what—”
She laid two fingers across his mouth to hush his worry. “I may regret this later, but for now I cannot explain my need to have you.”
“Amore mia, my need for you is far stron
ger.”
She cradled his cheeks in her palms and drew him down to meet her lips. The kiss spoke of their mutual desires, and that baffled Eliza. Yet she was unwilling to condemn Leonardo for piercing her maidenhead and making her a woman. She’d be lying if she faulted his actions, for she’d have to fault her own.
His hips glided up and down. Eliza flattened her palms on his taut buttocks and hooked her legs over the back of his thighs. “What more is there to…this?”
“I will show you.” His words wrought with passion overwhelmed Leo. Snuggled within her, he was no longer left to imagine how she would feel. If the flutter in his heart hadn’t persisted, he wouldn’t have known pure pleasure existed.
She constricted around his male, squeezing him, forcing the liquid heat from his body too soon. Leo pumped in earnest then threw his head back, his drawn-out moan reaching to the ceiling. With one last push, he spilled all of him into her and lingered selfishly. He brought his gaze down and met her horror.
Leo pulled out and kneeled at her side. “Eliza, what is wrong?”
She gasped for air.
“Was I too heavy? Did I hurt you?” He smoothed her hair back, exposing her pale face. “Madre mia, can you not speak?”
She hiccoughed and expelled her breath at gale force strength. Her color returned, leaving Leo stupefied.
“I recalled something Letty told me. She said when a man and a woman do what we did, they could create a baby.”
Leo sighed with relief. “You frightened me all because of what your maidservant said?”
“It is true, no?”
Leo nodded. “But oft’times a baby is not created. It is in the hands of God, Eliza.”
“What if your seed has planted within me?”
Leo scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the stairs. “If it is meant to be, sì, my seed will take root.”
She peeked around his shoulder. “Please allow me to retrieve my clothes.”
“Later.”
“But—”
“Do you remember what you asked?” Her brow creased as she thought back. “You asked if there was more to coupling. There is, Eliza, and I intend to show you all the ways we can use our bodies to pleasure each other.”
Chapter 9
The memory of Eliza’s soft skin and tightness when he slipped into her lingered in Leo’s mind. Would that he could, he’d lay abed the whole day with his captivating wife. Matters of the castle could wait. They had a year together to care for it. Alas, he’d been summoned to the solicitor’s office. Whatever the reason, he prayed it was a valid one, else he might strike the man for unnecessarily taking him away from a morning of veritable joy.
As he rode toward town, he concentrated on the urgency in the note the solicitor’s assistant had delivered in the early morn. Eliza hadn’t received one. Perhaps the solicitor had found another will stating that Leo inherited the castle and Eliza did not.
The thought saddened his heart. Could he annul their marriage and never see her again? His mouth upended into a frown, and a twitch in his groin and his heart told him he couldn’t. He reached the city gate, waiting his turn to enter with the throng of merchants. A few minutes later, he dismounted in front of the solicitor’s office. For no apparent reason, his gut twisted.
Once inside the cramped room, he spotted the solicitor sitting behind his desk, his head bent as he diligently wrote. Surely he heard the door open and close. Leo cleared his throat.
“A moment, signore.”
With a tight frown, Leo approached the desk. Signor Zamparini continued to write with fury, his words a blur on the parchment. Leo grew impatient. “Can that not wait?”
“I beg your indulgence, Signor Da Mitri.”
Leo blew out a hot burst of air from his mouth. What the devil was so important that he couldn’t leave it for later? Finally, Leo’s patience took its last breath. He slapped his hand down on the writing instrument, startling the solicitor and trapping his hand beneath Leo’s stronger one.
“You summoned me here. Why?” Knowing his unforgiving tone frightened Signor Zamparini, Leo released the man’s hand and straightened away. The solicitor did not lift his head or even attempt to meet his glare.
“I have discovered another will, Signor Da Mitri.”
Every one of Leo’s nerves pulled taut. “How is that possible?” he demanded.
“I failed to see it beneath the will I read to you and Signorina God—Signora Da Mitri.”
“Look at me.” When the man didn’t obey, Leo purposely deepened his voice. “Read it to me.”
Swallowing compulsively, the solicitor lifted the parchment in his trembling hands. “It appears Marchese Calendri had a change of heart before he…died.” He gulped. “The entire castle is bequeathed to Signora Da Mitri.”
“Bedamned! You are lying.” The solicitor’s odd behavior snapped Leo’s thread-bare nerves. “Look at me or I will rip your head from your neck with my bare hands.”
Unprepared for what he saw, Leo froze with shock. The solicitor’s face looked as if it had been pummeled beneath a horse’s hooves. Two swollen black eyes, dried blood beneath his off-center nose, and a split lip with blood pooled in the crack.
Signor Zamparini’s mouth barely moved as he spoke. “I fear I am clumsy, signore. I fell down a few stairs.” He failed to hide a grimace.
Leo cast off his shock. “A few stairs does not cause as many injuries as yours. Or as severe.”
“Per piacere, signore, it is naught.”
Disbelief lingered, but if the man didn’t want to reveal the truth, so be it. Leo would not pry into his affairs. “What about the new will? How did you miss seeing it when it was beneath the will you carried with you to the castle?”
“I was not wearing my glasses…I recall.”
Deep down, Leo had the uncomfortable feeling Signor Zamparini was hiding something more.
“Look for yourself, Signor Da Mitri.” He turned the parchment for Leo to read.
“No, I do not have to read it.”
The solicitor sagged in relief.
“But I do not believe you are being truthful.” Leo gauged the mangled mess on Zamparini’s face, forcing back a shiver of disgust. He’d been in enough fights to know how painful those injuries were and how dearly it cost the man to sit there and hold a conversation. He held out his hand. “I will take this new will with me.”
Short fingers worked with remarkable speed to roll the will and drop it into something under the desk. “I fear I cannot release it to you. I must continue to do the marchese’s bidding as he entrusted me to do. On the morrow, I shall return to Marchese Calendri’s castle and read the contents of his will—” He cleared his throat, as if embarrassed. “—to both you and your wife.”
Curling his fingers, Leo hardened his muscles, else he’d fly over the desk and grab the solicitor by the throat, his injuries be damned. Signor Zamparini noticed Leo’s escalating ire. His brows rose up his forehead as he leaned back and gingerly pushed his glasses up his nose. Leo almost grimaced with him.
Releasing his frustration, Leo realized the solicitor guarded the will with his life. “On the morrow, I expect to see you with the will in hand.” He leaned forward to intimidate, and well he did. The solicitor’s entire body trembled. “Do not be late.”
****
In the great hall, Eliza sat with Leticia, going over the list of duties assigned to each servant, Eliza included. Thanks be to God, scrubbing the floors was no longer her responsibility.
“We must hire more servants,” she said, speaking her thought aloud. “I shall speak with my husband when he returns.”
“Should they be female, you’ll not have to fret him returning to your bed.”
Even though she was adamant about going home at the end of her marriage, Eliza wondered if her body might suffer unbearably without her virile husband. She had discovered lying with Leonardo wasn’t appalling at all. He was well-versed in a woman’s desire and undeniably aware of her needs
.
Fire flared up her body, the engulfing inferno threatening to melt her noble upbringing. How deplorable of her to conjure carnal pleasures in her errant mind. “No doubt, he would be pleased with more women to bed.”
In her mind, he could take a hundred women to his bed. Her heart was a different matter. She couldn’t let a prickle of jealously affect her judgment. She didn’t come to Italy to find a husband, and she’d do well to remember that.
Across the hall, a commotion drew Eliza’s awareness to her husband speaking in Italian to Santo. Agitation quickened his strides and filled his expression with determination. She’d flee in an instant if her knees hadn’t gone weak and her stomach hadn’t begun to flitter with anticipation.
Without missing a step, Leonardo grabbed her hand and pulled her along with his furious pace. Eliza barely kept up with him. At the bottom of the stairs, she dug her shoes into the rushes, though little help they were.
“Release me!”
Thankfully, he ceased dragging her, but his crushing grip on her hand remained.
“I’ll not, Eliza. I am in need of comfort and only you can relieve what ails me.”
Wary, she studied his eyes and found the truth. No mistaking the passion burning in their bluer-than-blue depths. “I am not a target for you to practice your archery.”
Through his serious mien, a smile freed itself. He pulled her close and her body jolted from the contact of his inflamed male pressing into her belly. A quiver settled in her women’s core.
“Astute choice of words, carina. You most certainly are my beautiful target for my stiff arrow to pierce.”
“Oh!” A raging fire flared up and melted her dignity. She stomped her foot as she sputtered to find the appropriate reprimand. “Must you speak boldly when others are present?”
“Had you followed me without resistance, I might have saved my bold words for our bedchamber. Alas, you are the direct cause for my boldness.”
Mine to Keep Page 8
