They had to be disappointed in him.
Someday, he would be free to tell them—
The door to the bedroom opened and Maria stepped out. She had dressed and somehow managed to put her hair to rights. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips rosy, but she appeared otherwise composed.
“Lady Malloy,” she said graciously. Nicholas suppressed a grin as Maria entered the room with the courtly air of a queen. “How nice to see you. Will you join us in our meal? We have plenty…”
Ignoring the plates abandoned by the fireplace, Maria went directly to the table and took new plates from the basket. Tessa Malloy protested as Maria began to serve the food herself, insisting that she and her husband had not meant to intrude.
“Think nothing of it,” Maria said amiably. “Your company is most welcome.”
Nicholas could not help the rude sound that spilled out at this exaggeration, but he covered it with an artfully executed cough.
Lady Malloy sat down with Maria at the table, and Roger joined them. Nicholas reluctantly sat with them, feeling cross and irritable. He did not know how Maria managed to socialize with these intruders with such poise. He was so frustrated he was ready to burst.
Looking at the woman only inflamed him more. Her eyes sparkled and a delightful blush crept up her neck and into her cheeks. Her eyes flashed—apparently with interest at the conversation, though Nicholas took great pleasure in the knowledge that she was as aroused as he.
No longer did he merely have to imagine the sight of her flesh, naked and quivering under his hands. He’d seen the pale perfection of her breasts and knew that their tips were as velvety as the petals of the most delicate rose. They had pebbled with arousal at his touch, and presaged a wildly climactic response when he finally made love to his lady Maria.
Tonight.
He would wait no longer. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, and her ankle was no longer an impediment.
Tiny gold-tipped tendrils of hair escaped Maria’s repaired coif and teased the flesh below her ear. Nicholas could almost taste the spot, nearly feel her speeding pulse upon his tongue. She popped a morsel of cheese into her mouth, and he watched as she sucked gently on the piece before chewing and swallowing.
Nicholas felt the blood drain from his head and flow directly to the part of his anatomy that already stood in rapt attention. Without having to think rationally, he knew that mouth was made to give pleasure.
If only he could wait long enough.
Tessa chatted interminably about inconsequential nonsense, and Nicholas thought she would never stop. When Maria placed her hand on his thigh under the table, every muscle in his body clenched. His reaction was primitive—he felt like some kind of barbarian warrior who should throw his woman over his shoulder and carry her off to have his way with her.
“You plan to stay here tonight?” Maria asked Tessa.
The older woman nodded. “Lord Kirkham has no need of my husband at the moment, and we like the quiet out here…that is, if you do not mind, my lord.”
Maria thought Nicholas looked about to strangle on his own words, but he replied, “Not at all, Tess. You know you are always welcome here.”
“’Tis getting late, my lord,” Maria said, anxious to be away. She had managed to contain her embarrassment at being found in such delicate circumstances with Nicholas, but dearly wished she could be anywhere but here. Nicholas’s behavior had not helped, either. The heat in his eyes when he looked at her was enough to burn her on the spot, and she’d made a colossal mistake in thinking that her hidden touch under the table would calm him.
On the contrary, his fire had come close to consuming her.
“Aye,” he said. “’Tis time we took our leave.”
“My lord,” Sir Roger said, “we do not wish to chase you from your own—”
“Not to worry, Roger,” Nicholas said as he took Maria’s arm and headed toward the door. “We’ll see you back at Kirkham in a day or two. Enjoy your respite.”
Maria and Nicholas hardly spoke on the ride back, but the air fairly sizzled between them. ’Twas late afternoon. No one was about when they rode up to Kirkham’s keep, and Maria wondered where all of the guests were, especially the ladies. She knew there were some about—she had seen at least one of them.
She was about to ask Nicholas, when one of the grooms came to them, helped her dismount and took the horses’ reins.
“Ah, milord…” the groom said. “Master Henric has been anxious for your return.”
“Is aught amiss?” Nicholas asked.
“’Tis Lord Sheffield….”
“Where is Tournay?”
“I believe you’ll find him in Lord Sheffield’s chamber.”
Maria had not met any of Nicholas’s guests, but she assumed Sheffield was one of them.
“What is it?” Nicholas called over his shoulder to the groom as they moved off down the passageway. “What’s wrong?”
“Lord Sheffield’s injuries are worse than Master Henric first believed.”
“Damnation,” he said as he led Maria through a side entrance to the keep. His jaws clenched tightly for a moment before he turned to Maria. He took her hand and raised it to his lips. “We will sup together tonight, my lady fair.”
“Nay, my lord,” she said, backing away till she bumped into the wall behind her. The day’s events had shown clearly that she was out of her element with Lord Kirkham. She needed to establish some distance between them in order to keep her virtue. “I think ’twould be better—”
“Aye, you think too much,” he said, placing one hand on the wall on each side of her head.
Maria took a shaky breath. She could have moved if she’d wanted to. She should move, she thought. And escape to her chamber as fast as her legs could carry her.
But he brushed his lips over hers, then crooked one knee artfully, exerting just enough pressure to elicit the same kind of raging sensations that had burst through her at the lodge, when he’d had her nearly naked before the fire.
His breath was warm on her mouth, his lips and teeth lightly teasing.
“Please…”
“Please what, my lady fair?” Nicholas breathed. “Please take you here? Now?”
“Nay, Nicholas,” Maria said weakly. His physical presence was overwhelming. She wanted him to continue, yet she knew she had to stop him…stop herself.
She pulled away from the wall and ducked under his arm.
Nicholas stood looking at her with hooded, dangerous eyes. Maria remained still only for a moment, then she turned and fled.
Nick stood in the dark hall, waiting for his breathing to slow, his pulse to settle. It took more than a couple of minutes before he felt composed enough to seek Tournay.
’Twould not do to arrive in Sheffield’s chamber in an obvious state of arousal. He was no randy youth chasing after his first skirt. On the contrary, he had to safeguard his reputation as one of England’s foremost rogues.
What was it about Maria that made him react so spectacularly? She was merely a woman. A comely one, true enough, but he’d known many a beauty both in England and abroad. How did this one make him lose possession of his wits? How did she manage to tantalize him to the very brink with hardly a touch?
He shuddered once more and walked toward Sheffield’s room.
“My lord,” Henric Tournay said when Nicholas entered. The injured man was awake and moaning, wheezing with every breath. “Lord Sheffield has taken ill since his fall.”
Nicholas could see that. The man was flushed with fever and grimacing. His face was moist with sweat. “What is it?”
“A fever of the lung,” he replied. “The fractured rib must have punctured it.”
“Send for a physician,” Nicholas said, coming ’round the bed to speak to Sheffield.
“Done,” Henric replied. “The closest physician of any reputation is at Malvern Castle.”
“That’s nearly a day’s ride.”
“Aye,” Henric said, “but
I sent a rider out early. They’ll start back in the morning and be here by midday.”
“No sooner?”
Henric shook his head. “’Tis doubtful, but possible, I suppose. In the meantime, we’ve had the healer from the village up here….”
Nicholas touched Sheffield’s hand. “William…can you hear me?”
The injured man groaned and tried to lift his hand.
“A physician is coming,” Nick said.
“Hurts…with every breath.”
Nicholas turned to Henric. “Is there anything we can give him to help him sleep?”
Henric nodded. “Aye. And a poultice on his chest will relieve him so that he can rest,” he said. “It should take effect soon.”
Sheffield’s eyes closed, and Nick knew there was naught he could do for the man, besides wait for the physician. He was in good hands with Henric watching over him, and the healer from the village was a decent one—a midwife, but the woman had knowledge of the healing arts, as well.
Nick hoped Sheffield’s youth and usual robust health would see him through.
“Notify me if his condition worsens.”
“Aye, my lord,” Henric said. “I’ve…called for the priest.”
Nick was taken aback by this dire statement, though he knew Henric was only doing what was right. There was no telling what would happen now, and the man deserved to be shriven. Nicholas gave a resigned nod and left the chamber.
He was met by his other guests, who were irritatingly oblivious of Sheffield’s situation. Young Lord Lofton paced restlessly before the fireplace in the great hall, clearly anxious for the night’s entertainment to begin.
Nicholas had no interest in dealing with any of the men, and begged off, advising the company to engage themselves in whatever diversions pleased them.
Then he climbed the staircase and went to his own chamber.
Maria would take her leave in the morning. Before dawn.
Thanks to her outing today, she knew the location of the stable, and exactly where her horse was kept. She’d become familiar with the east road, so she would have no difficulty finding it again, and riding all the way to Rockbury.
She had to leave. All her good sense fled when Nicholas was near, and she knew she had to get away from him before everything spiraled out of her control.
She had behaved exactly the way Cecilia would have done, yet Maria doubted Cecilia had ever been so thoroughly charmed by such a skilled suitor. Without a doubt, men like Nicholas were the reason for ladies’ guardians. No one was safe from such an expert womanizer. He was much too comely for her sanity, and his engaging manner weakened her wits. She had to get away from him.
When Maria arrived at Rockbury and ascertained her position there, she would send word to Kirkham, informing Nicholas where to find her. Thereafter, he would be able to come to terms with her father or guardian, as the case might be, for her hand.
Maria knew she could not encounter him alone again and keep her virtue intact. He had a way of overwhelming her sensibilities. One moment he was merely breathing on her ear and speaking sweet nonsense to her, the next, she was standing half-unclothed, with his talented fingers teasing her most sensitive parts! No man had ever managed to seduce her to the point of forgetting herself.
’Twas fortunate that Lady Malloy and her husband had arrived at the hunting lodge when they did.
The thought of what had transpired at the lodge caused heat to pool in uncomfortable places. Maria stood abruptly. She went to the window, then unlatched it and pushed it aside to let in some cool evening air. She leaned out and breathed deeply.
Music began to play in the hall, and then Maria heard disembodied voices drifting up from the courtyard below. Male laughter and feminine giggles…
It sounded like great fun. Mayhap she would join the gathering in the hall later in the eve. Her ruse as a true lady had worked well enough with Lord Kirkham, so why not the others?
“My lady?” a voice called, accompanied by a light tap. The door was already swinging open by the time Maria went to answer it, and Aggie was there with a tray of food.
“I’ll just set this on the table ’ere, by the fire,” she said.
Maria blushed in remembrance of the meal she and Nicholas had begun to share by the fireplace at the lodge. How sensual it had been, merely eating…touching fingers to mouths…. She had not been able to resist him then, and she was terribly afraid that in truth, she did not want to resist him.
“Thank you, Aggie,” she said, her voice sounding small and choked.
“Is aught amiss, my lady?” the maid asked.
“Nay, ’tis fine,” she replied. “And I thank you for your trouble,” she added, before remembering her facade as the imperious noblewoman.
Ah, well…she would be gone on the morrow, and it no longer mattered what the servants thought of her.
Maria lit a lamp and sat down after Aggie left. How very easy it had been to fall in love with Nicholas, especially after their visit to the village. He’d been kind and generous, showering various boons and gifts on the people. He’d known every person by name, even the tiniest babe among them. The people had respect for Nicholas, and affection.
That did not occur without effort. Maria had seen how the people near Alderton behaved toward her aunt and cousins—keeping a respectful distance. They clearly had no desire to interact with her Morley relatives any more than necessary.
But Nicholas was different.
Her heart swelled at the thought that even now he was taking his turn, sitting with his injured guest while the poor man lay helpless. Maria doubted that Geoffrey Morley would ever have the wherewithal to—
The door to her chamber opened and Maria turned. Nicholas stepped in, closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and stood silently, waiting for her to speak.
She could not.
He was so unbearably handsome. His hair was damp from bathing, and his jaw freshly shaved. His eyes raked over her with an intensity that made her quiver, and she knew she no longer possessed a will of her own.
He dropped his arms to his sides and came toward her.
Without speaking, he took one of her hands and drew her up, until her body was flush with his. “Your lips were made for this,” he breathed. Then he kissed her, taking full control of her mouth. The tip of his tongue teased hers, then his teeth nipped and taunted. Maria felt as if her bones had melted.
Nicholas’s hands roved down her back until they reached her hips. When he pressed her closer, she felt the same all-consuming craving she’d experienced at the hunting lodge, though it was more intense this time, more demanding. When the hard ridge of his arousal pressed into her, she curled her fingers into the fabric at his shoulders and let out an unconscious plea from the back of her throat, a sound that Nicholas swallowed as his tongue plundered her mouth.
Maria did not know when his hands slipped between them, but suddenly her laces were unfastened for the second time today, and Nicholas was peeling her sleeves down her arms.
Between playful kisses, he removed his own tunic. Leaning down, he captured one rose-tipped breast in his mouth, while his fingers hungrily plied the other. In the mindless grip of need, Maria plowed her fingers through his hair as her head fell back. She felt him shudder and knew that he wanted her with a wild ferocity that thrilled her as much as his touch.
He suckled her as he loosened the ties of her gown, which fell in a rich blue pool around her feet, unnoticed. He led her to the bed and eased her down, laying her amid the soft down of mattress and pillows. Seeing adoration in his eyes, Maria felt no embarrassment at her nudity. She opened herself to his loving attention.
He trailed kisses from her breasts to her belly.
“Nicholas…”
“You are beyond sweet…” he murmured, kissing her. “I’ve thought of nothing but this since you crossed my path.”
When his mouth met hers again, his points and hose were gone, and he was as naked as
she.
Maria’s body vibrated when his hair-roughened skin touched her. He took infinite care with her, wooing and tantalizing as he learned every wildly aroused inch of her. Tension pooled somewhere deep in her core. “Nicholas…I…please…”
He touched her intimately, knowingly.
All conscious thought dissolved into liquid heat. Maria’s body was consumed by sensation. Skin and bones melted. Blood boiled. She opened herself to the man she loved.
“That’s it, love. Now.”
Maria’s climax nearly drove Nicholas to his own, but he intended to draw out their lovemaking. She was so responsive to his touch he had no doubt that she would reach it again. And he wanted to take her along with him when he reached his own peak.
Her breasts filled his hands. Her mouth tasted of sweet wine, and her skin smelled of exotic spices. Her hair was a mass of untamed curls, her golden eyes heavy with desire. Nicholas had never known a woman so uninhibited in her response, and it made him wild to possess her.
And he meant to enjoy her all night long.
He moved into position between her legs, then lowered himself to kiss her gently rounded belly. She was so soft, so perfect. She clutched at his head, his hair, his shoulders, and the small sounds she made incited him to a near frenzy. Never had he been so far gone, so out of control before sheathing himself intimately.
He had to be inside her. Now.
Positioning himself at the entrance of her body, he entered her with one powerful thrust.
And stopped.
God’s breath! Blood pounded in his ears and his breath sounded wholly unfamiliar. This seduction was not at all what he’d planned.
He’d bedded a virgin!
Chapter Eleven
Had it been required of him an hour ago, Nicholas would have sworn she was no innocent. Her flirting and teasing had been as expert as any courtesan’s. She had played him well. Unbelievably well.
His lust for her had been simmering since her arrival at Kirkham, and today’s frustration at the lodge had been the last straw. After leaving Sheffield’s sickbed, Nick had spent as short an interval as possible at his bath—though he’d taken extra care with shaving—in order to get back to her sooner.
His Lady Fair Page 8
