by Connie Mason
Dominic would never intentionally hurt a woman, but Rose did not have to know that. His father had never raised a hand to his mother, though ‘twas common knowledge that most men beat their wives.
“Why did you visit Mama and Starla?” Rose asked.
“To learn the truth.” He glared at her.“You are not the sister I intended to wed. I realized I had been tricked when you locked me out of your bedchamber. Your sister would have been too frightened to defy me. My intended bride is wearing the white robes of a postulant, and the woman I rejected is now my wife. How do you explain that?”
He grasped her shoulders and dragged her against him.“Did you want me for yourself? Was that why you changed places with your sister?”
Her shout of denial did naught to allay the anger gnawing at him.
“How dare you suggest such a thing! I wed you to save my sister. She could not survive being wed to a man like you.”
“And you could?” Dominic asked.
Her chin rose defiantly. “I think so. Starla is exactly where she wants to be, and I…”
His mouth hovered inches above hers.“And you, Rose? Are you where you want to be?”
“Nay, but better me than Starla or Mama.”
Dominic’s thoughts were drowned out by the frantic beating of his heart. Despite himself, the keen edge of his anger had lost its knife-like sharpness, and all he could think about was thrusting his cock inside Rose. His mouth descended on hers. Her lips were soft and warm and salty from her tears. He traced the shape with his tongue and sucked gently on her lower lip. She tried to pull away, but he would not allow it. He deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth when she opened it to protest.
He enjoyed the taste and scent of her so much that he could not bring himself to stop. His kiss turned hard, demanding, but it was not enough. He ripped the cover away from her body, and his hands found her breasts. She fit his hands perfectly; the plump mounds were firm and pert, the nipples taut. If he did not taste one rosy tip now, he would surely perish. Breaking off the kiss, he lowered his head and sucked a puckered bud into his mouth while thrusting one hand between her clenched thighs and parting her pouting nether lips.
The sudden intake of her breath made his pulse beat harder.
“My lord, nay! Do not do this to me.”
Dominic heard but did not respond. He could not stop.It seemed that all the blood in his body had collected in his groin and pounded there with burgeoning need. She felt hot and moist against his hand. His fingers moved, parted, eased inside her. He felt her stiffen, heard her sobbing. He groaned, wildly eager to thrust himself into her heated center. Her sobbing grew louder, and he lifted his head and stared into her eyes. He did not like what he saw there.
Tears spilled from their glittering depths and coursed down her cheeks. Her face was pale, and she was shaking. Was she afraid of him? No woman had ever been frightened of him. Men feared him, and rightly so, but women were different. He liked most of them, pleased all he had bedded, and they in turn vied for his attention. Taking a woman too frightened to respond did not appeal to him. He removed his hand from between Rose’s legs and held her away from him.
“Why are you frightened? I know you are a virgin and I promise to be gentle. I am not a selfish lover, Rose. I give pleasure as well as receive it.”
“Give it to your mistress. I want it not.”
“My mistress is in London,” Dominic said harshly. “Perhaps I should bring her to Dragonwyck to give me that which you deny me.”
Dominic saw a flash of anger in her eyes and decided he could tolerate anger better than tears.
“Bring your mistress into my home, my lord, and I promise to make your life miserable,” Rose responded.
Dominic’s first inclination was to return her hostility with angry words, but instead he smiled. He did not doubt for one moment that Rose was fully capable of making him miserable in ways he could not even imagine. And for some unexplained reason, he would rather expend his energy taming his wild Rose than wallowing in the arms of his mistress.
“Go away, Lord Dragon,” Rose insisted. “I need time to come to terms with the death of my father and our hasty marriage.”
“How long, Rose?” Dominic demanded. “Will you ever come to terms with our marriage? I need an heir to assure the succession of Dragonwyck. You used trickery to become my wife; now act like one.”
“I did not wed you because I wanted you,” Rose retorted.
“Few women have the luxury of choosing their husbands. Most husbands and wives meet for the first time at the altar. Why should you be any different?”
Rose sat up and pulled the bed covering up to her chin. “You do not want me any more than I want you. You said so yourself.”
Dominic made a dismissive motion with his hand. “What is done is done. Besides,” he said, reaching beneath the covers to caress her breast,” ‘tis my duty to consummate this marriage.”
“Not tonight,” Rose persisted, shoving his hand away. “Mayhap not ever.”
Dominic rolled away from her and landed on his feet.“Have it your way, lady. You are right. You are not the woman I want. The woman I want resides in London. I have never had to force a woman and do not intend to start now. But one day, I vow I will have you beneath me, and though it will be an effort to make my cock rise to the occasion, I will do my best to do my duty by you.”
Turning on his heel, he stormed from the chamber.
* * *
The relief Rose felt was not nearly as powerful as another emotion raging through her. The merciless Lord. Dragon had torn her pride to shreds. Obviously, he could stand her no more than she could tolerate him. There was only one reason he would condescend to consummate their marriage—to keep Dragonwyck and to get an heir. What really galled her was the knowledge that he would be thinking of another woman while bedding her.
She touched her lips. His kisses had seemed genuine enough, but a man with Dragon’s experience could charm a woman into believing anything. Nay, Dragon wanted her not; he had made that abundantly clear.
Dominic’s angry steps carried him back to the great hall. How could he let the termagant get under his skin? Why should he desire a woman who wanted naught to do with him? He had been tricked into wedding a woman whose disposition was as sour as bitter wine. Few men would tolerate a sharp-tongued wife. Rose deserved a good beating, but despite his reputation as a fierce warrior, Dominic had little inclination to administer it.
He sprawled in his chair and watched the flames turn to ashes in the hearth. The chamber was growing cold, and Dominic spit out a curse. What was he doing down here when a warm bed awaited him in the solar? He had no intention of spending another night sleeping in a chair before a dying fire. Only a fool or a coward would let his lawful wife ban him from his rightful place in her bed. His anger returned with a vengeance.
Had the servants been present to see the ferocious scowl on Dominic’s face when he shoved himself to his feet and strode from the hall, they would have avoided him at all cost.
A muscle flexed in Dominic’s jaw as he marched resolutely toward the solar and burst into the sitting room. A half dozen long strides took him to the bedchamber door. He flung it open and stepped inside. The candle he had lit earlier had burned down to a stub, but he saw the bed and Rose’s outline beneath the covers clearly enough. Without breaking stride, he approached the bed.
Rose was sleeping; she did not move despite the fact that he made little effort to be quiet. For one unsettling moment he wondered if she had cried herself to sleep. It should not matter to him, but for some unexplained reason it did. He was not completely lacking in compassion. He would feel just as Rose did if the king had executed his father. Too bad Lord Edwyn had not thought of his family when he committed treason.
Dominic began shedding his clothing, tossing his tunic, hose, braies and boots carelessly aside. Then he raised a comer of the covers and slid into bed beside Rose. The ropes protested the extra weight, but R
ose did not stir when he took her into his arms. Warmth surrounded him. An irresistible aura of clean, sweet-smelling innocence enveloped him. His arms tightened. He could not remember feeling this possessive of anyone… including Veronica.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Veronica had aroused him to extraordinary passion and satisfied him sexually, but not once had he felt possessive of her.
It had to be his new demesne that gave him the sense of tranquility and possessiveness, he decided scant moments before sleep claimed him.It most certainly had naught to do with his belligerent wife. Rose had more thorns than the flower for which she was named.
Chapter Four
You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.
—Ziggy
Rose burrowed her body into the warmth at her back, unwilling to abandon the coziness of the bed yet, or even open her eyes. She sighed and wriggled closer to the solid heat behind her. Nothing was more satisfying than a warm bed on a cold day.
Rose had nearly dozed off again when a thought suddenly occurred to her and her eyes flew open. The heat at her back was too substantial, and something hard and foreign was pressing against her bottom. And suddenly she knew—she KNEW! She turned her head, saw Dragon lying beside her and tried to scramble away, but it was not to be. He grasped her about the waist and pulled her back into the cradle of his body.
“Where are you going, wife?”
Rose swallowed audibly.“What are you doing in my bed?” Her voice was hoarse from crying, and she hardly recognized the croaking sounds that came from her throat.
“This is where I belong.” His hand slid upward to cup a firm breast.
“Do not touch me!”
” Tis my right to do whatever J please to you.”
He trailed a hand over a curvaceous hip and flattened it against her taut stomach. Rose sucked in a startled breath when that same hand inched downward into the thatch of gold fleece crowning the juncture of her thighs.
Rose was not prepared for this. She knew Dragon had a legal right to claim her body, but she was not ready to surrender to the obnoxious blackguard. Unfortunately, her body turned traitor when he rolled her over to face him and forced her against his swollen sex. Heat crept through her veins and pooled in embarrassing places. Her breasts felt swollen and her nipples ached.
Then he kissed her, using his tongue in a way that made Rose feel things utterly foreign to her. He was nude. She was nude. Their bodies were all but glued together, and she felt his man part prodding ruthlessly against the secret place between her thighs. Why was her body reacting so powerfully to a man she did not and never would like? When he thrust his hand between her legs and tried to insert his fingers inside her, she reacted spontaneously. Gathering her strength, she rolled away so abruptly she caught Dominic off guard.
“Dammit! What are you doing?”
“Duty calls. My day begins at dawn.”
Dominic’s face hardened. “Your duty is to your husband.”
Rose sent him a defiant look. “My duty is to Ayrdale and its people.”
“You mean Dragonwyck, do you not?”
Rose wrinkled her nose. “Aye, Dragonwyck, if it pleases you. Turn your head, Lord Dragon, so that I may rise and dress.”
Dominic’s dark brows rose as he linked his hands behind his head and raked his gaze over her. “Go ahead, wife. Watching you dress gives me pleasure. But,” he added sternly, “my patience will stretch only so far. I would have already bedded your sister had you not interfered. The least you can do is accept the consequences of your hoax. You are extremely fortunate, Rose, that I did not beat you.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I prefer a beating to what you want to do to me.”
“Do not tempt me,” Dominic bit out. “Rest assured that what I have in mind will be much more pleasurable than a beating.”
He reached for her, but she deftly eluded him. She inched out of bed, trying to drag the linen sheet with her, but Dominic would not release his hold. Her body flushed red from embarrassment and anger, Rose rolled out of bed and reached for her shift.
Dominic watched through lowered lids as Rose fumbled with her clothing. He had awakened before her this morning and watched her sleep. With her golden hair spread out on the pillow and a fetching half-smile on her face, she looked like an angel instead of the prickly harridan he knew her to be. It had taken considerable willpower to keep from pulling her beneath him and taking her virginity before she awakened.
When she’d burrowed her bottom against his loins, his cock had stiffened and he’d sought to arouse her so that she would want him in the same way he wanted her. But Rose was either too stubborn or too frightened to let him pleasure her. How long did she think she could deny him? He did not want to force her, but his patience was wearing thin.
Dominic’s dark eyes glittered with renewed desire as he watched Rose struggle into her shift. Her breasts were magnificent, high and firm and just the right size to fit his rather large hands. He had already taken measure of her tiny waist and gently rounded hips, but this was the first time he had glimpsed what his hands had discovered, and he wasn’t disappointed.
Dominic groaned aloud when her shift slid into place, hiding her considerable charms from his avid gaze. He had half a notion to leap from bed and pull her beneath him before she finished dressing, and he might have done so had he not been interrupted by a knock at the door.
Rose scrambled into her tunic, adjusted it about her body and looked askance at Dominic. “Go ahead and open it,” Dominic said. ” Tis probably Raj. He is the only one brave enough to invade the Dragon’s lair.”
Rose opened the door. Raj stepped inside and peered around her at Dominic. “Is the master ready to rise? Petitioners from the villages have gathered in the inner bailey, waiting for you to begin the manor court. Their old lord has been gone a long time, and they want their new lord to rule on their grievances and mete out punishment.”
Dominic rose from bed with easy grace, his powerful muscles rippling beneath the skin of his nude body as he reached for his clothing. Rose took one look at him and ran out the door.
“What did you do to frighten your new wife?” Raj asked with a hint of amusement.
“Not what I’d like to do to her, my friend,” Dominic retorted. “She’s as skittish as a newborn colt.”
Raj looked at him in astonishment. “You left her untouched?”
“You ask too many questions,” Dominic said with ill-disguised rancor.
A chuckle rumbled from Raj’s massive chest. “I have never known a lady you could not charm into your bed.”
” Tis obvious you have never known a woman of Rose’s ilk. She is no Veronica.”
“Mayhap one day you will be glad she is not,” Raj observed.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You know I planned to marry Veronica.”
Raj assumed a subservient demeanor that fooled no one, least of all Dominic.“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, master. Shall I inform the petitioners that you will hold court after you have broken your fast?”
Dominic waved Raj away. “Aye, I will hear their petitions. Tis my duty as their new lord. Tell the steward to fetch his quill and ink to record my rulings.”
Dominic washed and dressed, momentarily forgetting the vassals waiting for him below. His head spun with thoughts of Rose. Her soft breasts, her slim figure, the lush curve of her lips, the tight furrow between her legs he hoped to plow very soon. His cock jerked in response to his erotic imaginings, and he quickly stifled the excitement bubbling up inside him. It would not do for the people of Dragonwyck to see the Dragon Lord lusting after his own wife.
Rose was nowhere about as Dominic broke his fast, so he joined a group of knights at one of the trestle tables and was soon caught up in their conversation. After Dominic had eaten, Braden, the steward, joined him with a fresh supply of parchment, sharpened quills and ink. While Dominic presided over the manor court, Braden was to r
ecord the resolution of the cases. Before he began the court, Dominic asked Raj to summon Rose. She appeared a few minutes later, obviously surprised by the summons.
“You sent for me, my lord?” she asked curtly.
“Aye. You are lady of the manor and should sit beside me during the manor court. You know your people better than I and may be of some help in resolving the cases.”
Dominic seated Rose, then settled himself in the ornately carved lord’s chair beside her. The doors were opened, and a crowd of petitioners and their witnesses flowed into the great hall. One by one the vassals presented their cases. Dominic fined a man who stole his neighbor’s pig, ordered another to marry a young woman who was expecting his child and negotiated a peaceful settlement between two freemen feuding over a land boundary. And so the morning went.
Rose listened with growing amazement as Dragon handled the minor and major infractions with a fairness and finesse she could scarcely credit. Not even her father could have done so well. But that did not mean she approved of Dragon. No indeed, there was very little Dragon could do to make her like him or convince her to let him bed her. He was the king’s man, and the king had killed her father.
“What think you, my lady?” Dominic said, pulling Rose from her silent musings.
“About what, my lord?”
“Were you not listening? One of our villeins begs permission to wed a freeman’s daughter. As you know, such unions are frowned upon.”
“Do you love one another?” Rose asked the couple standing before them.
The woman, no more than a girl really, nodded shyly, but the man said loudly, “Aye, my lady.”
“What think you, my lady?” Dominic asked Rose. “If I allow them to wed, the freeman’s daughter will lose her status.”
“Your name is Vella, is it not?“Rose asked the girl.
“Aye, my lady.”
