by Kari Miller
Knowing that the clock was ticking, she quickly wet a cloth and lathered it up with soap to give herself a quick wipe down. Choosing a misty pink ensemble that held delicate white roses woven into the material, the square bosom revealed too much cleavage for her taste but couldn’t be helped. Her under garments weren’t the traditional white cottons that she was accustomed to. He had chosen rustic pinks and yellows and gold silks. She wondered why he had not supplied her with a corset, but would not complain; truthfully she found them restricting and uncomfortable. Next she tried to pin up her hair, but failed miserably. She did not have enough pins to hold up her heavy chestnut mane so instead opted to brush and pin back her bangs, then allow her hair to remain down. She knew it was not proper for a lady to wear her hair in such a scandalous manner, but to hell with proprietary, the ton had shunned her when they caught their first whiff of financial set backs and for that she never wanted to associate with such vultures of society again. She was who she was and the rest be damned, including Lord Salvador.
She tried relaying her anger to him again when she had woken, but he was back to his frustratingly calm self. She could have sworn she read amusement cross his features when she tried to lay into him. He was infuriating! Was there even a point to argue with him? She almost expected him to pat her on her head and say something like “yes dear…that’s nice now run along and play” or “I’m sorry I upset you kitten, allow me to make it up to you by attempting to look guilty”.
She huffed at that last thought. Kitten, sweet Lord he knew how to press her buttons. Kittens are cute and cuddly, she however was not and resented that he thought of her as such whenever she was on the verge of wanting to scratch his eyes out.
What the worst part was, when she initially awoke from her slumber, she felt his velvety voice wrap around her, making her skin tingle in response. She had eventually reminded herself that the velvety voice belonged to Lord Salvador, the man who had stolen her freedom from her, and then quickly had to hide her response to his handsome features before lashing out on him. The devil was a handsome man that could seduce her just with his voice; she had to be careful with this one. Men had always been easy for her to side step and ignore, but Lord Salvador was a presence of power that demanded recognition. What hurt was that if she had to be married, she wanted there to be love in her marriage, but Lord Salvador was a difficult man. She could try to make it work and was sure that once she was over the initial shock and resentment, she would try because if she was anything, it would be practical, but she didn’t have high hopes. It also didn’t help that she was physically attracted to the man.
~
When Salvador entered the room, his breath left his lungs and perhaps he felt a little light headed at the sight before him. Katherine was just putting her brush down on the table when she had swung around to meet his surprised face. She was remarkable and he was quite sure he had never desired any woman as much as he had her at that very moment. The rustic pink of her dress set off a beautiful golden hue on her delicate skin. Her natural curves beckoned him to take a step forward, before halting himself at the warning gaze she set upon him.
“Judging by your stunned silence, I assume I meet your approval” She bit out with an edge of sarcasm.
He quickly gathered his wits and threw her a lazy grin. She couldn’t know that even in her old tattered clothes she had surpassed his approval; the sight of her now was beyond words.
“I suppose you will do” he bantered back to her with a twinkle in his eyes.
She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before turning her back to him and making her way to the seating area.
He stalked her slowly while drinking in her beauty and then sat himself directly across from her.
“Have you thought of any new lectures since my last visit with you, my dear?” He threw out as a conversation starter, knowing it was the perfect lead into what he knew he could not put off any longer.
She narrowed her eyes at him as a slight flush spread its way across her cheeks.
“Have any of my previous lectures struck any sense of reason into that thick head of yours as of yet?”
His grin grew wider.
“I reckon my senses are too thick to be penetrated by this reason that you speak of.”
He found he enjoyed teasing her. He even saw her lips twitch at his banter and looked forward to the day when she would naturally join in.
“Then I suppose any further lecturing would be nothing more than a wasted truth to deaf ears. So no, I believe you are safe from my lectures tonight.”
She looked annoyed, but she also looked as though she was having her own internal battle, and he could have sworn she was hiding a smirk of her own.
“Well, that’s a relief. I’m not sure how I would survive the lectures of holy matrimony from our priest and then have to endure the lectures of morality from my wife all within this very night!” he poked out to her, grinning from ear to ear when her face paled once his words sunk in.
“Tonight?” She squeaked as her hand flew to her throat.
He almost felt sorry for her - almost.
At that point there was a knock on the door.
“Tonight.” He replied as he stood up to let the Priest, Henry and the Inn Keeper into their room.
As he shook hands with the men entering the room, he kept a close eye on his bride to be. She had gone from confused, to surprised, to fearful, to utter denial as she sat there closing her eyes and shaking her head, a cute habit that she had when she felt as though she was being cornered - which in all truth she was.
“Come Love; let me introduce you to Father O’Donnell.”
Being the well bred lady that she was, he knew that proprietary would win out over nerves. He had shown her the legal document that bound her to him and knew by her shaky nod of acceptance to the document that she would honour it.
When she stood, he heard the distinct sound of Henry’s sharp intake of breath. He quickly glanced over to his steward and scowled at him before returning his attention to his reluctant bride. She really was breathtaking and knew that if he was going to retain his wits throughout this marriage, he would need to either accept that men were bound to ogle her, or simply lock her up in the highest tower and covet her to himself. At this very moment the construction plans of a tower were being hastily added to his mental list of things to do.
When Katherine approached, she gave a polite curtsey to the priest as he gave the introductions. He explained to her that Henry and Rolland - The Inn Keeper - were to be their witnesses. She still appeared pale and he could tell that she was struggling to keep herself together. It amused him though that she wasn’t trying to keep from swooning or holding back tears of woe, but instead holding back her temper. He saw the flames in her eyes as she graced him with a quick glance before turning her attention back to the priest.
“Shall we proceed?” He pushed as he led the small wedding party towards the sitting area.
He took Katherine’s hand and placed it on his arm, tucking her into his side in front of the fireplace where the priest opened his bible and started the ceremony. He was pleased that he didn’t need to threaten bodily harm on her to make her cooperate, and when he produced his ring, he felt a triumphant victory as he slid the diamond onto her unstable finger and then tucked her back into his side once again. She leaned heavily into him and he knew that she was using his strength to hold herself up, that was his first duty as her husband and vowed he would not let her crumble to the ground. When they were finally declared man and wife, he turned her to him and brushed his lips against hers ever so delicately as to not scare her into a panic.
He had rented his small group a private seating area and kept the wine flowing during their wedding dinner. He noted that Katherine was quiet and drinking a tad more than he would have liked her to. When her third glass of wine had run dry, he decided it was a good time to bid the party a good evening and take his bride to where he wanted her most.
~
>
As Salvador led her up the stairs, she felt her legs starting to shake and her knees turning to jelly. The wine had helped her nerves while at the super table, but now she felt strangely sober as though he had doused her with a cold bucket of water. She was still trying to get over the thought of his first announcement that she was to wed him that evening, more or less register that she was now married and on her way to the marriage bed. She knew that he had done this purposely and swore that she would get even with him. In a way it did make the wedding ceremony easier because she really didn’t have time to fret over it, but it was the mere principle that irked her. She wanted to be involved in decisions that affected her life and Salvador was quickly proving that her decisions were now his.
He gently nudged her into their room and locked the door behind him. At the click of the lock she suddenly froze. Her present reality was catching up to her, like a tidal wave storming an unsuspecting town. Salvador walked past her and poured them both a shot of whiskey. She saw him looking at her in a calculating manner, probably trying to gage her current state to determine his best plan of attack. So far he had been winning all of the battles and judging by the lustful looks he had been giving her all evening, she was certainly not going to be declared the winner this very night.
“Drink this” he said calmly as he handed her the glass of whiskey.
She didn’t particularly want to accept anything he had to offer her, but knew that the whiskey would certainly help her nerves and was grateful for it.
He took a long swig of his own drink and placed the glass on the desk before returning his attention back to her. She couldn’t help but blush when she noted the dark lust in his eyes and quickly turned away. She still hadn’t moved from the spot that she stopped at in the middle of the room and felt in a way that if she could just remain in that spot for the remainder of the evening, she would somehow make it through this night. Of course that foolish train of thought was shattered as he slowly started to prowl his way over to her while loosening his cravat. When he reached her, he simply took her by the shoulders and spun her around so her back was to him. She stopped breathing as he slowly unfastened her buttons and slipped the dress over her shoulders, before tugging it off completely. Wearing nothing but her petticoats and under clothes, she felt overly exposed. When she felt him grasp the hem of her petticoat bodice and start to pull it upwards, she quickly came to life and grabbed at his hands to stop him.
“No kitten. Tonight you will not fight me.” He declared as he continued to pull her petticoat over her head.
When he tossed the thin piece of material to the floor beside her and stripped her of the skirt, she felt the sudden urge to run. Her muscles tensed and she stepped forward, but he was quicker and easily scooped her up into his arms and gently placed her on the bed.
“Please don’t do this!” She cried out as his eyes raked over her nearly nude body.
When his eyes met hers again she could see his resolve.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and proceeded to remove his boots. Slipping his shirt over his head to reveal a wall of muscles that flexed and strained under his tanned skin, he continued to remove his clothing.
She was mesmerized by the power and beauty in this man, but still that did not ease her nerves. He leaned over and turned off the lantern leaving nothing but the soft glow and dancing shadows of the fire to play across their skin.
~
Turning his attention back to her, he fought the urge to pounce and claim her as a wild animal would claim its mate. He had to keep reminding himself that she was a virgin and probably more frightened at this moment then she had been in a long time. He needed to prove to her that he wasn’t the brute that she thought him to be and from tonight on would do everything in his power to win her trust.
He would go slowly with her tonight. By the time he claimed her, she would be a fiery body of passion eager for his touch.
He slowly laid himself beside her and scooped her into his side, holding her to him.
He heard her quick intake of breath and noted she wasn’t letting it go, he almost laughed out loud.
“Tell me about the time you spent over the past two years at the cottage” he prompted, hoping to get her talking to distract her enough to start his slow seduction.
She let out her breath but remained silent.
“Please?” he prompted her, grateful that she was now breathing again.
“What do you want to know?” She asked reluctantly which made him smile.
“Did you have help?”
“No. I couldn’t let anyone know what I had been planning. When my Father passed away I just knew that I couldn’t dwell, so I quickly removed myself from my old life and started a new one.”
“You were alone the whole time?”
“Yes. The only contact I had with people was when I would attend the occasional ball, but even at those events I kept to myself.”
“That was a clever way to obtain food I must say” he commented.
He felt her stiffen; it was probably embarrassment for having to abandon her pride in order to survive.
“You did what you had to do to survive, that’s nothing to be ashamed of and had I been in your shoes, I probably would not have been so clever.” He tried to assure her.
Slowly she started to ease herself again.
“It was nice to be alone. I got used to it and truthfully after being alone for so long in such a secluded place, I am finding the company of others very over whelming.”
He thought that maybe if he went through with that tower of hers she may even favour it! He silently chuckled to himself and then returned his attention back to his mission.
“Is that a hint, my dear?” he asked in mock hurt.
“Apparently hints roll right off your back as does blatant declarations!” She shot back, but judging by her body language and a slight change in her tone, he could sense that there was humour in her statement.
“Were you not scared?” He asked.
“No. I foolishly thought that I had discarded all traces of that cabin and it was situated far enough into the forest that I never considered myself in jeopardy.”
He couldn’t help himself, He needed to touch her. He slowly started to trace patterns along her bare arm as she replied to him. He felt her stiffen once again but ignored it.
“Don’t you know that there are hunters and highway men that seek the shelter of the forest on a regular basis, Kat?” asking her to once again divert her attention.
“I suppose that’s true, but I was never approached by any.”
“Were you truly happy or did you ever find yourself wishing you had been born to a better lot in life?”
He could tell that she was thinking his question over and was encouraged by the fact that she had already relaxed herself back into him, even though he was steadily tracing patterns across her arm and hand as they spoke. He lightly kissed her shoulder as he continued to caress her while silently waited for her response. As much as his body was aching to take her, he found himself looking forward to her answers and wanting to learn how she had managed to survive on her own with absolutely no penny to her name, and still be strong and healthy.
“I’ve never been one to dwell on misfortune. When my Mother passed away and my Father took even more to the bottle, I had no time to grieve really. Looking back I can say that I felt more at peace on my own than I ever had.”
“Even when your Mother was alive?”
“Even then. She used to speak to me of what to expect growing up and tried to mould me into the perfect lady. I loved my parents and was not resentful of my life at all, but it wasn’t until I was truly alone did I realize how much of a front I was really putting up for the sake of others.”
“How so?”
“Being left to my own devices I was able to play in the creek, climb trees, read whenever and whatever I wanted to, not be restricted by fussing over myself and trying to look proper. I was finally free to live for
me.”
He slid his fingers to her navel and started to trace patterns around her belly button. Again she stiffened and he was certain he could hear her heart beat, but again he ignored it.
“So you view me as taking away those freedoms?” he asked cautiously.
“Yes. Since you showed up, everything has been about what you want without any consideration to what I want. I don’t view you as taking away my freedom but know for a fact that you are.”
“Fair enough” he replied gently as he kissed her shoulder once again.
She still hadn’t relaxed back into his hold and he felt her stomach muscles below his fingers tensing.
“Is not a part of you a little relieved at not having to scrounge for food, or not having to look forward to another winter in that drafty cottage, or even wondering what you would do once all of your clothes either didn’t fit or fell apart? Is there not some good that you can see to being removed from those specific inconveniences and placed into the arms of a devilishly handsome and very wealthy husband such as myself?” He teased – but not really.
He could not imagine that every aspect of her life alone had been bliss. As she would grow older, she would be more prone to fever during the harsh winters and it would only take once to end her short lived life. He understood the attraction to living life for just her with no pressures from society, but he didn’t believe for a second that she wanted that to be permanent.
She lightly chuckled at his humour. He felt her relax back into him as he continued to trace patterns along her stomach and around her belly button. He could feel the effect of his stroking was having on her muscles and heard the slight change in her breathing as they continued their discussion.
“You Sir are far too full of yourself” She continued to chuckle.
“You were supposed to feed my ego and eagerly agree, rather than poke fun at me” He scolded in mock pain. “I may never recover from the blow”
