Eden had explored her body on her own, touching herself as he’d touched her but it wasn’t the same. It had taught her something about her passions, but though she could find pleasure with her own hand, it was nothing like the pleasure she felt with him inside her. She wiggled around, keeping him deep, wishing his finger was back inside her ass.
Her wet hair stuck to her back. The heavy weight pulled her head so her breasts thrust forward toward his face. Vladamir caught a ripened nipple between his teeth as he continued to slide within her. His hands guided her by the small of her back, lifting in agonizing slowness only to plunge within her again and again, hard and deep, confident and strong.
“Please.” Eden writhed and moaned against the onslaught of his passionate mouth. She bucked her hips brazenly against him, wanting him deeper, wanting his thrusts to become faster. “I want more.”
Vladamir growled in response to her pleading. Again, he licked her nipple, taking a large part of the engorged breast into his mouth to suckle. With his shaft still embedded inside her, he walked them toward the shore. He knelt down by the water’s edge, laying her gently on the yielding soil. Her back sank into the damp earth as his weight pressed into her. Their legs still trailed in the water. He let her breast escape his mouth so that he could press his lips to hers.
“Ah, yea, this is better,” she said, spreading her legs.
The duke took her moans and pants into himself as he moved his shaft once again in the slickness of her body. Eden jolted and thrashed against him in a mindless web of ecstasy, her center hot for him as he pushed into her core. He pulled back, lifting his weight with his arms. His hands sank into the mud before he reached to pull Eden from the shore to straddle his lap.
Mud caked her back and hair, causing her to moan in the exotic pleasure of it. Vladamir’s hands ran over her body, trailing the mud over her pale neck and breasts, over her erect nipples. He crushed her muddied body to his, letting the moistened earth glide between them as she rode him in hard strokes.
She thought her body would explode with the intensity of it. Then she did explode, yelling the pinnacle of her desires as her body racked above him in waves of pleasure. Vladamir’s grunt soon joined hers, his face tightening as he reached around his thighs to her ass. Somehow, he stopped himself from releasing with her.
“Ah, that’s it,” he told her. “Come for me good.”
The shivers continued for what seemed like an eternity. She gasped for breath. “What about you?”
“I told you.” He grinned, a truly wicked look. He pulled her off of him. “I want to take your tight ass.”
Eden was too overtaken with the aftermath of her pleasure to protest.
“On your hands and knees.”
“Should we wash off first?”
“Mm, nay, I want you just like this.” He maneuvered her body around until she was on her hands and knees before him. Water splashed as he rubbed the dirt from her ass cheeks, cleaning her somewhat. Then she felt the probe of his hard cock head moving up and down along the sensitive cleft. “Try to relax for me. Oh, yea, you’re so beautiful like this. I’m just going to ease it in. That’s right, take me.”
Eden relaxed her muscles, curious about what he wanted to do to her. She’d never heard of anything like this, but as his cock slipped past the boundary, dipping around the edge of the rosette, she didn’t care. Sinful or not, she was going to let him have his way with her.
Vladamir groaned in pleasure, letting her hear how much he liked it. He pried her open, slipping deeper with each pass. Reaching around, he stimulated her clit, rubbing it in small circles.
“By all the gods, you’re tight.” Groaning, he thrust all the way in, seating himself to the balls. Eden gasped, torn between surprise and passion. He moved slowly, taking shallow thrusts as he stayed deep. “That’s it. Just like that. Oh, yea, come for me again. I can’t hold back much longer.”
They came in unison, both trembling and panting wildly. Vladamir pulled out and she felt hot seed pouring over her backside. He rubbed it into her, groaning. She’d never felt so alive and so drained at the same time. Her limbs sung with the sweet, melodious tingling of her body and she fell forward to rest on her stomach. She never wanted this day to end.
As he withdrew from her, her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out. She turned to look at him, silently begging for his approval, a tender word. Her body was covered with wet, clinging earth.
“We should rinse, m’lady. I’d see my daughter this day,” Vladamir said quietly. Somehow she knew he couldn’t comfort her the way she wanted him to, that he didn’t know how to form the words she needed to hear. He set her on the ground and took her hand to lead her back into the deeper water.
Eden followed him, longing to say what she felt in her heart, but his eyes had been cautiously devoid of emotion. She watched the rippling muscles of his back with longing as he moved away from her to sink under the water. As he swam, she quickly rinsed the mud from her body. Then, when she turned and didn’t see him, she ran ashore and quickly drew on her chemise and tunic gown. Pulling her hair from the back of her tunic, she watched him come from the water.
She felt a curling sensation in her lower stomach. Soft, black hair curled over his healthy legs. His chest sparkled with the droplets of water that beaded on his skin. Her eyes drew to his member of their own accord. It lay limp, nestled in the soft hair between his legs. Eden gasped and hurriedly turned from him.
Behind her, Vladamir chuckled softly. She glanced once over her shoulder, seeing that he quickly pulled on his clothing. When she heard him move, she finally turned. His feet were bare and he carried his muddied shoes.
“Ready?” he inquired.
She nodded her head. “Yea. Gwendolyn is sleeping. She was really quite tired from her journey. Methinks you shouldn’t wake her yet.”
Vladamir nodded his agreement.
Eden frowned when she saw that the duke had laced his tunic again to his neck. Without thought, she reached up to tug delicately at the laces. A smile passed over her lips as she said, “You look so severe when you do that.”
Vladamir let her attend to his garment, watching her carefully. Pulling the laces out of their top holes, she let the neck of his tunic fall open. Then smoothing the damp material over his chest with a pat of her fingers, she said, “There, ‘tis better. You’re so handsome, you shouldn’t hide…”
Eden’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, realizing all that she revealed. Vladamir shaded his gaze from her by lowering his lashes, revealing nothing as he studied her face. Thus far theirs wasn’t a relationship of such candid honesty when it came to emotions. With a small sound of diversion in the back of her throat, she sighed and turned her face from him. There was nothing else she could say to him without him speaking first. Slowly, she began walking to the door. Finding that it was still open, she moved inside, not knowing whether he followed.
Vladamir watched Eden walk away. He supposed being a woman she knew more about children than he did. Vladamir wanted to see his daughter but would wait until the child rested. He’d missed his daughter and regretted the welcome he’d given her. But Gwendolyn was tough and would be all right.
Eden didn’t turn to look at him but Vladamir watched her every move until she disappeared into the tunnel leading back to the courtyard. His wife was a very beautiful woman. The long length of her athletic legs, the smooth skin of her perfect ass, her slender hips and waist, they all drove him mad with need. He was grateful the cool water had held back his desire just enough to slow him, lest he again act the monster when he took her.
It amazed him that Eden could act so passionately in his arms with such instinctive purity—letting him do things most Saxons thought a sin. Suppressing a groan, he thought the Saxons foolish. If he denied himself her tight ass, it would be agony. His eyes strayed down to his cock. He would definitely be doing that again. Good thing she seemed willing to have him in her bed. He wasn’t sure he could control himself
anymore around her—not after sampling all her body had to offer.
The duke wondered if he would ever get his fill of her. Moving to follow Eden from the secret alcove, he sighed not wanting to go back to reality. If he had his say, he’d spend the afternoon in her arms, thinking of nothing, talking of nothing, and doing many sordid things.
Chapter Thirteen
The bailey was abnormally quiet as the penned animals lounged lazily in the warmth of the afternoon. Even the dogs appeared to yawn, basking in idle contentment. The sun was directly overhead in the clear blue sky and a lone knight marched the wall, stopping to watch the camped army in the distance before continuing along the battlement to his post.
The hours had passed slowly since their lovemaking, but Eden’s body still sang with the excitement of her husband’s touch. Shivering anew, she hadn’t begun to comprehend how much she’d missed him until finally she was in his arms. Although she realized that the duke artfully avoided answering many of her questions.
Stretching her arms above her head, she sighed. Her gown had finally dried, but she still felt the lake’s dampness in her hair. Every time a strong breeze blew, she trembled at the coolness of it. After leaving Vladamir alone at the lake, she’d gone to his chamber to straighten her clothing and prepare for the rest of the day. She was glad she did so, for a telltale trail of dirt smudged across her face.
She looked at the castle gate and took a deep breath, smelling the smoke from the bonfires of the surrounding soldiers. Gwendolyn slept abovestairs, not surprisingly since the child had been through a good deal. Eden had checked in on the girl.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lizbeth coming from the entrance to the main hall. The tingling drained from her limbs to be replaced by concern. Her stomach ached as she witnessed the maid’s tightly drawn face. The servant spotted her immediately and hurried her approach. Eden ignored the main gate as she walked to meet the serving woman.
“Raulf?” Eden asked when she was within speaking distance.
Tears streamed down the woman’s face. “That monster tried to kill him. Why, m’lady?”
“Lizbeth, I know not why.” Eden took the servant girl under her arm and led her back toward the manor. “Tell me, how is Raulf?”
“He’ll live but I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid. Raulf is very furious. I have never seen him so angry.”
“Lizbeth, listen to me,” Eden said, dropping her arm. Her heart went first to her husband in worry although she’d seen his guilt firsthand. “You must convince Raulf not to do aught to the duke. It won’t end well for him. The duke is a very powerful man.”
“You mean monster,” Lizbeth interjected. “How can you now deny that he is aught but? How can you after what you have seen?”
“Because, I must have hope that he is an ordinary man,” Eden said quietly. “For me you must try and believe it also.”
“But why, m’lady? Why would you defend him even now?” Lizbeth looked at her in wonder before shaking her head in awe. “You have no reason…”
Eden couldn’t answer as she looked at the serving woman with all the tortured love in her heart. Lizbeth sensed the answer immediately, appearing horrified.
“When?” Lizbeth asked in pity. “How long have you known?”
“Part of me has always loved him, Lizbeth, even when I’m frightened by him.” Eden sighed. She tried to smile bravely but failed. Then, taking the woman by the hand, she once again turned to the main hall. “Speak with Raulf as my friend. Do it for me.”
Lizbeth didn’t answer as a fresh wave of tears assaulted her. Eden knew she understood well the pain the heart could bring but unlike her mistress Lizbeth’s love was returned freely. Finally, as they approached the shadowed black wall of the castle, the maidservant nodded in agreement.
“Thank you.” Eden breathed a sigh of relief. It was up to them as women to keep their men safe, even if that meant keeping them safe from themselves. “I want you to go tell Raulf that his lordship has all but admitted he’s regretful over what has transpired between them this day in the garden, and though we don’t know the true reason for it, methinks the duke made a mis—mistake.”
Eden gasped, breathing hard as an unexpected cramp tightened her midsection. The dull pain worked through her stomach and down her leg.
“M’lady, what is it?” Lizbeth asked with a puzzled frown. She led the noblewoman to the stone wall of the castle.
“‘Tis naught.” Eden took several deep breaths. “Methinks I need rest. It has been a long day and I’ve been overtired as of late. There has just been too much to think about.”
“M’lady, you don’t look well. Mayhap, I should get someone. Haldana?” Lizbeth urged Eden inside to a bench as she spoke.
“Yea, mayhap you should,” Eden agreed. Another peculiar pain entered her side. This one wasn’t as bad as the first but did cause her discomfort. Worried, she looked at Lizbeth. “I may be a bit ill. I haven’t been sleeping well.”
The woman gave a nod of concern and was off. Instead of sitting, Eden made her way to the stairs. She wanted the comfort of her own bed and wondered if somehow Vladamir’s rough lovemaking had anything to do with the cramps.
Nay, something so pleasurable couldn’t do this.
She made her way abovestairs to her bedchamber. “I don’t have time for illness now.”
* * * * *
“You’re with child,” the stout midwife announced, wiping her bony hands on her apron and turned to Lady Eden. Lizbeth sat by the duchess, dabbing her forehead with a cool cloth.
Both women gasped in unison at the discovery staring first at each other and then at the midwife. Eden jerked up from the bed. Lizbeth dropped the cloth. They were the only three in the chamber. Haldana had been there moments before but left to get Eden some broth.
“With child? You’re certain?” Eden questioned in amazement. A slow smile crept into her features at the thought.
A baby? My prayers have been answered. Now, his majesty cannot annul the marriage. He’ll have to let it stand and father won’t want to be a grandfather to a bastard. With Luther dead, there is no one else to have me. We have done it.
“Yea, m’lady,” the midwife answered with a curt nod. She busied herself putting her herbs and cloths into a basket. “Very certain.”
Eden’s heart pounded as her mind tried to accept the news. She looked about the bedchamber in a daze.
“M’lady,” Lizbeth leaned over to whisper in Eden’s ear. “You’re free of him.”
“What?” Eden gasped in shock. When she moved, some of her hair fell over her face. Lizbeth gently pushed the locks back. “Free?”
“Yea, m’lady,” Lizbeth replied. “Now that you carry his babe you can convince him to leave you be. Most noblemen don’t couple with their wives when they are with child, and after, you can claim any number of illnesses. You never have to touch him again. You’ll be free of him.”
Eden felt her smile slip from her features.
Never touch him again? Never feel the taut play of his skin? Never smell his smell? But why would I want that?
“You cannot tell so early,” Eden protested weakly to the midwife. She raised her voice so that the elderly woman was once again forced into conversation.
“M’lady, I can tell. These hands have birthed nigh a thousand children.” To prove her point she raised her thin wrinkled hands. “‘Tis early in yer time, but ‘tis yer time. The babe will come with the spring.”
Eden turned to Lizbeth and asked, “But what if he beds me anyway? Will it hurt the babe?”
“Nay, but if he beds you anyway, then you’ll know that he is a monster.” Lizbeth lowered her voice to an ominous hush and shook her head. “Then yer heart will be yer own again. The spell will be broken.”
But I don’t want my heart back. It would be dead to come back to me now.
Eden shook at the venom in the servant’s words but even so a sweet hesitant relief overcame her.
Then he won’t
know about the child. We won’t tell him. Not yet. There is no need for him to know. I just want a little time with him.
“I don’t want anyone knowing about the babe,” Eden said with a pointed look to the midwife. “I won’t chance someone harming Lord Kessen by hurting the child I carry. No one will know until the siege is over and then only when I make the announcement. Are we clear?”
The midwife shrugged her shoulder, showing no interest in the statement. Lizbeth’s mouth dropped open to protest.
Eden held up her hand with a confidence she didn’t feel. “I have a stomach illness that is all. That is what you’ll tell anyone who asks, even his lordship. Am I understood?”
“But,” Lizbeth tried again. Her brow marred with a confused frown.
“Nay, I’m afraid what his lordship will do if he hears of it from any but me. I’m afraid he’ll harm not only me but the messenger as well. We have seen what he’s capable of.” Eden ignored the pang of guilt as she once again used her husband’s reputation to get her own way. She made a silent vow to never do so again.
“Yea,” Lizbeth said, not liking the decree and definitely not understanding the reasoning for it.
Eden turned to the midwife who reluctantly nodded. Eden was sure that the woman didn’t care when she told the world of her condition. The world would see it for itself soon enough. The midwife gathered her basket in the crook of her arm and curtsied halfheartedly before leaving the chamber.
When she was gone, Eden turned seriously to Lizbeth. “I have your promise?”
“Yea,” Lizbeth consented. “I’ll tell no one.”
Maiden and the Monster Page 27
