She swallowed, resolute in her choice. All she had to do was find Rafael alone, and then summon the audacity to make her offer.
For Malcolm—for Avery and Catriona—she would do it.
No man would sleep within Ravensmuir’s walls this night, that much was clear. Rafael took the watch as night descended over the lands of Ravensmuir. He stood in the chamber above the entrance to the hall, that room with its windows built small apurpose, and watched the earl’s company make camp.
They did not appear to have any inclination to attack in the night.
They had tried to cut down the ends of the hedges before darkness fell and had cut down one bush at each end before being repelled by the Sable League. After they had been beaten back, those new gaps had been filled with rocks and stones. It would be challenging to ride a horse through those spaces, though Rafael expected men would invade on foot. Malcolm had set a watch on the ground and twin bonfires already burned, to ensure none crept through the space in the night.
The attacking forces had erected their tents in the fields, beyond an arrow’s range of the gatehouse. Their camp was not so far from the one that had been occupied by the masons these past months, and Rafael expected they made use of some of the same fire pits.
The night was clear with stars shining overhead and a cool breeze came from the sea. It carried the smoke from their fires inland. The horses were tethered behind the tents, and Rafael had counted them before the light completely faded. Though they would not be overly useful for the assault, given the preparations, their numbers were a good indication of how many men followed the earl.
The company at Ravensmuir was sorely outnumbered. Rafael could only hope that the experience of the Sable League gave them an advantage that numbers did not. He had conferred with Malcolm and chosen to remain upon watch alone.
Rafael knew the very moment that he was no longer the sole one in the chamber. The foot tread on the stair was sufficiently quiet to be stealthy, but he heard it all the same. He saw a figure in men’s garb from the corner of his eye, but it was one too slender to be any man he knew. Given that the earl had already had a spy in the hall, Rafael took no chances. He spun, pulled his dagger and surprised his guest.
In a heartbeat, he had one hand locked around the arrival’s throat, holding that person’s head against the wall. His other hand held the blade against the intruder’s ribs, its tip near the heart, and he pinned the individual to the wall with his hips. The intruder stilled abruptly, clearing feeling that blade, and gasped.
Only then did he note the alluring scent of his captive’s skin.
Elizabeth.
In men’s garb. Of course. Malcolm would have had the women change, so that they were not so readily identifiable at a distance.
Her pulse fluttered beneath his hand and he could see that her eyes were wide, even in the darkness. Her skin was softer than silken velvet beneath his hand, and she felt fragile. She had not cried out, though, and did not tremble in fear. She was more stalwart than he might have expected. He felt her take a breath when he lowered the knife and her breast pressed against him in a way that sent a fire of awareness through him.
It was the nature of battle to elevate all within a man to extremes. Perhaps it was the mortal danger, but even the first of preparations made appetites extreme. Rafael knew the men had eaten more than was their wont, some had drunk more, others would be sampling the whores with vigor, perhaps to prove that they were yet alive. The drive for sensation would be greater in victory, more of a fever-pitch, but even in this moment, he could have taken this beguiling maiden without a second thought.
Was she aware of the risk she took?
Rafael wanted to show her, to teach her something of men, even if it tormented him to have only a taste of her before she fled back to the solar where she belonged.
Elizabeth caught her breath and licked her lips, which did little to assist Rafael in controlling his urges. “I could not discern you here in the darkness,” she whispered.
Rafael took a deliberate step away from her, knowing it was best. He told himself that he remained close so that they could whisper to each other, though he knew that to be an excuse. His fingers were reluctant to leave the smooth skin of her throat, and she did not pull away from his touch.
Her hair was braided now, an ebony plait hanging down her back.
He sensed her trepidation and wished to reassure her, a gallant urge which seemed foreign to the man he knew himself to be. “It is better to keep the chamber dark, so they cannot see that anyone watches.”
“Surely they would assume that someone does?”
“It does not hurt to let them doubt.”
Elizabeth smiled then, the curve of her lips drawing his hungry gaze. Had she ever been kissed? “My father always said that surprise was a potent weapon.”
“And so it is.”
Her skin was soft beneath his hand, her presence alluring and feminine. He watched his fingers stroke her throat gently, just the tips touching her skin. She swallowed again, then tipped her head back, her eyes shining as she watched him.
As if she would invite more.
Rafael realized he had been long without a woman. After all, there had been none at Ravensmuir these past six months, not until the Sable League had arrived with their whores just days before.
That could be the only reasonable explanation for Elizabeth’s effect upon him. Rafael was not one to favor innocence, after all. He let his fingertips slide down her throat in a slow caress, daring to let them wander into the slit at the front of her chemise. She should have pulled away. She should have slapped his hand.
But she did not, and Rafael found himself easing closer again.
“You should be abed,” he murmured, watching how she closed her eyes. She was responsive to his touch, a discovery that he found most welcome.
“So should you be,” she countered, that unexpected mischief lighting her eyes.
“Not on this night,” he replied, watching his fingers slide around her ear. She parted her lips and tilted her head, inviting him to touch her more boldly. He was put in mind of a cat and bent closer, his lips but a finger’s breadth from her own. She smiled at him, a lazy expression that knotted his innards.
She was Malcolm’s maiden sister.
Rafael lifted his hand away abruptly.
What was this he did?
Rafael’s tone turned scolding as he stepped away from Elizabeth. “What is in your mind that you are abroad in the keep at night, alone and undefended?” he demanded. “You do not even have an eating knife.”
Elizabeth’s smile broadened, that cursed confidence making him want to teach her the price of her folly. “I was looking for you, and I knew that you would defend me well.”
“Your confidence is undeserved.” Rafael returned to the window, feeling both disgruntled and unsettled. He sheathed his dagger and stared out into the night, keenly aware that Elizabeth did not leave.
“I would make a bargain with you, Rafael,” she admitted from behind him, her words husky. That she used his name sent a jolt through him, though he was certain he misunderstood her scheme. There was no doubting the sensual promise in her tone, although Rafael doubted she was aware of it.
He knew the bargain he wanted, just as he knew it was folly to desire her.
“You have tried to make a wager with me since we met, and I have declined your invitation to die in Malcolm’s stead repeatedly.”
“But I have not offered you a reward,” Elizabeth said.
Rafael spun to consider her.
Her gaze was steady as she continued, though her words surprised him. “You said every matter is an exchange. What if I offered you a kiss to take Malcolm’s place?”
Rafael shook his head. “Then you would offer what I could take freely, whether you offered it or not.” He arched a brow. “And a kiss is a fleeting pleasure to offer a man in exchange for his life. Your price is too low.” He let his tone harden. “Return to the saf
ety of your bed, my lady, for that is where a maiden should be when the hall is full of fighting men.”
He could see Elizabeth blush, even in the darkness, and he was not truly surprised that she did not leave. Not this one. She would not abandon her purpose so readily as that. Indeed, he wanted to know what she would do.
Would she offer more than a kiss? Rafael clenched his fists, knowing the reply he desired to that question.
Elizabeth took a step closer, letting her fingertips fall upon his arm. She let her fingertips trail over him, mimicking the way he had caressed her, sliding her hand up to his shoulder. Once her fingers touched his neck, she leaned against him slightly, the curve of her breast against his chest.
She looked up and he was certain he had never seen a more alluring sight in all his days. “It is true that you could steal a kiss, but I wager it would not be so sweet as one freely offered.” Her gaze locked with his, a dare in her smile. “I believe the best kisses are those mutually savored, not those inflicted or forced.”
“But you do not know?”
Elizabeth blushed a little. “Of course not.” An impish gleam lit her eyes, tempting his smile. She slid her hand up to his ear, the feel of her fingers in his hair awakening him in a way she surely could not anticipate. “But I would like to find out.” She pursed her lips, watching her own fingers on his flesh. “Your skin feels so different from mine,” she mused and Rafael reminded himself that he had no interest in innocents.
“I thought we discussed Malcolm’s welfare.”
She smiled. “I think the best bargains have more than one objective.”
Rafael shrugged, striving to appear indifferent. “I will not trade my life for a kiss, no matter how potent it might be.”
Elizabeth nodded, unsurprised, then tilted her head to regard him. “But what of more than a kiss?” she asked in a whisper, and he was certain he had heard her incorrectly. She stretched to her toes and touched her lips to the exposed skin of his throat.
A jolt of lust ripped through Rafael from that single point and he seized her upper arms, intent upon putting distance between them. “You jest with me.”
“I do not.” Elizabeth slid her arms around his waist and leaned against him, the scent of her skin rising to torment Rafael. “It was your suggestion.”
He found he could not push her away, not when she watched him with such welcome in those eyes. “And you rejected it, just hours ago.”
Her smile was confident. “I was surprised by your suggestion. I had but to think upon it to consider the merit of your scheme.” She bit her lip and blushed again even as her voice dropped to an intimate whisper. “In truth, I would like to know what it is like.”
“And so you increase your offer from a kiss to the greatest intimacy, so readily as that?”
She colored and looked discomfited. “I meant to offer my all from the outset, but when Alexander took me to the market in York, he said it was wiser to begin with less than one’s final price.”
Rafael stared at her, uncertain whether to be more shocked that she thought of this as so simple an exchange, or that she had never journeyed farther than York. How small her world was in comparison to his own! But then, what else would he expect, given her status? “This cannot be a bargain that you mean to keep,” he managed to say.
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were insulted, and again he saw her resolve. “I am not a whimsical young girl or one who promises what she will not do. Make no mistake, Rafael, I will surrender myself to you this night, right here and right now. You may take all I have to offer. I ask only that you fulfill the debt to the Fae on the morrow in Malcolm’s stead.”
The idea enflamed Rafael as much as her quiet determination. It was a bargain he wanted to take, even as he knew it would be folly to do so.
“You set a trap for me,” he complained, recalling Bertrand’s words all too readily. “You would have me attempt to dishonor you so that Malcolm could discover us thus and take a penance from my hide.”
“Malcolm is with Catriona in the solar,” Elizabeth said firmly, revealing that she had planned for this eventuality. Her offer was not wrought of impulse then. She had schemed this seduction, a most interesting revelation. “He believes me to be in the nursery with Avery and Vera.”
“Vera, then,” Rafael argued, knowing that woman would be all to glad to see him in Malcolm’s disfavor.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Vera believes me to be in the solar with Malcolm and Catriona. Not a one of them will seek me out before first light.” She stepped away him, which confused him for her resolve was clear. “Which gives us some time.”
To Rafael’s astonishment, Elizabeth untucked her chemise from the chausses she had been loaned and began to unfasten it. She held his gaze, then tugged the chemise over her head, revealing her bare breasts to his view.
Rafael stared, certain he had never seen such perfect breasts in his life. Her skin was creamy and looked like ivory in the shadows, her nipples dark and tightly beaded. It was the purpose in her expression, though, that could be his undoing, for she clearly intended to do as she vowed.
Rafael inhaled sharply, wanting what she offered more than he had wanted anything in a long time. It could be so readily done, so quickly accomplished, and no one would be the wiser. He could take all she offered and not deliver his part of the wager. Indeed, he could deny that there was a wager and simply claim her maidenhead now.
It would be wrong.
Rafael averted his gaze, knowing what he should do, then realized Elizabeth’s ploy. It seemed to be madness because it was. She did not truly offer herself to him. She took a risk, but not that much of one. She had insisted repeatedly that he was a man of honor. She meant to prove as much by forcing him to reveal that he would not take advantage of her on this night.
And then she would inveigh upon him to do what was right and take Malcolm’s place.
She expected him to deny the prize but, by honor, pay the price.
Rafael smiled and turned to look intently upon her bare flesh. He let all the hunger of his desire fill his expression, hiding naught from her, and took a step closer. He walked like a predator, a man who would have what he wanted, a dangerous mercenary who could not be relied upon to do anything but see to his own satisfaction.
To his pleasure, she noticed the change. He saw how she caught her breath, how she fought the urge to cover her nudity with her hands. He let his gaze rove over her and ensured that his appreciation showed. He would give her a surprise, one that would send her fleeing back to one chamber or another, any place where she would be safely out of his company.
And he would have that kiss.
“I welcome your suggestion and your invitation,” he said, keeping his voice low with promise. He crossed the chamber and flicked the portal shut, then turned the key in the lock. Her eyes widened in a most satisfactory way. She would not forget this lesson, to be sure.
“It will not take long, but I would not be disturbed.” Rafael lifted the hem of his tabard and his tunic of chain mail as he marched back toward her. Elizabeth’s breath came quickly, just as he had anticipated, and she backed into the wall. She did not flee, however, though her alarm was clear.
“Do matters always proceed with such haste?” she demanded with a measure of concern that proved his plan a good one.
Rafael chuckled. “We have not much time. I would make the most of it.”
She caught her breath and bit her lip, the sight making him sharply aware of his desire. Rafael had to send her running quickly, lest he lose control of his own impulses, lest this situation proceed too far. He would not be rough, but he would not linger either. He doubted she would find much pleasure in his touch, not with him both garbed and armed. Any maiden of sense would be appalled and flee.
Rafael seized the end of Elizabeth’s braid, towering over her as he tore the lace that fastened the end. He cast the lace across the floor as she stared at him in awe, then tugged her hair loose of t
he plait. He spread her ebony tresses over her shoulders, fighting the urge to slide the silken length of it across his lips. He speared his fingers into her hair and cupped her head in his hand, struck again by how delicately wrought she was.
He tipped her face upward with a gentleness he had not planned, then touched his lips to hers. She shivered, then her lips parted, and Rafael found himself kissing her with all the ardor and admiration he had felt since his first sight of her. He backed her into the wall, trapping her between his body and the stone. He closed his free hand around her bare breast, teasing the nipple to a taut peak even as he kissed her deeply.
It was a sweet and potent kiss, a stolen salute, an embrace he was certain would be cut short. Rafael made the most of the opportunity, certain it would be his sole taste of this enticing woman. He plundered her mouth with possessive ease, knowing his boldness would compel her to halt the embrace in short order. He slanted his mouth across hers and demanded more than she had given, more than she would give. All the while, his fingers teased her nipple, drawing it to a tighter bead, pinching it and caressing it. All the while he crushed her beneath the weight of his body, certain the reality of such passion would terrify her.
But Elizabeth held her ground.
Rafael intensified his amorous assault. Though there would be no more than this kiss, he meant to make it one she remembered. He meant to put his mark upon Elizabeth, to leave her lips swollen and her nipple aching, when she fled back to the solar. He wanted her to think about the folly of what she had suggested, to ensure that she never made another man a similar offer. She would be able to feel his touch all the night long, if he had his way, and it would give her much to think about. He hoped it kept her awake.
He knew that the kiss would keep him awake. He suspected, in fact, that he would be haunted by his refusal to accept her terms.
When she still did not push him away, he eased his knee between hers, forcing her thighs to part, and rolled his hips against her. He ensured that Elizabeth felt his erection and swallowed her gasp of surprise even as he anticipated her rejection.
All's Fair in Love and War: Four Enemies-to-Lovers Medieval Romances Page 107
