by Lucy Monroe
Facing Jared, the young priest asked, "Jared Selwyn, Viscount Ravenswood, wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded Wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"
Jared’s voice came out sure and strong. "I will."
Turning his gaze to her, the priest asked, "Calantha Clairborne, Dowager Duchess, wilt thou have this Man to thy wedded Husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"
The words of her vows washed over her and she said, "I will," acknowledging before God and man her absolute faith in the man she accepted as husband.
"Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?"
Lord Ashton said, "I do," and placed her right hand into Jared’s right hand in the manner of the centuries old wedding ritual.
For Calantha, though she’d been married once before, it felt new and binding in a wholly different way. She had never truly belonged to Deveril for he had not wanted the real woman, but she would belong to Jared until death.
Following the priests instructions, Jared said, "I, Jared, take thee Calantha, to my wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth." He met her gaze, his intense and direct and made the promises with his eyes as well as his mouth.
He let go of her hand and she reversed the hold, taking his right hand in her own. She repeated the vows as spoken by the priest. "I, Calantha, take thee Jared, to my wedded Husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth." Her voice shook as she said the words, not because she feared them, but because she realized with blinding clarity that she meant them.
All of them.
She loved Jared. How could she not? He was everything a gentleman should be. The complete antithesis of her first husband. Deveril had the appearance of an angel and the heart of a beast.
Jared had the appearance others mistook for a beast and the character of an angel. She found him overwhelmingly handsome with his masculine strength and graceful way of moving. His protective nature astounded her and made her feel safe all at once and her heart, which had been frozen when they met had melted at his feet.
She gave it to him freely, saying with her eyes, what she knew she did not have the courage to speak with her mouth as she voiced her wedding vows.
Upon the priest’s instructions, she let Jared’s hand go, but could not help that her fingers trailed over his as she did so. His eyes filled with dark promise before he turned to face the priest, laying a ring of blue sapphire on the prayer book. The priest picked up the ring, blessed it and handed it back to Jared. He took her left hand and slid on her fourth finger, keeping hold of her hand with both of his as he repeated the words the priest instructed.
"With this Ring I thee wed, with my Body I thee worship, and with all my worldly Goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Then Jared helped her kneel before the priest as he prayed over them. She heard the prayers and the Psalm that followed, but her mind still grappled with the knowledge that she loved the man beside her. She had thought she had lost the ability to love, but she had been wrong. She loved Hannah. She cared for Jared’s sisters and their families. She cared for her own servants and those that relied on her for help with her herbal remedies, but she loved Jared so deeply, so completely that she knew if she lost him, it would destroy her in a way that Deveril’s cruelty had been powerless to do.
The congregation joined the minister in the responsive reading while she and Jared knelt before the altar. As she shared in the Holy Eucharist with her new husband fifteen minutes later, she felt connected to him and all those present in a way that almost splintered her with the joy of it.
The priest blessed them and introduced them to the congregation as Lord and Lady Ravenswood. Finally, the title of duchess that had brought her so much grief was lifted from her and replaced with one claiming her as Jared’s lady.
Laughter burst out of her as Hannah squirmed from Irisa’s arms to rush forward and throw herself at Calantha’s legs. "Now, you really are my mama."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Are you sure Hannah will be all right with your sisters?" Cali asked as Jared set the horses in motion, taking his wife and him away from Ashton Manor after the wedding breakfast.
His wife. He had known he must marry sometime, but had never envisioned taking such a beautiful, passionate woman to wed. Cali was legally his and soon he would put the bond of flesh on her that would make her completely his woman.
"It will only be for one night." His sister had insisted on keeping Hannah at Ashton Manor for the wedding night. "Irisa promised not to leave Hannah alone for so much as a minute."
Cali turned back from looking over her shoulder and waving as the carriage rolled away and sighed. "I’m sure your sister will take very good care of our daughter, but Hannah has not been away from you and she might worry."
Remembering the little pixie’s casual reaction to the news that he and Cali were leaving for the night and would be back the next day, he doubted it. She'd come a long way in dealing with the loss of Mary since meeting Calantha. "She’ll be fine. Stop worrying, Cali. You have other things to think about right now."
"What other things?" she asked with a fair imitation of the teasing tone he’d heard Irisa and Thea use with their husbands.
"Satisfying my craving for angels." Cali went silent at that and Jared wondered what she was thinking. "Are you scared, mon ange?"
"Jared, do you remember you said once that it was your responsibility to make sure I satisfied you?" she asked, not giving him a direct answer.
"Yes."
"What happens if I can’t?"
Damn it. She was worried. "You will."
"But if I don’t?"
"Cali, just touching you makes me so hot I feel like I could melt iron. When I get inside of you, I’m going to be so damn satisfied, I just might die of it."
In a very un-Cali-like way, she twisted her hands together in her lap. "Jared?"
"What?" Was she still worried?
"Do we have to wait until night?"
He didn’t remember much of the carriage drive from that point on. His focus was entirely on the woman sitting next to him. When they reached Rose Cottage, he tossed the reins to her stableboy, picked up Cali and jumped down from the carriage. Thomas and her other servants had gathered to wish them happy and welcome him as new master of the house. He tossed his thanks to them over his shoulder as he carried Cali up the stairs. Her face was buried in his waistcoat. When he reached the bedchamber they were to share, he stepped inside and kicked the door shut with the heel of his foot.
The bed looked too small and he would have to see that another one replaced it before their next visit, but the thought couldn’t remain in his head for long. Not with Cali’s soft body held tightly against his. He let her legs down gently, until she stood in the circle of his arms.
She still hadn’t looked up to meet his gaze.
"Cali?"
"Yes, Jared?" she answered his waistcoat.
"We don’t have to wait for night."
Her head bobbed up then and her uncertain gaze caught his. "I’m a little nervous."
She was white as a sheet.
"It’s going to be all right, baby."
"Will it?"
He lifted one hand from her waist to cup her cheek. "Yes. Do you trust
me?"
She’d said she did, but he needed to hear the words again.
"Yes."
"Say it."
"I trust you, husband."
Bloody hell. His knees nearly buckled when she said the word husband. "Right now it’s just us. There’s no room in our bed for bad memories. I’m the only man you’re going to be with today and for the rest of our lives. Do you understand me, angel?"
As Jared’s words registered, Calantha felt a deep calm settle over her. No room for bad memories. Their bed. Not her bed any longer, but theirs. She wondered if they would share a room at Raven Hall. It was quite unusual among the ton, but not unheard of.
She smiled up at him, feeling light-headed with anticipation. "You’re the only man I want."
He bent down and brushed her lips with his. Then, he took both of her hands and pressed them against his waistcoat. "Undress me. I want to feel your hands on me."
She wanted that too. She wanted to undress him, to have the power to reveal his body to her gaze. She reached up and behind his head, gently tugging on the black ribbon that tied his dark hair back. He rarely made such a concession and must have done so in honor of their wedding. As she pulled the ribbon away, his heavy black hair swung forward to frame his face and he looked almost wild. She smiled. She liked the untamed parts of him.
"You look pleased with yourself, angel, and all you’ve done is release my hair."
She shook her head. "I’m pleased with you, Jared."
His eyes darkened, but he remained passive as she helped him to shrug out of his coat. She laid it neatly over the back of a chair and turned back to him. Unbuttoning his waistcoat, one slow button at a time, she said, "I believe I have the makings of a proficient valet."
"My man is faster," he growled.
She just smiled. "I am in charge, am I not?"
"Yes." He bit the word out, but she wasn’t worried. She’d learned to tell the difference between anger and desire with this man.
"Then you will be patient as I take my time unwrapping my fabulous gift."
"Is that how you see me?" Jared demanded, awed that Cali would perceive him as some sort of present.
Her eyes were warm and very serious when she nodded.
Then she pushed his waistcoat off over his shoulders and her eyes flared. She gently circled each of his male nipples and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to toss her on the bed, ruck up her skirts and bury himself inside of her.
He groaned. "Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea."
She laughed softly. "Relax, Jared. There’s nothing to be worried about."
He closed his eyes and mentally counted the ewes in his largest flock of sheep. It helped...barely.
He felt her tug on the ends of his cravat and then it came free, slipping from around his neck in a gentle caress. As her fingers moved to the fastening of his shirt, he thought of the scars left behind by the wolf that the rest of the ton had never seen. Parts of his chest and back were marred with the same savage lines that ruined his face.
He wanted to resist taking his shirt off, but she would have to get used to seeing the marks sometime. He heard a sharply indrawn breath as his shirt fell away and his torso was revealed to his wife’s curious gaze in the afternoon light. Perhaps they should have waited until after dark. At least the shock would not have been so glaring by candlelight.
Then he felt her fingers tracing the paths left behind by the sharp animal claws just as she had done on his face. "I didn’t know, but I should have realized. You cannot fight with a wolf and end up with only the paltry marks on your face."
His eyes flew open, expecting at least some disgust; he was totally unprepared for the tears that washed her eyes. As two spilled over and rolled down her cheeks, he reached out and wiped them away with his thumbs. "Don’t cry."
"I can’t help it. You were wounded."
"It happened a long time ago. They don’t hurt." Especially when she touched him with those feather-light caresses. Far from pain, his body was suffused with desire.
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she leaned forward and treated the scars on his chest with the same teasing kisses she had given his face that night in the conservatory. His manhood, already rock hard, felt like it would burst out of the black satin breeches he’d worn for his wedding. He reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her body flush with his.
She rubbed his chest with hands while continuing the gentling touch with her lips. She didn’t limit herself to kissing the marks left behind by the wolf, but kissed each of his nipples in turn. If she didn’t get to his breeches soon, he was going to die.
Reaching behind her, he undid the tapes of her gown, glad that he didn’t rip it in his haste. He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t have much control left. She didn’t seem to notice when he tugged the dress over her arms and down her body so that it hung on her hips. She was too busy tasting the skin she had bared and driving him insane with the teasing touch of her tongue and teeth.
He pushed her dress off and it foamed around their feet in a pile of white and gold satin. Her chemise was made of the thinnest silk and did nothing to hide her rosy pink nipples from his hungry gaze. Taking another firm grip on her waist, he lifted her up until her perfect breasts were in line with his mouth. Then he closed his lips over one sweet, hard little berry and tasted her through the diaphanous silk.
She cried out, her hands clenched in his hair. He opened his mouth a little wider and bit gently.
She screamed his name. "Jared."
Calantha felt as if she were coming apart. Jared’s mouth on her breast was driving her wild with need and desire. An ache, which had started deep in her belly when he had first kissed her, now throbbed between her legs in her most feminine place. She wanted to feel him there, just as she had in the potting shed. "Please, Jared, please! Do something!"
He let go of her nipple with his mouth and she almost screamed. "What do you want me to do, mon ange? This?" He kissed her other nipple through the silk, using his teeth and tongue and she moaned.
"Yes. Yes. That and…" something more, but she didn’t have the words.
"Or this?" He used his teeth to tear her chemise away from her bosom that had grown tight and full with desire. Then his mouth was on her flesh, licking the underside of one breast, kissing her nipple, nipping the other one with his teeth, licking her again, kissing the small valley between her feminine curves, licking where his lips had just been…tormenting her beyond her bearing.
She writhed against him, bringing her legs up to wrap around his torso. The silk of her chemise fell away and his hair roughened chest rubbed between her thighs. She spread her legs wider, trying to increase the friction and shuddered with relief when it worked. It felt so good. She rocked against him with her hips just as his mouth closed over her nipple and he began sucking like he had in the potting shed.
She grabbed his head with both hands and held it in place with all her strength. She felt his laughter against her breast, but didn’t care. Not as long as he went back to that delicious torment with his mouth and he did, suckling at her nipple with almost painful pleasure. Tightening her thighs on his torso, she rubbed against him searching for release from the agonizing delight her body could not seem to get enough of.
Then it came, in a shocking, blinding, rush and she screamed his name over and over again, begging him not to stop, rubbing herself against him like a feline in heat.
When it was over, her body went limp, her legs falling away to dangle above the floor. Jared kissed her breast softly, so tenderly that she almost cried. Or was she already crying?
He swung her up in his arms and carried her to the bed without saying a word. He pulled back the coverlet and laid her down. She did not have the energy to pull the blankets over her nudity and watched with sleepy eyes as he finished removing his clothes. She was grateful for her exhaustion when his male flesh sprang free of his smalls. Like the rest of him, it was huge and she wo
ndered how in the world he was supposed to mate with her, but she trusted him. So, she didn’t give into the urge to drag her spent body from the bed and run from the room.
Jared saw Cali’s eyes that had been heavy-lidded from spent passion, flare wide at the sight of him completely naked. Her gazed fixed on his manhood and she swallowed.
He sat down beside her on the bed, his body shaking from the need not yet satisfied. "It’s going to be all right."
He wanted to reassure her. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him or what was going to happen. He only hoped the words were enough because after the way she had gone wild in his arms, he didn’t have the control for another gentle wooing.
She shifted her look to his face, her eyes deep blue with residual desire. "I trust you."
He didn’t reply. He couldn’t. His throat was blocked by some unnamed emotion. This fragile woman had put herself completely in his keeping. "I don’t want to hurt you."
"I think it is inevitable the first time."
His hands trembled as he pulled the torn chemise from her body and then undid the laces of her corset. As he took it off her, he was glad to see that she didn’t wear it tight enough to leave the angry red marks he’d seen on other women’s flesh. She was finally completely naked and so enticing, it hurt to look at her. He pressed her legs apart in silent demand for her to open herself to him and she obeyed.
"You’re beautiful." The words were a bare whisper as Jared gazed intently at her most intimate flesh.
Calantha wanted to press her legs together again, but the look of desperate need in his eyes stayed her. She couldn’t stop the blush that heated her skin however as the renewed desire flickered to life within her.
"I want to taste you."
