Connie Mason (17 page)

Falcon didn’t resist when Rosamond pulled him inside her chamber. She closed the door and leaned against it. “I’m waiting, Falcon. Shall we wed? Or must I seek another husband?”

Caught on the horns of his dilemma, Falcon considered the advantages and disadvantages of marrying Rosamond. In the final analysis, the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages. When images of Robbie and Mariah kept disrupting his thoughts, he firmly closed his mind to
them. It served no purpose to dwell on things that interfered with the course he wished his future to follow. His aspirations flew higher than mere knighthood, and marrying Rosamond could help him achieve his goals.

“Very well, Rosamond. I can think of no reason to refuse a match between us. I will wed you in London when I am finished here.”

Rosamond frowned. Though she had gotten what she wanted, she wasn’t pleased with Falcon’s answer. She knew intuitively that remaining at Mildenhall presented a danger to Falcon. He was far too fond of Edmond’s widow and her son for her liking.

“If you insist on remaining at Mildenhall to protect Lady Mariah, we shall speak our vows here,” she insisted. She pushed herself away from the door and pressed her lush body against Falcon. “I cannot wait for you to be mine. Though I mourned Albert’s death, I cannot say I am sorry now, for you and I will finally be together, just as we were meant to be.”

“I do not wish to speak our vows at Mildenhall,” Falcon demurred. “London is a far better choice, for there the king could attend the ceremony.”

When Rosamond realized she wasn’t going to sway Falcon, she sought another way to turn him away from Mariah’s influence. “Make love to me, Falcon,” she purred. “We are betrothed; there is no shame in bedding your future wife. I am willing to wait for a priest to join us, but I see no reason why we cannot join our bodies tonight in celebration of our betrothal.”

Falcon searched for but could find no reason to refuse. Bedding Rosamond would be no chore. The woman was beautiful, her body enticing. Falcon had always taken
great pride in his ability to please a woman, and Rosamond would be no exception.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.

Stretching on her toes, she pressed her lips to his. “Very sure, Falcon. I’ve dreamed of this day ever since you turned up alive after I wed Albert. From the moment I became a widow, I’ve waited for the right moment to approach the king about a match between us. I want us to make love. Now. This very minute.”

Rosamond unbuttoned her bodice, shrugged her shoulders and let the material fall to her waist. She did the same with her shift, baring her breasts to Falcon. Falcon stared at them. They were firm and pert, but they did naught to arouse him.

He did what was expected of him, however. Scooping Rosamond into his arms, he carried her to the bed, praying that his body wouldn’t fail him. But to judge from his flaccid cock, it was going to take time to work up desire for Rosamond.

Falcon began unbuttoning his doublet while Rosamond slid out of her gown. She had just reached for the hem of her shift when Leticia walked into the chamber.

“Oh, my lady, forgive me. I . . . I didn’t realize—”

“Get out of here!” Rosamond shrieked.

Leticia turned to flee. “Nay, stay,” Falcon said. She hesitated at the door. Falcon turned to Rosamond, an apology on his lips. “Another time, Rosamond,” he whispered.

So saying, he turned, brushed past Leticia and quit the chamber. Behind him he could hear Rosamond screaming at her poor maid. Was this an example of Rosamond’s temper when she didn’t get her way? Truth be told, Falcon was glad of the reprieve. Vaguely he wondered if he’d
be in the mood to make love to Rosamond when the time came, then pushed that thought from his mind.

Falcon ran into Mariah in the corridor. “Falcon—I thought you had retired.”

“Nay, not yet. May I have a word with you in private?”

“What more is there to say?” she asked.

“Not here. Let’s go to your chamber, where we can speak in private. I want you to be the first to know.”

“Know what?”

“Mariah, please, the corridor is not private enough.” Grasping her arm, he pulled her along with him to his chamber.

Once inside, Mariah rounded on him. “What is this all about?”

“I’ve come to a decision tonight, and I wanted you to be the first to know.”

Mariah sank into the nearest chair, lifting her face to Falcon. “You’ve decided to wed Rosamond,” she said before he could speak. “ ’Tis the logical thing for a man in your position to do. Will you wed at Mildenhall?”

Falcon began to pace. “Nay, the ceremony will take place in London, but not until my duty here is done.”

Mariah looked away. “I’d like you to leave as soon as possible. Robbie is becoming too fond of you.”

“I vowed to protect Mildenhall from Osgood. I will wait a fortnight. If he causes no trouble during that time, I will leave.”

“To whom did you make that vow?” Mariah challenged.

“Myself. I am not without honor, Mariah. You might think otherwise, but ’tis the truth. I never would have made love to you that first time had I known you were Edmond’s
wife. I owe Edmond for sinning against him. Protecting his home and legacy will assuage my guilt.”

“What about your anger?” Mariah asked. “Will keeping your vow free you from your anger?”

Falcon stood before her, more uncertain than ever of his decision to wed Rosamond. His mind told him the marriage was precisely what he desired, while his heart remained unconvinced. Rosamond did not move him emotionally. Falcon had no idea why that should be important in a marriage when most people wed for money and position. Marriages were made for reasons that did not include emotional attachments. Falcon did not require romantic love in a marriage.

Nor was lust necessary in a marriage. He would do his duty by Rosamond; he’d never had any lack of virility, but he hoped she wouldn’t demand his love. She had lost the right to be loved by him when she’d wed another so soon after his alleged death. She might claim her marriage to Sir Albert had been her father’s doing, but he felt sure she would have been granted time to mourn if she’d really wanted it.

Falcon glanced at Mariah and knew she was waiting for an answer to her question. “I do not know. I cannot describe the rage I felt when I learned you and Edmond were husband and wife instead of father and daughter.”

Mariah gazed up at him. “I never meant to hurt you, Falcon. I cannot explain my reason for lying to you; I hope one day you will forgive me.”

Falcon reached out to her. He touched her lightly on the shoulder and knew immediately that he was in deep trouble. The breath left him in a rush as heat radiated up
his arm. Her indrawn breath told him she had felt the same jolt he had. Groaning, he raised her to her feet and drew her fully into his arms, burying his face against her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of lilac.

“You smell good,” he whispered against her ear.

“This is wrong,” Mariah warned breathlessly. “You just became betrothed to another woman.”

He pulled away slightly, so he could look at her. Candlelight deepened the mystery of her eyes and warmed the curve of her jaw. He let his gaze travel the graceful length of her throat to where her breasts rose and fell beneath her gown. He could hear the soft sound of her breathing. He grew immediately hard, something he had failed to do with Rosamond.

“Do you want me to leave?”

Silence.

“Mariah, did you hear me? Do you want me to leave?”

“It would be best for both of us if you did. What you’re contemplating isn’t fair to your bride-to-be.”

“What we did five years ago wasn’t fair to your husband, but that didn’t seem to bother you.”

Anger stiffened her shoulders, until she realized he was right. She lifted her face to him, intending to tell him to leave, but somehow the words never left her lips. Even if she had to confess her sin to Father Francis tomorrow, she wanted one last time with Falcon. One last good-bye before she lost him to Rosamond. The priest would probably keep her on her knees for days, but it would be worth it.

Falcon took advantage of her hesitation. The chamber throbbed with silence as he lowered his head and claimed her mouth. His tongue probed her lips. The fire between them sprang to life as she opened her mouth to him, meeting
his tongue with a sliding motion of her own. They clung together, passion exploding between them as his kiss grew demanding, igniting a response inside her that could not be denied.

The fire blazed out of control as his arms circled her waist, drawing her closer. He kissed her again, feeling inexplicable relief at having her in his arms, knowing she wanted him as desperately as he wanted her.

And she truly did want him. He felt it in her response, tasted it on her tongue as she stretched against him, pressing close. Her hunger was nearly as fierce as his as her lips demanded more and more.

Winding his arms beneath her bottom, he lifted her against him and carried her to the bed. His arms loosened and she slid down his body to her feet. Then he began to undress her, slowly, oh so slowly, piece by piece, adoring her flesh with his lips as he stripped her naked.

“Now you,” she whispered, pulling on his doublet.

His golden eyes never left her as he ripped off his clothing and tossed it aside. Once they were both naked, he tumbled them onto the bed, rolling to trap her beneath him, ravaging her mouth with his. When he broke off the kiss, she pushed him onto his back and leaned over him. Her head lowered. Her hair brushed the skin of his thighs. He flinched, uncertain what she intended and praying she wouldn’t stop.

His cock rose high and hard, throbbing, begging for her touch. She didn’t disappoint him. Her fingers skimmed the underside of his rigid sex. He jerked; caught his breath.

She closed her hand around his erection. “Mariah,” he gasped. “You’re killing me.”

Mariah raised her head and gazed at him. A tantalizing smile curved her lips. “Don’t stop me, Falcon, I want to do this. Once you leave, you will have Rosamond while I will have no one.”

Lowering her head, she kissed the tip of his cock, plying him with the wet lash of her tongue, a wanton, erotic caress that drove him wild. Her tongue swirling, she lapped and sucked and tasted as shudders shook his body. She traced the head with her lips, licked around and down the long shaft. His entire body went rigid; his fists clenched the sheets as he bowed upward.

Falcon couldn’t have denied her even if he’d wanted to. The muscles of his belly clenched; he was naught but a helpless captive to her seductive wiles. He clung to sanity, his breathing increasingly frantic. Equal parts of agony and ecstasy swamped his senses; he feared he would go mad if she didn’t stop.

His hands slid into the tangled mass of her hair. “Stop, Mariah, for I can stand no more!”

He caught her, rolled, and brought her beneath him.

The weight of Falcon’s hand slid over Mariah’s breasts, over her belly, leaving languid heat in its wake. His fingers slipped between her thighs as he kissed her ear, her throat, her breasts, laving her nipples with his tongue, suckling them. Then he traced a burning path of kisses to her navel, finally easing between her thighs.

Lifting her bottom, he lowered his head and kissed her there, between her legs. Heat shimmered though her veins as his tongue sought out her sensitive flesh, delving deep, then laving the tender folds. She heard herself moan as desire built to a blinding crescendo. She was fully aware that this would be their last time together. Heat raged
within her, growing hotter and greater than she had ever imagined possible. Nearly insensate with pleasure, she caught his hair in her hands and begged for release. His tongue darted inside her.

Mariah exploded; she feared she would be reduced to a burning cinder as she climaxed violently. Her taut body was still hot and explosive with need as he withdrew his mouth and thrust his turgid staff deep into her quivering center. She arched against him, her fingers digging into the muscles of his shoulders, her breath ragged. His eyes held hers, smoldering, intense. He drove into her harder, faster; she met him stroke for stroke, writhing, straining.

His mouth was on her neck, licking away a trickle of sweat he found there. He loomed over her, the muscles bunching on his arms as he filled her, expanding her, until tiny shudders wracked her body.

Pleasure renewed itself and washed over her in sweeping waves. She cried out. He captured her mouth, their cries mingling as he drove into her one more time, his body shuddering with the force of his climax. Her body was still shivering deliciously when he collapsed beside her.

Mariah drifted to sleep, utterly spent, utterly sated. She had no idea how long she slept, but when she awakened, the chamber was dark and Falcon was gone.

Falcon stared out the window into the dark night. He was a troubled man. Making love to Mariah had been a mistake. He knew he should leave Mildenhall. Leave now, and to hell with honor. He turned away from the window and began to pace. Mariah was a sickness inside him. The only way to cure that kind of sickness was to cut it out. Out of his life and out of his mind and heart.

Rosamond was the woman he was going to wed; he owed her his fidelity. Why, then, couldn’t he leave Mariah alone? He didn’t love Rosamond, but then he didn’t love Mariah either, did he? He wanted Mariah in his bed, yet Rosamond left him cold. Never had he been so conflicted. Though he had a rational reason for wedding Rosamond, he had no idea why he desired Mariah sexually.

He stopped before the fireplace, bracing his hands on the mantel and staring down into the flames. He’d lost his mind, and with it his judgment. He was so completely mired in thoughts of Mariah that he could no longer think clearly.

And yet, leaving wasn’t the answer. He sensed there was something here he needed to know, something Mariah was keeping from him. Had he succumbed to Rosamond’s urging to wed her too quickly, without considering alternatives? He hated this dilemma. Hated the way Mariah made him feel. Hated how his heart melted when Robbie lifted his arms up to him.

Wearied by his thoughts and having come to no clear conclusion, Falcon undressed and lay in bed a long time before finally falling asleep.