Connie Mason (32 page)

He rolled again, bringing her beneath him. He smiled into her eyes as he opened her cleft with two fingers and stroked down the sides, teasing her nether lips before thrusting his fingers deep inside her. Moisture dampened his hand; she moaned and arched up against him.

His fingers left her. She could feel the heat of his rigid flesh probing her weeping center. The same heat blazed in his eyes as he gazed down at her. It intensified as he entered her, gliding easily into her yielding wet flesh. Mariah drew in a sharp breath, his kiss scorching the arch of her throat as he flexed his hips and thrust hard and deep.

He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “You flow all around me like warm honey.”

Anticipation screamed through her senses. She hadn’t realized how desperate she was for this, for Falcon. She arched her back against him and clutched his shoulders. “Please,” she gasped.

He withdrew slowly, filled her again, thrusting in long, slow strokes. She struggled against him, desperately wanting more than he was giving her. With his hands on her hips, he pressed her down when she tried to arch up, preventing her from controlling the pace or taking what she needed.

“Falcon . . . please . . .”

“Please what, sweeting?”

“Let me come,” she begged.

He thrust deep and held, grinding his hips against her pelvis, pumping into her again and again. She rocked forward against him, intensifying the pleasure. The tension gripping her body suddenly exploded. She screamed his name. He caught it with his mouth and held it captive while she thrashed wildly beneath him. He continued the steady thrusting until she went limp beneath him. She felt his muscles clench and gazed up at him. His head thrown back, his neck corded, he drove into her one final time. A moan escaped him as his orgasm burst forth in a powerful stream.

They clung to each other in the aftermath, gasping for breath. An eternity later, he pulled away and rolled onto his back. Another eternity passed before he spoke.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I? I seem to lack control when I am with you.”

Mariah brushed a lock of hair away from his damp forehead. “Nay, you didn’t hurt me.”

“I’ll try to be gentler next time. It’s just that . . . the thought of you here at the mercy of Osgood and Walter while I was recuperating and could do naught about it nearly drove me insane.” He paused, then asked, “Are you sure Walter didn’t hurt you?”

She placed a finger against his lips. “Very sure, though he might have if Sir Martin had not hidden me.”

“Thank God he didn’t find you. You’ll have to show me your hiding place. Had Martin not taken the secret with him to his grave, you would have been found immediately.”

“I am here now—that’s all that matters.”

Mariah lay relaxed in Falcon’s arms, fully aware that
she had to tell him about Robbie before they left this chamber. But not yet; dawn was still hours away. Raising herself up on her elbow, she began tracing a finger down Falcon’s chest and nuzzling him with her lips. She heard him gasp, and smiled when she saw his sex stir and begin to rise. Then she used her lips, mouth and hands to tease him, until his manhood grew rigid, pulsing against his stomach with renewed need.

She sent him a shy smile before lowering her head and covering the tip with her mouth.

Falcon jerked upright. The feeling of her mouth on him was so intense he feared he would explode. Afraid that she would stop, he held her head in place and guided it up and down his engorged length until she learned the rhythm.

Apparently, Mariah needed no lessons, for she began an erotic exploration of his cock with her tongue, from the tip to the root, while her hands caressed the sacs at the base.

“Mariah, I can’t . . . Dear God, you have to stop!”

Grasping her waist, he pulled her on top of him and thrust deep inside her, driving them both to a volatile climax. Falcon held her close while her body convulsed and then stilled. Moments later, she fell asleep splayed on top of him.

Dawn lay heavy on the horizon when Falcon woke Mariah. She stirred, yawned and snuggled closer against his chest.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Falcon murmured. “I want us to be downstairs in the hall when everyone congregates
for breakfast. Your people need to know that you have returned to us.”

Mariah raised her head and glanced out the window. Though the day promised to be gray and dismal, daylight was indeed creeping over the horizon. And she still hadn’t told Falcon about Robbie. She crawled off of him and sat beside him on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

“There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago. I lied to you, Falcon.”

Concern creased Falcon’s brow. “What untruth did you tell me this time? Were you afraid to tell me that Walter raped you? It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t something you wanted. Try to put it out of your mind.”

“Nay, that’s not what I lied about.”

Falcon sat up and pulled her into his arms. “Tell me. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Friends
. Was that all she was to him? “I hoped we were more than friends.”

Falcon looked chagrined. “Of course we are. We’ve been lovers for years. I care about you, Mariah. If I didn’t, I would have wed Rosamond instead of rushing off to defend you and Robbie. You should know that by now.”

“Have you forgiven me for lying about my relationship with Edmond?”

“Aye, I’ve forgiven you, though I still don’t understand why you lied. Was Edmond aware that you were bedding me? I deserve the truth, Mariah.”

“Telling the truth is exactly what I intend to do. If you promise not to interrupt, I will tell you everything.”

Falcon sat back against the headboard and nodded, though his eyes remained wary. “Very well, I promise to
be attentive; I’ve been waiting a long time for this. When I returned to Mildenhall and learned that Lord Edmond was your husband and not your father, I was angry enough to wring your lovely neck. A man doesn’t like being lied to, nor does he enjoy cuckolding a man he respects. I’m most eager to learn the reason for your lies.”

Mariah inhaled sharply, then let her breath out slowly. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but it had to be said, even though Falcon might hate her afterward.

“I’d better start at the beginning,” she said.

“By all means.”

“In the beginning, I was Lord Edmond’s ward. He was an old family friend; my father named him my guardian in his will. I was thirteen when my parents died in a boating accident. My parents weren’t wealthy, I wasn’t an heiress. After their funeral, I came to Mildenhall to live with Lord Edmond.

“He was like a father to me. I loved him dearly. When the king wanted me to wed a man Edmond knew to be cruel, he married me himself. I was seventeen.

“I felt more like Edmond’s daughter than his wife, and Edmond felt the same. Consummating our vows was awkward for both of us. But because Edmond needed an heir for Mildenhall, we both endured the process a few times.

“Eventually, Edmond took ill and lost the ability to . . . to sire a child. He hated the thought that Osgood would inherit if there was no heir. He knew Osgood would bankrupt Mildenhall, and that our people would suffer under Osgood’s heavy hand.

“Both Edmond and I feared that Osgood would force me to wed Walter after Edmond’s death. If I refused, I
would have had to leave the only home I had known since I was thirteen.”

“Then I arrived at Mildenhall,” Falcon said quietly.

“Aye, you were the answer to our prayers. At first I was appalled at Edmond’s suggestion that I seduce you for the son you could give me. He saw his plan as a chance to thwart Osgood and his evil machinations. Edmond genuinely liked you and saw you as his last hope to save Mildenhall. Edwina told us that your memory would return in time and you would leave Mildenhall.”

“You wanted a child from me,” Falcon said through clenched teeth.

“Aye, but our relationship came to mean much more to me than that. I began to care for you. I wanted you to stay at Mildenhall forever. I was heartbroken when you found your memory and returned to London. Shortly after your departure, I learned I was carrying your child. Edmond was ecstatic. He loved me enough to want me to experience what he could not give me. With you, I learned what it meant to be a woman.”

“You used me.” His words were clothed in bitterness. “Robbie is my son—
my
son!”

Mariah could not meet his eyes. “Aye, Robbie is yours.”

“When did you intend to tell me?”

“Never. Our futures were at stake. No one could know that Robbie wasn’t Edmond’s son. Everything would have gone as planned if Osgood hadn’t challenged Robbie’s legitimacy and seized Mildenhall. I never expected you to arrive when I asked for the king’s help.”

Falcon’s words dripped with sarcasm. “You must have been terrified to see me walk in the door as the king’s representative.”

“I despised the lies I told you, but the truth would have left me and Robbie without a home and naught but my widow’s portion to sustain us. Telling you the truth would have given Osgood everything he desired.”

“Telling me the truth was the honorable thing to do,” Falcon rejoined harshly.

“You would have taken Robbie away from me,” Mariah said in a trembling voice.

“Could you not have trusted me?”

“Too much was at stake. Please try to understand—”

“I understand very well,” Falcon spat. “You seduced me, told countless lies, and kept my son from me.”

“You weren’t even around!” Mariah charged. “You were in France. Robbie and I were alone and unprotected but for a few loyal guardsmen who had remained after Edmond’s death.”

“You could have told me when I returned to Mildenhall on the king’s business. Think you I didn’t know Edmond was incapable of siring a child? I was here for weeks, I saw his weakness, knew how ill he was. You even lied about Robbie’s age; I assumed you had taken a lover after I left. How old is Robbie? The truth, Mariah.”

“He’ll soon turn five. Edmond worshiped him. He is as much Edmond’s son as he is yours.”

Falcon rolled out of bed and stood over her, his eyes cold, his expression unreadable. “I don’t want to hear how much Edmond adored my son. Get up.” She stared at him for several heartbeats before obeying. “I’ll order a bath for you. Come down to the hall when you’re ready.”

“Falcon, do not condemn me. Edmond and I needed a son to save Mildenhall.”

“Lies. Lies. Lies. That’s all I’ve heard from you since
the first day I arrived at Mildenhall, near death and vulnerable to your intrigues.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I need to think this through before I make a decision.”

“If you tell the king that Robbie isn’t Edmond’s son and heir, you’ll be playing right into Osgood’s hands. Does that mean naught to you?”

“Did it mean naught to you?” he flung back at her.

“It did.” She looked into his eyes, offering him her heart and soul with that single glance. “I . . . I love you, Falcon.”

Falcon laughed; it was not a comforting sound. “So you say, but you have a strange way of showing it. I am an honorable man, Mariah. It took me a long time to work through my anger after I learned Edmond was your husband and not your father. But through it all I never forgot how it had been between us. I didn’t want to care for you, to make love to you, but I couldn’t help myself.

“But this . . .” He shook his head. “I compromised my honor, took another man’s wife while I thought I was making love to his widowed daughter. You took something precious from me, Mariah. I have a son who can never take my name. I admired Edmond, but now I’m not sure how I feel about him. The man is dead and cannot answer for himself, but you could have told me weeks ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Mariah said, “so very sorry.”

With a snort of disgust, Falcon stormed from the chamber.

Heartbroken, Mariah fought back tears. She’d told Falcon the truth and had paid the ultimate price. He hated her, just as she’d feared he would. Did he hate her enough
to take her son from her? She didn’t know. He had changed from passionate lover to virtual stranger during the course of her tale. He hated her, and she had no one to blame but herself.

She rose and donned her chamber robe. A knock sounded on the door. Unless it was her bath, Mariah didn’t wish to see anyone right now.

“Who is it?”

“Edwina. May I come in?”

Mariah opened the door to her friend and found herself enfolded in arms that were so very dear to her.

“Where have you been?” Edwina asked. “Falcon was nearly out of his mind with worry.”

“Falcon knows about Robbie, Edwina. He hates me now.”

“You told him?”

“Aye, I couldn’t live with the guilt any longer.”

“ ’Twas time,” Edwina said sagely. “How did he take it?”

Mariah collapsed on the bed. “Not well. He is an honorable man. My lies have hurt him. From the first, I knew those lies would return to haunt me. Mistakenly, I thought having Robbie made everything right. Why did Falcon have to return? Though I missed him dreadfully, yearned for his return, I knew ’twas best for me and Robbie if he never came back.”

“You love Falcon, Mariah. I knew it from the beginning.”

Mariah nodded miserably. “His return left me in panic, but after a while we seemed to reconnect. He helped defeat Osgood and advised the king to accept Robbie as the new Earl of Mildenhall even though he knew Edmond couldn’t have been Robbie’s father.

“I thought Falcon had decided in Robbie’s favor because he realized he cared for me. We shared a bond. But then Rosamond arrived, offering Falcon everything I could not give him.”

Edwina patted Mariah’s shoulder. “But he didn’t wed Rosamond, did he? The man has strong feelings for you, Mariah. You’re the mother of his son. You have a great deal to offer him.”

“Apparently, not enough. I can give him neither land nor wealth. Mildenhall belongs to Robbie, unless Falcon decides to expose his illegitimacy to the king, in which case Osgood will claim it.”

“Calm yourself, lass. Look at me.”

Mariah turned her head toward Edwina. After several moments of staring into Mariah’s eyes, Edwina nodded complacently. “ ’Tis just as I thought.”