Connie Mason (31 page)

“Lady Raven.”

Raven paused, looking over her shoulder at Willa. “Aye?”

“Where does Lord Drake sleep?”

“Wherever he pleases,” Raven answered as she forced her trembling limbs to move down the hallway.

Raven did not collapse until she was inside her chamber. She grasped the door for support and unsuccessfully tried to erase from her mind the image of Willa and Drake intimately entwined. She pictured him kissing Willa, loving her with his hands and mouth, and finally claiming her in the most basic way known to man. She pushed herself away from the
door and threw herself down on the bed. She lay there a long time, staring up at the ceiling.

Drake conferred briefly with Balder, then spoke to Sir Richard about accommodations for the king’s knights. Assured that everything was as it should be, he sat at the table and called for ale. A servant appeared almost immediately with a flagon and placed it on the table before Drake. Drake filled his mug and drank deeply, his mind reeling with the surprising turn of events. The need to hurt Raven had driven him to introduce her as his leman, and he already regretted his harsh words. The arrival of the young woman who was to become his bride had stunned him, and he was still reeling.

Though Lady Willa was beautiful, she did not appeal to him sexually. She seemed vapid and passionless, unlike Raven, whose spirit and fire scalded him on occasion. Aye, Willa would run his household and bear his children without complaint, and remain unobtrusively in the background. Unfortunately he expected more than obedience from a wife. He wanted a partner, a lover, a woman whose hot blood matched his own. A woman who would welcome her husband in her bed.

He wanted . . . Raven.

He could not like Lady Willa. She reminded him of a pouting, immature child who probably would faint dead away on her wedding night.

Drake finished the ale and called for more. Try though he might, he could not get drunk. He relived in his mind the moment Raven had fainted and how frightened for her he had been. Raven was a strong woman, not prone to fainting spells. She was going to leave him. She had planned to travel alone along hazardous roads in dangerous times, and that took courage.

The more he thought about the coldly worded note Raven
had written, the angrier he became. Though his rage was tempered somewhat by his concern for her health, it was not entirely assuaged. The need to see Raven, to rail at her for her dishonesty, drove him to his feet. He took the stairs two at a time, his mood so foul the servants scattered in his wake. He barged into Raven’s chamber without knocking and slammed the door behind him.

He found Raven lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and the urge to tear off her clothing and thrust himself into her was so strong he nearly exploded with it.

Raven jerked upright, her startled gaze challenging him. “What are you doing here?”

He strode to the bed and regarded her silently, hands on hips, his expression fierce. “Are you ill?”

“Nay. I am well.”

He did not believe her. “Why did you faint?”

Their gazes met and collided. She answered with a question of her own. “Why did you introduce me as your leman?”

“Answer my question.”

“Answer mine.”

“Very well. I introduced you as my leman because that is exactly what you are,” Drake pointed out.

“Oh, how cruel. How arrogant,” Raven raged.

“I but follow your example, my lady,” he said with a snarl. “You planned to leave me. The callous note you penned was left by a coward. Think you I would stop you from returning to your husband if that was your desire? Why, Raven? Why did you decide to leave me? I would have protected you with my life.”

“I wanted to prevent bloodshed,” Raven whispered.

“The truth, Raven,” Drake said harshly. “I want the truth. Does my being a bastard bother you? Is that why you wished to return to Waldo?”

“Nay! I never intended to return to Waldo. I worded my note to make it sound that way.”

“I said I wanted the truth, my lady. No more lies.”

“ ’Tis you I want, Drake. It has always been you.”

Drake’s eyes narrowed. “Then prove it.”

He came down on the bed, covering her with his body. His head lowered and his mouth slammed down over hers. He kissed her hard, slanting his mouth over hers until her lips opened beneath his probing tongue. He ravaged her mouth savagely, wanting to punish her for making him care. No woman had ever gotten to him like Raven, nor disappointed him so thoroughly. He wanted to shake her, to yell at her, to tell her he had been willing to die for her. What more could a woman ask of a man?

His mouth slid away from hers and he stared into her eyes. “I am going to make love to you, Raven. You know you want it. ’Tis always like that between us.”

A sob escaped her throat but he closed his ears to it. He knew his words hurt her, but no more than she had hurt him. Bursting with impatience, he began tearing away her clothing until he had stripped her bare.

“This is how I want you,” he said through bared teeth. “Naked, with your legs spread wide.”

He disrobed with incredible speed, rendering himself as naked as she. Urgency gripped him, and in his need he forgot patience, forgot tenderness. He pulled her beneath him, drawing a rosy nipple into his mouth while his fingers teased her other breast and his hips bucked against hers, his erection seeking that warm place between her legs.

Dazed, Raven stiffened as incredible sensations radiated from her breasts to that wet place where Drake’s sex was demanding entrance. He was wild, unpredictable. She did not want his anger; she wanted his love.

“Nay! Not like this.”

He raised his head and stared at her. Lost in the depths of his silver gaze, she could no more resist him than she could stop breathing, nor did she try.

Surrendering to him, she tangled her hands in his hair, clutched at his neck, his shoulders, moaning his name as his mouth ravished her tender breasts. His heartbeat, a loud, heavy thud, reverberated through her. She stifled a cry with the back of her hand when his mouth slid down her body, lapping greedily at her navel on his downward path to sweeter territory. Then he found her. Her hips arched upward as he buried his face between her legs, alternately licking and sucking the moist folds of her sex.

She fought to regain her wits and won, albeit briefly, as she grasped his hair, trying to pull him away. This was not right. She was losing control. Drake wanted to punish her, to prove his mastery over her. Unfortunately he was succeeding. Her entire body vibrated with need as his mouth drew on her and his fingers slid inside her.

“Drake!”

Drake raised his head and smiled at her. “Do you want me to put my cock inside you now, Raven?”

That was
exactly
what she wanted. If he did not fill that aching void inside her soon she would go quite mad.

“Aye! Nay! Oh, please.”

His smile turned feral as he spread her legs and thrust hard and deep, filling her.

“Put your legs around me,” he commanded.

She did, and he slid even deeper. Then he began to move. No slow, gentle loving, this, but a fierce mating, with her legs wrapped around him and his hips rising and falling in savage rhythm. She was lost, hopelessly lost, possessed by the man she loved—a man who belonged to another, just as she was not his to claim. But in her heart she knew she would be forever his. And she had his child inside her to prove it.

The pressure built deep inside where he was touching her soul. Then she exploded. She screamed, her mind shutting down as her climax swept over her. She clung to him as his body convulsed and his hot seed filled her.

Seconds later he collapsed on top of her. She accepted his weight without complaint, frighteningly aware that they could never be together like this again. Knowing Drake, he would obey his king and marry Lady Willa. Alone and bereft, Raven would be forced to pick up the broken pieces of her life and flee to her aunt’s home. She would never return to Waldo, she vowed, and she would protect her child with her life.

Raven opened her eyes and was startled to see Drake regarding her with a strange light in his eyes. “You look at me as if you hate me.”

“I do not hate you,” he said as he pulled himself out of her and rolled away.

His voice was so devoid of feeling that she could not stop herself from reaching out and touching his shoulder. He stiffened, then turned and leered at her. “Ready for more, are you?” She recoiled, hurt by his cruel words.

“What I want is the truth,” she said angrily. “Tell me. Am I naught to you but your whore?”

He rose abruptly. “I think of you not at all.”

Lies. All lies
, Drake’s inner voice whispered. Lady Willa could never take Raven’s place, neither in his bed nor in his heart. Raven had breached the wall around his heart and now he had to do what he must to repair it.

“I refuse to believe you care so little for me.”

“I could say the same about you,” he tossed back as he yanked on his hose with more force than was necessary.

“Nay! How can I explain when you refuse to listen?”

“ ’Tis too late for us, Raven. The truth no longer matters. The king demands that I wed Lady Willa and I must obey.”

Raven acknowledged Drake’s words with a broken sigh. “I will leave before the wedding.”

Drake wanted to ask where she would go but refrained from doing so. Raven was no longer his to protect. “Ask Balder for money to see you through your journey. When you
decide upon your destination, an escort will be provided for you.”

He strode to the door, his hand poised on the knob. Was this it, then? he wondered. A loving so fierce he would remember it the rest of his days, then this cold leavetaking? He glanced over his shoulder at Raven. She had pulled a sheet over her nakedness and was staring at him as if she expected more from him. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks, and her full, pink lips were trembling.

“God’s blood!” Drake cried, striding back to the bed. “What do you want from me, lady? I am sworn to obey my king. I know I dishonored you, Raven, but afterward I swore to protect you with my life. I made myself vulnerable for you. Do you know what your note did to me? It nearly destroyed me. Though she does not appeal to me, I must marry Lady Willa. But after the bedding, I intend to leave Windhurst and seek my pleasure elsewhere. No one will ever engage my heart again.”

Having said more than he’d meant to say, Drake stormed from the chamber, and ran headlong into Lady Willa.

“Lord Drake!” Her eyes widened in fear when she saw his fierce expression, and she backed away from him. “I . . . I thought this was the ladies’ solar. I did not expect to find you here.” She gazed pointedly at the door from which Drake had just exited. “Is that not Lady Raven’s chamber?”

Drake was in no mood for bantering. “So it is, my lady.”

“When is Lady Raven leaving Windhurst?”

His mood was growing darker by the minute. “When it pleases her.”

“Forgive me, my lord, I did not mean to anger you.”

“Nay, forgive me, my lady. I fear I have distressed you.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “You are forgiven, my lord.” She covered her mouth and tittered nervously. The sound grated on Drake’s nerves.

“I look forward to the banquet tonight. Mayhap we can get to know one another better,” she added.

Drake inclined his head and offered his arm. “May I escort you to the hall?”

“Nay, I was looking for the . . . the . . .” Her face turned a bright shade of red.

Drake was saved from directing her to the garderobe when her maid came puffing down the hall. “I have found it, my lady. Follow me.”

“Until tonight.” Willa simpered as she curtsied and hurried after the maid.

“God save me from simpering innocents,” Drake muttered beneath his breath. Whatever had the king been thinking? Any fool could see he and Willa would not suit. He hurried away in search of Balder. Tonight’s banquet must be perfect. He wanted the king in a good mood.

Raven would have preferred to eat in her chamber tonight but decided that hiding away was cowardly. Donning her best silk gown, undertunic, and a new headdress she had recently purchased from a peddler, she gathered her courage and went down to the hall. Everyone was already seated when she arrived, and she slid into an empty place as far away from the high table as she could get.

Margot and her kitchen helpers had outdone themselves, Raven thought as dish after sumptuous dish was served. In honor of the king, the table gleamed with silver: knives, spoons, salt dishes, and cups. Each place was set with a thick trencher of day-old bread, which served as a plate for roasted meats.

Servants circulated about the hall, carrying trays of bread and other delicacies. Then the best wine Drake had to offer was decanted into ewers and poured into each guest’s silver cup.

The soup course was served; then came jellied eels, boar’s head, venison, peacocks, suckling pigs, and a variety of birds. The vegetables consisted of peas and green beans. The meal concluded with fruit tarts, nuts, and cheese.

Raven barely touched her food. Her appetite had fled the moment she saw Lady Willa leaning toward Drake to whisper into his ear. Lowering her eyes to her trencher, she felt her stomach heave. Pretending indifference toward the man she loved was the most difficult thing she had ever done.

Drake had seen Raven enter the hall and had lost his train of thought. Some might think Lady Willa more classically beautiful, but Drake found her pale and lifeless compared to Raven’s vibrant beauty and spirit. He stared across the room at Raven, suddenly puzzled by something about her he had noticed of late: a special inner glow. He regarded her with an intensity that soon drew the king’s disfavor. He returned his gaze to his trencher, thinking that Raven belonged at the high table, beside him. He wanted to escort her to his side but knew that flaunting his leman before his bride-to-be would anger the king.

Drake returned his attention to the food on his trencher. Everything was delicious, but he had little appetite. He glanced at Edward and was pleased to note that he appeared to be enjoying the repast. Beside him, Willa picked at her food with ladylike delicacy.