The Contract (12 page)

“Yes,” Max said.

“I don’t know what to do now.  Max?” My voice broke, “What do I do now?”

Max stood but didn’t approach me. “There is nothing for you to do. I have assigned two men to guard you.”

I stopped him before he could say more. “Guard me? From what?”

Max’s jaw flexed. “From assassins, from kidnappers, from anyone who wishes to harm you!”

“I don’t—”

Max crossed the room in his long strides. “I didn’t ask you,” he snapped.

“Why not?” I snapped back, too confused to think what I was saying. Max had it right when he said I was overwrought. “They’re guarding me! Should I not have some say?”

“No,” Max said ominously.

“I don’t need—”

“Katrina, cease your arguments! You’ve been a princess for ten minutes and you are already acting spoiled!”

We glared at each other for a half a minute, then a reluctant smile began to grow on my face. I broke from fury into laughter then, letting the absurdity of the situation flow over me. I put out a hand on Max’s chest and steadied myself as tears came to my eyes along with the laughter. As I wound down, I looked up at Max, who was wearing a small grin.

“Max?” I said, knowing now what was scaring me so. “Will they take me away from here?” From you, I wanted to say, but couldn’t, not yet.

Max pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. “No, they won’t. I won’t allow it.”

“But—”

“You doubt me?” he asked, his voice rumbling.

“No, but I can’t let anyone get hurt over me. I’m not that important.”

Max looked down at me, his expression unreadable. He said softly, “Your father thought you important enough to spend the rest of his life in hiding. A girl child.”

“You can’t understand that, can you?”

Max shook his head. “No, perhaps for a son, but not a girl.“I expected to be hurt by that, but he didn’t mean to say anything cruel, he just didn’t see it. I smiled up at him.He lowered his head and kissed me, first gently, then harder. He gave me a smile and said, “Take off your dress. I want you.”

I unfastened my dress while I watched him take several covers off the bed and toss them down in front of the dying fire. “What are you doing?” I asked.

He returned to me and pushed me over by the fire. “I want to take you here in front of the fire. I want you sweaty and heated.”

I looked down at the covers with new interest. “You do?”

He was pulling off his shirt. “Yes.“I opened my mouth to say something else when he said, “Katrina, just put it all aside for now. I’ve told you what you need to know.”

I shook my head. “No, I wanted to ask you something about…uh, about you.” I think my blush would have been visible even had the room been full dark.

“Ask your question,” he said, coming over and pulling me down to the floor and the nest of blankets.

“Well, you know what you did—to me?” I made a vague gesture, and he laughed.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if it would be really wrong of me to ask if I could do that to you.“Max looked like he was holding in laughter. My blush, if possible, burned even brighter, and I rushed to deny the whole thing. “Never mind, my lord, I don’t know what I was thinking, I—”

Max stopped me from talking by putting his mouth over mine and kissing me while lowering me down to the blankets. He pulled back, examined my face and kissed me some more. Finally he seemed satisfied with what he saw on my face. “Now, perhaps you’ll allow me to speak? I was not about to laugh at you, truly, but at the idea that you would be so worried about asking that. Wife, you may do as you wish.” He still looked somewhat amused.

“Can I do it now?” I asked.  His eyes darkened and the amusement left his face. He gave a nod. 

I moved down closer to that part of him. “You know, that’s what I was ‘thinking’ about this morning.”

Max said nothing, but he watched me intently.

I reached out and touched him, running my fingers lightly over that part of him that so fascinated me. “You’re so soft,” I murmured. I leaned over and gave him a long lick. “It’s salty,” I said. I looked up at him as a thought came to me. “You’ll tell me if I do something wrong, won’t you?”

“Yes,” he said, but his voice sounded odd, almost strangled.

I turned my attention back to him and played my tongue along him. I licked the tip and brought him into my mouth a little, although he was too large and my mouth too small to get him very far. I gave an experimental suck and swirl with my tongue.

Suddenly he captured me, flipping me to my back and beginning to slide inside. I blinked at him in surprise. “Max?”

He didn’t answer, and as I felt him fill me tightly, I closed my eyes and moaned at how wonderful it felt. Max was quickly seated fully inside me and moving more frantically than I’d ever felt him before. The pleasure I was growing addicted to swept up on me without warning and I arched up strongly against him, a scream breaking from my mouth. This seemed to drive him even harder, and the next time my pleasure came upon me, he joined me in crying out. He didn’t roll immediately to the side like usual but let his weight lay on me, the blankets not doing enough to keep me from wondering I might die from lack of air. I made a sort of wheeze, and he moved to the side. I breathed gratefully, although I had enjoyed his weight on me—holding me down.  He had his eyes closed, and his arm up over his eyes. I sat up. “Max?”

“What?” he asked without moving.

“Did I do something wrong? I mean, when you did that to me, I liked it. I mean I really liked it.”

Max chuckled. “I noticed.” His arm was still over his face.

“You don’t like it?” I asked, a little disappointed.

Max lowered his arm. “What?”

Now that he was looking at me, I couldn’t seem to continue. I must be some kind of deviant. He even thought so, and he seemed to be pleased with me most of the time once our clothes came off. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“What?” he asked again. “What in the name of all that’s holy are you talking about?”

My face flaming with embarrassment, I scooted away from him, reaching for my dress. “I…um, I…” I couldn’t think of a thing to say.

“Katrina, stop,” came his low voice.

I had my skirt on, and continued pulling on my shirt. I stayed where I was though, my back to him. I heard him stand. It sounded like he was putting on his pants. He came over to me and turned me around to face him. “Wife, if you’re thinking I did not enjoy what you just did, you’re very wrong.”

I searched his eyes. “Really? Why did you stop me, then?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “You know, I’ve never been with a woman who liked to talk about these things as much as you do. You don’t seem to have any sense of embarrassment.”

I put the backs of my hands on my flaming cheeks as evidence. “How can you say that? I’m as red as a tomato.”

“You ask anyway,” he noted. “Perhaps it is that you’re brave.”

“Well,” I said, trying to look away but having him catch my chin, “I really want to know.“He smiled. I stared up at him, thinking he had the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

He looked at me searchingly. I wasn’t sure why, but he became uncomfortable and put me away from him. “I have things to do. Ignore the gossip—I’ve told you all you need to know. There’s no need to spread rumors of your own either.  I’ll have the two men come up here to escort you wherever you want to go in the castle. For now I want you to stay within the inner walls of the castle.” He had reverted to the cool, efficient Max.

I nodded, trying to think what I’d done that had caused the change.He put on his shirt and left with barely a glance back at me.What had I done that had made him want to leave?  I had been thinking about his smile, and that he really was a wonderful man, and I…oh. On my face must have been the adoring look of a woman smitten with her husband. And while Max maintained he wanted to keep me, he obviously didn’t want my love.

Chapter Eleven

My guards were two men-at-arms who looked a little embarrassed to be following me around the castle. Well, they couldn’t be as embarrassed as I was, although I tried to ignore them. I found Callista and she hustled me into an alcove. “Did you hear?” she asked breathlessly. 

“Hear what?” I asked.

“That the messenger was about you!”

“Oh.” I nodded. “That. Yes, Max told me.”

“So is it true?” Callista asked.

“Callista, is what true?” My voice sounded a little like Max when he became exasperated.

“I’m sure this must be upsetting to find this out all at once.”

“Callie, I don’t know. I don’t even know for sure who my father is. The whole thing is just too confusing.”

There was a sneering voice from the edge of the alcove. “Now that doesn’t surprise me,” Kasta said. “I always figured you for a bastard.”

I rose to my feet so quickly that Callie flinched away. I’d had too many shocks today and was feeling prickly. “Go away, Kasta.”

“Or?” she asked, one thin eyebrow raised. “You’ll tell your husband to beat me? What makes you think he’d do it? Could be he plans to see me later anyway.”

That derailed me. “See you? Why?”

Kasta trilled a laugh that made me see red. “Because he manages to find me most days. He’s a very passionate man. We’ve been close ever since my dear friend died. You know, comforting each other.”

Callie, who knew me well, grabbed my arm. “Just ignore her,” she advised.

But I wrenched out of her grasp. I leapt over to Kasta and swept out my foot, making her lose her balance. I pushed her at the same time, and she fell backwards onto the stone floor.

She opened her mouth and screeched as if I’d gouged out her eyes with a hot knife.

Max, who had been talking to one of the servants not far from the alcove, turned to look at us in surprise. Kasta gave a pathetic howl and tried to rise, falling back down. Callie was standing next to me now, both her arms around me to keep me from going after Kasta again.

Max barked at the staring people to go back to what they were doing, and people made haste to leave the area. He came over to us, his expression cold. “Kasta, be silent,” he snapped. Kasta turned the volume down some, but still whimpered. Max looked down at her, then at me, my body trembling with rage.“Davin,” he said to one of my guards, “escort Kasta over there. Callista, accompany her and lend aid.” He pointed to the far side of the hall by the hearth. His eyes pinned me where I was. “You will stay here.“I turned my attention off Kasta and onto Max. My fury drained away at the look in his eyes. He pulled me deeper into the alcove, where we would be unseen. “What are you doing? Did you attack her?”

My fury jabbed me again. “Did you?” I asked sarcastically.

Max’s eyes narrowed. His voice was low and harsh. “You want to stop and think very carefully on your next words.”

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I said, “I need to talk to you in private.”

Max frowned. “Do you order me around?”

I shook my head. “No, but….”

“I’ve spent enough time coddling you today. Manage your own ladies.”

I gritted my teeth. “Then you can just back off!”

Max leaned over me and was about to pronounce some dire punishment, I’m sure, when Devlin’s voice floated over us. “Max, a word?”

Max turned and glared at his brother. “Devlin….” he rumbled in a clear warning.

Devlin looked back at him calmly. “This won’t wait.“Max looked at me and then turned on his heel and followed his brother.

I watched them for a moment, but I was still riled, primed for some kind of argument. As soon as Max was out of the room, I went purposefully over to Kasta, sitting near the fire. “Kasta?” I inquired.

She turned to me, a sneer on her face. “You see how he protects me.”

The two guards looked at each other, plainly at a loss as to what to do.

Callista said, “Katrina, maybe we should—”

“Listen to me well, Kasta. I have little to lose right now. You will never talk to me like that again. You will treat me with respect and not talk behind my back. You will refer to me as, ‘my lady,’ and most importantly, you will stay away from my husband. If you break even one of my orders, I will hurt you. Not a lot the first time, but if you displease me again, I’ll hurt you so that no man ever looks at you again!”

Kasta blinked at me, completely nonplussed.

“Nod your head, Kasta,” I snarled.

She simply stared.

I reached out quick as a snake and pulled her head back, forcing her to nod. “Good. We understand each other.” I turned and stalked off, the bemused guards following me.

I was sitting in the window near my old room when Callista found me. “Kat?” she asked.

I sighed, thoroughly embarrassed at my behavior. “Yes?” I said, turning. My guards were loitering in the hallway a discrete distance away, looking uncomfortable.

Callista sat on the other side of the wide ledge, looking at me. “Oh, it’s cold here,” she said.

“Yes,” I said.

“Katrina, what is going on with you?”

I turned to her. “Let me count.” I put out my fingers, ticking off my points. “I’m probably a bastard with a killer for a father, the women of the castle treat me like dirt and try to seduce my husband, the King has annulled my marriage, my husband only seems to like me once my skirt comes off, and… my mother has been alive all these years and nobody told me!” I put my face in my hands.

“Katrina, I’m so sorry. Truly I am. Is there anything I can do?”

I sighed. “No, I’m sorry I keep yelling at you.”

She waved a hand. “No apology is necessary.“I pulled up my knees against my chest and let my chin rest on them. My eyes took in Callista, beautiful in a lemon yellow skirt and slightly paler shirt, her blond hair in a knot on top of her head. In two days she’d be gone. That reminded me, so I said, “What are you going to do about Devlin?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Seduce him.”

Callista stared at me. “What did you say?”

“Seduce him,” I repeated calmly.

She gave a short laugh. “You are certainly blunt today. But you know I can’t; even if I knew how to, it wouldn’t be right.”

“You want him, right?  Then make sure there is no hope before you go off with Gregory.”