The Gorgon (39 page)

Aye, Henry would want to know
what had become of his favorite captain and Dag was determined to tell him
personally.

***

Summer was snoring when Bose
returned to the cramped room. A thin spirit candle flickered by the side of the
small bed, casting little light upon the gloomy room. On the floor beside the
bed, a tray of food lay virtually untouched and Bose smiled faintly as he
recalled his threat. Truly, he would not awaken her to force her to eat. But he
would awaken her for another reason.

With a loud snort and a sniffle,
she suddenly rolled onto her side, her beautiful hair splayed about the bed
like an abstract halo. Quietly, Bose removed his armor, allowing the pieces to
fall gently to the floor. Stripped to his linen tunic and hose, he proceeded to
remove his damp boots, wondering if the horrid smell alone would be enough to
wake her. Finally dislodging the tunic, he sat carefully on the bed beside her.

God's Beard, she was so very
beautiful.  Reaching out, thick finger toyed with the silken strands of hair,
loving the soft feel against his skin. The same hand stroked her hair a few
moments before moving to her head, tracing the hairline about her face, caressing
her cheek. Never in his life had he been witness to a more sensual, exquisite
creature.

"If you were still married
to Lora, you would not be touching me at this moment," her muffled voice
was faint, yet alert.

Bose cocked his head, watching
the dim light play off her porcelain skin. "No, I would not."

Summer rolled onto her back, her
golden eyes half-lidded with sleep. "I am a wicked, wicked woman, Bose.
P-Please do not... do not hate me for thinking terrible thoughts."

"And what thoughts are
those, love?"

She blinked as if deciding
whether or not to answer him. After a moment, she simply shook her head.
"I cannot tell you. You will hate me."

"I could never hate you.
What were you thinking?"

Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes
and Bose shushed her softly, wiping the moisture away. "What's amiss,
love? Why do you cry?"

"B-Because," she wept
softly.

"Why?"

She tried to roll over, away from
him, but he would not allow it. Instead, he lay on the small bed beside her and
drew her against his naked chest, her faint rose scent filling his nostrils.
"Tell me. Why do you weep?"

She sniffled and sobbed, sneezing
and spraying his skin with moisture. He held her tightly, somehow suspecting
what her answer would be but wanting to hear it from her lips all the same. If
you were still married to Lora, you would not be touching me now....

"B-B-Because I-I...
I-I...."

"There is no need to be
upset, love. Calm yourself and speak slowly."

She swallowed hard, her hands
against his taut chest. After a moment, small fingers began to caress his dark
skin timidly. "I was thinking that I am glad for Lora's death," she
said softly. "If she was s-still alive, I would never have known you. Or
loved you. Although my thoughts are not m-meant to be evil, I nonetheless feel
wicked for believing that I should thank her for her passing. For her kindness
in providing her husband to a woman she has never met."

She waited for an explosion of
fury, but there was none forthcoming. Instead, his embrace actually seemed to
tighten and she could feel his lips against her forehead, warm and tender.

"I am a firm believer in the
old proverb that states all events happen for a reason," his voice was
barely audible. "I remember Dag telling me on the day we buried Lora that
God is in control of our lives, not us as we would like to believe. God had
allowed Lora to die for a reason, though at the time I surely could not imagine
what that reason could be. Mayhap... mayhap you were the reason."

Her head came up, golden eyes
melding with onyx-black. The tears faded as she gazed deeply into his rugged
face. "Do you believe that?"

He met her gaze, his eyes raking
her delicious features. "I do," he whispered. "God looked into
the future and realized what my dilemma would be upon meeting you. Certainly, I
would not have been unfaithful to my wife even if you are the most beautiful
woman in all of England."

She smiled faintly. "G-God
was thinking of me, too. I would still be living an isolated life had you not
been introduced into my world. Mayhap God realized that I needed you more than
Lora did."

Bose sighed, thinking of Lora far
more objectively than he had in four years. "Lora needed my level head, my
wisdom. She could be rather mindless at times."

"As can I. 'Tis a female
trait, I think."

He grinned in agreement. "I
remember the day I met her. She was attempting to lower herself from a window
to escape her mother's wrath. Apparently, Lora had a secret lover and Margot
heartily disapproved. But the rope she was lowering herself on was made of
linen sheets, tied together on the ends. Clearly, a woman cannot tie a knot as
a man can and one of them inevitably came loose. She landed on top of me."

Summer giggled. "She did?
P-Poor thing. Did she injure herself?"

His eyebrows rose. "You
think only of her health? What of mine? She could have injured me
terribly."

She continued to giggle. "So
sorry, my darling. B-But we women must support one another. I would have
lowered myself from a window to meet my secret lover regardless of who I landed
on, too."

"You did more than that. You
were a willing accomplice in your lover's secretive plans to abduct you from
your home."

Her smile faded as she realized
the truth of his words, the seriousness of her actions. His warm skin, beneath
her fingers, drew her attention and she found her gaze wandering his muscular,
naked torso. Bose pulled her close once again, his gentle lips finding her
forehead, her cheeks, and her nose. Summer closed her eyes as his seeking mouth
drew closer to her honeyed lips, feeling the heat of desire burn deep into her
belly.

The palms of her sweating hands
moved up his chest, her fingers digging into his shoulders as his mouth claimed
her own. Moaning noises sounded deep within her throat as Bose pulled her into
a crushing embrace, smothering her with his maleness. Kiss after kiss, their
desire burned hotter and hotter until Summer abruptly found herself beneath
him, the small bed groaning dangerously under their combined weight.

Straddling her luscious body,
Bose fumbled with the stays of the amber-colored gown, listening to his wife's
gasps of passion in between loud, pathetic sneezes. When the bodice of the
garment came free, he removed the gown completely and set to work on her
silky-soft shift. Easily, it dislodged and before Summer realized her state,
she was completely naked beneath him.

The warmth from his over-heated
body shielded her from the chill of the room, protecting her. Bose fumbled
about again, his mouth still attached to her neck, and it wasn't until he lay
upon her completely that she realized he had removed his hose. Naked and warm,
he drew the coarse woolen blanket about them both.

Her legs were sandwiched between
his massive thighs as a quivering hand gently traced her torso. When the
searing kisses to her neck ceased, Summer opened her eyes to realized Bose was
openly inspecting her nude body.

"Bose?" she whispered,
disappointed that he had halted his scorching kisses. "What are
you...?"

"God's Beard, you are
beautiful," even his voice quivered with awe and desire. Moving to her
breasts, his hand moved in a gentle circle as his eyes sought her curious gaze.
"I am sorry this event could not take place in a comfortable bed with all
the time in the world for foreplay and discovery. What I must do, I must do
immediately, for every moment that passes is another moment that our location
would be potentially discovered. If your father breaks down the door before I
have had a chance to claim you completely, 'twill be ammunition for his
cause."

She smiled faintly, her hand to
the three parallel scars on his cheek that fascinated her so. "W-We have
all night, do we not? Stephan will not tell where we have gone."

He kissed her hand. "I trust
your brother completely, but my charger's tracks are distinct. If Breck and
your father are intent to follow our trail, it will lead them here."

Her smile faded. "Then...
t-then they could be upon us?"

"Possibly. And I cannot take
the chance that they would separate us before I have consummated the
marriage."

Her face darkened somewhat at the
thought of being isolated from Bose. And with that thought, fear such as she
had never known blossomed within her chest, consuming her, drawing her clean of
all control. Throwing her arms about his massive neck, she pulled him close
against her in a fit of possessiveness and desire.

"Then do it," she
murmured against his ear. "Make me yours, my darling. I am not
afraid."

His hands moved to her breasts,
his lips to her shoulder. Summer surrendered to him completely, wanting to know
the power of his touch, to feel the magic of his emotions. Two days of
discovering passion and desire paved way for a sensation that seemed to grow in
intensity with every successive touch, every progressive kiss. The more he
caressed and lingered, the more she wanted.

His heated mouth was upon her
nipples, drawing them into stiff little pellets. He suckled her, bit at her,
until Summer was panting with the heat of her unrestrained desire. Sneezing
onto the hands that held his dark head captive against her breast, she made
little attempt to stifle her delightful moans against his onslaught.

His hands moved to her slender
thighs as his mouth continued to work her nipples hungrily. Gently prying her
legs apart, he shifted his weight and settled between them. As Summer
instinctively wrapped her legs about his slender hips, his calloused fingers
moved to her delicate virgin core.

As before, she started slightly
when she felt his probing touch, forcing herself to calm as he whispered tender
words of comfort. Her natural apprehension banked somewhat as he invited her to
watch his actions, acquainting her with her own body, its responses and
reactions to his touch. Summer watched with a calming mind and increasing
fascination as Bose gently traced the dusting of dark-gold curls between her
legs, telling her how pretty the thatch appeared to his hungry, amorous eyes.

She blushed steadily as he
murmured softly on the beauty of her private junction, tenderly stroking the
thick lips until she gradually came to relax. Twice, he reached up to grasp her
hand, insisting that she join him in his exploration, but she balked and
giggled uncontrollably. Smiling at her natural embarrassment, he continued to
touch her as only he was capable.

God's Beard, it had been so long
since he had touched a woman in this fashion that he realized he had nearly
forgotten the pleasure of it. His massive fingers raked the patch of dark
curls, the scent of her feminine musk tantalizing his nostrils and feeding his
desire. As Summer watched, he dipped his great head to deposit sweet, loving
kisses along her groin. Planting a deep kiss directly on the center of the
hedge of delicate ringlets, he laughed softly when Summer leapt in maidenly
shock.

"Easy, love, easy," he
murmured. "There is more to come."

She nodded uneasily, smiling
timidly into his lust-glazed eyes. Widening her already-spread legs, his hands
stoked the back of her thighs and caressed the rounded curve of her buttocks
before gently probing the glistening petals of her womanhood.

God's Beard, she was slick as
rain and he sighed raggedly as his finger slipped into her easily. Summer
gasped softly, her eyes closing to the initial surprise and wonder of his
intimate action. Bose groaned low in his throat as he withdrew his finger
gently, slipping two into her with little resistance. She gasped again and
suddenly, he could hardly stand the excitement; as his control began to
splinter in the wake of her obvious readiness, he mounted her with as much care
as he could muster.

His throbbing member was hard and
heavy as he pushed against her, gliding in effortlessly until the ruby-red tip
of his phallus was buried. Holding himself aloft from her body with one arm and
gripping her tightly about the waist with the other, his black eyes met with
her wide golden orbs and he smiled weakly, all of his strength and concentration
centered on his careful, slow entry. She smiled in return, biting her lip in
anticipation of his breach, expecting the pain and discomfort that would
accompany such an action yet oddly eager to know the experience just the same.

Forgetting his control, his
indecisiveness, Bose collected her delicious body into his embrace and drove
his eager member deep into her yielding body. Listening to her soft gasps of
shock, he kissed her deeply and passionately until she ceased to whimper. Holding
her tightly, he coiled his buttocks and drove into her slowly, again and again,
introducing her to a world of passion. Summer stayed with him, clinging to his
lips, moaning softly with each successive thrust, and Bose felt his climax
approach with blinding speed.