The Gorgon (40 page)

Abruptly withdrawing, he wrapped
Summer's hands about his erupting member, gasping with ecstasy as he spent
himself upon her hands, his cousin's mattress. Sweating and breathing heavily
from his exertion, he observed his wife's expression as she watched the final
surge of his orgasm die a lingering death within the palm of her hands.

"Good Lord," she
whispered, watching the pearl essence run down her flesh. "Are you all
right? What happened?"

Amidst his panting, he laughed
and snatched the edges of the blanket, wiping off her hands. "My pleasure,
love," when she looked puzzled, he laid her back to the bed and sought to
clarify his statement. "My seed, as you called it."

Summer watched him as he resumed
kissing her breasts, her torso. "But... but you s-seemed to be in such
pain. Does it hurt you?"

He laughed again, reaching the
dark blond curls matted with moisture. "Not at all," he said,
descending upon her tender nub. "As you are about to discover."

Summer opened her mouth to
question his odd reply when he suddenly came to bear on the jewel of her
femininity, teasing it gently with his tongue. With a cry of surprise and a
surge of pleasure, Summer's legs draped over his massive shoulders and she once
again found herself surrendering to his wonderfully experienced touch. It was a
matter of seconds before an explosion of stars pierced her brain, her loins and
body wracked with euphoria such as she had never known.

"You have the power of life
and death, husband," she murmured after the ripples faded. “I know not in
which state I find myself."

Bose's pulled her into his
powerful embrace, smiling weakly. "Alive, love. As you have made me more
alive than I have ever been in my life."

Summer lifted her head, gazing at
his relaxed, dozing face. "Then... then you were not d-disappointed by my
lack of... that is, you have been married before and have had experience with
this sort of thing. I have never even been kissed by a man until two days
ago."

He peeped an eye open, peering at
her charmingly disheveled face in the weak light. "Well and good that you
have not. I shall be the only man to touch you. Ever."

Summer scratched her head,
smoothing the hair away from her face. Bose closed his eye, thoroughly
exhausted, yet noting from the shift of the bed that Summer was sitting up
beside him. Opening both eyes this time, he observed her as she stared
pensively into the dim depths of the tiny room.

"What's amiss, love?"
he asked softly, stroking her delicious blond hair. "Aren't you
tired?"

She shrugged, shaking her head
and wiping at her nose. After a moment, she sneezed again in the resumption of
her chill symptoms that had miraculously seemed to vanish during the peak
moments of their pleasure.

"Did I n-not please
y-you?"

The stutter had returned and he
grew more alert, knowing its return to be an indication of her emotional level.
Folding a massive arm behind his head, he gazed up at her exquisite profile.

"More than words can
express. What is bothering you?"

Her lovely brow furrowed as she
appeared to ponder his question, her reply. "I-It's just...I-I..."
turning to face him, he could see the blush mottling her cheeks even in the
weak light. "G-Genisa t-told me that when m-men spill their seed, i-it is
inside a woman. I-If I p-pleased you, then why did you not spill inside of me?
I a-am your wife, after all. 'Tis m-my duty to bear you s-strong sons and if
you d-do not give me y-your seed, then h-h-how... h-h-how...."

He stopped her, his lethargy
vanished as his black eyes focused on her intently. God`s Beard, how could he tell
her his reasons? That he was fearful of pumping her full of his massive seed,
killing her as he had killed Lora? Gazing into her beautiful face, he knew as
surely as he lived and breathed that if anything ever happened to her, he would
be lost forever. There would be no reason left for him to live.

Reaching up, he cupped her
delicate chin, loving and adoring her more than mere words could express but
unwilling to divulge his truth. The truth was that he would deny her the chance
to bear his child simply because he refused to face the risk of losing her.

"You’re so young, love, so
naive," he murmured, attempting to divert the subject. "Do you always
adhere to what Genisa tells you?"

Summer shook her head, the light
of uncertainty still in her eyes. "N-Nay. But I-I know...."

He sat up swiftly, kissing her
firmly on the lips. "You must trust that I, for now, know more than you do
where it pertains to sexual relations. Trust that there is more to this world
that what Genisa has told you."

A nicely skirted subject, he
congratulated himself as Summer deliberated his words. A few twisted words, a
measure of confusion, and his wife was easily distracted. Eager to be clear of
the subject, he wrapped his arms about her slender torso and drew her down on
the bed beside him.

"Now," he said firmly.
"I want you to sleep. We must leave before sunrise and I would have you
rested."

Still pondering his mysterious,
somewhat baffling words, Summer yawned and sneezed in succession.
"A-Aren't we going to make love again?"

His eyebrows rose and he fought
off a smile. "I could make love to you all night, but I doubt you derive
as much pleasure as I."

"G-Genisa and Stephan make
love three and four times a night."

"And how would you know
this? Wait - do not tell me; Genisa is quite free with tales of her personal
habits, I would guess."

Summer pursed her lips wryly.
"N-Not at all. Their bedchamber is next to mine and I can hear them."

Bose laughed softly, turning in
the small bed and catching her against his naked chest comfortably. "Not
to worry, love. When you and I are settled at Ravendark, we shall put Genisa
and Stephan to shame with our continuous lovemaking."

Summer sighed, snuggled against
her husband and feeling exceedingly weary. "I t-thought you said I would
not enjoy making love more than once a night."

"I did not say that. I
merely said that tonight might be an inappropriate night for such an event due
to two very good reasons."

"A-And they are?"

"The fact that you are
likely to be sore so soon after your fresh experience. And also because if your
cries of passion grow any louder, I expect the priests listening at the door
will be forced into an uncomfortable, if not embarrassing, physical
situation."

Summer's head came up again.
"They are listening to us?"

Bose pushed her head down.
"Every word," he kissed her tenderly. "Go to sleep now, love.
I'll wake you in the morn."

If Bose wasn't bothered by the
eavesdropping of curious priests, then Summer supposed her outrage would be
misplaced. After all, they were a newlywed couple and the men of God's Holy
Order could hardly expect them to refrain from experiencing the intimacy of
their union. With a heavy sigh, she burrowed deep against him.

"G-Good sleep, my
darling."

"Good sleep, love."

Summer turned her head slightly,
facing toward the bolted chamber door. "Good sleep, priests!" she
called softly.

After a moment, footsteps that
were making an obvious attempt at silence faded in both directions of the hall.
Bose and Summer giggled until they could hardly stand the pain.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

The morning had dawned gray and
misty, a perpetual coating of moisture gracing the landscape of Chaldon and her
surrounding province. Within the castle herself, the last of the great houses
were preparing to depart. In spite of the mysterious absence of the du Bonne
brother and Bose de Moray for the final round of jousting, a young and
virtually unknown knight had emerged victorious in the joust, endearing himself
to the crowd with his gracious manners as he accepted his ransom.

Ransom taken from none other than
Duncan Kerry. Even now, Duncan lingered in the misty shadows of the keep,
watching the activity amidst the wet splattering that continued to fall. His
usually lively face was grim, his skin pale and cold. Aye, his mood was as gray
as the landscape and sky.

Just before sunrise, Stephan and
Ian appeared, speaking to a small collection of men-at-arms. Duncan watched
closely, the cold mist bathing his face, as the soldiers listened carefully to
the two knights and then quickly disbanded. As Stephan and his brother split in
opposite directions, Duncan made way to the oldest sibling.

"Stephan," he hissed,
keeping close to the outerwall. "
Stephan
!"

Stephan, clad in durable battle
armor and a heavy cloak, paused at the sound of his whispered name. Turning,
his bright green eyes focused on the source and for a brief moment, his anger
surged. But he banked, a control he had been forced to employ for the better
part of the night. Even as Duncan approached, he found himself fighting the urge
to wrap his hands around the young knight's neck;
any
Kerry neck.

"Stephan," Duncan was
upon him, his handsome face anxious. "What in the hell is going on? My
brother left this morn and would not tell me anything. What's happened to Sir
Bose and your sister?"

Stephan's gaze was hard as he
stared at the knight, his jaw ticking faintly. "I should be asking you
that question. Undoubtedly your brother told you of his plans to steal my
sister from her betrothed. And when Bose fled Chaldon with his ladylove in tow,
mayhap your brother eluded his intention to beat the truth of Bose's
destination from Sir Morgan," he braced his powerful fists against his
hips. "Or better still, mayhap he explained to you the fact that somehow,
Bose's mother-in-law is involved in his corrupt plans. What, in fact, can you
tell me, Duncan Kerry?"

Duncan's expression faltered and
he lowered his gaze, emitting a heavy sigh. "He... he's been speaking
crazy ideals for the past three days. I truly had no idea he planned to follow
through."

Stephan's jaw stopped ticking.
"Follow through with
what
?"

Duncan closed his eyes briefly, a
painful expression. "God's Blood, Stephan, I know I should have come to
you sooner... but, truthfully, I never believed Breck capable of carrying out
his threats. He oft says things he doesn't mean, insane thoughts that just as
quickly pass. I never thought...."

"Damnation, Duncan, what
threat?"

Reluctantly, Duncan met Stephan's
blazing green orbs. "The threat to destroy de Moray by using your sister
against him."

Stephan could only stare at the
man. "Why would he seek to destroy Bose? And, more importantly, how does
he plan to utilize my sister against him?"

Duncan took a deep breath,
praying that the man would not find reason to run him through once he had finished
his explanation. "Ever since Bose joined the tournament circuit, my
brother has taken every loss and every defeat against the man as a personal
attack. He hates Bose for his talent, his strength, and has oft plotted to
somehow eliminate him."

"Kill him?"

"Nay," Duncan shook his
head. "Merely remove him from the circuit. When he discovered Sir Bose's
interest in your sister, he believed he'd found his opportunity. Since he has
been unable to physically ruin de Moray, he sought to ruin him through the lady."

The fog of confusion and fury
that had plagued Stephan's mind since the previous eve began to dissipate. Of
course, Breck had been unable to defeat Bose by the usual means, strength
against strength, talent against talent; Bose was far too powerful in both
arenas. Therefore, Breck had sought to weaken him on a far more serious level
by using his emotions against him.

"So he petitioned for her
hand, stealing her away from Bose by using the long-standing rumors against the
man's reputation," Stephan's voice was remarkable controlled. "And
the Lady Margot, being the source of the vicious rumors, is supporting his
quest."

Duncan nodded faintly. "He
told me she had offered to help him destroy Sir Bose."

After a moment, Stephan shook his
head with disbelief; he wasn't sure if he should be furious or laugh at the
foolishness of it.

"An embittered old woman and
a sinister young knight join forces, convince my father that Bose is a murderer
and should not be allowed to marry my sister, and my father agrees." He snorted
ironically. "God's Blood, I can hardly believe what has happened. When I
saw the old woman in my father's solar last eve siding with your brother, I
could hardly believe her identity. As your brother saw support for his cause in
her knowledge of Bose's past, the old bitch apparently also saw the weapon she
had been seeking to destroy her son-in-law once and for all. She is using your
brother, Duncan. Just as he is using her, she is using him as well."

Duncan sighed, a weary gesture.
"I have no idea how they found one another. I did not even know she had
attended the tourney," scratching his damp head, his expression was
pensive. “I am sorry for all of this, Stephan. As I said, I should have come to
you earlier, but I had no idea he would go this far. What matters now is what I
can do to help. How is Sir Morgan faring?"