and before he could give it his usual
amount of pondering, he nodded.
“May I have this dance, Princess
Isolde?”
Isolde stared at him for a long while,
her green gaze penetrating before she
nodded and offered her hand. He
whisked her to the dance floor, and
they waited at the edge until the
musicians started another tune. Isolde,
along with her sisters, had been taught
different dances as part of their world
lessons, so she was quite capable of
dancing to a Northern reel.
“Do all of the women in your
kingdom
possess
your
beauty,
Princess?” Bael asked as they twirled
around each other.
Caught off guard, Isolde glared at
him, before shaking her head. “If that
was your attempt at a compliment, my
lord, I am not impressed.”
He smiled, revealing his beautiful
teeth and intriguing dimples. “I have
yet to give you a compliment, my
lady. I merely noticed that every
Lytherian woman in Morden—the
queen, yourself, your younger sister,
and the two ladies, are beautiful. So, I
ask my question again: are you all
beautiful?”
Isolde’s reply was nonchalant. “I
have been taught that beauty is in the
eye of the beholder, my lord.”
A chuckle greeted that answer.
“Perhaps I should visit Lytheria. I
have never been there.”
“You will not like it,” Isolde replied,
allowing him to throw her out before
bringing her in once more.
A smirk touched Bael’s lips.
“Methinks you do not wish for me to
visit, Princess.”
She did not hide her smile then,
beaming up at him and replying, “I am
merely telling you that it will be
discomforting
to
one
who
is
accustomed to the chill of the North.”
“Ah, Lytheria is very warm, then?”
“It is,” she replied, releasing him all
together and circling another elegantly
garbed lady before moving back into
his arms.
“I have never been to a warm
kingdom, Princess. Perhaps Lytheria
will be my first.”
She did not reply because the music
ended and they stepped away from
each other. Isolde curtsied gracefully,
and he bowed at the waist, laughing at
her with his eyes.
With a small, courteous smile, she
made her way back to her sister.
***
“I am beginning to believe you are
even more stubborn than I,” Vulcan
said clearly as he stared down at his
sleeping wife. She blinked and looked
up at him, seated as he was at the
edge of her bed.
“Have you already grown tired of
L a d y
Calista?” she asked lightly,
placing a hand to her mouth to
capture the yawn she released.
“Perhaps I have,” he replied in the
same tone of voice she used. “What
do you suggest I do?”
“Recall Lady Savoy to court,” was
the immediate answer. She rolled
over, giving him her back.
“I could do that,” Vulcan replied
easily, staring at the bronze skin at her
neck, revealed by the delicate fabric
she wore. He’d been too long, far too
long, without his wife. He pushed his
legs onto the bed and moved closer to
her. His hands slipped around her
growing waist and came to rest gently
on the swell of her belly, under the
nightdress.
She
tensed
before
she
said
haughtily, “I do not think you should
do that, liege. I am your wife, if you
will remember. I am to honor and
obey, bear your children when
necessary, and play the part of Queen
to your King. I am no more.”
His hand pushed aside the curls that
had fallen from the loose bun atop her
head, revealing the soft golden skin at
her nape. Leaning down, he kissed
her softly, his lips lingering against her
warm flesh. She jerked in his arms,
tugging at his hand as she tried to
move it away from her belly. “You
forget where you are, Vulcan! I am
not Calista. I have not her black hair,
violet eyes, or porcelain skin. Stop
touching me.”
“It pleases me greatly to hear my
name on your lips,” he murmured
against her neck, his hand remaining
firm on her belly. He even began to
caress her lightly, ignoring the fact
that her hand was pushing at his.
“Go back to your chambers,
Vulcan. Or go to Calista’s. Leave me
be,” Jaisyn demanded.
“I don’t want Calista,” he kissed the
place where her shoulder met her
neck and she felt her traitorous body
grow warm.
He has his mistress right
under your nose.
That was like a
bucket of freezing ice water over her
head. “I’ve never wanted Calista. You
were the one who suggested—”
“I do not care, Vulcan. You cannot
have a mistress and a wife at the same
time.”
He released a small chuckle before
he replied. “That is untrue, wife. Men
have wives and mistresses at the same
time, all of the time.”
Jaisyn drew in a deep breath and
gave up pushing against his hand. He
was only caressing her belly. It wasn’t
as if he was trying to pin her to the
bed—yet.
“Well, I won’t stand for it. You
can’t have a mistress and sleep in my
bed as well.”
“Then I will sleep in your bed.” As
she feared, he was moving atop her
and his body pressed her into the bed.
She turned her face to the side and
pushed at his solid arms.
“You have already taken Calista as
a mistress, Vulcan,” she pushed
upward, but he did not budge. Nor did
he make a move to kiss her. Finally,
she turned her head to look at him. He
was staring down at her, a small smile
curving his lips.
She frowned. Vulcan did not smile
at her. He hadn’t done so in almost a
month.
“I do not have a mistress,” he told
her slowly in his deep voice. “Unless
you wish to audition for the part.”
Eyes narrowing, Jaisyn remembered
the lustful look Calista had given him.
“You most certainly have a mistress,
Vulcan. I never thought you would lie
to me, but now I see that you have
stooped to new lows.”
His eyes went from being playful to
hard in a second. Leaning down so
that his eyes were just over hers, he
said firmly. “I do not have a mistress,
and if I were to take one, I most
certainly would not take Calista. I am
no defiler of virgins.” Vulcan lifted his
head, cocked it slightly to the side,
and a crooked grin touched his lips
again, “Save for you.”
Scarlet flushed her cheeks and she
contemplated knocking him upside the
head with her fist. Even if he had not
taken the lady to mistress, he had not
slept alone these past weeks! Had he
bedded a maid, or two or three? And
why was her husband so jovial
tonight? Why had he not been this
way weeks ago? Perhaps he was
drunk.
“Are you in your cups?” she
demanded, sniffing at him to see if she
smelled ale.
He gave her a sharp glance before
his lips brushed hers. “Do you taste
ale?”
Swallowing audibly, she stared into
his molten grey gaze. “Vulcan, stop
this. Please. Find another woman to
warm your bed this night, for I am
tired.”
“As am I,” was the cool reply. “And
I do not want another woman in my
bed, Jaisyn. I want you.” He stopped
and traced her lips with his gaze. She
licked them. “You were extremely
beautiful tonight.” His gaze flicked
back to hers. “So beautiful that
everyone took notice.”
“Why now? Why did you not come
to me weeks before?” she hissed, still
trying to pry him off of her. It was like
trying to move a large, fleshy boulder.
Something flickered in his eyes, and
she saw the emotions there close to
her, before he allowed her to see them
once more. “I was angry. I am still
angry with you for helping Malcolm
escape. You should have trusted me. I
would have pardoned him. But that is
in the past, and I’ve decided to leave it
there. You are still my wife, and I
want you.”
“If you had told me that you were
going to pardon him, I would not have
planned an escape,” she retorted
testily. “Perhaps you should trust me
with information concerning my
friends.”
He shook his head. “Enough about
Malcolm. He is no doubt somewhere
in Mitherie, happy he still has his
head, so I’m putting that behind me. I
haven’t touched you in a month and
I’m aching to do so…right…now.”
His mouth lowered.
“Wait!” He stopped a hair’s breath
from her lips. “You haven’t taken
another to your bed?”
“No,” he replied, allowing her to see
the truth in his eyes. She felt her
stomach flutter nervously, seeing
Vulcan so open with his emotions. “I
did not want another.”
His lips captured hers and although
her body remained impassive, her
tongue pushed upwards into the heat
of his mouth as he pressed into her. It
was a long and thorough kiss, and
afterward, Jaisyn felt like sighing and
screaming at the same time. She’d
missed him.
Her lids had lowered during the kiss
so she felt but did not see him move
from her body. He slowly pushed the
bed gown to her waist and pulled her
up so that he could move it over her
head. The cool night brought out
goosepimples on her skin. She opened
her eyes. He was kneeling before her,
his eyes feasting on the generous
swells of her breasts. He pushed her
shoulder lightly and she fell back
against the bed, naked.
***
Vulcan stared down at the siren
before him, eyes feasting on every
curve, every indentation, and every
cut of muscle. His eyes drifted to her
belly, and his hands caressed the soft,
raised skin gently before he lowered
his head and kissed her there. What
started out as an innocent kiss turned
heated when he dipped lower and
swirled his tongue around her navel.
***
Jaisyn groaned and her fingers
moved through his silken hair. His
hands moved down, skimming the hair
at her thighs. She clenched her thighs
together, parting them slightly when
his fingers caressed her, asking for
access. The moment his fingers
brushed against her lips, she felt like
screaming. Sweet Goddess, she was
sensitive. He lifted his head from her
navel and stared into her hazy eyes.
His grey gaze held hers as he moved
lower, as he parted her legs and
placed a large hand under her
buttocks. She was open to him.
“Vul—”
It ended on a scream when his
tongue flicked across the little button,
sending her wild, and causing her
hand to tighten lovingly in his hair. He
moved his tongue down to capture the
essence of her and moaned when it
filled his mouth. One more flick at the
now-engorged button and he was
kissing his way back up her body.
His hips settled between hers and
Jaisyn blinked wildly as his hard organ
touched her love bud. When had he
removed his breeches? As she thought
of that, his lips closed over her nipple
and she arched against his mouth and
his straining length. She did not care
when he’d removed it. She wanted
him inside of her.
Teeth scraped her nipple gently and
she squealed and groaned all in one.
“I need you,” she breathed and the
words were so soft he thought he’d
imagined them. But suddenly, her
hand tightened almost painfully in his
hair and he had no choice but to lift