Part 11 (1/2)

”Say it, Lily,” he muttered hoa.r.s.ely in her ear. ”Say it.”

”I-I will,” she agreed, blind with the need for what only he could do for her. ”I will be an obedient wife-”

With a groan he drove into her then, and Lilliane thought she would swoon from the sheer glory of it. Hot and smooth, like steel wrapped in velvet, he moved in long, determined thrusts. She was sure he touched her very soul.

His mouth came down on hers with such pa.s.sionate fervor she thought she must die of pleasure. His tongue filled her mouth in a demanding rhythm that mirrored their other joining. Then she was no longer a pa.s.sive receptacle for his pa.s.sion. With a fire that matched his own, her tongue met his and was drawn enticingly to explore his lips and mouth. She wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders, reveling in the hot, slick feel of his skin. And with every possessive stroke of his body into her she rose in willing acceptance.

She was flying into the unknown, frightened and exhilarated as her body reached for some new indefinable goal. Then like some incredible explosion within her, she felt one exquisite wave after another wash over her. He had pushed her beyond all control. Then she was practically lifted from the bed as his body stiffened and he groaned against her neck.

”Ah, Lily ... my G.o.d, woman ...”

Lilliane felt the shudders that ripped through him, and she gloried in the knowledge that she had the power to affect him even as he affected her. But as he slowed his frantic pace, she felt a sudden sting of tears against her lids. He would pull away from her now, she realized. Although it was madness, she did not want him to go.

When he rolled to his side, taking her with him, she kept her face averted from him. She was bewildered by all he made her feel. She was supposed to hate him, but she desired him beyond all understanding. She had fought to be free of him, yet now she clung to him, devastated to think he might leave her so quickly.

But Corbett did not loosen his hold on her at all. Instead he nestled her within his arms, tucked her head neatly under his chin, and pulled the coverlet over them both. Beneath her ear Lilliane could hear the strong beat of his heart as it gradually slowed its pace. He sighed hugely and slid his hand down her arm, then kissed the top of her head.

”You will do very well, wife,” he whispered sleepily. ”Very well.”

His breath stirred her hair and Lilliane felt a delicious quiver deep within her. Despite her wish for it not to be so, she was gratified by his approval of her. She did not like this strange reversal of her feelings, but she could not ignore it. Nor could she deny that her desire for him was stronger than ever.

For a long while Lilliane lay still within the embrace of her new husband. It was a strange feeling, to lie with a man so. She feared that despite her extreme weariness, she would never relax enough to sleep.

But oddly enough, she did feel safe in his arms. Safe and protected. With a small sigh she settled against him and, lulled by his soft, steady breathing, she slipped peacefully into sleep.

10.

LILLIANE WAS BEING PRESSED down beneath the most delicious of weights. She was heavy with the clinging after-effects of sleep, she truly did not wish to awaken.

Yet the warmth seeping over her was not to be ignored. Even as it forced her awake, it drugged her into compliant lethargy.

She was not all at once aware of Corbett's presence in her bed. Her memory was still too clouded from her exhausted slumber. But the masculine feel of his hard, naked body was impossible to ignore. When his hand slid slowly down her side to rest upon her hip, she squirmed unconsciously against him, still resisting full awareness.

But when his lips began to nibble at her neck and his warm breath tickled her sensitive ear, she could not fight it. Her eyes slowly opened to the dimness of the early morning and the realization of whom she lay with.

”Sleep well?” Corbett's husky words seemed to stroke some chord within her and she took a quick breath. He was half lying upon her; their bellies were pressed intimately together, their legs were entwined. Memories of the hours just past tumbled through her mind, and to her complete chagrin a wave of desire rushed through her.

Hesitantly she peered up into his shadowed face. There was little revealed in the dim light of predawn, only the ma.s.sive size of him and the way he completely dominated her. But there was no force in his light touch; nor was there any tentativeness. He did not command, neither did he request that she respond. He only smoothed her tangled hair back from her brow then cupped her face between his hands.

Still, that was enough. Like a smoldering fire fanned suddenly by high winds, she felt the full force of her longing for him return. It was as if their previous joinings had only whetted her appet.i.te, she realized as she succ.u.mbed to the exquisite torture of it. Against her belly she felt the insistent pressure of his arousal, and without thinking she pressed up hard against him.

”Ah, my little wife,” he murmured hotly against her lips. ”How you drive me to distraction. I would sooner stay abed with you ...” His mouth captured hers eagerly, drawing her tongue into a wildly pa.s.sionate dance. She was ready for him at once, as if their previous lovemaking had not ended at all, but only melted into this new, freshening pa.s.sion.

”Stay abed,” she whispered. She arched her neck as his lips moved seductively upon her tender flesh. ”'Tis yet night. You need not leave.”

Corbett raised above her then. She could not clearly make out his expression, although she knew he stared at her intently. She thought he would speak. Certainly he paused as if something preyed upon his mind. But then it appeared he'd reconsidered for he moved down upon her. His knee nudged her legs apart and she willingly complied. Then he entered her with a sureness that took her breath away, so consummately did he fill every part of her.

”Oh, dear G.o.d ...” She panted as he began to move rhythmically within her. Like a fire out of control her blood seemed to rush through her. She was his wife, she thought as she spun in dizzy circles. This was right and good in the eyes of G.o.d and the church. But, oh, she was so much more than merely his wife. In some inexplicable manner he had taken her entire will into his own. She who had hated him so violently did now willingly succ.u.mb to him. She wanted him. She felt certain she would die without his touch.

His thrusts had become most furious when she felt him begin to tense. He had reached the zenith of his pa.s.sion, and she knew now that it would soon end.

”Oh, wait.” The words were a soft, frustrated whisper; she hardly realized she had said them. But as Corbett shuddered in pa.s.sionate release, she knew he had heard.

Lilliane was mortified. Why had she said such a thing? Despite her new knowledge of what might occur between them-what might occur within her-she could not fathom saying such a thing. Her hands slid slowly from their grasp around his powerful neck and down his damp shoulders and arms. It was a wonder to her that she could lie so with a man. Especially this man. Yet honesty would not let her deny the pleasure she received from him. Still, to beg him to wait! It seemed the words of a wanton, not a wife.

When Corbett propped himself on his elbows and looked down into her face, Lilliane kept her eyes carefully averted. But he would not have it and firmly tilted her face up to his.

”I should not have rushed you so,” he began, his face earnest and intent. ”I am most pleased with you, Lily. Despite all that has gone before, I think ours may be a marriage of mutual contentment. If I did not let you ... If I was too ... ah ... too hasty with you, then my only excuse is that I find much more pleasure in my wife than ever I had hoped.”

He grinned then and she caught the flash of strong white teeth against his shadowed face. ”A virgin and yet a woman of pa.s.sion. You're a rare find.”

She was uncomfortable with his direct words. But there was a vague disappointment too. His words of ”mutual contentment” rang hollowly in her ears, and yet she knew she had no sound reason for it. Mutual contentment was as much as she could ever have expected in a marriage, and yet, now that she had it, it seemed a poor expectation.

But she was hardly going to reveal that to him. ”Have you forgotten the main reason you married me?” she retorted defensively. ”Have you forgotten that I'm an heiress?”

He laughed then and planted a l.u.s.ty kiss upon her startled lips. ”My pa.s.sionate, virgin heiress. Yes, you will do quite well, Lily.” He paused and she felt his weight settle even more intimately against her feminine length. Then he slid slowly down along her and her heart began to pound.

Last night he had done this. He had moved down her body like that and then teased her and touched her and kissed her to the point of madness. Her head was thrown back, her eyes were closed in tremulous antic.i.p.ation as she felt his hot wet kiss move past her breast to her belly. Then a horn sounded from somewhere without and he lifted his lips from her sensitive flesh.

”Corbett,” she whispered, willing the distraction away. But then they were interrupted by a heavy pounding on the door and the moment was ruined.

She heard his short m.u.f.fled oath and his sharp reply to the knock, but she could hardly believe it when he rolled to his side then rose from the bed and crossed to where his clothes still lay.

It was the last thing she expected, and for several shocked seconds Lilliane could do no more than lie there, staring at him. Then cool air washed over her heated skin and she was even more painfully aware of the absence of his strong, warm body.

With an angry jerk she pulled the coverlet over her. She wanted to bury her head beneath its protective warmth, but pride would not allow it. When she finally risked a glance at him in the soft light of the breaking dawn, he had already donned his braies and was securing his hose over his well-muscled calves.

Despite her anger-and her hurt-Lilliane could not deny the masculine beauty of this man. Oh, she recognized well enough that his beauty was not the same as Sir William's. He was too scarred, too marked by the hard life he'd lived. Yet that only seemed to strengthen the attraction she felt for him. He was hard as granite, as unyielding as the oak, as tested as the steel of his war tools.

”I must leave you now.” His abrupt words interrupted her thoughts.

”'Tis clear enough already that you leave,” she answered in a more petulant voice than she intended.

He looked up then and she could see the frown that creased his brow. ”No, Lily. I mean I must leave Orrick. I've business that cannot be delayed.”

As pained as she had been at his removal from the bed, it was as nothing compared to the shock of this new blow. Her disbelief was so great she did not at first react, but only lay there staring dumbfounded at him.

For his part, Corbett seemed quite busy with his garments, and there was a prolonged silence between them. Lilliane's heart seemed to plummet as she finally absorbed his words, and she could barely restrain her tears. As it was, she turned her face away from him and squeezed her eyes tightly against the telltale stinging she felt.

d.a.m.n him! she silently railed. d.a.m.n him for treating her so! Barely married and already abandoned, she would appear quite pathetic to the guests who rightfully expected at least another full day of celebration. Yet it was not the thought of their pity that left the awful hollowness within her chest. From the heights of pa.s.sion to the dreadful depths of abandonment he had plunged her. He'd given her hope that their marriage might succeed, then turned right around and proven his lack of concern.

She'd been so filled with wonder and delight, and now she felt only empty and drained. But she would not cry, she vowed as she fought back the tears. He would never make her cry again.

”Where are you going?” Her voice was low, held under tight control. It took all her effort to sit up in the bed.

He did not answer at once, but only concentrated on the lacings of his boot. ”I've business to attend to.