A Knight of Passion (9 page)

With her free hand, Riana reached around him and grasped his arse, pulling him tighter against her mouth. He pulled out, then thrust in with her sucking, the muscles in his buttocks bunching with the obvious effort of not cramming his cock down her throat. She pulled back, letting his cock slip free of her mouth, but quickly sucked the underside from tip to root then, slowly, back up again.

“Riana,” he growled.

Taking him into her mouth again, she lifted her eyes as she sucked him deep. He stared down, green eyes dark with desire. Her pulse quickened. He wanted her—not the duchess’ whore, but
her,
Lady Riana Ellis, now Lady Riana, his wife. She squeezed his balls. He tunnelled his hands into her hair as he thrust deeper into her mouth, eyes fixed on her face.

She moved faster. His jaw tensed. Once he had come inside her mouth, would he remain hard enough to fuck her cunt? He tunnelled his fingers into her hair. His scent filled her nostrils. She wanted to taste him and have him inside her when he exploded. Faster, he thrust into her mouth.

“Riana,” he gasped, “we must—”

Shouts outside the room broke into their private moment. Sir Bryant’s head snapped towards the door as it burst open. Four men-at-arms stood in the doorway. Riana froze, Sir Bryant’s cock still in her mouth, and the lead warrior’s gaze riveted onto her. Sir Bryant seized her shoulders and dragged her to her feet. He shoved her behind him as he dragged his hose up over his erection.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

“We are here to take Lady Ellis back to the duke.” The man in the lead stepped forward.

Sir Bryant widened his stance. “Touch my wife, and die.”

Chapter Twelve

The horse Bryant rode lowered its head and strained with effort of spanning the last few feet of the rise they were climbing. Arundel came into view, beyond where Riana rode between the two men-at-arms ahead of him and Sir Dunbar. Bryant gripped the reins tighter. Panic had filled her eyes when the duchess’ men ordered them to Arundel, but he had been able to whisper only a few words of warning before the men separated them. Bryant knew it wasn’t her safety but her sister’s that made her fear. She couldn’t know he had formed a plan to save the girl.

Bryant cursed his stupidity. Had he been thinking with his head instead of his cock, he would have better predicted the turn of events. His mentor might pay for that stupidity. He glanced at Sir Dunbar. The older knight lifted a questioning brow.

“You are determined to see this through?” Bryant said in a whisper, so as not to be heard by the half a dozen warriors cresting the hill behind them.

“I have come too far to turn back.”

 
“If threatened, the duchess will ensure we do not leave Arundel alive,” Bryant said. “Once we are safely away, we can deal with her as we please.” Anger shot through him. And he did plan to deal with her
and
her husband. “I must persuade Her Grace that she
wants
Riana gone—at least for now.”

Sir Dunbar chuckled. “Have you a magician to accomplish that miracle?”

“That is not the most difficult part.” Bryant cast him a sidelong glance. “We must
kidnap
the younger Lady Ellis.”

A corner of Dunbar’s mouth twitched. “I never kidnap a lady I do not intend to keep.”

“If you can persuade my wife, she is yours.”

He grimaced. “No woman is worth that much trouble.”

“Can you do it?”

“I will need time.”

“When we arrive, I will distract the duchess with—”

A man-at-arms appeared at Bryant’s side and he fell silent.
 

Twenty minutes later, Bryant stepped aside for Riana to precede him and Sir Dunbar into the duchess’ private parlour at Arundel. The warrior escorting them grasped Riana’s arm and started to shove her through the doorway. Bryant seized him and shoved him against the wall.

“Touch her again and I will kill you.”

He sneered. “She is nothing more—”

Bryant slammed his fist into the man’s belly. He doubled over, wheezing hard. Bryant turned and took two steps to where Riana stared. She turned frightened eyes to him and his chest tightened. Damn the duchess and her spies. If he found out who had reported that Riana had gone to the prison, he would split them from sternum to cock. He would also take Riana over his knee for being foolish enough to go to the prison…then he would kiss her reddened arse and every other part of her until she begged him to fuck her so hard she couldn’t see straight. Until then, he prayed she would trust him.

She grasped the front of his shirt. “He is right,” she whispered. “This was a mistake. The duchess—”

“I can deal with the duchess.” He gently disengaged her fingers from the gambeson, then guided her to the couch inside the room and eased her onto the cushion.

She rose. “I must see my sister.”

Riana started to rise again, but he firmly eased her back onto the sofa and squatted so that they were eye-to-eye. “Riana, we must talk before—”

The door opened and the duchess entered. Bryant rose as her gaze moved from Sir Dunbar to him to Riana. Riana stood and a corner of the duchess’ mouth twisted upwards.

“You disappoint me, Riana.”

Bryant slid an arm around Riana’s waist and gave a deferential bow of his head. “Forgive her, Your Grace. I understand that I am not the husband you would have chosen.”

She snorted in derision. “The marriage is a farce.”

“Nay.” All eyes turned to Sir Dunbar. “The marriage is quite legal. I witnessed the vows.”

She turned her cold stare to him. “You would stand against me?”

Dunbar shrugged. “They are young and in love. Who is to stand in
their
way?”

Bryant detected the tremor in Riana’s body and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“You expect me to believe such drivel?” the duchess said to Sir Dunbar.

His expression hardened. “Why not? You believed I was easily eliminated.”

She shifted her narrowed eyes to Riana. “What lies has the bitch been spreading?”

Dunbar smiled. “Nothing we did not already know.”

She shot him a withering look, then said to Bryant, “What do you want?”

“I have what I want.”

He shifted his gaze to Riana, who turned wary eyes on him. The need to take her in his arms and allay her fears rushed to the surface, but he dared not allow his expression to give away his thoughts. He returned his attention to the duchess.

“I expect no dowry. Riana is mine, all she
knows
is mine. I need nothing more.”

Riana’s head jerked up. Bryant kept his gaze locked with the duchess’ and silently willed his wife to remain quiet.

“You have made a bad bargain,” the duchess snapped. “She
knows
nothing. She
owns
nothing—will
never
own anything.”

“What do you mean?” Riana asked.

The duchess looked at her. “Did your mother not tell you? She is with child.”

Riana gasped.

“If she bears a son, Fyvie Castle will belong to him.” A malicious gleam entered her eyes when she addressed Bryant. “You will never lay claim to Ellis land.”

He smiled. “I am well-skilled at gaining land. I have no need of my wife’s property.”

She pursed her lips. “I cannot be certain this
marriage
was consummated.”

“Your men interrupted the…consummation,” Sir Dunbar said.

“I am told Riana had Sir Bryant’s cock in her mouth. That is not a true consummation.”

“As true as any other.” His mentor winked in Bryant’s direction. “If Your Grace will excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

She spared him a glance, then he bowed and turned.

Once the door had clicked shut behind Sir Dunbar, Bryant said, “I understand this is a shock, but you did not expect Riana to remain in your house forever? We will return home tonight, she, her sister, and I.”

“Her sister?” the duchess burst out.

Riana tensed, but Bryant gave her a warning squeeze. “You understand that Riana cannot bear to be parted from the girl.”

“She remains here. And as for Riana, my husband will decide if this marriage can be recognised.”

“I am sorry you were not present,” Bryant said. “Perhaps then you would be assured the marriage is legal. Father Vaughn will produce the marriage contract. Of course, Riana was previously married, so we can offer no proof the marriage has been consummated. As there were no witnesses…” He paused for affect.

Her brow furrowed then, as he’d hoped, comprehension lit her gaze. “I only want what is best for Riana,” she said.

He canted his head in agreement.

“If anyone challenges the marriage…” Her shoulders rose and fell in a helpless shrug. “My husband will be thorough in assuring everything is legal.”

“What might we do to satisfy him—and anyone else who might choose to interfere?”

She appeared to give the question thought, then said, “It is unorthodox, but if there was a witness…” Her words trailed off.

Riana’s sharp intake of breath was like a knife to his heart. He considered changing course, but remembered Sir Dunbar, already risking his life to rescue the younger Lady Ellis. To quit now was to ensure his death. There was no turning back. Bryant looked down at his wife. Tears shimmered in her eyes. His heart twisted. She would thank him for saving her sister, but would she forgive him for inviting the duchess to watch while he fucked her?

Chapter Thirteen

Riana stared, unable to tear her gaze from her husband’s handsome face. She had questioned why he would marry her. The answer was so simple she wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her before. He believed she held secrets that could harm the duke and duchess, and had gambled that if he married her, she would be grateful enough to reveal those secrets. This explained why he was willing to marry a woman he believed capable of murder.

Yet his scheme didn’t quite make sense. Why marry her before finding out what she knew? If he had told her his plan, promised to save Siusan, she would have agreed to marry him. Trickery hadn’t been necessary.

Neither was this game he was playing with the duchess necessary. What did he hope to gain by feeding her lust? Did he intend to include the duchess in this
consummation
? Her stomach roiled. How would she be able to stand the duchess’ hands on her flesh, the older woman’s mouth on her nipples, her fingers touching her cunt and thrusting inside her channel? Riana forced back bile.

“You are certain this will ensure we can leave Arundel this day?”

The sound of Sir Bryant’s voice jerked Riana from the morbid picture.
We?
Did that include Siusan? Panic rushed to the surface. If they left without Siusan, by morning her tender body would be bruised, and the blood on the sheets would be more than the tiny spot that always followed the first time a man laid between a virgin’s legs. Worse, the following night the duchess would send the first in the long string of men who would fuck Siusan until she, like Riana, outlived her usefulness.

“I will assure my husband everything is as it should be.” The duchess turned and crossed to the door. She slid the bolt into place, slim fingers lingering for an instant on the steel bar before she faced them.

Lust glittered in the blue depths of her eyes. Riana’s heart raced. The duchess was already envisioning Sir Bryant’s cock, long, hard, and jutting towards Riana as he buried his face between her legs. She swallowed, her throat like sand. She knew the duchess always watched when a man fucked her, but the wall between them gave Riana some emotional protection. This time, the older woman would be in plain view.

Riana would see the desire that clouded her eyes, watch her hands slide over her breasts, then down her stomach to eventually dip into the curls between her legs. Already, the slight rise and fall of her breasts indicated the lust that had begun to coarse through her body. Tears burned the corners of Riana’s eyes.

Sir Bryant grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. He stared, eyes soft. Anger shot through her. What sort of fool was he to think she was to be swayed by those emerald-green eyes? Was there a way to get out of this room before her
husband
subjected her to this final degradation? He dropped his gaze to her breasts and released one shoulder, then traced a finger across the exposed swell of creamy flesh. Shivers raced down her shoulders. He paused and his eyes shifted to meet hers.

Riana lifted her chin. A corner of his mouth twitched and she recalled his smile when she had discovered it was he in her bed instead of Sir Dunbar. What sort of devil was he to toy with her so? Why not just strip away her clothes and cram his cock inside her? Surely he didn’t think the duchess cared for sentimentality? He dipped his finger below her bodice and she gasped when the warm digit brushed across her nipple. The tip instantly hardened and she cursed her body’s response. She hadn’t resisted his charm earlier. Could she now? Was it wise to try? How was it possible she could experience desire when only two hours after he promised to protect her, he was offering her to the duchess?