Authors: Bertrice Small
Besieged (22 page)
“My eldest son is entitled to his happiness too,” Shane Devers said quietly. “For expediency’s sake I became a Protestant, and for expediency’s sake I disinherited my eldest son; but I never disowned him, nor would I deny him his happiness. Jane has gained for her son what she sought. There is no more.” He chuckled. “And, James Leslie, my lad doesn’t come to your family a pauper. I have arranged for him to have now what would have been his upon my death one day. It has been sent to my goldsmith, Michael Kira, in Dublin. He has had it sent to his Kira cousins in London. Do you know of them?”
“Aye,” the duke replied with a smile. “The Kiras have been our bankers for well over a century.”
“Well, then, my lad will have his own monies,” Shane Devers said. “ ’Tis not a great deal, of course, but neither my wife or younger son will be able to deny him what is now his, and I believe they might have done so. Jane has a strict sense of ethics that does not extend to Catholics, I fear.” He chuckled again. “She’ll not know what I’ve done until after my death, but I’ll not be here then to be scourged by her scolding tongue.” He looked at his daughter and son-in-law. “You’ve heard none of this,” he told them sternly.
Colleen threw up her hands. “Indeed I haven’t,” she said. “I shall be in trouble enough with Mama for months to come for having attended this wedding, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She arose from her place by the fire. “I think Hugh and I had best seek our beds as we are leaving early.”
“Adali,” Jasmine called. “Show Sir Hugh and Lady Colleen to their chamber.” She smiled at them. “I am so glad you were with us for I know how much it meant to Fortune. Thank you.”
The Kellys departed the hall, and Shane Devers looked to his longtime mistress. “I’ve provided for our lasses too,” he told her. “All know I’ve never denied them.”
“I’m sending them to the New World with Kieran,” Molly told him. “No matter our relationship, they are still considered bastards in Lisnaskea. How can they find respectable husbands with such a stain upon them? They say in this new colony being founded, their Catholic faith will not be counted against them. In such a faraway place, with Kieran as their guardian, their birth may be concealed, and my lasses will be able to find good husbands, Shane. ’Tis what I want for them.”
“When they go to England they will have their portion,” he promised her.
Jasmine saw the devotion and love that the two had for each other. How sad, she thought, that Shane Devers could not have married Molly Fitzgerald instead of his Englishborn Jane, but then it was Jane Devers’s wealth that had saved Mallow Court. She rose from her place, feigning a yawn. “Adali will show you to your rooms,” she said. “I am exhausted, and will retire now. I will see you in the morning.”
The hall had emptied and only a few servants were left to clear the last bits of debris from the wedding feast. No one noticed Rory Maguire seated in the shadows by the fire, a wolfhound’s head upon his knee. Staring into the flames the Irishman considered how fortunate he had been to learn that Fortune was his daughter, and to see her happily married this day. That no one else but the priest and Adali knew was comforting in that they, too, were forced to bear his burden.
She had been such a beautiful bride, the golden brown velvet of her gown bringing out the gold in her red hair. He sighed. Only a few more months, and she would be gone from him forever. Gone from Maguire’s Ford, which should have been hers, not just through her mother, but through her blood tie to the Maguires themselves. Gone to a new world across the vast ocean; a place he couldn’t even imagine. Then Rory Maguire did something he hadn’t done in years. He prayed from his heart. Prayed that his daughter would be happy and content for the rest of her days.
Happy.
She had never been happier in her entire life, Fortune thought. In the midst of the dancing Kieran had taken her hand, and they had slipped away from the hall, running wordlessly up the stairs to her chamber, stealing into the room, and locking the door behind them. He had put the key on the window ledge with a great show of ceremony.
She had never been happier in her entire life, Fortune thought. In the midst of the dancing Kieran had taken her hand, and they had slipped away from the hall, running wordlessly up the stairs to her chamber, stealing into the room, and locking the door behind them. He had put the key on the window ledge with a great show of ceremony.
Fortune laughed softly. “Dare I ask you if you know how to help a lady remove her gown?” she said.
Kieran grinned, and turning her about began to unlace her bodice even while Fortune undid the tapes holding her skirts up. In short order she stood in her chemise and petticoats. Pulling the garments up she held out a slender leg to him. Kneeling he slid the silk rossetted garter off, and then rolled the gold silk stocking down the shapely limb, and over her foot, kissing her kneecap as he did so. She giggled. He repeated the procedure on her other leg, but then he surprised her for his hands glided smoothly beneath her skirts, clasping her buttocks in a firm grip as he drew her body forward, his face pressing itself against her belly, rubbing insinuatingly.
Fortune could feel the heat through the fabric of her undergarments. She could acutely sense the longing he felt. Her hands touched his dark head, and gently caressed it. His hair was thick, and silky to her touch. He looked up at her, and the passion she saw in his deep blue eyes took her breath away. Instinctively she loosed her petticoats, letting them slide down, drawing her chemise over her head, and dropping it. He released his grip upon her long enough to allow the silk to fall away; then he grasped her once again, but this time he bent his head slightly, his lips touching her plump Venus mont.
Her head spun, and her fingers tightened in his hair. She couldn’t speak for a long moment for her throat was so tight. Her heart beat wildly against her chest as a burst of heat washed over her.
“Fortune!
Do you mean to tear the hair from my head?” she heard him say in a strangled voice.
Do you mean to tear the hair from my head?” she heard him say in a strangled voice.
She looked down and saw that she was gripping him fiercely. “Ohh!” Her fingers loosed their hold on him.
His blue eyes danced now with amusement. “You have a strong grip, wife,” he told her. Then he stood up.
“I like it better when you kneel at my feet,” Fortune replied pertly, the delicious shock of his intimate kiss receding.
“You are utterly charming without your clothes,” he told her.
“ ’Tis time you had yours off, sir,” she replied wickedly. Then her fingers began to undo his doublet, casting it aside in a heap with her wedding gown and petticoats. She loosened the ties on his shirt, her hands glossing beneath the fabric to press against his chest. Pushing the shirt from his shoulders so that it fell to his hips, she bent her fiery head and began to kiss the warm flesh with tiny, feathery kisses. Unable to restrain herself she let her tongue smooth over his skin.
Kieran gritted his teeth. She had the manners of a courtesan, and yet he knew she wasn’t a wanton. “I’m going to remove my breeches,” he warned her. When she didn’t answer him, but instead kept on kissing and licking at him, he loosed and then lowered the garment in question.
Fortune’s head shot up. “You aren’t wearing any drawers!” she squeaked. Her eyes were riveted on his manhood as his shirt slid by it to the floor. She had brothers, and was not surprised by his possession of a manhood, or even its location.
It was the size of it.
She stared, fascinated, a bit frightened, yet enthralled. Then she spoke. “It’s wonderful. Why don’t you wear drawers?” Her hand was itching to reach out and touch him.
It was the size of it.
She stared, fascinated, a bit frightened, yet enthralled. Then she spoke. “It’s wonderful. Why don’t you wear drawers?” Her hand was itching to reach out and touch him.
“They’re a waste of time, and material,” he said, intrigued by her reaction. Then he pulled her to him. She melted into his body, feeling the hard length of him against her thigh. His fingers brushed over her mouth. He saw the innocent desire rising in her eyes. He wished she weren’t a virgin for he wanted nothing more than to plunge himself into her sweetness right now.
“Hurry!”
she whispered into his ear.
she whispered into his ear.
“You’re not ready yet,” he told her. “Don’t you think I want to take you right now, Fortune? But I won’t hurt you. I want this first coupling between us to be perfect. I have waited a lifetime for you!” His mouth came down fiercely on hers, kissing her deeply, taking her breath away as he plundered her lips, kissing and nibbling upon them until she was gasping. His tongue found hers, stroking it sensuously. He could feel the little nipples of her breasts hardening, and pushing against his chest. Lifting her into his arms, he stepped from the puddle of velvet and silk that was his breeches and shirt. Walking across the room he laid her gently upon the bed.
Looking up at him she held out her arms. He smiled, and lay next to her, taking her hand in his, and kissing first the palm, and then each finger. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever known,” he told her quietly. “And you are the only girl I have ever loved.”
“In practical terms you are the most implausible man I could have married,” Fortune replied softly, “but I love you, Kieran, and I have never loved any man. Not even an infatuation, my darling. I want to please you, but I have absolutely no real idea of how to do so. Mama would tell me nothing except the mere rudiments for she says, as did my sister, that passion between two people who love each other is wonderful, and indescribable.”
He smiled into her eyes, and Fortune was suddenly filled with an incredible sense of well-being, knowing that she was loved. “Just be quiet, lambkin, and let me adore you in my own fashion. There is nothing to fear from me, Fortune.” Then he kissed her lips again, but briefly, his mouth brushing over the pure white column of her throat, nestling into the tiny hollow beneath her ear. He nibbled upon her lobe.
“Do you mean to devour me then?” she teased.
“In very tiny bits that will last forever,” he replied. His lips then found the soft hollow of her throat. He could feel her pulse throbbing excitedly beneath his mouth. He rested there a moment; then raising his dark head again he laid it upon her chest, listening to her heart which beat a tattoo beneath his ear.
Fortune caressed his head once again with her fingertips. She hadn’t known what to expect, and while this was lovely, it really wasn’t very exciting. Still Mama and India seemed to enjoy lovemaking. Was there something wrong with her? Then Kieran raised his head, and began to kiss her breasts. The sharp intake of her own breath was very audible, and almost painful. She lay helpless as he cradled her in the curve of an arm. Then his big hand began to fondle her tenderly, but firmly. His fingers lightly crushed the supple flesh, leaving brief marks she could see in the shadows of the firelight. A frisson of sensation ran down her spine when he pinched a nipple, and a small
“Oh!”
of surprise escaped her lips.
“Oh!”
of surprise escaped her lips.
He rolled onto his back, drawing her atop him. She felt her cheeks flaming with the exquisite intimacy as their naked bodies touched from shoulder to toes. His hands caressed the length of her, brushing over her suddenly sensitive flesh. Then those hands fastened themselves about her narrow waist, and lifted her up so that her breasts hung over his face. Raising his head just slightly he licked at her nipples, and a little moan slipped from her lips, to be followed by a gasp as his mouth closed over a nipple, and he suckled upon it.
Now this was definitely more exciting,
Fortune thought, and then she gave herself up to the delights he seemed to be engendering within her by his actions. She sighed deeply as he transferred his mouth to her other nipple.
Now this was definitely more exciting,
Fortune thought, and then she gave herself up to the delights he seemed to be engendering within her by his actions. She sighed deeply as he transferred his mouth to her other nipple.
He was rolling them again. She found herself upon her back once more. He began to stroke her breasts and belly. Waves of heat again coursed through her body. There was a distinct tingling in that forbidden spot between her legs. Unable to help herself she squirmed slightly. He smiled knowingly, putting his hand upon her Venus mont, and pressing down. A bolt of sensation shot through her. A single finger began to run up and down the shadowed gash between her nether lips. She could feel the moisture beginning to ooze from between those fleshy folds as his finger glided back and forth.
“You will be ready soon, sweetheart,” he murmured against her mouth. He was as hard as granite now, his male member throbbing with excitement and anticipation.
“Do what you did before,” Fortune begged him.
“Please!”
“Please!”
“Little wanton,” he laughed, and then he pushed his finger between her nether lips to find her love button.
Fortune gasped with pleasure as he attained his goal. This was what she had wanted. Not the caressing, but the excitement of her own lust.
“Ohhh, yes!”
she cried to him.
“Don’t
’t
stop, Kieran! Don’t stop!”
“Ohhh, yes!”
she cried to him.
“Don’t
’t
stop, Kieran! Don’t stop!”
He had no intention of stopping. He played with the sentient nub of flesh, exciting it, rousing it, making her squirm with her own rising passions. Her lust boiled over once, but he did not cease the sweet torture until she was whimpering with another burst of delight. It was then he growled into her ear, “Open yourself for me, Fortune!”
“Not yet,” she pleaded, wanting more.
“Now!”
his voice said harshly as he forced a knee between her thighs, levering them open. “
Now,
you honied little bitch, before I explode with my desire for you!” Reaching down he positioned himself, and then with two fingers he pinched her love button hard, sending Fortune into a paroxysm of pleasure. At that moment he plunged deep into her eager body, feeling her maidenhead explode with the force of his fierce thrust, hearing her astonished intake of breath.
his voice said harshly as he forced a knee between her thighs, levering them open. “
Now,
you honied little bitch, before I explode with my desire for you!” Reaching down he positioned himself, and then with two fingers he pinched her love button hard, sending Fortune into a paroxysm of pleasure. At that moment he plunged deep into her eager body, feeling her maidenhead explode with the force of his fierce thrust, hearing her astonished intake of breath.
“Ahhhh!” she gasped. His initial entry had been painful, but now the pain was quickly gone. She became awakened to his possession of her. Her first reaction was to be frightened, but then she was acutely aware of how he filled her. It was so natural. So perfect. She sighed deeply, her arms wrapping themselves about him.
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