Clockwork Countess (8 page)

             
Ro
wan gasped and turned away
,
as
feeling suddenly lightheaded
she
held
the railing
tightly
for support.

             
The
countess released her
grip on Roderick's wrist and
he
rushed down to his brother's side.  But it was too late. 
The heavy marble statue had crushed
Edmund's chest in
.

             
Roderick
looked up at Rowan and shook his head, tears
brightening
hi
s dark eyes. 

             
But
Rowan jerked her head back as the whisper of fine linen shifting on the stairs behind her sent the
hairs
on
the back of her neck on end.

             
The
countess lay still and unearthly beautiful, her white l
inen g
own and black hair trailing
across the
marble
stairs
.

             
Roderick followed Rowan's g
aze
and his lips went white.  Slowly,
like
a man
walking
through
a nightmare
,
he ascended the
stairs
and knelt at his mother
's
side. 

             
He pressed his ea
r to her heart
,
listening
.

             
Rowan held her breath as he raised his head
from the countess
's
silent breast
.  "My mother'
s
gone,
"
he whispered.

             
He
pressed
his
forehead
to the countess's
limp
hand in grief
.
             

             
Rowan
gently
caressed
the
bowed lines of his shoulders
.
"
This
is not your mother,
Roderick
.  Your mother's spirit has been with God for all this time."

             
He nodded and allowed the countess's hand to slip gently from his fingers to rest on the marble stairs. 

             
For the first time since Rowan
had arrived at Heartwycke Park
,
the
house
was silent, the
nerve grinding
tick, tick, tick
of
the clocks at last suspended.   She
reached
out for
Roderick
, to hold
and comfort him.

             
His strong arms folded
around
her
as he burrowed
his head in her neck and
pulled
her close. 

             
A
s
the muddle of grief and horror
began to dim
a bit in their warm embrace
, the
silence
of the
house deepened
. 
Outside the
falling snow
blanketed the manor
in a soft mantle
of white
and Heartwycke Park
was at peace.

EPILOGUE

Rowan put down
the
ivory brush she used
to
untangle the
sea-blown
waves of
her
copper curls
as Roderick entered the
luxurio
usly
appointed
stateroom
of their steamship
.   She reclined
against the pillows
,
taking
in the pleasing sight
of
her striking new husband
approaching
in his
dressing
gown, a
mischievous smile lighting up
his face. 

             
"What is it
?" she asked, a tinge nervously
, pulling her knees up to tuck her feet under the sn
owy linen of her night
robe. 

             
His
smile spread
into
a boyish grin as he took her hand in his, carefully keeping the other concealed
behind
his
back.
"A wedding
night
surprise
for my thoroughly ravishing
wife." 

             
H
e lifted her hand to
kiss it and Rowan
was happily aware of the heavy gold
en
band on her finger
,
even
as
the
warmth of
his
mouth on her skin made her almost purr
like
a contented kitten
, and she stretched
her
legs across
the
bed
,
basking in the glow
of having him near.

             
Roderick's eyes
darkened
with desire as he
looked down at her bare
calves
and the
outline
of
her
plump thighs
beneath
the sheer linen
night
dress
.
  "So
beautiful
," he
whispered
,
as he caressed
the
turn of her ankle and
ran his fingers tenderly along her smooth skin, carefully lifting her gown to expose her knees, allowing the fabric to fall back
around
the tops of
her milky
thighs. 

             
Rowan
sucked in
her
breath as he more
boldly
ran his pal
m along her delicate skin
,
tantalizingly close to her awakening sex
.
 
"You
said
, a
surprise
?" she reminded him breathlessly.

             
He leaned down to
lightly kiss
the soft flesh of
her
inner thigh
, sending a wave of heat
racing
through her
. 
"Patience darling.
"

             
H
e smiled
wickedly
as he moved his mouth higher up, so
achingly
close to the place wh
ere her linen
go
wn was bunched
up between her legs, her toes curled in pleasure
against
the silken sheets.   She no longer cared what tricks or
surprises
he had in store for her, if only he would keep kissing her there, if only...
.

             
Unconsciously
,
she spread her
legs
open, lying
back
against
the pillows as his hot mouth and
velvet
tongue kissed
her inner thighs
.  Her eyes closed as he began
nuzzling
her
sex, only
the
fine linen
separating
him from the throbbing tender
bud
of
her
flesh. 

             
But to her dismay,
Roderick pulled back
,
and
propping
his head on his elbow
,
lay down next to her so she could see straight into those dark
gypsy
prince eyes.  

             
"
The
first time can be difficult for a woman,
" he
drawled
," toying
with
the ribbon
that
held
her
night
gown in place.  He slowly
pulled
the lacing open
,
and with one ha
n
d still hidden behind his back, slid Rowan's gown down one shoulder
and
th
en the other
,
so that the rosy
tips of
her
nipples
were just exposed.
"B
ut
science may come to our aid
!"
 

             
She felt wanton and
complete
desirable under his hot gaze
,
and arched
her back
so
her half-
bared br
east
s strained
against her gown,
willing
him to trail
his fingers along the top of her
décolletage
.

             
In response to her silent call
,
Roderick reached for her, his thumbs
making
maddening
soft erotic swirls
around
the tips of her aching nipples
. 
             

             
"I thought you'd given up science," she teased
,
provocatively
arching her back even more so her whisper thin gown fell lightly around her waist
.

             
Passion flared in his eyes as Roderick took in the sight of his half clad bride.
"Well, in light of our
coming
honeymoon
adventure at the Chicago World
'
s Fair
, I felt a burst of inspiration,
"
he admitted, cupping the fullness
of her breast in his hand,
his voice coming rougher now
as his fingers pinched at
her taut
buds
.

             
"Ah, something to rival Mr. Tesla's el
ectric show," she moaned, as
Roderick bent his mouth over
her
b
reasts, sucking at her in a way
that made her wom
b clench up in mounting tension
, "or the giant
wheel under construction
by Mr. Ferris?"
she panted.

             
Roderick
pulled away from her
tempting
curves and
looked
down at her flushed face. 
"You shall have to wait until we reach the fair to
determine
that, but it is my hope
you will be shocked and amazed
beyond
all reason
by my little invention
."

             
"Indeed?" she arched a brow. "Show me."

             
He smiled devilishly.  "At your command
,
countess."

             
He leaned back
and
a soft buzzing sound filled the room.

             
Rowan's eyes darted to his
in
surprise
.  "Roderick, what is that?" 

             
His voice
grew low with desire.
"Show
yourself to me Rowan
and you shall find out
."

             
Rowan
blushed to the roots of
her
copper curls as she took in his meaning, but a thrill of
excitement
surged through
her
too at
the
idea of showing off her body to him, to
heighten
his lust
,
and in doing so
,
her own
. 

             
Gathering her courage, Rowan parted her thighs and
pulled
the damp linen gown away from her sex to expose
herself
completely
to her husband's admiring gaze. 

             
"Christ, you're perfect," he moaned as he ran his palm once
more
up
her inner thigh
, squeezing it as his fingers came so aching
ly
close to the place she longed to be touched
. 

             
"Close your eyes," he whispered.

             
Rowan
obeyed
,
feeling
the
anticipation of her tense heated body
waiting
for whatever pleasures Roderick had in store for her.

             
She gasped at the feel of the tip of
his
tongue tracing the outline of
her
flesh, the warmth, the heat was beyond
delicious
!
 
She writhed under the touch of
his
tongue. 
The
mounting
wave of tension in her womb was
becoming
almost
t
oo much to bear.  Then the buzzing
sound grew louder.

             
Rowan's eyes
popped
open and s
he jolted back, stunned by the almost vio
lent intensity of the sensation
against
her
sensitive
skin. 
She looked down and Roderick held a small
vibrating
device in his hand, so
tantalizingly
close to her sex.  

             
He took her hand and pressed the mechanical device into
her
palm.  "You do it, Rowan.  L
et me watch you."  

             
"You created this?" she asked
,
staring at the little shivering machine in wonder.

             
"As a wedding gift for my lady's pleasure
," he took her hand with the vibrating toy in it and gently ran it along her inner thigh, "let me see you, " he whisp
ered, his voice ragged with rei
ned in passion.

             
Leaning back again, Rowan
tentatively
placed
the
device
against
her
sex.  A wave of pleasure r
ocked through her entire body,
spreading heat up into her
breast
s
and flushed cheeks.  She gasped and shivered under the vibration
against
her damp skin
,
and now Roderick was up
against
her, pushing his fingers inside her
virgin
flesh,
fulfilling
a need she
didn’t
even
know
she had.  The
pulsing
of the
device
and the rhythm
of
Roderick’s
fingers
plunging in and out of her
was more than she could stand.