Forbidden (49 page)

He turned her back to face him and she prepared to face anger, but there was nothing but love on his face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears blurring her vision.

He kissed them away and said hoarsely, "By all that's holy, Serena, this isn't a test, but you can break free." He rolled half off the bed and grabbed the picture she'd been altering. He held it in front of her. "Look at it, dammit, and hate it. Don't let something like this rule you. Don't let Riverton rule you from the hell he's surely in!" He grabbed a handful of her hair and made her face him. "I'm not that man. I'm not Riverton. I'm Francis. You can trust me."

He kissed her deeply, demandingly, arching her back. "Gather your anger, my siren, and break free. Come to me."

His words, dragged rough from his heart, started the magic, and when he touched her again, Serena arched like a bow as flame ran through her.

"Trust me, Serena. Be free. You are safe..."

Yes, this was Francis. She would
not
let Riverton rule her from hell!

She took her rage and turned it into fire, finding at last the trust to surrender completely to the flames. She heard herself scream as the furnace consumed her, and she did not care.

She both fought him and loved him, and when he thrust into her, she didn't give a damn about her hard-won skills or whether she pleased him. She just shattered the chains that had bound her and burned free at last.

* * *

The aftermath found her immensely peaceful and incapable of movement, of thought, certainly of anger. "Am I dead?" she asked.

He groaned. "You've killed me, I think." Heavily, he shifted them both into a more comfortable position and removed her collar. He kissed her neck. "It's marked you. We'll have to get rid of these things."

She raised his wrists and smiled. "I rather like them now."

"On me, not you, I assume."

She nipped his arm. "I don't know. When I think of
you
tying me to the bed it seems as if it might be fun." She knew the message was that she trusted him, and saw it pleased him.

His gentle eyes smiled into hers as he said, "Repeat that when I'm not feeling scoured and dismembered, wench."

She let her fingers wander over his beautiful, sweat-dampened body. "Have you ever done that? Tied someone up?"

"No."

She picked up her collar and trailed the chain up his thighs, across his belly, admiring the gold against his skin and noting the shiver of reaction that ran through him. How strange that this horrible thing was now an amusing toy. "I just wondered how common it was."

"Not very, I don't think." He captured her hand and met her eyes. "But you'd have to ask someone else."

"Why?"

He smiled rather ruefully. "Confession time. I am singularly lacking in experience, love. You are the first and only woman I have ever shared my body with."

She stared at him, seeking another meaning to his words. "Do you mean that at the Posts'...?"

He nodded. "Disappointed?"

"Horrified!" She could feel tears threatening. "To do that was bad enough, but..."

He wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Hush, don't cry. It was a remarkable initiation. In retrospect, I feel blessed."

She frowned up at him. "I'm not sure I believe you. You're such a
good
lover."

He grinned with delight. "That's a salve to my pride, but how would you know, my virtuous one?"

She was struck by that. "That's true! After all, compared to Matthew, who cared nothing for my pleasure, any kind man would appear—" She broke off with a shriek as he tickled her.

And then, of course, she had to tickle him back.

They collapsed in a heap again, hands idly caressing. "But how is it that you are so skilled?" Serena asked.

"I'm very well read. But I'd rather learn from you." He ran a finger lightly up the underside of her thigh. "Is this as pleasant as it is supposed to be?"

"Hmmm. But it might be better with a feather duster."

"What?" He laughed.

She glanced at him mischievously. "I've read books, too. In the past they were part of a very unwelcome education, but now I think I might appreciate the learning."

Francis groaned. "I always suspected that it was a bad idea to educate women."

"You mean it might overheat our poor delicate brains?"

"I mean it might overheat something, though it wasn't your brain that came to mind. I'm feeling rather hot myself. But," he added seriously, "there's more to all this than knowledge and mechanics." He ran his hand over her belly. "I delight in simply touching you, my precious one, my wife."

Serena sucked in a breath. "Why do the books never mention the beauty of words? Your words are like a caress on my soul. Your words have set me free." She shifted to look straight into his eyes. "Have I told you that I love you, my husband? My only husband in the sight of God."

His hand paused. "I'm not sure I deserve that yet. But I will."

"Of course you deserve it. No man would have been as kind and gentle as you."

"Perhaps I'm just fortunate that you only have Riverton to compare me with."

She laid a finger over his lips to stifle such nonsense. "Every woman has more. It is something we have in our hearts. That's why even with my brothers and my father as models, I knew from the first that Riverton was a monster. But I didn't know it fully until I met you."

She kissed him gently. "Riverton created a well-trained wife..."

"Hush—"

She silenced him with another kiss. "But in that marriage, there was much that was forbidden me—love, tenderness, respect, decency. As a result, I was a woman who would use her body to snare a stranger."

"Hush," he said again. "I understand why you did that."

"That's what makes you so wonderful. That's why you have been able to teach me the other things—love, tenderness, respect and decency."

"You did not need teaching, Serena."

She kissed away his frown. "Reminding, then. You reminded me, revived me, released me. Even if I didn't love you I would be devoted to you for that."

She saw he was uncomfortable with this and changed to a lighter tone. "Now I am free, though, on your head be it, my lord!" A sliding glance indicated one head she had in mind. It moved and she grinned at him.

"Tongue, teeth, ice, feathers...." she murmured speculatively. She picked up the whip and tickled him with it. "In love, my love, nothing need be forbidden."

After a startled moment he burst out laughing and she joined him, to roll naked among forgotten, irrelevant, chains.

The End

Want more from Jo Beverley?

Page forward for a special Author's Note

followed by an excerpt from

DANGEROUS JOY

The Company of Rogues Series

Book Five

Dear Reader,

Forbidden
was first published in 1994, and because I discover my worlds as I write, there was still a lot to learn about the Rogues—much of it surprising, and some startling. If this is your first Rogues book, I hope you'll follow my learning curve along through this series and into
To Rescue a Rogue
.

For a complete list of my books, including a series of traditional Regency romance, four medieval romances and a number of novellas, some of which are fantasy or SF romance, visit my website:
www.jobev.com
 
Sign up for my newsletter, and read excerpts from my latest titles.

Forbidden was a risky book, as I'm sure you can see, but I enjoyed giving Serena the happy ending she deserved with, as it says in the book, the really good man she needed. That's what romance novels are all about, isn't it?

Happy reading always,

Jo

Page forward and complete your journey

with an excerpt from

DANGEROUS JOY

The Company of Rogues Series

Book Five

Excerpt from

Dangerous Joy

The Company of Rogues

Book Five