His Obsession (22 page)

Kate craned her head back to stare up at her
tall husband. Richard’s eyes danced with merriment. He was actually
enjoying this little game, the blackguard.

“Not so fast, my lord,” Kate challenged.
“Only a true scoundrel would take a lady up on such a ridiculous
offer in the first place. I believe at best, we may have a
draw.”

Richard grinned. Gently, he took Kate’s hand
and bowed low to place a kiss on her knuckles.

“Touché, my lady,” Richard murmured. “Now, if
you’ll excuse me, I have some matters to attend to.”

A short time later, Richard rode out with his
estate manager to oversee the rebuilding of a bridge across a
rushing stream. The rains had certainly taken their toll on his
property. Richard wanted to see firsthand that the necessary
repairs were being made.

While Richard was gone, Kate explored the
house and grounds. The manor was extensive, to say the least. Her
new home was nothing short of a castle. In all, the structure
boasted over twenty bedrooms, several parlors, a library, study,
two dining rooms and a formal ballroom.

The conservatory was an elaborate addition
Richard’s father had built at the request of his wife. The
structure housed a wide variety of plants and exotic fruit trees
that would provide them with fresh produce even in the winter
months.

The kitchens were spotless. Edward, the cook
who ran the facility, oversaw the bevy of assistants and serving
girls like Napoleon himself. The storehouses were full to bursting
and the variety of foodstuffs and spices was amazing. The Earl of
Devonshire lived very well, indeed.

After luncheon, Kate donned her heavy blue
cloak and went out to explore the grounds. She would have loved to
go riding so that she could see more of her new home, but the
lingering tenderness between her legs made that impulse seem a
little foolhardy. As Kate strolled along the well-tended hedges and
carefully laid out beds of vegetation, she reflected on what had
transpired during their wedding night.

Although Richard had apparently been
drinking, his stamina had been impressive. He had the body of a
Greek athlete. Broad shouldered and narrow hipped, there didn’t
seem to be an ounce of fat on him. There was great strength in his
massive arms and legs, too, strength that could be used for good or
evil. Kate had experienced only a small amount of that leashed
power and was greatly humbled that it so exceeded her own.

Richard and Kate were very different people.
She was small boned and short of stature, while Richard towered
over her. Kate’s body had always dismayed her. She had the breasts
and hips of a chambermaid and the height of a girl. Kate always
thought that her feminine accoutrements bordered on the
ridiculous.

However, Richard hadn’t seemed to mind. His
large hands had closed over her breasts with great tenderness.
Despite their breadth, Richard had nonetheless seized her hips as
he climaxed, spilling his life giving seed deep inside her. Just
the memory of their passionate joining awakened Kate’s senses
again. Kate flushed with embarrassment and hugged her cloak more
tightly about her.

Kate couldn’t help but marvel at the changes
in her life. Seemingly overnight, her maidenly visions had fled. In
their place now blazed the knowledge of what it meant to be a woman
in every sense of the word. She was a nobleman’s wife now. Richard
had the right, if he so wished, to bed her whenever and wherever he
chose.

What would it be like to join with Richard
Warwick when he was sober? It would be cruel to judge the man by
one night alone. He had the right to be a little perplexed and
angry by her resistance to his advances, too. Still, Kate had been
frightened on her wedding night and not herself at all.

Richard was not a small man, either. Kate
suspected that when unencumbered by drink, he’d prove to be a very
passionate lover. Just thinking of it now made her feel warm and
tingly all over.

Kate glanced up as the sound of hoof beats
reached her ears. Barely breathing, she watched as Richard and his
manager topped the rise, trotting toward her. Once the two men
sighted her, however, the manager veered off toward the stables and
her husband approached alone.

The urge to flee was strong, but Kate bravely
stood her ground. Richard’s eyes never left her once those
glistening dark orbs settled upon her small form. He pinned her
with his gaze, rendering her incapable of running.

Even from a distance, Kate had to admire the
way the earl sat upon the magnificent black stallion. He looked as
though he’d been born in the saddle. His muscular thighs gripped
the horse with ease and he sat very straight in the saddle, with a
superb seat. Kate craned her neck up as Richard drew near, raising
one hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

Richard stared down at his little wife. It
had pleased him immeasurably to see her in the garden when they
crested the hill. Had Kate possibly been waiting for him? That
thought certainly gladdened his heart.

How small Kate appeared as he’d ridden toward
her. The walls of the castle behind her dwarfed her diminutive
frame. The breeze tugged at Kate’s skirts, too, making Richard
wonder whether a stiff breeze might very well blow Kate away all
together.

As Richard drew near, he noticed the gleam of
sunlight on a few wisps of auburn hair which had managed to breach
the edge of her hooded cloak. Kate had such lovely hair. The
strands were a rich, burnished copper like a penny straight from
the mint.

Kate stared up at the earl, her green eyes
wide and expressive. Her cheeks were a little flushed from the wind
or perhaps by his sudden appearance. Richard couldn’t discern
which.

Seizing the moment, Richard leaned down and
easily lifted Kate onto the saddle before him. Without hesitation,
he dipped his dark head and captured her warm lips with his
own.

Kate was surprised and a little shocked by
Richard’s bold actions. She reared back a little, but she was in no
danger of falling. Richard’s long arms held her securely.

“The servants!” Kate gasped. “What if someone
sees us?”

Richard grinned. “Let them.”

Kate tried to push Richard away, but the man
seemed determined to have his way with her. Never mind that her own
eager body responded to his touch, already softening and yielding
in glad acceptance.

Kate felt as though she was drowning, but
realized that she didn’t care. Desire raced through her veins,
making her tingle all over. A delicious warmth settled into the pit
of her stomach, growing stronger and stronger. If she were to
maintain any semblance of her dignity at all, she had to put a stop
to this nonsense immediately.

“You’re a rogue!” Kate accused, briefly
coming up for air. “And a scoundrel.”

Richard chuckled low in his throat.

“There. You see?” Richard asked. “I’m right
again.”

Kate’s eyes widened as she realized what
Richard meant.

“No,” Kate protested, bracing one hand on his
chest.

“A bargain is a bargain, after all,” Richard
insisted.

Richard’s eager mouth swallowed Kate’s
protest. She felt dizzy and breathless. Kate clung to the lapels of
Richard’s coat as he bent her backward over his arm.

Richard’s heart thundered in his chest as he
deepened the kiss. His tongue repeatedly probed at the seam of
Kate’s lips until finally, they parted. Immediately, he plunged
inside, eagerly sweeping over the honeyed recesses of her mouth and
dueling with her little pink tongue.

Helpless against such a sensual onslaught,
Kate sighed with pleasure. Richard’s heart swelled in triumph as
Kate yielded to him at last. His questing fingers left the gentle
curve of her waist, sliding upward to cup one full breast. Kate
moaned as Richard stroked the nipple through the satin of her gown.
Again and again, he tantalized and teased her with his persuasive
gentleness.

Kate felt the warm hardness of Richard’s
muscular thighs beneath her and the growing pressure of his body
against her hip. Moment by moment, she felt her control slipping.
Kate supposed that it was a little like drowning, but she didn’t
care.

Suddenly, Richard raised his head and stared
down at Kate. Distantly, he heard two of the servants approaching
and more voices nearby.

By all that was holy, what was he doing? He
wanted Kate badly. He’d been more than willing to take her in the
garden, too, perhaps beside one of the hedges, with her skirts
rucked up around her waist and dried grass clinging to her
hair.

Glancing up at the windows of the house,
Richard saw that they’d apparently drawn quite an audience.
Jeffries was doing his best to disperse the curious servants, but
they returned to their duties reluctantly.

Richard lowered his head and glanced down.
Kate lay sprawled across his legs like a sacrificial offering. Her
lips were red and swollen from his kisses and her green eyes half
closed with passion. Kate’s breasts rose and fell in quick little
bursts of breath. Slowly, Richard righted her, seating Kate before
him on the huge stallion.

Kate was a little confused and dizzy with
desire. What had just occurred, she wondered? One moment, Richard
had been kissing her deeply, passionately and the next, he’d
withdrawn into himself again. Although Kate had protested a little,
he’d finally persuaded her to yield and she’d done so with a glad
little sigh.

Now, for apparently no reason at all, Richard
had abruptly straightened and ended their kiss. He held her still,
however, his warm arms possessively bracketing her body.

Kate glanced over her shoulder and tried to
discern Richard’s mood. A muscle in his cheek flexed as he returned
her gaze.

“You must be chilled, Kate,” Richard finally
murmured. “Let’s get you inside.”

Dinner that night was a stilted affair.
Neither Kate nor Richard spoke very much and the long table loomed
between them as a huge barrier. Finally, unable to bear the tension
any longer, Kate skipped dessert and retreated upstairs.

Kate spent the next two hours staring at her
bedroom door, expecting Richard to appear at any moment. For some
unknown reason, he did not. Kate was confused. If the kisses
Richard had bestowed upon her that afternoon were any indication,
he was a very passionate man. What had made him stay away from her?
Kate finally went to bed alone, hugging her pillow as she stared
into the darkness in confusion.

Over the next several days, Kate saw her
husband little. Occasionally, she glimpsed Richard from a distance
as she passed through the hall or when he spoke to one of the
servants. Could he be avoiding her, she wondered? Kate felt
Richard’s rejection acutely.

Time and again, Kate relived the last
afternoon they’d been together. All had been going very well for a
little while. The earl had gallantly lifted her up onto his
stallion, placing her before him like a prize. He’d kissed her
senseless and his talented hands had begun to roam over her body
with practiced skill. Although Kate had resisted at first, Richard
was very persistent and she’d finally yielded.

How sweet had been that surrender, too. Kate
had felt as though she were drowning in passion, but she didn’t
care. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, Richard had
apparently come to his senses and withdrawn from her completely.
For days now, he had remained stiffly formal, treating Kate more
like a guest than as his wife. Kate was utterly miserable.

The following morning, Kate woke with renewed
determination. Today, she decided, she would corner Richard and
make him explain what had happened between them. Even Ellen noticed
the new spring in her step and helped her to dress in a lovely gown
of light green velvet. Kate almost skipped down the stairs like a
child, certain that today, her problems would be solved.

“Good morning,” Kate chirped to the
stern-faced Jeffries.

“Good morning, my lady,” the butler formally
acknowledged with a nod. “I trust you slept well?”

“Well enough. Thank you,” Kate automatically
replied. “Where is the earl this morning?”

Jeffries blinked in confusion.

“What is it?” Kate inquired. “Is something
wrong?”

“Do you mean that you don’t know, my lady?”
Jeffries asked.

“No. What has happened?”

“His lordship left for London early this
morning,” Jeffries explained.

Kate schooled her features carefully to hide
her disappointment. The earl had departed his country estate, and
without a word of farewell to her, either.

“Oh, I see,” Kate whispered. “When will he be
back?”

“At least a fortnight from now, my lady,”
Jeffries informed her. “Perhaps not until the end of the
season.”

In the days that followed, Kate retreated
inside herself still further, her thoughts far away. To encourage
matters, the weather turned colder, too, as fall settled over the
land with a more determined grip. The dismal gray rains that fell
for days on end seemed to suit Kate’s flagging spirits. Ellen
attempted to cheer up her mistress repeatedly, but to no avail.

At last a note arrived from Richard. His
words were stiffly formal, informing Kate that he would be staying
in London until the conclusion of the season. No hint of warmth or
depth of feeling was revealed in the missive. Indeed, it might have
been a business letter.

Kate was exasperated and angered by Richard’s
cold dismissal. To clear her head, she fled the house for the
comfort of the stables. At Kate’s request, one of the grooms
saddled a docile mare for her and assisted her into the saddle. She
hurried across the grounds and gratefully broke into the open
fields.

Kate raced the horse across the lush green
grass. The thrum of the horse’s hooves striking the ground seemed
to match her spirits. The mare settled into a steady, almost
monotonous cadence.