Light to Valhalla (23 page)

Lovely
.
He’d broken Charley’s heart and trampled her purest talent
.
What a wretch
.
“I never meant to hurt her, Evelyn.”

“We rarely
intend to hurt anyone
,” she said softly
.
“In time she’ll come to see that everyone makes mistakes, especially those we love.”

Alex shifted uncomfortably
.
He’d intentionally hurt a lot of people, and all for his own ends
.
“I
fear
she’ll
never trust me again, and
after everything that’s happened I
don’t blame her
.
I don’t deserve forgiveness from her or anyone else.
”

“Have a bit of faith, Alex.”

“I’ve never been much good with leaps of faith.”

“Fortunately for you Charley is
.
She’s never given up on you, you know.
”

She left him then to contemplate her words
.
Wise words
.
It would behoove him to heed them, and he knew it, however,
t
he
female species baffled him and he
w
as
still
left with no idea how to prove his sincerity to Charley
.

He ran his fingers the length of the keyboard and stood
.
“Bloody muck I’ve made of everything.”

As if on cue one of the hulking wolfhounds
came lumbering into the room, tail wagging,
and tongue
hanging out one side of his mouth
.

“
Well, hello,
boy.
”
Alex
knelt before the animal, ruffling the loose fur behind both ears
.
“
Tell me, where can I find the good brandy?  Not the watered down wine and sherry sitting out for
guests, but the good stuff.”

The
hound
leaned into his hands and moaned
.
Alex
gazed
into those
big liquid brown
eyes
.
Happy eyes
.
The innocent happiness
privy only to
dogs and children
.
Alex
sighed
.
It was a sad day indeed when
one
found himself envious of a dog, but he would give his title, his fortune, even his left arm to reclaim a measure of such sweet innocence
.
To go back to a day when he wasn’t a miserable bastard who’d
lost his entire family and continued to
drive his wife
away at every turn.
“
Coverstone
, a word?”

The voice
of his brother-in-law pulled Alex
from the depths of his thoughts
.
He wiped a hand over his face, preparing for the confrontation which was bound to be ugly
.
He splayed his hands
, inviting the younger man to speak
.

Tall, blonde and perfectly reformed the young viscount
exuded
a confidence far beyond his
four
and twenty years
.
“
This is about my sister and you may not like what I have to say.
”

Alex respected a man who did not beat around the bush
.
“Very well, go on.”

“
Charley
has overcome a great deal in the last few years.”

“I’m well aware of what she’s been through,
Huntfield
.
”
More than a lit
tle irritated by the reminde
r
, a
twinge of infamous tempter
flickered at the surface of his
self control
, threatening to rear
it’s
ugly head
.

With measured strides Thomas strode forward
, green eyes flashing with brotherly
warning
.
The twins fought with
unprecedented rancor, but defended one another just as vehemently
.
“
You’re a cold son of a bitch, Alex, and i
f
you hurt my sister
again
, I’ll kill
you.”

Alex
laughed
.
“Pistols at dawn for
a disagreement
with my own wife?
”
He’d faced down countless se
as of blue clad French soldiers, weapons lo
aded and bayonets fixed, if this wet behind the ears youngli
ng thought Alex could be
intimated he had another thing coming
.

“I didn’t say
anything about pistols at dawn,” Thomas said evenly
.
“
I’ll just kill you.”

“Noted,
H
untfield
.
”
Alex
shook his head
.
“I don’t understand, three years ago you stood with your father an
d all but steered me to the alta
r with a gun to my back
.
Why the sudden concern for Charley’s happiness now.”

“Because you were supposed to take care of her,”
Thomas
said huskily
.
“But instead you left
.
The look on her face when you rode out…” he shook his head
.
“Doesn’t matter
.
You’ve been warned
.
Take
care
of her and treat her right or you’ll answer to me.”

“
A
word of caution, Thomas, before you threaten a man,” he fixed
his brother-in-law
with a hard glare, “
be
sure you’re prepared to follow through.”

Thomas sneered
and stalked away
without further comment
.

Alex shook his head
.
Less hostility had been displayed by the damn French
.
Odd he should be reminiscent of his war days, but he had the sneaking suspicion he’d left one battlefield
for a
nother much more cunning
set of foes.

Seven

The conversation with Thomas
set the tone
for the entire evening
.
Despite their brief, tender interlude by the fire
Charley
avoided Alex like the plague, Thomas glared at him all through dinner, and Lord Grayson insisted upon calling him Richard
.
Only Evelyn and the dogs seemed pleased by his presence
and oblivious to the turmoil
.
Christ he was tired, but entirely
too keyed up to sleep.

“If you’ll excuse me.
”
Charley
rose delicately from the table
,
Alex, Thomas and
lastly
Lord Grayson quickly followed suit
.
“I’
m going to retire for the evening.”

“As will I,” Alex added, attem
pting to catch his wife’s eye.

Charley
hardly deigned to glance at him as she
tapped toward the door.

Alex ground his teeth, clenching his fists behind his back
.
How could she be so indifferent to his every glance and caress w
hen he
so keenly sensed
her between rooms?
Not to be deterred
Alex followed her
.
“Where will I be staying?”
             

Her eyes
locked briefly with his before fixing
straight ahead of her
.
“With me.”

“
Really?
”

“You’re welcome to take up residence in the barn,” Charley clipped.

“Quite alright
.
A warm bed beside you is bound to be much more comfortable.”

She gasped, and quickened the pace.

“If you lower your quills that is.
”

“I don’t have quills.”

“Then what do you call this bit of attitude? 
Prickly?”

She turned back to him and scowled
.
“I’m not prickly, I’m—I’m… guarded.”

“Is that what they call the cold brush off these days?
”
Alex knew he should shut his mouth and work toward getting back in her good graces, actually be worthy of the chance he’d asked of her, but needling her seemed to be the only way to spark her into decent conversation
.
He needed information to know what he was up against
.
Was he competing with another man? 
The past?
 
Or both?
 
She
put on an excellent show of brimming inexperience and chaste in
nocence, but there was one fool
proof way to know if
her emotions were otherwise
entangled
.
Bed her… revel in
her experience or the lack thereof
.
The prospect was entirely too tempting.

Charley
led the way down
the dark hall leading to her
bedchamber
,
Alex followed
a few steps behind
, pondering the scheme
.
She reached the door to her
bedchamber, turning
the knob with notably shaky hands and shoved into the dark room
.

Alex sidled in, hot on her heels, and quickly shut the door
.
She jumped
.
He grinned
.
She certainly pervaded an air of untouched naivety.

“Now, listen here
,” she
said officiously, planting a fist on her hip and shooting a finger in his direction
.
“I’ll have you know—whoa!
”
Her toe caught on the edge of a trunk and she cried out, pitching forward.

“Careful now.
”
Alex looped an arm around her delectably slender waist, pulling her up, and trapping her against his chest
.
Plump breasts crushed against his che
st
.
Charley
gasped, attempting to wiggle out of his hold, but Alex held firm, one arm securely fastened about the small of her back
.
“I wouldn’t want you
to survive that awful ordeal last
night only to break your neck safe and sound in your own room.”

“So sorry,” she mumbled
.
“I can’t see very well in the dark.

“Lucky for you I have excellent night vision.”

A lone beam of silvery moonlight sliced through the inky darkness, lighting
Charley
’s youthful face
.
Alex cocked his head to the side, she
was
so completely
lovely, and also entirely his to have and hold as he pleased
.
The thought sent a jolt of pure heat through him, erasing any
last
notion of fatigue
.

Charley
relaxed a bit, leaning into him
.
Their hips nestled intimately together and his wife’s petite, slender hands settled on his chest
.
“Are you going to let go of me?
”
The crackle of fire still laced her tone
.

“Not quite yet.
”
He traced a thumb along the mil
ky smooth curve of her cheek
.
The liquid green seas of her eyes widened and her bottom lip quivered enticingly
.
He pulled his thumb across the moist petal, wanting nothing more than to sample the rosy sweetness
once more
.
A dreamy sigh slipped from her lips and she rested her face in his palm
.
Encouraged
Alex laced his fingers through the
strawberry
tresses falling half-haz
ard around her heart shaped cheeks
.
Pure silk
.

Deftly Alex plucked the
braid apart with his fingers,
letting
her hair
tumble
unbound
down her back
.
The strands were dangerously long, falling clear pas
t
the small of her back
.
If wet h
ow long would it be
?
  How would
she
be wet?  Oh, God… his entire body went hard with the thought and he groaned
aloud
.
Charley
’s eyes widened impossibly, and he suspected she’d stopped breathing altogether
.
Mesmerized he
ran his fingers through the
luxurious
waves
.
“
You’re
hair is so soft,” he murmured,
leaning
forward, burying his face in the curve of her sweet smelling
neck
.
Oh, yes,
Charley
was a luxury indeed
.
Unable to resist he stroked his lips across the velvety soft flesh of her throat
.
So smooth.

She trembled beneath his touch, tentatively trailing her fingers down the camber of his chest; his skin burned beneath the thin fabric of his shirt
.
How would those dainty fingers feel against bare skin? 
Quite likely h
er untrained touch would be the death of him
.
Never had he been so affected by the mere essence of a woman
.
H
e was near to wrecked, lost in a
haze of her scent and taste.

“
Tell me, love,
” he hummed against her throat, sliding his
hands along her shoulders
.
“Why is it that whenever I’m in your presence
I have the
overpowering
urge to kiss you
?
”

Those delicate little hands stilled
.
“I think you’re already kissing me.
”
The sultry lilt of her voice clinched his gut
, drawing him in until the haze clouding his mind shrouded all else, leaving the world around them blurred in obscurity
.
Only Charley stood out in surprising clarity
.

“Oh, sweet
Charley
, this isn’t a kiss.”

“No?”

“No,” he groaned, grasping her face
.
“This is a kiss.
”
Alex’s lips eclipsed hers, pressing hard and firm, demanding
against hers
.
If he thought she’d taste
d
sweet
before
, he’d been wrong, miserably so… She was better than anything he could have imagined
.
Her lips were made for kissing, perfectly manicured for his
mouth
.
Better… she kissed like a virgin
.
His
virgin
.
Charley
swa
yed into him, melting like
sugar in the rain
.

She
whimpered, parti
ng her lips
a bit more boldly
than she had that afternoon
.
Alex
answered
the unwitting invitation with
zeal
even
he’d not anticipated
.
He
groaned, roughly running his hands along her
nymph
’s
body, grasping her against his hips
.
The physical attraction between them was undeniable
and he dared her to deny it with his touch
.

Charley
stroked her tongue against his, unsure, experimenting, it nearly killed him
.
He had to have her
.
Now
.
Fumbling with the buttons and stays of her gown he finally ripped the fabric at her back
.
He’d buy he
r another
.
Hell, he’d buy her one
hundred
.
The gown pooled on the floor, revealing
Charley
’s lacey stays
.
A tiny pink bow nestled enticingly between her breasts, begging him to
reach out and smooth his fingers over it
.
He dropped his head down and kissed it instead.

She froze
.

Los
t
in a fog Alex hardly noticed
.
He
lifted her up,
pressing his lips to her throat once again
.
“Oh
,
Charley,
” he murmured in a voice he hardly recognized
.
“I never imagined you’d be like this
.
So beautiful… so per
fect… I want you.
”
He settled her on the bed,
moving to cover
her
petite frame
with his body
.

“Alex, wait
.
Please stop.
”
Charley
sat bolt upright, crossing her arms over her chest
.
The dreamy glow drained from her eyes
.
“This is too fast.”

“Too fast?
”
He stumbled back a step, breathing heavily
.
They were man and wife for Christ sake
.
Alex shook his head, trying to grasp some shred of logic or composure, but the only thing he knew is how damned edible she looked perched on the bed in naught but her under things, the
burnished
expanse of her wavy hair tumbling in disarray about her face and shoulders, kissing the rounded breasts just peaking over
the splash of lace lining her white
chemise
.
H
e wanted to devour her
.
Give him one more kiss, maybe two
,
and he would convince her that she did not want him to stop
.
Alex took a step back toward the bed and
stopped short; h
er
huge, terrified
eyes
bore into him
,
delving
straight
into
his soul
.