Princess Avenger - Brightcastle Saga Book 1 (15 page)

Vard walked
backwards with her, their mouths fused as one. Alecia hardly knew
what she did. Her body moved of its own accord, desperate to sate
the explosive need that had built low in her abdomen. She fell onto
him as he lay back on her bed. He pulled her leg across his hip and
raised her skirt in one practised motion. The warmth of his fingers
crept up the back of her knee. It only served to heat her blood
further. She didn’t object as Vard reached up inside the long leg
of her pantaloons and then rolled her onto her back. His weight
trapped her as he raised himself to look down on her.

“Is this what
you want for your first time, Alecia?” A muscle tensed along his
jaw as he waited for her reply.

She swallowed
and tried to form the words that would reassure him, but the tumult
of emotions tied her tongue. She nodded, her eyes unable to leave
his face for fear that if she broke the contact, he would walk away
from her.

Alecia poured
all the hunger inside her into her gaze and seized the hair at the
nape of his neck, determined to finish what she had started. He
groaned and lowered his lips to hers once more, this time more
sensually, bringing her to the peak of longing. Her hips strained
against his and she cursed the fabric that separated their skins,
anticipating the firestorm that would consume them when all
barriers were stripped away.

The
inhibitions she had felt with their first kiss were gone now.
Alecia moaned as Vard pulled the shoulders of her gown down her
arms to expose the swell of her breasts. His lips caressed the
exposed skin while her hands raked his shirt below his tunic. Vard
paused long enough to shrug out of his tunic and strip the shirt
from his body before lowering his head to her neck once more.

“I want you,”
Alecia said, her voice tense with need. “Take me now… please.”

He rolled onto
his side and pulled her around to face him, his eyes almost
completely black. She ran her fingers through the hair at the top
of his chest and let them slide down his abdomen. His skin felt hot
enough to scorch but it was nothing beside the heat in her core.
She knelt on the coverlet, undid the pearl buttons she could reach
and then sat back on her heels. Slowly, Vard crouched before her
and pulled the creamy material down her arms. His teeth grasped the
satin over her breasts and tugged until her snowy mounds were
freed, the nipples standing pink and erect. He rolled her onto her
back and she gasped as his lips and tongue caressed first one
nipple and then the other. She was lost in a torrent of mad desire.
Her only thought was to push this man to the brink and then fall
over it with him.

As Vard’s
hands pushed her skirts up, his mouth continued to ravish her
breasts. Her body moved of its own volition, hips straining upwards
in open invitation. He teased her pantaloons off and she moaned in
anticipation, gasping as his fingers found the slick wetness
between her thighs. There was only one thing she wanted now and it
had to be soon or she would explode. Alecia groaned and fumbled at
the waist of his breeches. Fulfilment was so close she could taste
it. The very fibres of her being hummed in tune with Vard’s. His
hard manhood pushed against her; she knew it would fill her,
satiate her.

A gong
sounded. Alecia barely heard it. It was nothing; an annoyance, a
distraction.

Vard froze,
poised over her. “What are we doing?” he said, his voice barely
recognisable. He pried her fingers from his breeches, pulled her
skirt down to hide her desire and swung his body from the bed.
“Cover yourself.”

Cold shock
struck Alecia. How could he pull away? This was all she wanted. She
stood, kicked her pantaloons from her ankles and faced him, her
breasts still exposed above the neck of her gown.

His eyes fell
to her chest and he groaned. “I can’t have you.” He reached for her
but instead of caressing her flesh, he tugged at her dress to cover
her nudity. His fingers trailed over the satin of her bodice as
they dropped to his sides.

Shudders
ripped through her body at his touch. The pressure in her loins was
almost a physical pain. She reached for him again. That was where
all this had started. She buried her face in the hair of his chest,
breathing in his scent and letting her fingers trickle through the
hair that ran down to the waist of his breeches.

Vard pushed
her away and reached for his shirt. “That’s the gong to announce
the beginning of festivities. We’ll be missed.”

“If that is
all you are worried about,” Alecia said. “I can call Millie and say
I am unwell.”

He paused in
buttoning his shirt and she thought she had won. “Fix your hair and
face, Princess. I’ll wait outside.”

“No!” Alecia
took two steps and flung herself into his arms, arching her body
against his. His rock-hard arousal assailed her through the layers
of her skirts. His pupils contracted and dilated as the war raged
within him. He could not refuse her now!

Vard grasped
her wrists and pushed her away. “Your body invites me, tempts me,
but we mustn’t let our desires rule. A woman like you, a princess,
should save herself for her husband.”

He tried to
walk past her and Alecia wrapped her arm around his waist, her face
so close to his that she breathed his ragged exhalation. The war
still thundered within him.

“
A
moment ago, you had forgotten what I am,” she said, “Take me
now,
please
.” Giddy
exultation surged through her as he bent his mouth to hers again,
but his lips were like granite as he ravished her, leaving Alecia
in shock at his brutality.

“It’s been
fun, Princess,” he said, his mocking smile belittling everything
they had just shared. “I’ll wait outside.” Vard left and the door
closed with a sharp click.

Alecia stood, too
dazed to move. The fire of her desire still burned but there was a
cold hard lump in the pit of her stomach. She had thrown herself at
him, begged him to ravish her and he had rejected her.
Again.
Thank the Goddess that she had
not coupled with him. What was she thinking?
I begged him!
And truth be known, she would
still allow it should he return. How could she hide the torrent of
her emotions from the eyes of the partygoers?

The mirror
showed her dress in disarray, bodice sagging and skirts rumpled.
She straightened the bodice and laboured over the buttons at her
back. Her face heated as she spied her pantaloons on the floor by
the bed. She pulled them on and smoothed her skirt, then returned
to the mirror. Her hair was a bit squashed at the back but she ran
her fingers through the jumbled tresses and managed to restore the
style to respectability. Then she repainted her face with a shaking
hand. The results were acceptable but she knew she would not fool
Millie if the maid were to see her. She retrieved her purse,
slipped on her satin shoes and opened her chamber door.

Vard waited
for her, resplendent in his dark uniform. His features were
composed as he held out his arm for her hand. There was no
recognition in his gaze of what they had shared. Her body began to
tremble as she realized how close she had come to losing herself to
this man and she determined to put the experience out of her mind.
They made their way down the hall to the top of the stairs, where
Ramón waited.

“Good evening,
Princess,” the squire said, bowing. “Captain.”

Alecia’s
throat clogged. She coughed and found her voice. “Good evening.”
She smiled, striving to regain her composure, to appear the woman
she had been before Vard’s rejection. “Do you have no one on your
arm tonight?”

“The prince
has not requested my services, and so I am free to dance with
whomever I please. I hope you will save me one.” His blond locks
were tied back in a band and he wore a cream silk coat over black
breeches.

“Of course.”
Her words were for Ramón but every particle of her being was in
tune with her escort. And she sensed his growing impatience.

“Excuse us,
Squire.” Vard stepped off with Alecia down the stairs.

“Oh Goddess!”
she muttered. In seconds she would have to face the curious stares
of her father’s guests when all she desired was to curl up and
forget the rest of the world existed. At the base of the staircase
she stopped.

Vard turned to
her, clearly puzzled by the abrupt halt. “What’s amiss?” His gaze
met hers and the rest of the world fell away.

“I cannot face
those people tonight,” she said. “Take me somewhere where I can be
alone.”

A muscle in
his jaw tightened. “That wouldn’t be wise on many accounts. This
event won’t be as odious as you imagine. I’ll stay by your
side.”

“Will you? You
did not give that impression just a few minutes ago in my room.”
She clamped her mouth shut to stem the flow of words that
threatened to spill. “We cannot leave things between us as they
are.”

Vard opened
his mouth to reply but at that moment, the master of ceremonies
spied them. He announced their names and Alecia suppressed a
shudder as all eyes turned to the latest arrivals.

The ballroom
was almost full. The guild masters were in attendance with their
wives, as were several of the minor country lords. Others she did
not recognize must be members of the King’s retinue. His Majesty
and the Queen had not arrived. Squire Ramón was announced, pounced
upon by a gaggle of young women and drawn away to the buffet
table.

“
Can I
fetch you a drink, Princess?” Vard gazed down at her. If he was
upset by what had passed between them in her chambers, he did not
show it.
It
is better this way
. She
would bury her feelings for Vard deep where they would not trouble
her. Even as she made the decision, her body betrayed her, nerve
endings tuned to his presence. She could have found Vard in a
crowded room with her eyes closed.

“Wine would be
nice.”

As Alecia
waited for her drink, King Beniel and Queen Adriana stepped through
the doorway to thunderous applause. Her aunt was elegant in a
crimson gown that hugged her figure to the thigh and then fell in
full lace ruffles to hide her feet. The strapless silk dress was
complemented by full-length red silk gloves. A ruby choker encased
Adriana’s neck and extended over her shoulders and chest, much like
chain mail. As Alecia moved forward to greet the royal couple she
saw that the Queen’s choker was indeed made from silver rings,
interlinked, with rubies set about the entire piece.

She curtsied
before the royal couple and King Beniel drew her into his
embrace.

“Alecia, my
dear, you are ravishing this evening. How am I to claim you for a
dance? I will have to fight off the young men…and the not so
young.”

Alecia
laughed. “Nonsense, Uncle, you are still the most handsome man
here. Besides Father, of course.” She smiled at the Queen. “That is
a striking necklace, Aunt.”

Queen Adriana
kissed her niece on both cheeks. “It is just something my master
jeweller fashioned for me,” she said. “He knows how I adore
watching the knights on the tourney field and thought it would
amuse me to wear chain mail. Quaint, is it not?”

Alecia
murmured agreement but the Queen’s attention shifted. The monarch
suddenly reminded Alecia of a hunting lioness.

“Your wine,
Princess,” Vard said.

Alecia took
the embossed silver goblet from the captain. He swept the King and
Queen a low bow then rose and took Adriana’s offered hand. “You
look exquisite, Your Majesty.”

“You are kind,
Captain.”

The
orchestra chose that moment to play a lively tune that heralded the
beginning of the dance music for the evening. Queen Adriana stepped
closer to Vard and spoke into his ear. Alecia’s nails dug into her
palm as her escort swept the Queen away, the first of many couples
who took to the dance floor. Ramón had a buxom blonde girl in his
arms and Prince Zialni danced with the wife of the master
goldsmith. Alecia glared at Vard and her aunt, stupid tears
threatening.
How dare he leave me in the corner?

“May I have
this dance, niece?” The King’s strong arms swept her in among the
other dancers. The style of dance was such that partners were
changed on a regular basis, and she soon found herself with Vard.
He pulled her close against him and she fought the urge to melt
into his arms, her heart pounding so hard she could not concentrate
on the steps. Where had a soldier learned to dance with such
flair?

“Please accept
my apologies, Princess,” he murmured against her hair. “The Queen
is difficult to refuse.” His strong arms guided her expertly around
the floor and into Ramón’s at the next change.

“That man
dances well for a soldier,” Ramón said. “Do you wonder how?”

“It had not
occurred to me to wonder,” she said, still thinking of Vard’s
apology. Apparently she, Alecia, was all too easy to reject.

“What is
wrong, Princess? What has he done to you now?”

“Why do you
think he has done anything?”

“He has hurt
you!”

“Keep your
voice down! This is none of your business.” She flew from his arms
into the sweaty paws of another guild master and then into those of
Lord Finus.

“Your beauty
dazzles me tonight, Princess Alecia.” The lord’s eyes gleamed, his
dark gaze lingering on her bosom. “Did you have the dress made for
this occasion?”

Alecia
clenched her teeth to hold back the anger. “No, Lord Finus. I wore
this gown to my debut at the King’s palace. I would not expect you
to know. You were not with us then, were you?”

Lord Finus
frowned and Alecia’s heart lightened as her subtle barb hit home.
He did not like to be reminded that his influence with the prince,
though strong, had yet to stand the test of time. Her father was
the next man to take her in his arms.