Warrior (60 page)

and before he could give it his usual

amount of pondering, he nodded.

“May I have this dance, Princess

Isolde?”

Isolde stared at him for a long while,

her green gaze penetrating before she

nodded and offered her hand. He

whisked her to the dance floor, and

they waited at the edge until the

musicians started another tune. Isolde,

along with her sisters, had been taught

different dances as part of their world

lessons, so she was quite capable of

dancing to a Northern reel.

“Do all of the women in your

kingdom

possess

your

beauty,

Princess?” Bael asked as they twirled

around each other.

Caught off guard, Isolde glared at

him, before shaking her head. “If that

was your attempt at a compliment, my

lord, I am not impressed.”

He smiled, revealing his beautiful

teeth and intriguing dimples. “I have

yet to give you a compliment, my

lady. I merely noticed that every

Lytherian woman in Morden—the

queen, yourself, your younger sister,

and the two ladies, are beautiful. So, I

ask my question again: are you all

beautiful?”

Isolde’s reply was nonchalant. “I

have been taught that beauty is in the

eye of the beholder, my lord.”

A chuckle greeted that answer.

“Perhaps I should visit Lytheria. I

have never been there.”

“You will not like it,” Isolde replied,

allowing him to throw her out before

bringing her in once more.

A smirk touched Bael’s lips.

“Methinks you do not wish for me to

visit, Princess.”

She did not hide her smile then,

beaming up at him and replying, “I am

merely telling you that it will be

discomforting

to

one

who

is

accustomed to the chill of the North.”

“Ah, Lytheria is very warm, then?”

“It is,” she replied, releasing him all

together and circling another elegantly

garbed lady before moving back into

his arms.

“I have never been to a warm

kingdom, Princess. Perhaps Lytheria

will be my first.”

She did not reply because the music

ended and they stepped away from

each other. Isolde curtsied gracefully,

and he bowed at the waist, laughing at

her with his eyes.

With a small, courteous smile, she

made her way back to her sister.

***

“I am beginning to believe you are

even more stubborn than I,” Vulcan

said clearly as he stared down at his

sleeping wife. She blinked and looked

up at him, seated as he was at the

edge of her bed.

“Have you already grown tired of

L a d y
Calista?” she asked lightly,

placing a hand to her mouth to

capture the yawn she released.

“Perhaps I have,” he replied in the

same tone of voice she used. “What

do you suggest I do?”

“Recall Lady Savoy to court,” was

the immediate answer. She rolled

over, giving him her back.

“I could do that,” Vulcan replied

easily, staring at the bronze skin at her

neck, revealed by the delicate fabric

she wore. He’d been too long, far too

long, without his wife. He pushed his

legs onto the bed and moved closer to

her. His hands slipped around her

growing waist and came to rest gently

on the swell of her belly, under the

nightdress.

She

tensed

before

she

said

haughtily, “I do not think you should

do that, liege. I am your wife, if you

will remember. I am to honor and

obey, bear your children when

necessary, and play the part of Queen

to your King. I am no more.”

His hand pushed aside the curls that

had fallen from the loose bun atop her

head, revealing the soft golden skin at

her nape. Leaning down, he kissed

her softly, his lips lingering against her

warm flesh. She jerked in his arms,

tugging at his hand as she tried to

move it away from her belly. “You

forget where you are, Vulcan! I am

not Calista. I have not her black hair,

violet eyes, or porcelain skin. Stop

touching me.”

“It pleases me greatly to hear my

name on your lips,” he murmured

against her neck, his hand remaining

firm on her belly. He even began to

caress her lightly, ignoring the fact

that her hand was pushing at his.

“Go back to your chambers,

Vulcan. Or go to Calista’s. Leave me

be,” Jaisyn demanded.

“I don’t want Calista,” he kissed the

place where her shoulder met her

neck and she felt her traitorous body

grow warm.
He has his mistress right

under your nose.
That was like a

bucket of freezing ice water over her

head. “I’ve never wanted Calista. You

were the one who suggested—”

“I do not care, Vulcan. You cannot

have a mistress and a wife at the same

time.”

He released a small chuckle before

he replied. “That is untrue, wife. Men

have wives and mistresses at the same

time, all of the time.”

Jaisyn drew in a deep breath and

gave up pushing against his hand. He

was only caressing her belly. It wasn’t

as if he was trying to pin her to the

bed—yet.

“Well, I won’t stand for it. You

can’t have a mistress and sleep in my

bed as well.”

“Then I will sleep in your bed.” As

she feared, he was moving atop her

and his body pressed her into the bed.

She turned her face to the side and

pushed at his solid arms.

“You have already taken Calista as

a mistress, Vulcan,” she pushed

upward, but he did not budge. Nor did

he make a move to kiss her. Finally,

she turned her head to look at him. He

was staring down at her, a small smile

curving his lips.

She frowned. Vulcan did not smile

at her. He hadn’t done so in almost a

month.

“I do not have a mistress,” he told

her slowly in his deep voice. “Unless

you wish to audition for the part.”

Eyes narrowing, Jaisyn remembered

the lustful look Calista had given him.

“You most certainly have a mistress,

Vulcan. I never thought you would lie

to me, but now I see that you have

stooped to new lows.”

His eyes went from being playful to

hard in a second. Leaning down so

that his eyes were just over hers, he

said firmly. “I do not have a mistress,

and if I were to take one, I most

certainly would not take Calista. I am

no defiler of virgins.” Vulcan lifted his

head, cocked it slightly to the side,

and a crooked grin touched his lips

again, “Save for you.”

Scarlet flushed her cheeks and she

contemplated knocking him upside the

head with her fist. Even if he had not

taken the lady to mistress, he had not

slept alone these past weeks! Had he

bedded a maid, or two or three? And

why was her husband so jovial

tonight? Why had he not been this

way weeks ago? Perhaps he was

drunk.

“Are you in your cups?” she

demanded, sniffing at him to see if she

smelled ale.

He gave her a sharp glance before

his lips brushed hers. “Do you taste

ale?”

Swallowing audibly, she stared into

his molten grey gaze. “Vulcan, stop

this. Please. Find another woman to

warm your bed this night, for I am

tired.”

“As am I,” was the cool reply. “And

I do not want another woman in my

bed, Jaisyn. I want you.” He stopped

and traced her lips with his gaze. She

licked them. “You were extremely

beautiful tonight.” His gaze flicked

back to hers. “So beautiful that

everyone took notice.”

“Why now? Why did you not come

to me weeks before?” she hissed, still

trying to pry him off of her. It was like

trying to move a large, fleshy boulder.

Something flickered in his eyes, and

she saw the emotions there close to

her, before he allowed her to see them

once more. “I was angry. I am still

angry with you for helping Malcolm

escape. You should have trusted me. I

would have pardoned him. But that is

in the past, and I’ve decided to leave it

there. You are still my wife, and I

want you.”

“If you had told me that you were

going to pardon him, I would not have

planned an escape,” she retorted

testily. “Perhaps you should trust me

with information concerning my

friends.”

He shook his head. “Enough about

Malcolm. He is no doubt somewhere

in Mitherie, happy he still has his

head, so I’m putting that behind me. I

haven’t touched you in a month and

I’m aching to do so…right…now.”

His mouth lowered.

“Wait!” He stopped a hair’s breath

from her lips. “You haven’t taken

another to your bed?”

“No,” he replied, allowing her to see

the truth in his eyes. She felt her

stomach flutter nervously, seeing

Vulcan so open with his emotions. “I

did not want another.”

His lips captured hers and although

her body remained impassive, her

tongue pushed upwards into the heat

of his mouth as he pressed into her. It

was a long and thorough kiss, and

afterward, Jaisyn felt like sighing and

screaming at the same time. She’d

missed him.

Her lids had lowered during the kiss

so she felt but did not see him move

from her body. He slowly pushed the

bed gown to her waist and pulled her

up so that he could move it over her

head. The cool night brought out

goosepimples on her skin. She opened

her eyes. He was kneeling before her,

his eyes feasting on the generous

swells of her breasts. He pushed her

shoulder lightly and she fell back

against the bed, naked.

***

Vulcan stared down at the siren

before him, eyes feasting on every

curve, every indentation, and every

cut of muscle. His eyes drifted to her

belly, and his hands caressed the soft,

raised skin gently before he lowered

his head and kissed her there. What

started out as an innocent kiss turned

heated when he dipped lower and

swirled his tongue around her navel.

***

Jaisyn groaned and her fingers

moved through his silken hair. His

hands moved down, skimming the hair

at her thighs. She clenched her thighs

together, parting them slightly when

his fingers caressed her, asking for

access. The moment his fingers

brushed against her lips, she felt like

screaming. Sweet Goddess, she was

sensitive. He lifted his head from her

navel and stared into her hazy eyes.

His grey gaze held hers as he moved

lower, as he parted her legs and

placed a large hand under her

buttocks. She was open to him.

“Vul—”

It ended on a scream when his

tongue flicked across the little button,

sending her wild, and causing her

hand to tighten lovingly in his hair. He

moved his tongue down to capture the

essence of her and moaned when it

filled his mouth. One more flick at the

now-engorged button and he was

kissing his way back up her body.

His hips settled between hers and

Jaisyn blinked wildly as his hard organ

touched her love bud. When had he

removed his breeches? As she thought

of that, his lips closed over her nipple

and she arched against his mouth and

his straining length. She did not care

when he’d removed it. She wanted

him inside of her.

Teeth scraped her nipple gently and

she squealed and groaned all in one.

“I need you,” she breathed and the

words were so soft he thought he’d

imagined them. But suddenly, her

hand tightened almost painfully in his

hair and he had no choice but to lift