Warrior (61 page)

his head away from the tantalizing

bud.

***

Staring down at her, with her eyes

so glazed over and her lips parted in

invitation as she undulated against

him, he couldn’t help what he did

next. His lips captured hers in a hard

kiss as his hand moved quickly

between their bodies to position

himself. He drove forward and Jaisyn

winced at the full invasion. Feeling her

tense, he gentled his kiss and waited,

nibbling on her bottom lip. She arched

into him, taking more of him into her,

and kissed him back. Her hands

wound around his neck and she

moved her hips with him, angling up

for his downward thrusts.

“Do you love me, Jaisyn?” Vulcan

demanded, his mouth at her ear as his

lower body sunk into hers.

She shook her head. She wasn’t

going to say it. He hadn’t returned her

love. She wasn’t going to—

“Do you still love me, wife?” he

repeated, his tongue closing over her

earlobe. She was so close. It

approached like a wave, a torrent,

steady and sure, and then—he

stopped. His harsh breath and her

cries were the only audible sound in

the room.

“Do you, Jaisyn?” he asked after a

deep breath. She rolled her pelvis

against him and he groaned before

settling both hands on her hips,

holding her steady.

“Why? It does not matter, Vulcan,”

she cried, her head twisting violently

on the pillow. She was being held

from ecstasy by her cruel husband.

“It matters,” was all he said.

“No,” she lied, trying to move her

hips again. He held steady. She

looked into his eyes. They had grown

a bit cold, and his face was now

impassive and raised over hers. “You

don’t love me, Vulcan.”

“I do not know the meaning of that

word,” he replied evenly.

Jaisyn lifted her hands to his face,

moved her face closer to his and

clenched her muscles on him. He

growled softly, but held her gaze. “It

means that you’re always thinking of

the person, you always want to see

the person, that you’re always

worried of how the person will think

of you, and you feel like you’re dying

when something bad happens to the

person. That is love to me.”

He nodded and lowered to her once

more. His hips began to flex and she

cried out and clenched her hands

about his back, stroking and digging

into his flesh until her back arched

and she came apart, calling his name.

Vulcan paused mid-thrust and stared

down at her. She spasmed around him

and he bit his lip, drawing blood, and

relishing the pain to keep himself from

spilling.

Jaisyn felt wondrous as the tremors

left her body. Her arm wrapped about

Vulcan’s waist and she paused. He

was still hard inside of her.

“Vulcan, aren’t you—”

His lips captured hers again and he

began to move purposefully once

more. She was sensitive from the

previous orgasm and didn’t last long.

A scream tore from her lips as she felt

his warm heat mark her, and soon she

was riding the clouds in bliss.

She surfaced with his sweat-covered

body draped along hers, crushing her

into the mattress. She pushed at his

arms and he rolled onto his back,

pulling her up against his chest.

“I love you.” His voice was an

unmistakable rumble in the room.

Jaisyn’s eyes widened and she

pushed herself up so she could stare

down at him. He lifted his lids, stared

up in her eyes. His eyes were earnest

and a bit of insecurity flickered there

as well.

“What did you say?” she heard

herself ask softly.

He cleared his throat and spoke

once more, unfamiliar words that

were as foreign to him as the emotion

itself. “I love you, Jaisyn.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you

certain?”

She was on her back with him above

her less than two seconds later. A

smile was beginning to form on her

lips.

“I said that I loved you, woman!”

Vulcan burst out, his gaze pinned to

hers. “I don’t want any other woman

but you and you’re constantly on my

mind. When your bastard cousin had

that blade to your throat, I felt as if I

were dying.” He buried his face in the

crook of her neck and inhaled. “And

you always smell so good. Especially

when you wear my scent.”

A soft laugh erupted from her lips

and he lifted his head to glare down at

her, until he saw how she was looking

at him.

“I already told you how I felt about

you,” she murmured softly. “It pleases

me to know that I am not alone in my

feelings. I love you, Vulcan.”

***

A smile lit his face and Jaisyn

thought once again that her husband

should smile more. Smiling added a

look of boyishness to his hard and

chiseled features. He rolled onto his

back and pulled her up against him.

She turned in and placed her face

against his warm chest.

She was drifting to sleep when a

thought crossed her mind, “Why did

you ask me about Bael?” She knew

better than to mention Varian again.

Her husband shrugged his big

shoulders. “I wanted an honest

opinion.”

“Why?” she persisted. His hands

tightened around her and he drew her

even closer to him.

“I have thought of a way to keep

one of my wayward vassals under

control,” he replied drowsily.

Her lids closed and she blinked them

open once more. “Who and how?”

“I will tell you when I have thought

it through.” Jaisyn might have argued

but she was tired. She’d been tired

before her husband had come into her

room and scrumptiously worn her out,

all over again.

Chapter 16

The Season started without a hitch

and continued brilliantly. As the king

and queen had opened the Season

with a grand ball, the nobility

followed, hosting numerous events

that dazzled the already glamorous

aristocrats. Jaisyn had been received

by the higher-ranking nobles of

Morden, and along with her sisters

and ladies, had seen some of the most

beautiful areas of the kingdom.

After her night with Vulcan, things

changed. Calista still sat beside him,

but so did Lady Mor’an, who had

removed herself to his side once more.

He divided his attention equally

between the two, but Jaisyn caught

the looks he sent her way, as did most

of the people sitting around the table.

She would smile demurely in return,

trying most unsuccessfully not to

allow his ardent stare to affect her

body as they dined, before giving her

attention either to her sisters or her

ladies.

Although they were always invited

to the balls, Jaisyn recognized quickly

that her husband wasn’t the type who

enjoyed fraternizing where there

wasn’t a weapon involved. And while

she enjoyed the occasional dance, she

much rather preferred the long rides

she took on Ajax or Orion. Soon she

would be unable to ride and she

wished to make the most of it while

she still could. At times, her sisters or

her ladies accompanied her, but most

of the times, she rode with only her

guards following at a discreet pace,

enjoying the serenity of doing so.

She’d just returned from such a ride

when a messenger informed her that

her presence was requested in Lydia’s

chambers. It was the middle of the

Season and Jaisyn found it odd, as the

lady had made no move to spend any

time alone with her after the

conversation in which Jaisyn had

almost banished Calista from court.

Beyond polite and dull dialogue, the

lady had said little to Jaisyn over the

past month.

Lady

Mor’an

was

dressed

comfortably in a dark purple day

gown, with thin, transparent sleeves

and a V-fronted bodice to help with

the heat. Her dark hair was swept up

from her neck in a smart coif. Jaisyn

was still in her riding habit, and was

anxious to take it off and put on a cool

day dress such as the one the lady

wore.

As soon as Jaisyn entered, Lydia

dismissed the maids who were

bustling about the room and invited

her to sit on the edge of her perfectly-

made bed. After she sat, Lady Mor’an

took a seat as well.

The two women assessed each other

without saying a word. Finally, Lady

Mor’an spoke. “I have only known

you a few months but I can tell that

you are good person, with a good

heart. It is for this reason that I feel

the need to speak freely and to offer

advice in the strictest of confidences.”

“Lady Mor’an?” Jaisyn’s eyebrows

drew together in confusion and she

instinctively rested a hand over her

belly.

Smiling, Lydia held up a thin white

hand and shook her head. “Please,

call me Lydia. And might I call you

Jaisyn?”

Jaisyn nodded slowly. Lydia looked

at her hands, nervously twitching in

her lap.

“I wish to discourage you from

having much affection for your

husband.” The words were said

calmly, and Lydia faced Jaisyn boldly

after the declaration. Before Jaisyn

could respond, Lydia continued. “I

know that he has acted more

generously toward you in the past

weeks, but I wish to caution you on

thinking that it will last.”

“
Lady Mor’an
, I do not believe—”

She felt irritation rise within her at the

lady’s words. Who was she to tell

Jaisyn that Vulcan’s affections would

not last?

Lydia smiled sadly and held up a

hand. “I approached you in the salon

sometime ago and broached this very

same topic but did not continue. You

see, I did not think it as serious as I do

now.”

“You are not making sense,

milady.”

“I hope that you will understand

after I have divulged what I should

have months ago. Eleanor was

Vulcan’s mother and Frederick’s first

wife. She did not wish to leave her

homeland to marry Frederick Mor’an,

a violent and cold warrior whose

blood-lust was legendary. But she had

no choice. Despite his coldness,

Frederick managed to capture the

young girl’s heart, but her affections

were not returned. In fact, it is said

that after she birthed Vulcan, he took

so many mistresses that the queen

was humiliated and heartbroken. She

left for Seacrest, taking her newborn

and her ladies with her. Frederick did

not care, as he’d grown tired of her. It

was rumored he’d found a mistress

that he cared to take to wife, a

Morden woman. Many believed that

he would have broken the marriage,

taken his heir and cast her aside for

his mistress, had she not died before.

There are whispers it was a broken

heart that killed her.” Pausing, Lydia

stood and turned her back to Jaisyn.

“Frederick raised Vulcan to be

exactly like him. From the age of four,

he had neither the love nor the

affection of a woman. Even when I

married Frederick, he refused to let

m e
we a k e n
his heir. And so, I

watched a charming little boy with

raven black hair and inquisitive grey

eyes grow into a cold-hearted king. I

love Vulcan like my own blood, but

he cannot return affection. It is

something instilled in him by his

father.” A sigh left her lips.

“Lady Mor’an, Vulcan is not his

father. From what you’ve told me—”

“Even now, after I’ve told you the

history, you refuse to take heed,”