What She Craves (14 page)

Striding purposely down the wall, he stared at the large wood door to the hall and retiring room that Cora disappeared through. His blood rushed so fast through his veins he could concentrate on little else but possessing Cora. Members called after him to offer congratulations or favors he didn't want. He held up his hand and strode past to push through the door.

Cora stood leaning against the wall, grinning at him. Her strawberry-colored hair set off by the sapphire walls. Her blue eyes sultry. His siren.

“Well.” Her head tilted to the side.

He grinned, his throat tightening as prickles raced across his skin. “Well indeed.”

In two strides he pressed to her, their lips grabbed urgently for the intimacy they craved. Her hands wrapped up about his shoulders. The balmy touch tingling his skin as her naked body pressed to his.

Hard nipples pressed and rubbed the hair on his chest, sending molten fire pounding though him. He swept his tongue over hers, tangling, stroking, drinking in every moan and gasp she made. She tasted like good scotch, smooth with heat. His hands, wanting to know every bit of her, slid grazing the side of her silken breasts and down her curves to her hips.

By God, he'd gone mad. Mad for her. The need for her coursed through him. With each touch he needed more and more of her. He had lost control. Chills raced up his spine. Damn it. He pulled back and glanced down at her lips swollen from the force of their burning kiss. Beautiful.

“Mmmmm. Cora, Cora.” His thumb pulled her lower lip, and he leaned in to trace the plump surface with his tongue. Heady. His head swam. He wanted to savor her alone.

“I want to take you home, lovely. Will you?”
And what if she says no? Control…take her, you half-wit.

She tilted her head up, eyes flashing blue. “Now? No, my flesh throbs for you to fill me this instant.”

Cora screeched as Rupert's fingers wrapped about her wrists. He hefted her up and onto his shoulder as if she were his right prize.

A huge grin crossed her face. He was anything but the ape she first thought. Not only were his motions smooth and graceful like a deer bounding through a field, his heart, his emotions held true and strong, though hidden. A silly thought, truly, since she had spent such a short time about him. But she would bet her toes on the emotion, and she adored her toes.

He set her down in the empty gaming room and bowed. “Go through that door.” His hand motioned behind her. “Your clothing will be brought in. I will see you in the entry in a moment.” He backed away from her, grinning.

Rupert Roland. Never in her maddest dreams had she envisioned taking him to bed. She shook her head. How did she have him so wrong?

Turning, she stepped with wobbling knees through the door he indicated and paced the coarse-tiled floor. Two candelabra cast a low glow in the sparsely furnished room.

She would dress and he would take her to his home and love her all night. Chills of excitement raced across her skin. Tonight had changed her life. She faced Matthew, regaining her pride, and she had taken control of her desire to be with a potent man.

A servant came forth in the dimly lit room and handed her a sack filled with her neatly folded clothes.

“Thank you.”

She placed the cloth bag on a small table at the side of the room, opened the flap, and dumped the contents on the wood surface. Raising her shift, she pulled the soft garment over her head, letting the silky material tickle down her body. Did Rupert like frilly garments on his women? On her? Maybe only nudity aroused him. He didn't seem to care about her fading looks. She couldn't wait to find out. She absently clutched her petticoats.

A warm finger traced up her spine and she shivered, closing her eyes. Rupert. “Mmm, I thought you were to meet me in the entry.”

“Heading out, were you?”

Damn and blast. She spun around and tilted her head back to meet Matthew's eyes.

“Come back for more, pet?”

Comprehension dawned and her eyes widened. He meant to have her. “Matthew.” Her body tensed and she stepped back, sidestepping the table as he came forward and caged her against the wall. She braced herself against the barrier of human flesh and tried to slip under his arm. He was too large, too big, and he smothered her. She choked, gasping for air.

Relax, Cora. You stood your ground earlier. Use your strength again.

Sweat burned down her back, and she shook uncontrollably. Sweltering fingers wrapped about her arm, and with a quick jerk, he turned her face against the wall, pressing his body to hers. She shrieked as memories and emotions locked for years in her mind struggled to break free. She wouldn't let them.

The feel of his erection against the small of her back sent pricks of fear into her lungs. “Matthew, stop!”

“As soon as I sighted you, I knew you were ready for me again. Why else would you venture into my world?” Matthew cooed. Fluid from his erection seeped through her shift, sticking the fabric to her lower back and to him. The heat of his prick burned her skin, bonding the spot together.

Cora gritted her teeth. “Take your hands off me.” Her heart closed off her throat. He would not let her be.

“Now, pet, why would I do that? You are displayed perfectly this way.” His hand wrapped about her neck and pinned her to the wall.

She whimpered, struggling to breathe. If she could just kick him. Her lower leg thrust out trying to reach his knee, his leg, his ballock. Anything.
Please don't let this happen.
Tears sprang to her eyes and stilled. He would not force her to cry. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought down her fear and anger.

He chuckled. “You never could resist me.” Touches slid down the curve of her waist to the swell of her bottom, and she squirmed to get away from him.

That statement rang true once. But no more. She would not have this, not with him.

She needed the right moment; then she would escape him. His fingers slid around to her stomach and pulled her shift up. The branding touch traced her scar. Ice ran across her skin, and she shuddered, unable to stop the frost that slid into her veins.

“The tear healed nicely. You were so silly then. Just wait, you'll see, Cora. Our life will continue from this point as if that night never happened. God I missed you.” He buried his face in her hair and tongued her neck.

Waves of disgust slashed up her spine and down her arms. “Don't touch me. I will not have this.” Fresh tears welled in her eyes as memories of how he crushed her flooded back.

The pain in her heart and in her stomach returned as if that night happened yesterday.

The previous day her child had moved in her. She told Matthew, foolishly excited, and expected him to be happy. He was not.

“I will not take them. Matthew.”

“The herbs are safe. You know I would not harm you, but you will take them if I have to force you. I will not share you, Cora. You will bring on your courses.”

The scene played in fractured bits in her mind.

The air swirled as the stone-topped table flew across the room and hit the wall, shattering in his rage. His sticky hand hooked her arm, tears ran down her face, and she screamed as he hurled her naked body at that same wall.

She could feel the hard edge of the stone tabletop tearing the flesh of her slightly rounded stomach anew as the broken jagged edge dug into her flesh.

Tears gushed down her face, and she stifled a sob, choking as she lay on the floor. She clutched her stomach, and blood coated her fingers as he forced the drink down her throat.

In the end, the cut was mild; some would consider it a scratch. The drink had forced the cramps to come.

“I will not have you, Matthew.” She straightened her spine and locked her jaw. “I wanted that child and you took the babe from me.”

He pulled her away from the wall and slammed her back.

Her head hit hard and she whimpered, eyes fluttering as pain sparked her vision and blackness crowded in.

“There will be no more talk of something that never was.”

“Say here, Dranger, get your hands off my property.”

That deep animalistic rage in his voice reached through the spinning of her head. Rupert. He would stop this. Property?

Why did men assume that by sharing yourself, they owned you?

Her teeth snagged her trembling lower lip. How would anything be different? She would be just that, a piece of property. An unnamed person Rupert came to when his need arose. She let her emotions, her dreams, get involved this night. What a cake she made. Even if Rupert was different than Matthew, she wanted so much more than to be owned by him. Love. Respect. Those feelings she craved.

“Your property? I beg to differ, Roland. She has always been mine.” Matthews's voice vibrated through her.

“No matter, get your hands off her. She does not want your attentions.”

“You scoundrel, release me!” Cora inhaled deep and kicked back, landing a harsh kick to Matthew's shin. Abruptly he spun her from the wall and wrapped his arms about her waist.

Rupert Roland, the man who piqued her hopes, her desires, stood glaring with rage at the brute who had been her first love and major folly. She would have neither of them. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision as her throat constricted. She wanted so much more than either could offer her.

“To the devil, Matthew. If you ever come near me again, you won't live to see the next light.” Her whole body shook as anger and hurt poured out of her.

“And you…you, Mr. Roland…” Her lip trembled and tears rimmed her eyes. His eyes narrowed with concern, that same furrow between his beautiful green eyes. She couldn't. She still wanted him so badly. Her heart would break if she hurt him with words. The sticky hot air smothered her.

She had to leave. This night needed to end. Turning, she ripped from Matthew's grasp, clutched for the plush wool of her cloak on the side table, and ran for the entry.

“C
ora! Cora, wait!” Rupert ran down the hall after her. She pushed out the front door before the greeter could open the heavy wood. A blast of the winter night air blew his hat from his head and burned his chest as he headed down the steps after her. Blister it, she had no shoes on. She would catch her death.

What just happened? Bugger Dranger. He would not let that bastard scare her off. He didn't know what happened between the two of them, but from what he overheard, their encounter had involved a child. A child she wanted.

That was the reason she shunned him in past years. She wanted nothing to do with men who mildly resembled Dranger. Well, he was not like him. Never would be. Dranger had always been a bit queer in the attic when it came to what he thought he was entitled to.

Cora ran down the sidewalk, her cloak billowing out behind her as her bare feet hit the ground in thuds.

He was three strides behind, heart pounding in his throat. “Where are you going? Damn it, woman, halt.”

She threw him a look that screamed of pain and anger. He stopped still.

“All right, lovely. Take your anger out on me. Let out the hurt and frustration you have harbored for the last decade. But don't run from me.”

She flung around, her eyes narrowed and her spine stiff.

“How dare you presume to understand me?” Her eyes flashed and her breath puffed out in visible smoke.

“Cora, I'm not like Dranger. I would never consider doing what he did to you.” He stepped toward her, his arms aching to embrace her and take her home.

“What?” Her cheek twitched and she waved her hands wildly in the air. “You would never think of controlling me? Of locking me away so no one could see me? Or you wouldn't force poison down my throat to kill your child?” Tears slid down her face.

Bloody devil. His gut twisted. What had Dranger done with her? “Cora.” He glanced around, and two groups of passersby stopped to gawk at them. “I won't discuss this here.” He paced forward, wrapped his arms about her waist, and lifted her. She pounded on his chest, her fists hitting with loud thuds he barely felt. She stilled, then sobbed, a heart-twisting sound, and buried her face into the folds of his greatcoat.

“Shh, shh, lovely.” The weight of her in his arms, the smell, he couldn't seem to get enough of it. He would be damned if he let her slip away, not when she finally gave him a chance.

His carriage stood in front of the club when he approached. He deposited her on the rust-colored seat. “Home,” he called to the driver as he climbed up behind her. The door closed, extinguishing all light.

“I…I will not be anyone's property!”

“Shh.” He leaned in and kissed her with all the desperation pulsing through him. Hard and unyielding, her lips did not return the caress. Damn it. His tongue traced the crease, and she moaned, opening her lips to his. He thrust in and his pulse soared. Her teeth caught his lips, biting hard, then softened to tangle and stroke his tongue with hers. Their lips danced across each other's, eliciting moan after moan. His head spun and he couldn't tell whose breath was whose.

The skin of his cock strained to bursting. He needed to be in her, to mark her, his. Waiting to spend in her fiery cunt all night pushed hell on him; his sack ached, wanting nothing more than her sweet cunny, but he needed to speak. He couldn't lose her. Pulling back, he stared down into her dimly lit face.

“Cora. I will never force you. Well, not unless we agree upon my domination previously. You do desire me?” He kissed his way to her ear, then pushed back and sat across from her, chest tight. If she said yes, nothing else would matter.

“Oh, Rupert. I…I…” She did. But could she trust her judgment this time to be different than the past? She stared at him across the carriage, his dark black hair and emerald eyes invisible in the dark box. Somehow, his body expressed the concern, the want and desire that went bone deep, so much more than mere lust.

“Don't answer with you mind. Feel your soul. Do you desire me?”

His voice sounded strained by emotion. She closed her eyes. She couldn't lie to him. Her soul wouldn't allow that. The want for him and him alone pulsed though her veins. Reaching out, she grabbed the lapels of his superfine coat and pulled him back to her side of the carriage. “Yes, I'm such a fool.”

His breath came out in a whoosh, warming the air between them. “Now, lovely. You are no half-wit.” He leaned in, inhaling her scent. The warm puffs of breath heated her skin, and she arched her neck to allow him better access above the collar of her cloak. He groaned, steamy flicks tracing the bend in her column of flesh.

She had wanted this for years. Tears swelled in her eyes and her body shuddered.

“My sweet woman.” He pushed her hair behind her shoulder, and the moist touch skimmed along her jaw.

His woman. Her chest tightened. “I…I'm not—”

“You are. I will not own you, lovely, but you are mine. There is a vast difference.”

He possessed her. She wanted this, a connection to a powerful man. Her life would never be the same. Could she do this?

His hand slid inside her cloak to cup her breast, and steaming pleasure washed through her.

“You will not work for anyone. I will give you anything you have ever wanted, Cora, including a houseful of children. Are you willing? Willing to accept my plight?”

Children. Her teeth snagged her lip. Could she bear a child? She was so old. But children. Having a babe was a dream she carefully denied with lemon halves for years. A dream she had but never thought she could make reality.

She raised her eyebrows. “Am I to understand you would not want me to pleasure others? That I don't believe. You enjoy watching.”

He laughed. “Of course I will watch you. I am who I am, but in the end I alone will sleep in your bed.” He pinched and twisted the rigid peak of her breast between thumb and finger. A gasp rushed up her throat as pain turned to delicious delight. Heat speared through her body, flooding her sex with moisture.

To be with one man again. Waking in his arms each morning. It was all the dreams Dranger had burnt to dust.

Deep down in her heart she wanted what Rupert said…and only him. There was a kind and gentle aspect to all of his moves. No one could fake that bone-deep grace, and the HellKnights respected him too. She was reckless to desire a commitment so monumental when they had just met. But she did.

The carriage rolled to a halt. Rupert stopped caressing her breast and opened the door in advance of his footman. Alighting from the box, he turned and scooped her off the seat in haste. She snuggled into his strong arms as he strode up the steps.

The grand house evoked a warm comforting emotion. The main hall shocked her as his butler closed the door behind them. The walls were painted a burnt orange and cream, and rich Oriental rugs covered the floors. This oasis opposed the typical bachelor home. The furnishings were chosen with care to accent the space and create a desired feel. Did he decorate this house?

“Edward, send up hot water for the bath.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cora snuggled into his coat and inhaled his smoky honeyed scent. She belonged here, smelling him. Where did the delicious aroma come from? She wanted to lick every part of him and find out. Her nipples hardened into tight buds.

“A bath?” Her fingers massaged into the hairs of his chest beneath his coat in a quest for his nubs.

“Yea—to wash the old memories away.”