A Matter of Honor (3 page)

Her one other foray out of her room to the kitchens for herbs to decoct had taken her past a lavishly appointed library. It was as good an objective as any. Perhaps she could learn something about the Brunner family.

Deep plum skirts brushed against her legs as she walked. Melis fingered the silken fabric. She’d never worn anything nearly so fine. Britta had brought her a pale lavender shirtwaist, the skirt, and polished leather slippers along with a black shawl so soft it had to be cashmere. Some of the society ladies who’d availed themselves of her abortion services had worn woolen garments made of the same silky soft fibers. After clucking over Melis’s still-sodden rags, the maid had taken them somewhere. Melis asked if they could be dried and returned to her, but Britta had rolled her eyes.

She was coming down the last flight of stairs before the ground floor when she heard, “Miss Melis, Miss Melis,” in Antoinette’s flutey voice, accompanied by the patter of feet.

“I’m so glad you decided to stay.” The child caught up. Her flushed face and a sprinkling of even brighter color high on each cheek suggested she’d been running.

“Oh, I can’t do that.” Melis smiled. “I never planned to stay beyond when I was well enough to return home—or, well, somewhere.” The child looked so crestfallen, Melis quickly added, “But I can come back and visit you if you’d like and if your father would allow it.”

“It’s better if you stay—” Antoinette began, her forehead crinkling with concern.

“Yes, indeed it is.” Gerald’s unmistakable baritone sounded from the hall spur leading to the kitchens. He’d changed into a casual pair of tan riding breeches and a darker brown shirt that did nothing to disguise his heavily muscled chest and lean torso. His hair was loose, falling about his shoulders.

It was all Melis could do not to gape. She’d never seen such a beautiful man before. Maybe because of her own pain, she hadn’t noticed the elegant planes of his face. High cheekbones yielded to a strong jaw. Arched brows raised in twin question marks. Humor sparked from his eyes.

“Come walk with me. The gardens are lovely.” He inclined his head ever so slightly and held out an arm for her.

She forced herself not to take it. Melis shook her head. “I really should plan on leaving. If not this afternoon, then tomorrow at the latest.”

“Why?” Antoinette inserted herself between her father and Melis. “You just got here.”

“If you go back, the same mob will just try to kill you again.” Gerald dropped his arm and cocked his head to one side looking at her.

“I know. I’ll have to go into hiding,” Melis murmured, thinking about the logistics. “Guess I couldn’t return to my work. It’s the first place they’d look.” She blew out a breath. “That’s the main reason I want to go back. The women count on me. I’m the only one who…” Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t talk about what she did in front of the child. She also couldn’t return to Vienna. What was the point if she spent all her time in some underground grotto?
I’d have to start over somewhere new, maybe in another country…

“Are you done with today’s lessons?” Gerald asked his daughter. His voice jolted Melis out of a descent into self-pity.

Antoinette favored her father with a roguish grin. “Not quite. Missus Henning sent me to bring back a book from the library.”

“Then you’d best do what you were told.”

Antoinette scampered off. “Come.” Gerald held out the same arm. “I won’t bite. I promise. Tony will return by the back staircase. It’s closer to her rooms. The only reason she came this way was because she was hoping to see you.”

“Tony must be your nickname for Antoinette.”

Gerald nodded.

“How long has your wife been gone?” Melis winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it out quite like that.”

“What makes you think she’s gone?” Blue eyes twinkled at her.

Melis thumped an index finger into his chest. “Because I’m wearing her clothes. You wouldn’t have instructed the help to give them to me if she were still here. And—” she drew back, pausing for effect “—remember I
am
a witch. I can sense who lives here.”

He nodded, gaze never leaving her. “I hadn’t forgotten. My offer’s still open. Feel like a stroll through the gardens?”

“All right. Fresh air would be wonderful.”

Melis followed the brick-inlaid walkway he pointed out, guessing he wanted privacy before speaking. He walked so close behind her she could feel the heat of him sitting like a living thing between them. It was hard not to let her body drop back against his. They settled at the end of a rose arbor beneath a flowering tree. He dropped his gaze as if engaged in some sort of internal struggle. Melis nodded reassuringly and kept silent. She knew how to encourage the reluctant to talk.

“Janika’s been gone for three years,” he began. The line of his jaw tightened; his brows drew together. He laid a hand on the small table between their chairs then put it back in his lap where it twined with the other one until his knuckles whitened.

His blue gaze sought and held hers. “She’s not exactly dead. She didn’t have any magic—not a jot. Unfortunately, because of me she developed such a fascination with the Dark Arts that she encouraged an affair with a particularly skilled vampire. Once bitten, she ran away with him.”

“And left her child?” Melis was aghast. How could a woman do such a thing? “Forgive me.” She bit her lip. “This is really none of my affair.”

“I’m making it your affair.” Gerald’s voice was harsh. “Janika wanted to take Tony with her. She planned to turn her into one of the undead. I gathered the Society and we stood against Janika and her new love. We prevailed—barely. There are wards around Antoinette—strong ones. And her governess is powerful enough to foil any attempts against my child.”

“Does Antoinette know her mother is still alive?”

Gerald shook his head. “I thought it best—what I mean to say is it would have been too confusing to try to explain it to her. Tony wasn’t quite seven at the time.”

“Are you ever going to tell her?”

“I suppose I’ll have to someday. She’ll need to be on the lookout for Janika once she gets too old to have one of us with her all the time.”

“Oh.” Words seemed inadequate, so Melis didn’t search for any more of them. When Gerald didn’t say anything else, she finally asked, “Why did you bring me here?”

“I need a wife and Tony needs a mother.”

Melis fell back against her chair cushions sucking air like a landed fish. “B-but…” she stammered, “I don’t see how…surely there are women from your own class—”

Gerald cut her off. “I need someone who understands magic. Someone strong enough in her own power she won’t run off with a vampire or a lycan. Someone who can help protect my child and teach her women’s magic.” He grimaced. “Sorry. That didn’t come out quite right.” Gerald got out of his chair, came round, and knelt in front of her. “I’m not certain what drew me to you last night. I had a vision my life mate would be in the forest waiting for me. When I volunteered to leave the Society’s ritual to check for spies, it wasn’t totally altruistic.”

He laid a hand on her knee. “I threw my magic wide open. It led me straight to you.”

Melis felt the skin stretch along the sides of her face as her eyes widened. She’d spun a small truth spell and it pinged back at her, clean and pure. “I’m not sure what to say.” Her leg tingled under his touch.

A lopsided smile made him look ten years younger. “How about ‘yes’? Or
,
‘I’ll think about your offer’? Have you ever been married?”

She shook her head.

“You look to be near thirty. Why not?”

“He died of smallpox.”

“I’m sorry.” Rising, he brushed stray strands of dark hair away from her face. “You’re an attractive woman—more than attractive—your eyes are amazing. I’ve never seen quite that shade of green before. They’re like fine emeralds.”

“I’m not all that attractive when I’m covered in blood and killing unborn children.”

Understanding crossed his face, softening it. “The men were afraid of you.”

Melis hadn’t interpreted her lack of male attention in quite that light before. She’d considered herself too old to attract a husband once Brenden died. “I suppose you’re right,” she admitted. “I wasn’t unhappy alone, though. Between the coven and my work, I had a full life...until this anti-witchcraft campaign took hold.”

He snorted. “And then you were one of the first to go. People can’t wait to kill off perceived threats.”

He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. Melis wanted the comfort of those arms. Before she could stop herself, she hugged him back. Dunning herself for acting like a harlot, she tilted her head up in hopes of a kiss. She wasn’t disappointed. He settled his mouth gently over hers. His breath tasted of mint and rum as his tongue moved ever so skillfully inside her mouth.

Her blood heated; her breath quickened. She pressed herself against him, aware of a sweet ache deep in her belly as his hands roamed down her back and cupped her buttocks. He pulled her tight against his body. The jut of him, hard against her, was enticing. She tightened her hold on his back. Her tongue sparred with his.
Maybe I won’t die a virgin after all…

“Poppa. Poppa.” Antoinette raced up the walkway toward them. “Oh, you’re kissing Melis. That must mean she’s going to stay.” Small arms wound around her from behind.

Gerald disentangled himself from both of them. His sun-bronzed skin had a rosy tint. “Let’s see what cook put together for supper, shall we?”

Melis took advantage of the walk back toward the manor house to settle herself. Her body ached for more of Gerald. Gooseflesh rose where the silk skirts brushed her legs. She imagined what he would feel like, skin-to-skin right next to her. She’d seen plenty of couplings during coven ceremonies—had even touched herself as part of the group offering, but that was as far as things had gone. She’d always assumed that some Beltane she would pick a likely man…except she never had.

Forcing her thoughts away from the mysteries of sex, she said, “I have things I need to get from Vienna: my instruments, my herbs, and of course, my own clothes.”

“We can take the carriage and go tomorrow.”

Just like that,
I’ll have a brand new life.

It can’t be that easy,
another inner voice cautioned. Melis ignored it. If a fairy tale had finally found her, who was she to kick it aside?

Dinner passed quickly. Melis was amazed how much like a real family they already were. The child chattered away about her day and her lessons as if Melis had always been a part of her life. At one point, Melis reached out with magic to see if Gerald had
done
something, but the only spell in the room belonged to her.

After sampling more varieties of food than she usually saw in a month, Melis’s eyes grew heavy. She shook herself. “I need to sleep.” She looked apologetically at father and daughter. “I’m still not recovered from my wounds.”

“How could you be? It’s far too soon.” Concern shone from Gerald’s blue eyes. Melis found she liked the protective tone in his voice.

She rose from the table and excused herself. “I’ll see you both in the morning.” For some reason, she was close to tears. “Thank you for your kindness. Both of you.”

A tap on her bedroom door woke her. Melis was confused for a moment.
Where am I?
And then she remembered. “Yes?” Her mouth felt dry. She remembered drinking quite a bit of wine with the sumptuous supper.

The door opened. Gerald’s form was illuminated by a light from the hallway before he gently closed the door behind him. Soundlessly, he crossed to her bedside and sat on the edge of the bed. “I couldn’t sleep thinking about you so close,” he said, a catch in his voice. Taking one of her hands, he guided it to his crotch. She curved her fingers over a wonderfully erect phallus pressing against his trousers.

“We can wait until we’re wed if that’s important to you. I just thought that, well…” He pushed himself into her hand. The sound of his ragged breathing filled her ears.

Melis laughed. “As you’ve pointed out, I’m quite the old maid. I used to be afraid I’d die a virgin, so this seems like an opportunity, all in all.” She squeezed his cock and it jumped in her hand. “Rather active, isn’t he?”

“You don’t know the half of it. Let go long enough for me to get undressed, woman.” His clothing rustled as he tossed it aside. She pulled back the covers. He slid in next to her and groaned as he pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him. He closed his mouth over hers. Unlike their earlier kiss, this one held demands—and promise. His hand found a breast. When he rolled the nipple between thumb and forefinger, all the moisture in her body headed south. Breath hitched in her throat; sensation swirled through her. Liquid slicked her thighs. Her nether regions felt as if they would burst if he didn’t fill them with something.

She snaked a hand between them and reached for him. His penis was so big she couldn’t close her hand all the way around it. What would it feel like to have something like that inside her? Melis pushed herself against him, eager to find out.

“Careful,” he panted. “Or I’ll spend before I’m inside you.”

The fingers that had caressed her breast moved between her legs. They brushed the swollen nub between her thighs. Her hips bucked against his hand. Her breath came in little panting gasps. He understood what she needed and rubbed harder. He rained kisses down the sensitive skin on her neck. An orgasm ripped through her, rocking her all the way down to her toes. Melis bit his shoulder to keep from screaming.

Then he was on top of her, cock poised at the entrance to her body. He kept a hand on the magical place between her legs as he probed her slickness. She could tell he was trying to be gentle. But she didn’t want gentle. The wonderful feelings were starting again. Melis arched her back and pressed her hips upward. She was amazed how much better his fingers felt moving on her flesh than her own ever had.

She felt resistance, then it gave way and he sank into her stretching her in ways she’d never felt before. “Oh,” she breathed and wriggled against him. Pain receded, replaced by a desire so intense it stunned her to the center of her being. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his back. His tongue teased the inside of her mouth. She pretended it was a miniature phallus and sucked greedily.