Coins and Daggers (12 page)

Ulric grabbed her over onto his lap, shoving
her skirts aside and parting her knees so that she straddled him.
Hands moving fast, he undid the ties she had redone so carefully,
trying his best not to rip the blasted thing. For heavens sake,
women’s clothing was far too complicated for his liking.

A throaty moan escaped her as he buried his
face within the valley of her breasts, sucking on the sensitive
flesh there. Ulric was already hard and ready for her but he was
damned well going to be patient about it even if it killed him.
Dragging his mouth from beneath her own eager lips, he filled his
hands with her breasts.

“Are you a virgin?” She was not at all
innocent but it would not have surprised him either to learn that
she had never been taken. As much as he’d been with his own fair
share of women, Ulric had never deflowered a wench before and he
had to admit that it would suit him greatly if he did not have to
do so at the moment.

Her cheeks blushed hotly for a moment, as if
with embarrassment, until she slowly shook her head. “No, I’m
not.”

Sweet,
merciful Jesu.
Ulric lifted
her skirts and reached between them, almost shouting with triumph
when he found her drawers. Ripping away the thin fabric, he pulled
her down to kiss him, gently pressing his thumb against the
sensitive bud he found at the apex of her thighs. Good gracious,
she was already wet for him.

“Touch me,” he breathed. “Take me in your
hand, Audelia.”

She hadn’t hesitated either, reaching for
the button at the front of his breeches and freeing his straining
manhood. For a moment, she just stared down at it, eyes round as
she gawked at his member. Ulric knew he was not small--had never
been--but if she continued to look at him like that, he was surely
meant to explode into a thousand pieces. To his relief, one slender
tentative hand reached down between them, her fingers brushing
lightly over the head of his shaft. Stiffening, Ulric groaned, his
hips flexing eagerly at her touch.

Just when he thought he could not have taken
it any longer, Audelia’s fingers brushed down his length--from tip
to base--once, then twice and then far too many times. Pleasure
struck him hard and fast, swelling so deep that he had no intention
of being the sole participant of it.

Gently easing her upwards, he raised her
hips until he could feel his positioned length at the entrance of
her wet heat.

“Forgive me if I’m a bit rough,” he groaned,
slowly lowering her onto his shaft. Her tight heat enveloped him
like a blasted glove. Gritting his teeth, he glanced up at her as
she bit down on her bottom lip. “I fear I may not be able to
contain myself.”

And with that Ulric flexed his hips,
thrusting upwards and burying himself deeply inside her warmth.
Sweet heavens, he must be in paradise. Audelia’s cry echoed
throughout the room and he pulled her down to smother her mouth
with his before moving within her again. With every delicious slide
of his manhood, Ulric sucked on those lips, swallowing her whimpers
and passion-filled moans.

“Oh,” she gasped. “Please...”

Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and
Ulric drove inside her madly, guiding her hips as she rode him.
“That’s it...” he breathed, groaning as sparks of fiery goodness
shot up his spine.

Audelia’s hips bucked against him as she
tried for dear life to hang on. She’d never felt such wondrous
sensations before and neither had she expected such feelings to
ever arise from the act of coupling. All she knew was that she
wanted more. So much more. Gasping, she clasped her hands about his
neck as he lifted her and flipped her over so that she lay beneath
him, legs sprawled wide open. Her heart hammered heavily, her
throat now tight as she glanced up at him.

She’d almost protested out loud when she
felt him withdraw until she noticed that he was only removing his
boots and breeches. Cracking her a sexy smile, he yanked off his
shirt as well and dropped it at his feet in a heap.

“Missed me already?” he said, pressing his
lips to hers.

“
Don’t talk,” she gasped, yanking him down to her.
“Just...
do
.”

“With all pleasure.”

Ulric plunged inside of her again, raising
her knees high above his waist and returning his attention back to
her nipples. Lovely nipples, they were and he had every intention
of giving each a fair share of his devotion.

Audelia
gasped, her thoughts scattering in all directions at the sensations
that were currently sparking through her body. She’d never learned
of intercourse until during her final days in Madame de Lucci’s
company and even at that point, she’d never imagined it to feel
anything like this. Ulric St. Rosso was doing things to her that
she could not comprehend, making her feel things that seemed so
unreal yet real and very much delightful at the very same time. She
wanted him, she knew of that for certain just as much as she knew
that she had never wanted another man before. His lips on her made
her feel desirable and beautiful, and even though she knew that
moments likes these were all he offered, she was willing to accept
them for the time being. She was willing to
feel
for a
change even if it meant losing control for a few hotly passionate
minutes at a time.

She bit on her lip as Ulric drove in and out
of her, his pelvis smacking hard against her as he drove her to a
climax that was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her toes
tightened as she grabbed wildly at his hips, urging him on, begging
him to love her faster and deeper.

Something swelled at the base of her
abdomen, sending a whole new frenzy of tremors skittering over her
body. Audelia gasped, back arching as she threw her head back
against the sofa cushions. But he didn’t stop and she didn’t want
him to for she had the feeling he was about to take her to a place
that only he would be able to.

“
Sweet, merciful
...” Ulric groaned, burying his face into the slope of her
neck and shoulder as her feminine walls clamped tightly around him.
He then felt her tense, going stiff as she dug her heels into his
lower back and shuddered. Ulric allowed his hips three more
powerful thrusts before a heavy shudder rocked his own body and he
collapsed, thoroughly spent on top of her. He lay there a couple
moments, carefully balancing his weight in an effort to not crush
her, before he raised his head and glanced at her face. Audelia’s
eyes were as round as saucers, her lips swollen from his kisses.
Smiling contently, Ulric pressed his lips to hers for she looked
thoroughly ravished, an accomplishment he was very pleased with,
indeed.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked when she still
continued to stare blankly past his shoulder. She looked stunned,
bewildered and satisfied all at once.

Audelia closed her gaping mouth and averted
her gaze to his, touching a finger to the corner of his mouth and
tracing a path across his strong jawline. “I think I might need
another kiss. Just one to convince me this is real.”

Chuckling,
Ulric lowered his head and nibbled on her bottom lip.
Temptress
.

Thirteen

“
T
here...” Lady
Ryia tied the ribbons of the blue
abonnis
beneath
Audelia’s chin and smiled. “You have rather good complexion and
must protect it, you know.”

Audelia
nodded, the ribbons already itching at her skin. The last time she
had worn a bonnet was about a year ago; another requirement of
Madame de Lucci’s ‘
infinite
ways of proper conduct
’.
“Thank you, Your Ladyship.”

“Come. I haven’t seen such great weather
here since I was but a girl, and those gardens are calling our
names.” Hurrying through the foyer, Lady Ryia tucked her
lady’s-maid’s hand in hers and nodded in greeting at the doorman,
who opened the front door wide open for them. Bright sunlight
flooded inside, taking the cool fresh scent of spring with it. “Oh,
look. There’s Gilgallon just now.”

Audelia
glanced over at the robust guard and frowned. The last time they
had exchanged words was when Gilgallon had none but accosted her,
daring that she had some intention of stealing His Lordship horses.
The conversation had not ended well, as she was not keen on
accepting wrongly stated accusations, and Gilgallon’s manly parts
had suffered quite a sharp meeting with her right knee. Audelia
angled her chin as he approached, daring him to look her in the
eye.
Served him
right
.

“Your Ladyship,” he murmured, not even
acknowledging Audelia. “The weather is fair, isn’t it?”

“Very much so. I’d have thought it to be
raining by now.”

“It’s best you enjoy it then. The weather
here has become unpredictable over the last few years.”

Lady Ryia nodded, tugging Audelia along as
they swept down the paved pathway which lead into the entrance of
the gardens. Well-groomed rows of daisies greeted them, followed by
patches and patches of sweet-scented jasmine, cornflowers and
lilac. Audelia watched Her Ladyship as she smiled fondly around
her, slowing her pace as they moved down the path.

“This had all been my mother’s, you know,”
she said, leaning in to sniff the beautiful white jasmine flowers.
“When my father had first cleared the area for her, this space had
only been neatly kept shrubberies.” She smiled and patted Audelia
lightly on the arm. “Mother had insisted that she must have a
garden, and father loved her dearly to make it happen.”

“They were very much in love then?”

“Very much so.” She adjusted her own bonnet
and giggled. “Father was totally smitten. Everyone could see it. As
a child, I’d prayed for a love like theirs.”

Audelia smiled and accepted back Her
Ladyship’s hand as she steered them towards a bench in the shade. A
meter or so from the seating, was a small round pond, dozens and
dozens of waterlilies floating gracefully on the still water
surface. Audelia sighed, enjoying the calmness that was suddenly
engulfing her, trying her best not to think of the time when she
had last been observing a scene like this. If only she had true
control over her own thoughts...

“
I feel as if I love this place more and more on every
occasion that we are privileged to be here.”

Audelia giggled, tucking her silk skirts
beneath her as she sat on the edge of the waterlily pond in Lady
Dextrem’s garden. “It’s so beautiful here.”

“
And soon, it will be your home,” Madame
de Lucci cooed, tilting her bonnet back as she perched on the edge
of the bench behind Audelia. “Lord and Lady Dextrem has declared so
in far more words than one.”

“
Have they, really?” Audelia gasped and
jumped to her feet, her pink bonnet almost toppling off her head in
the process. “They have truly decided then?”

“
Well, a ward like you could not have
been rejected at all, Audelia,” she remarked, patting the empty
space on the bench. Audelia sat down, a delighted smile on her
face. “You are beautiful, intelligent and very talented. Lady
Dextrem has plans to launch you into society. By no doubt, you will
make her very, very proud.”

“
I know I will. And I’ll be forever
grateful for the opportunity. However, I only ask that I--”

“
Milady,” a voice came, causing Audelia
to glance up. The short serf girl bowed gracefully. “Her Ladyship
has requested your presence. She says it’s rather urgent.”

Madame de Lucci nodded and then turned back
to Audelia. “I’ve told you before. You shall not be in need of a
thing. Forget about the years you’ve had before and only think of
the marvelous future just waiting to begin.” She then brushed a
stray lock of hair from the girl’s face and smiled. “Enjoy the
gardens some and then take a turn around the estate a bit, will
you? After all, it will all be your abode very soon. I shall see
you at dinner in a few hours.”

Audelia smiled, watching as the Madame
stepped back onto the pathway which lead up to the manor-house.
Sighing, she inhaled the wondrous scents of the garden and almost
leapt with joy. This was it. A couple weeks ago, she hadn’t thought
she would have been here, to be within the company of such esteemed
individuals. But she was here nonetheless and she finally
understood what the Madame’s domicile was for. Perhaps, the Madame
was not at all as bad as Audelia and Jocelyn had initially thought.
She truly intended on helping them. Oh, Audelia could not wait to
return to the domicile in the morn to give Jocelyn all the
details.

“
Charming weather, isn’t it”

Audelia craned her head and tilted her
bonnet back a bit. Now striding down the pathway was Lord Dextrem,
himself. Audelia quickly stood and offered one of her practiced
curtsies.

“
Your Lordship.”

“
Ah, no need for the formalities,
Audelia,” he chuckled, gesturing her to return to her seat. “We are
soon like family, remember? By then you’ll grow accustomed to
calling me ‘Uncle’ or whatever you feel more comfortable
with.”

She smiled and folded her hands in her lap.
“This is a splendid garden. Lady Dextrem has surely cared for it
remarkably.”

He chuckled again, a surprising sound that
echoed lightly in the silent space, and especially for someone who
Audelia rarely ever heard partake in casual conversation.

“
My wife likes to think of it as
her...project. It pleases her greatly to take a stroll
here.”

“
Well, no wonder. The view is gorgeous.”
It truly was.