Master of Craving (31 page)

“What is the meaning of this?” Magnus demanded, rolling from Arian.

Her heart beat so hard against her chest that Arian thought she might perish from the percussion. She grabbed the sheet up to her chin and sat back in the bed. Stefan did not look her way, but kept his hard glare on her husband. “In the name of Normandy, I claim
jus primae noctis.”
Stefan said, his voice low and angry.

Magnus threw back his head and laughed. “You are not lord here! You have no right. And even were you, that law is not our law.”

 

“You will not shame my sister!” Rhodri erupted, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

 

“Nay, Rhod, do not, he will kill you!” Arian screamed, coming to her knees in the bed. “Sir Stefan,” Father John said calmly, “ ’tis an archaic law of Normandy, one that would never be upheld. Think of what you demand, and the consequences of the action.”

 

Stefan nodded. “The consequence would be a child of Norman and Welsh blood. ’Tis my king’s wish that the blood of both lands blend.”

 

“But Wales is not part of the conquest!” Magnus argued. “And you are not lord here!”

 

“I am William’s arm.”

 

“ ’Tis preposterous! Does your king mean to force Norman blood on the people of this island by raping their women?”

“ ’Tis an outdated law, to be sure, but still a law,” Stefan admitted, but righteous in his stand. “Remove yourself from the bed, Magnus, or I will have you tried and hanged for treason!”

Magnus stood furious and naked in the room, surrounded by Norman knights. He would get no aid from his two men, nor from Father John.

 

“Do I not have a say in the matter?” Arian demanded, suddenly furious. How dare Stefan?

 

Magnus’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, as he looked from Arian to Stefan, and she understood his thoughts. “Nay, Magnus, you are wrong!”

 

He nodded, and turned back to Stefan. “ ’Tis a ruse to hide the fact she is not a virgin.”

Stefan laughed contemptuously. “Have you so little faith in your lady, Magnus? Do you think her so disloyal?” Stefan looked at Arian then, and gave her a short bow. “A more honorable lady I have not met. You do yourself and her a great dishonor questioning her virtue.” Stefan moved to Arian’s side of the bed, but looked across it to the furious Viking. “Dress yourself and be gone from this chamber. In the morn, you will decide if you still want her.”

“Nay! She is mine now! I will not hand her over, not for one night, not for one minute!”

 

“You have no choice in the matter. Go now before you will not be able to.”

 

“Nay, Stefan!” Arian cried. “I will not have this!”

 

He glared at her. “Nor do you have a choice in the matter, my lady.”

 

“Would you rape me then?”

 

“I will have you this night. How is up to you.” “I will give you this manor and the thousand hides that go with it, if you but leave us now,” Magus pleaded.

 

Stefan shook his head. “You offer me what is already mine.” He looked to Rhodri. “Take your brother-in-law from this chamber before I make your sister a widow.”

 

“The priest stays! I demand a witness to her virgin blood!” Magnus screamed.

“Nay, I would not shame her as you have with a witness other than myself.” Stefan spoke slow and measured, so that every occupant in the chamber understood his conviction. “My word is my oath: the blood on the sheets I will produce in the morn will be her virgin blood!” He raised his sword. “Then, my lord, hang it from the highest tower for the entire island to bear witness.”

Magnus grabbed his braies and chauses, yanking them on. His eyes pleaded with Arian’s to resist, but she did not. Should she, blood would be spilled, and that she would not have on her hands.

Moments later, the chamber was empty save for her and Stefan. The soft candlelight cast a warm glow across his harsh features. He bowed and sheathed his sword, then turned to throw the bolt, barring anyone entry. When he turned back to her, she could not read his face, but his blue eyes glittered like molten fire in the candlelight. Dragging the sheet with her, Arian came from the bed. She slapped him hard across the face. “How
dare
you?”

“I did not plan this to happen, Arian.”

 

Fury infused her, so blinding that she could see only white. “What have you done?
Why?”

 

“ ’Tis simple, Arian. I love you.”

 

“You
love
me? You tell me now?
After
I am wed?”

 

“I did not realize it until now.”

She laughed harshly. “What you are doing is selfish. All you have ever done has been for your own selfish reasons! Have you never put someone else’s feelings before your own?” She whirled away from him, then turned, glaring at him. “I am not a conquest! I am a woman with feelings. How do you expect me to face my husband?”

“I will remove him.”

 

“Nay, you will not! I am married in the eyes of God! You shame me to my core, Stefan.”

 

A stormcloud gathered upon his face. “What is done is done! Tonight you will give yourself to me!”

 

“I will not!” “You will. If there is no blood upon the sheets, your honor will be forever soiled.”

 

“You speak to me of honor? What of yours, Stefan? What honor is there in raping a man’s wife on his wedding night?”

 

“The law allows—”

 

“The law is barbaric and you know it!”

 

“It is the law!”

 

Angrily, she ripped the sheets from her body and stood naked before him. “Then take me now and be done with it.”

 

“I did not wish it to be this way.”

 

“You did not consider anyone’s desires but your own. Take me, Stefan, then leave me.”

 

Stefan stepped toward her, their gazes locked in furious battle.

 

“Arian, why do you hold back what we both so desperately desire?”

 

“I do not want you like this, Stefan. ’Tis too late for us.”

 

“Nay, it is not. Come to me, my love.” He moved closer. “Give us this one night, Arian.”

She shook her head, hot tears filling her eyes, and her heart broke all over again. The one thing she so desperately wanted from him, his heart, he now freely gave, but now she could not accept it. “Should I lie with you, on the morrow Magnus will annul the marriage, and I will hang my head in shame.”

With his fingers, he lifted her chin so that she could look directly into his eyes. His gentle touch and warm breath soothed her in a way she was not prepared for. “You are too proud to ever hang your head in shame.”

“Stefan, if we become lovers this night we are doomed.”

 

He brought her lips to his. “Nay, I do not believe it.”

 

His kiss was just a soft brush of his lips across hers, but it stirred her blood. “Stefan,” she moaned. “ ’Tis wrong.”

 

He slid a strong arm around her waist, bringing her against his chest. “Nay, there has never been anything so right in my life as you here in my arms.”

Arian could not fight what they both knew was meant to be. The fates had conspired not just once but many times to throw them together, only to tear them apart. But not this night. This night nature would finally consummate what fate had conspired. Yet as much as her heart, body, and soul wanted him, she knew in her gut that should she go where he led her, there would be more than Magnus’s pride to suffer.

Stefan kissed her forehead, then her nose and cheek. His kisses trailed to her ear, his warm breath causing gooseflesh to erupt across her entire body. Her breasts filled and her nipples stiffened. “You smell of exotic places,” he whispered.

Arian felt her control slipping. He did not press her; he was giving her the choice, and she could not deny him.

 

“Stefan …” she breathed, and gave herself up to him.

 

“Arian …” he sighed. “My love.”

He brushed her long hair from her shoulders, pulling back just enough to gaze upon her. “You are beautiful.” He lowered his lips to the pink scar on her breast and kissed it. “Forgive me for my brutishness that day, Arian.”

“I forgave you the first time you kissed me.”

His lips brushed a taut nipple, bringing her up against him. Arian closed her eyes and melted in his arms, the sensations he wreaked with his mouth and tongue so wonderfully sublime that she knew she must be dreaming. That he was here with her in her bed, and in moments would be inside her as God had intended man and woman to be, terrified yet thrilled her. She placed her hands on his shoulders, then dug her fingers into his hair, pressing him harder against her breast. He laid her back upon the bed. Naked she lay, unashamed as his eyes roved every inch of her. He spread her long hair out about her like a golden shroud, his eyes devouring her. “I cannot explain how I feel at this moment, Arian. ’Tis terrifying and thrilling, and my heart—” He touched a finger to her lips, “My heart feels as if it is too full. I fear it will burst.”

Her hand trailed up to his and she sucked his finger into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. Stefan hissed, and she felt him move against her thigh.

 

“Remove your clothes, Stefan, my body grows impatient for you.”

Grinning, he stood and quickly removed every stitch from his body. When he was naked and full in front of the low candlelight, Arian caught her breath. He reminded her of the ancient Celtic gods, warriors of great strength and power. His scars did nothing to detract from his manliness; nay, they only enhanced it.

“You are magnificent, Stefan.”

 

He eased down on the bed beside her sweeping his hand down her belly to her hips, pressing the heel of his hand gently against her soft downy mound.

Sensation erupted, wild wanton need flashed, heating her to the extreme. Suddenly Arian wondered how she could have ever denied this man her body. So long she had wanted, and now that desire had turned into a gut-wrenching need that if not sated would drive her mad.

“Stefan,” she breathed, pressing her hips against his hand. “My ache for you consumes me.”

He smiled into her eyes and she nearly died—the emotion she saw there was so profound it nearly undid her. A sudden terrible fear grabbed ahold of her gut. This was love in its purest form. The joining of heart and body and soul, and she would be robbed of it forever after this night. Her eyes burned with unshed tears for what she could never again have.

“Do not cry, my love,” Stefan whispered as he lowered his lips to hers. “I will never be far from you.”

 

When he kissed her, in that moment he chased her fear far away. She melted into him, and let him take her to the place she had wanted to go for so long now it seemed a lifetime.

 

“Take me now, Stefan,” she gasped, tearing her lips from his.

He smiled again and slowly shook his head. “Nay, I want to savor every part of you.” He kissed her cheek, her chin. “Slowly,” he whispered, then kissed her neck, his lips lingering there as his hands reverently cupped her breasts, until his lips found the deep valley he had created. Breathless, she hung suspended in anticipation, wanting all now but deliriously surrendering to his slow teasing seduction.

He kissed the scar on her breast, his tongue sliding across it then down to her sensitive nipple. He gently sucked it into his mouth. Arian closed her eyes and rose up to him. His arm slid around her waist, bringing her hard to him as his voraciousness intensified. Then just as the passion reared, he let go of her and pressed her gently back into the bed.

Slowly, tasting every inch of her, his lips traveled lower. He kissed her belly. “You are indescribable,” he said softly against her sultry skin. She released a long slow breath. His lips traveled to the cradle of her hips. “You smell …” His lips traveled lower to just above the soft down that shielded the core of her. He brushed his nose softly across her there, and inhaled her scent. “… like heaven.”

His warm breath against her there sent delightful shivers of excitement along her limbs, and her sweet hunger for him grew. He kissed the inside of her thighs as his fingers softly stroked where he had just kissed. “Arian,” he breathed, “I burn for you, with the intensity of a thousand suns.” He looked up from her thigh, and smiled softly. “I do not want this night to end.”

Arian caught her breath at his words. For such a fearsome knight, he was so gentle and patient with her that she wanted to cry. But in his gentle patience he had stoked a wildfire within her. “Nor do I, but for it to end”—slowly, she opened herself to him—“it must begin.”

His eyes glittered. He nodded, and what he did next sent her shooting to the stars. His lips pressed to her nether lips and he gently suckled her. Arian grabbed the sheets, twisting them in her fists. A rush of erotic sensation shot through her entire body, causing her to gasp for breath. His tongue slid against the seam of her followed, his lips gently sucking. He brushed a finger across her hardened nub and Arian thought she would fall apart.

When his tongue slid across that oh-so-sensitive place, she moaned, pressing her hips into him, wanting more. He did not disappoint. He slid a thick finger against her swollen folds. Arian held her breath. In a slow delirious slide, he pushed his finger into her. Arian came up off the bed, the sensation so incredibly delicious that she could not help the cries of pleasure escaping her. With excruciating slowness, he moved his finger in and out of her, as his lips and tongue flicked and suckled the small, hardened mound that created so much sensation.

The fire in her loins burned brighter and hotter, spreading to places inside that seemed on the verge of total destruction. “Stefan,” she breathed, “the fire, it rages.”

He moaned, kissing her downy mound before he lifted his head to look up at her. Her moistness glistened on his lips but she felt no shame; nay, that he gave her such pleasure filled her with womanly power. Slowly he slid his finger from her. Her hips rose, wanting to recapture it, but he rose above her, covering her body with his. His lips pressed to hers in a deep soulful kiss, his tongue swirling against hers. His hardness pressed into her thigh. Arching beneath him, Arian wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her.

Gently he pressed into her soft wet opening. Arian held her breath when he entered her. He gathered her closer in his arms. “ ’Twill hurt, my love, but only for a moment,” he said softly.