Telepathy of Hearts (17 page)

She made for
the door to the aft chamber
and tested it, releasing a relieved breath she had not realized she had been holding when she found
it unlocked
.

Behind her, her nurse emitted
a snort, and s
he put her hand to her mouth, stifling a startled
shriek.
Hand
dropping
to
her chest in fear
that Goody had awakened to catch her sneaking out
, she turned to look.
“Dear God in his
H
eaven, Goody
,
”
she muttered, relieved her nursemaid remained asleep in her small bed in the corner.

Taking a steadying breath,
Eleanor
once more made ready her escape.
She
quietly closed the small door behind her and
embraced her freedom,
un
caring as cobwebs stuck to her hair. Negotiating the stone staircase in total darkness, she was out of the castle keep and run
ning. This was her playground; s
he knew it as well in the dark of the eve as
in the light of
dawn.

Wet ground under foot, she picked her way across the courtyard, staying close to the walls to avoid being seen. Breathing in the scent of the horses she reached the stable. She grinned with a wicked delight.

I am only a short ride to Eden.

Opening her arms and enveloping Arthur
's neck in her loving embrace, she kissed him and ran her hands over his body. She picked up a smoother made of straw and groomed his coat. The sweet sound as Eleanor serenaded her mount echoed around the stone barn as she prepared him.
“Oh Arthur, times are strange. There is a big world out there and I walk on shaky ground. I fear it. I need to feel the wet ground under my feet, not the marriage noose around my neck.
”

Arthur nuzzled his mistress and dropped his head so she could fit his bridle.
“We do not need a saddle do we? No, I thought not.
Pray don
't tell my gaoler or my captor that I ride you like a man.
” She was laughing as she spoke.

“My captor, you ask? Arthur, oh yes, he is a bull, a fellow creature. Handsome and strong but so is Lazarus the dray horse. Stable him here you say. Surely not. You are a thoroughbred, a destrier and a stallion. He is a mere farm beast with manners. Did you see how he slung me over his shoulder? Oh and he has the confidence of two men. He looks to me as if he undresses me. Dear God, when he touches me the blush stains me so I fear I will be that colour forever.
”

Kissing him on his strong neck, Eleanor breathed in the smell of horse, leather and fresh hay. She patted her mount, and he followed her as she proceeded out of the barn.
“
Come Arthur let us escape to Eden for this full moon is fair florid and as my gaoler snores and my captor slumbers, I want to bathe in it.
”

A bitter wind blew her cape about her. Standing in the court yard as if a spectre, Eleanor was calling her mount.
“Arthur, come boy. Arthur, come.
” Turning back to the barn Eleanor muttered,
“Dear boy, I know you are a little deaf but
—
”

“Is this who you are looking for my Lady?
” Leaning against the barn wall, holding Arthurs reins was Matheus, scowling. He pivoted his head, and a faint glimmer of a smile broke as he spoke.

“Arthur is a clever beast indeed. He manages to converse with his Mistress, even suggesting appropriate stabling for me.
”

Eyes open and trembling, Eleanor was sucking at her lip. Releasing it into a pout, she felt the warm sensation of a blush travel from her core, colouring all her body. She was sure she would appear quite red.

Those eyes; his face scowls but those eyes...

She swallowed.
It
's as if he sees my whole body blush.
Tears started to sting her eyes
.

Hooking Arthur
's reins, he shouted,
“Godwin, please see to my Lady
's horse.
” He moistened his lips.
“And Eleanor, although endearing and slightly unsettling, your pout will not work on me.
” Scooping her up with such force she was winded, Matheus moved her so she was trapped. He pressed her hard, back against the wall, his thigh pinning her still. Gripping her wrists, he raised her arms so her hands were held either side of her head.

He dropped his shoulders so he could look straight into her eyes.
“I should be seething with outrage with you. No man, woman or court would chide me if I upended you now and thrashed you. But
—
”

Eleanor was trembling. The sheer force of his crowding had quietened her voice. His mouth was on hers. This was a demand. Hard and hungry, he forced her to accept his tongue as he breached the seam of her lips.

Struggling to free herself, she twisted her head. Matheus responded by yanking her gripped wrists closer to the sides of her head, holding her face vice-
like. Her senses were stretched and her muscles coiled taut.
Caged and confined with no room to escape, she should have screamed. Instead, her body gifted him the ultimate betrayal, and she kissed him back.

Eleanor could taste her own tears.
Crashing waves of emotion were swelling in her belly.

I need to run.
Please let me go. I need to run. I don
't want this
…I do want this
…I just want to run.

Pulling out from the kiss, his gaze searched hers. Flashing with such an azure hue, it was as if the sky itself was in his eyes.
Pushing hard at her thigh, he held her with his weight.

Eleanor knew he confined her. She knew she was tormenting him. But as butterflies are drawn to bright light, they continued to burn their wings as they
were
caught up in the attraction.

“You disrespect me, run from me, and God help me, I just want to kiss your lips until they bruise
…make love to you until I force your submission. Be sure Eleanor nothing will sway me. I have no interest in just opening your body and ravishing you as if you were a whore. As God is my witness
…
I will
open your heart to me.
”

Once more her mouth was under his. The hunger that had been buildin
g in Matheus was in his touch
—fierce, insistent, b
ut always tender. No going back. No going forward. She drowned in a deep well of female awakening. Demanding, inquiring, there was no cessation
. She was lost somewhere in it.
Weathering the pain of her awakening, she yielded to him, meeting his kiss, her legs boneless beneath her.

Matheus took her weight, his masculine thigh holding her steady. His muscles flexed against her. Dropping her wrists and releasing her hands, h
e
palm
ed
her face, tracing her jaw with his fingertips. He stroked her cheek, wiping
away
her tears
—a gesture of kindness
she
cried out for but
struggl
ed
to accept.

He pulled her to him. He was still, calm and masculine. The armour of her defenses had a slight crack, and Matheus was determined to
worm his way through it to
breach her barricades still further.
Castling her in his arms, he kissed her head, his hands free in her glossy, golden locks. She heard the pleasure of his sighs as he delighted in the feel of her.

Soothing her, he whispered.
“I am not Edmund and you are not Elizabeth. We will never be to them what we were. Let your fears go, trust me
,
and I will ever hold you tighter
.
F
all and I will catch you
,
T
ire and I have strength enough to carry the both of us.
”

The heady musk of horse and man filled her nostrils.

I am tired, carry me,
she silently voiced.

He swept her up so her head rested on his shoulder. She could feel his smile as he spoke.
“See
,
there is telepathy in hearts
, my Lady, just as I told you
.
”

Kind and sweet
, she thought.
Edmund had never stirred such wildness in her core. Matheus had roused her female force. And the essence of woman had been ignited. This was new territory for Eleanor. She was not fearful of the physical strength of the man who carried her. It was the power of his masculine magic that frightened her.

Goody was right. Gentle Edmund had been a boy. Matheus was a man. I am like the hare on the hunt; he is my hunter and I his quarry, caught in the lamplight quite
…frozen.

Eleanor looked up to his fathomless azure eyes. Those eyes that had viewed with hunger now looked intense with concern.

Your lips are lovely
, she thought.
Stubble framed them though they were still full and moist from the passion of his kiss. Shivering a little, she recollected the feel of it, they feel of him. He had not let her move under him an inch. He held her tight by the weight of him. His presence made every muscle in her stomach and groin tense.

As she trembled with recollection, his body responded to hers. A large palm stroked the length of her arm. This was the sensual caress of reassurance, lingering lightly as if they were already lovers.

Matheus was instructing Godwin. It was as if he had forgotten his man at arms could see the intimacy with which he held her in his arms.
Confident aren
't you, Sir Knight?

Eleanor listened and learnt as the men spoke
. They discussed Richard Sline. It seemed he had disappeared, and Godwin was concerned.
Pike had been stationed outside her room.

Ah
,
Pike, he was the one snoring like a boar.

Matheus had been in the stables the whole time, making sure no one rode out of the castle
.

No wonder he was furious; he
'd
heard everything I said
. Blushing, Eleanor felt a little ashamed.
I said he did not rank high enough to be stabled with Arthur. Yet he holds me so
. She stifled a giggle.

M
atheus cocked his head at her, h
is gaze connecting with hers.
“Godwin
,
I will take Eleanor back to her chambers, kicking
Pike on my way to wake him.
”

Her spine stiffened
,
her body
going
rigid
at
his words.
Oh dear God
,
he is making ready to couple with me. We have
yet to be
blessed by the priest. No wonder he talks sweet to me.
Struggling once more in his arms, she
fought
to get free.