Telepathy of Hearts (9 page)

His heart quickened, the stab of a stich forced a flinch. It wanted to be near to that heart just as much as his body wanted to be held by those hands. But more than anything
,
Matheus wanted to be loved by that heart,
knowing
she thought of him instead of
her precious
Edmund as he co
u
pled with her. He was jolted. Not one day had passed that he hadn
't fe
lt the grief of Elizabeth. h
eavy on his shoulders, so
l
id and unyielding in his soul. Now not for the first time, he had been comforted by the thought of being in the arms of the wildest filly of
Christendom. He laughed a little at this revelation. Loud enough for Richard to raise an eyebrow.

* * * *

The splendour and colour of an English Medieval
Court was a feast for the stomach and a meal for the mind. Every hue of luxury thread and weave imaginable bedecked both nobl
eman and noble lady, the needle
work of the skilled e
m
broidered and the hand of the stone m
ason carved.

It was a scene of such grandeur and opulence that Matheus despised
it
.
Both the Royal Houses of York and Lancaster will greet each other with false fancy only to spite them in speech whence their backs were turned The tra
p
pings of wealth were born
e
on the backs of the surfs.
Chi
l
dren and women starved, whilst the nobles fed their hounds better.

His mood darkened. Matheus
's tanned
,
chiselled cheeks pulled to a twist and his brow pinched. As he strode through the
Court
,
all looked to him with desire. M
en wanted to be him
and women yearned to be with him. The Houses might be feuding, but they were united in their reverence for the sheer stout-
hearted power of the man
before them
.
Confident and carefree as always, Matheus was blissfully unaware. That just added to his charm. There was no arrogance in the man, just the star-
like shine of God-
given
talent and
super
i
ority.

He often said the sight of death is mighty sobering and to be relaxed in your own skin is the gift given to those of us the reaper deemed to spare in combat
.
We
kn
e
w him but await
ed
the time he will know us better.

There was a purpose to
Matheus
'
prowl. He walked the
c
ourt in search of his quarry
. H
e delighted in the sight of his prey and made haste towards her.

“Lady Bruce.
”

Taking her hand Matheus brushed
her knuckles with his lips
loose and sensuous. Kissing as he spoke.
“I will soon to be calling you mother, although you are obviously too young to acquire such a title.
”

Mother Bear flushed at the words, so sweetly spoken by the most desired man in the room. Matheus watched her eyes soften as she took in the beautiful example of male physique standing before her.

A lock of his hair fell forward. Lady Bruce boldly smoothed it back from his brow. She lingered a little with her touch. The feel of his skin under her finger
tip
s was quite delicious. It was a sensual gesture. And she did not care who saw it.

“
Please dear son, call me mother, not Lady Bruce. I am known in jest as Mother Bear, as I am the powerful guiding hand to so many.
”

Lady Bruce smiled as she spoke. Matheus could tell she loved attention. Flirting with him so obviously was gaining the jealous stares of half the hall. And she obviously deligh
t
ed in it.

Leaning in to her, as if they were the most intimate of lovers, Matheus asked,
“May I whisper in your ear, Mother Bear?
”

Lady Bruce
's eyes widened in greedy anticipation as she nodded
.

Matheus looked to her lips then back at her eyes. He put an arm around Lady Bruce
's waist and drew her close to him.
Pressed close to his chest, Matheus could feel the flu
t
ter of her heart as it raced. She was quite breathless against him. Her legs were weakening and she was trembling at his touch. He k
new exactly what he was doing, h
is azure eyes seeming to look through her clothing almost to her soul. He felt her tighten to him
. Everything south of her waist,
eager for the touch of him
, pulled and awakened.

Expertly
,
he went about her undoing. Matheus was an experienced lover, his skills honed. He had heard her velvety mewling and felt the soft tremble of her body. He smiled i
n
wardly. This was a woman ripe for seduction.

To l
adies, he was almost predatory, l
ike hares in the hunter
's lamplight, stunned and compliant, quarry for his taking. They would keep coming back to his sensuous light, drawn to his danger.

His right hand was gripping her to him. Using just enough strength to make her feel perturbed, but gentle enough to seduce her into believing she was being caressed. With the back of his hand he traced his left hand down her face and around her jaw. Stretching his thumb to
pull at her bottom lip, m
oistening his thumb with her waterline.
U
n
flinching, commanding and almost cruel
, he kept her stare, looking straight into her eyes
.

Lady Bruce swallowed. Her breath quickened
,
the sha
l
low rasp
of
it le
aving
her lungs audible to the gathered group.

As his palm cupped her jaw he lifted her head so his lips just brushed her mouth, as he traced his tongue to her ear. Like a light breeze just by her lobe he soothed.

“The gathered crowd think I am whispering what I want to do to you Mother Bear
…they are not mistaken.
”

Tipping her head, she mewled and he continued, pur
r
ing,
“I want to upend you.
Pull your skirts and smock up and lay your nates bare.
”

Lady Bruce rocked, obviously nearly fainting at just the way this man spoke to her.

Matheus
's eyes were flashing as he continued.
“And give you a thrashing
,
the like
of which
you have never had. For you disgust me, my Lady. It is only because you are a woman that I do not call you out for what you did to my b
e
trothed.
”

Gone was the touch of the intimate. With temper he gripped her chin. Applying such force, he made her wince.

Dropping his head so he could look her straight in the eye. He grimaced. Just a flash of his teeth, a slight pinch in his brow. Matheus was angry.

Lady Bruce was trying to pull away without making a scene. She smiled as if he was still seducing her and leaning in for a kiss.

But Matheus held her tight and continued hissing.
“Touch her again and as God
's my witness, I will be mighty vengeful for she is mine
…
now
under
my
protection
.
”

Dropping his hand from her face, Matheus smiled to the gathered ladies to conclude his sensual show. All giggled and beamed in response.

Taking Lady Bruce
's hand in his he dropped his head, lifted it to his mouth and brushed it with his full soft lips. Saying out loud as he winked,
“That was a pleasure Mot
h
er
…Bear
—now remember what I said, won
't you?
”

The assembled ladies swooned, caught up in the e
x
citement. Their chatter, gasps and giggles, voicing their d
e
light.
“My, he is quite the destrier isn
't he
…all dark and muscular.
”

“I wonder what sweet words he whispered
.
”

“Well th
ey must have been truly sweet
…f
or look, they have caused Lady Bruce
's undoing
…she is mighty flushed.
”

“I would do a week
's Hail Mary
s for that man to whi
s
per sweet
ly
to me.
”

“I fear just for my unclean thoughts about him I may have to.
”

The women continued their jest. They laughed and joked about how little their husbands compared, both in pa
s
sion and stature. Turning their heads to drink
in
every last inch of him as he walked past them.

He flashed them a smile. His chest was puffed, and his gait confident. He strode with the undoubtable presence of pure male pride. The
Plantagenet gene ran strong in his blood. He was head and shoulders taller than
any man at
the gathering, and as one of the ladies put it,
“he is all the more desirable for the length of his shanks.
”

Matheus
was pleased with himself. As ever her champ
i
on
,
he had come to his damsel
's aid once more. Mother Bear ma
y not have had Gelert
's fangs, b
ut the bite of her birch was just as nasty.

Yes,
he thought
,
with a beam upon his face so wide it was like a child at
Christmas,
I have done a fine job putting that witch in her place. She breathed shallow and deep. I could almost taste her nerves. Yes, she was mighty frit of me.