The Duke and the Dryad (Elemental Series) (6 page)

He walked up to her
and put his hand under her chin, lifting it until she once again met his eyes with hers.

“I am no
fool,” he whispered.

His eyes were mesmerizing, and though his words were harsh, she saw
a gentleness deep within him. His craggy brows lifted slightly, and his gaze settled on her mouth. She knew she should push him away, but something about him intrigued her as well. This man was tall and handsome. His body was of a warrior, but in his eyes she saw he was hiding pain and anger from something that had hurt him long ago.

“Nay, you are no fool,” she answered softly, her eyes now resting on his mouth as well. The warmth of his hand on her chin was nothing compared to the warmth that engulfed her from being so close to a near naked man. She’d longed for the touch of a man her entire life. And though she feared him, she needed to know what he tasted like on her lips.
She couldn’t go back to the forest now, before having experienced a kiss from
Duke the Destroyer
.

She raised her mouth in invitation, and his head came closer as he touched his lips to hers. The essence within her cried out in elation as
his own essence mixed with hers in a tingling vibration. He tasted like ale and power, and his scent was musky, calling out his sexual prowess that she found hard to ignore. Her lips melded with his in a tantalizing heat, surprising her at the amount of passion locked within a mere brush of his lips. His kiss was gentle at first, but when she reached up and put her arms around his shoulders, he moved closer, his need to lie with her rubbing against her in the process.

“Who are you to bewitch me like this?” he asked, his mouth coming down upon hers this time in a much more powerful kiss.

It all happened so fast, she didn’t know what to do. He put his hand around the back of her head and pulled her closer, invading her mouth with his tongue.

Sparks of desire
shot through her body, the need in her calling to the need within him. She gripped his hair with her hands, reveling in the combined power now flowing through them. Then he backed her up against the bed, his arousal so hard she thought he’d burst through his hose at any second.

His hands moved down to her shoulders, gripping her tightly as he kissed her once more with a sense of unbridled pass
ion. And then he pushed her backwards and let go, causing her to lose her balance. Her back hit the soft mattress, and she lay sprawled out and waiting for the coupling to begin. But to her dismay, this didn’t happen. Instead, he turned and walked away.

“No witch is going to have that sort of power over me,” he said, quickly pulling
on his tunic, trying to hide his bulge. “We will couple when I say we will and not before. Do you understand?”

She understood, only too well. She was to be his
play thing, and she didn’t like being under the control of anyone either. This angered her, especially since she was ready and willing to give herself to him a moment ago. He toyed with her and she could not allow that. Mayhap ’twas time for him to know she was just as powerful as he.

The basin of water crashed to the ground at his feet, and once again, she’d moved things without even trying.

He jumped back, the water splashing up onto his tunic. Then his dark wolf eyes met hers in a fierce stare.

“I don’t like the games you play with me
, my little fae one. And I will not fear you if that is what you are trying to do.”

“I know not of what you speak.” She scooted off the bed and got to her feet. She smoothed out the
long, brown gown she’d been given to wear by the ladies of the castle, per the request of Juturna. ’Twas not nearly as nice as her own, but still it was clean and comfortable. She knew everyone in the dukedom feared her, except for the old seer. She had a feeling he did too, but would never admit it.

“I think you know exactly what I mean
,” he told her, continuing to dress as he spoke. “You may be different than the rest of my people, but I assure you I would treat you exactly the same.”

“I would not
want it any other way.”

“Then you realize why I am going to have to punish you in front of everyone for not carrying out my orders.” He strapped on his sword with angry motions and she knew he didn’t believe a word she
’d said.

“I would think you’d be made a fool
of in front of your dukedom to do such a thing before you’ve checked. I have carried out every order you’ve given, save coupling with you, but that was stopped by your own hand, not mine.”

“We’ll just see about that
, won’t we?”

Wolfe grabbed Rae by the hand and all but dragged her to the door. Then, without further conversation, he led her to the great hall. Her insolent behavior would not be tolerated. If he had to make an example of her, then so be it.

Once in the room, he couldn’t help but notice the excited buzz of co
nversation between servants, lords and ladies, and even his knights as they awaited his arrival. He cleared his throat and the conversation suddenly stopped. All eyes were on him and the girl, and he was determined to put her in her place in front of everyone. That would stop all the nonsense and idle chatter.

“Re
eve,” he called to the man who supervised the serfs of his demesne.

“Aye my lord?” The man came to join him and bowed quickly.

“Tell me, what is the condition of my back field as of now?” He didn’t bother to look at the girl when he spoke, but rather looked out into the hall to make sure everyone was listening.

The reeve
looked up and answered directly. ’Tis plowed and ready for planting the autumn crops, my lord.”

“What?” H
e asked, not believing his ears. “Waylon,” he said, using the man’s name, “I am speaking of the back field which was in dire need of a plow this morning.”

“Aye,” he answered. “The soil is turned, the earth tilled.”

“You must be mistaken.”

“Nay, my lord,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “I just came from
there not an hour ago.”

“An hour ago?
And the task was already completed?” He dropped Rae’s hand and looked to her with squinted eyes. She just smiled at him coyly. “Who plowed it?” he asked the reeve.

“I am not sure
,” my lord. “I did not see anyone on the field today and the plow is still in place since yesterday.”

“Thank you
, that will be all,” he said and dismissed the man. Then he looked over to his little witch.

“I don’t know how you got that field plowed, but I warn you, if I find anyone has helped you there will be trouble.”

“Not a one of your men nor your serfs were involved,” she reassured him, but he didn’t buy it. Somehow she’d managed to do what he asked and he needed to find out how. He would have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.

“You would sit next to me at the dais for our meals,” he said, once again grasping her wrist and causing her to follow.

“I believe the servants sit on the low side of the hall if I’m not mistaken,” she said. “I do not think ’twould be wise to seat me on the height of the nobles.”

“You would do as I say, now do not fight me or I swear it won’t be pretty.”

“I am a dryad,” she reminded him, “not a warrior. I don’t fight, and you need not hold my wrist so tightly. I am a woman, if I must remind you of that too. And if I’m not mistaken, a knight is supposed to be chivalric and courteous – especially to women.”

He stopped and looked at her and released her arm. Aye, she was a woman and the most alluring one he’d ever set eyes on. She
smelled like lavender and roses as if she’d washed, but still she hadn’t removed the painted artwork from her face. Her eyes were also still outlined in a bright green.

“I want that paint removed from your face. ’Twill not
be tolerated in my castle.”

“I am Fae,” she told him
proudly. “I cannot remove the etchings, as they are a part of my skin.”

He wasn’t sure if that was true or just another lie, but didn’t want to have that conversation in front of
the others. At least he could see more of her face now without that damned ivy crown. Her eyes drew him in and made him want to kiss her again. Damn, what was happening to him? He was so intrigued by her, and he supposed it was because he had always been drawn to anything out of the ordinary. It had served him well in his life to keep him from dying of boredom. He felt something stir inside making him want to discover more of this girl they’d called an earth elemental.

He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit.
She looked surprised at his gesture of chivalry, which made him realize he’d been acting like a boor. He supposed treating her a bit kinder wouldn’t harm anything. But he couldn’t drop his guard. She was a cunning one, and he never was fast to trust anyone.

He
sat next to her and motioned with his head for the meal to start. Once the process and preparations were underway, he leaned over to speak with her, not wanting Sir Braden who sat at his other side to hear what he was saying.

“So . . . what do elves eat, anyway?”

Her head popped up and her eyes opened wide, then she squinted and they turned narrow, telling him she was not pleased by what he’d said. “I am not an elf,” she spat.

“Sorry, I meant sprites.”

Still the glare.

“Well, what is it I should say when referring to you?”

“My name is Rae-Nyst. You can call me Rae.”

“Fine then.” He stabbed a hunk of meat and plopped it down on his trencher. Then he stabbed another and held it out to her. “Do Raes eat this or not?”

“Not funny.” She scrutinized the meat. “Is that venison?”

“
Aye, it is.” He held it out, still waiting for her answer.

“Nay.” She shook it away with her hand. “The st
ag is an otherworldly messenger. ’Tis sacred, I cannot eat it.”

“Well, I’d venture to say, this stag is now giving messages on the other side.” He
replaced it on the platter and used his knife to stab a breast of goose instead. “How about this?”

“Nay again. The druids use the flight of the goose to foretell the future. Did you know that the goose signifies steadfast devotion? Most geese mate for life.”

“Well, not this one. I’ll make sure we have its mate for dinner on the morrow, just so you don’t have to worry about a goose being lonely.”

“You seem to think that the druid ways are silly.”

“I thought you weren’t a druid, so why should you care what I think about them?”

“Their beliefs are very similar to my own. We both honor all of nature.”

“I see. He replaced the goose and with one more stab to the platter, he brought to her one more hunk of meat. “Now here’s something that I know you don’t consider sacred. Have some.”

“Is that beef?” she asked, surveying what he held out to her.

“Bull. And you killed it, so now you can eat it as well.”

If he didn’t know better, he’d say she looked queasy at the suggestion.

“The bull is special,” she said. “It symbolizes fertility and wealth.”

“Well, that was the case when it was alive and breeding every day, but you saw to end that
quickly, didn’t you? And ’twould have brought me great wealth had I taken up the offers to sell it through the years. Now I guess that’s not going to happen any more either. So, are you going to eat it or not?”

“
Nay. I only eat vegetables, fruits and grains from the land.”

“I see.” He threw the meat back on the platter,
not being able to eat it either. He’d held a fondness for this bull, as ’twas a rarity being white and he’d considered it one of his most precious possessions. Just last year he had two earls bidding against each other to buy it, but he’d turned him down flat. Damn, had he known he’d lose the animal to the druids, he would have taken the coin. ’Twould at least have bought him food for his larder that he actually wanted to eat.

“Lord Wolf
e,” said Waylon, his Reeve, approaching the dais. “Since the field is ready for planting, would you require the autumn seeds to be sowed by the serfs on the morrow?”

So the man was serious about the field being plowed. He wondered just how she’d done it, and so fast. He looked over to Rae when he answered.

“No need,” he told the man. “Rae would plant the crops tomorrow right after she milks the cows and collects the eggs.”

“But the serfs do all that, my lord. ’Tis their duty in exchange for your protection.”

“Well, then tell them they are free to do what they want on the morrow. As I said, Rae would be handling those chores as well as anything else that needs to be done.”

“Aye, my lord,” he answered, shaking his head in confusion as he headed away.

Rae ate in silence, already tiring of the deal she’d made with
The Wolf
. She needed to get back to her forest. She had to know how the animals, plants and trees were faring without her. She also felt her strength dwindling, as she was not used to being indoors as much as she’d been today.