The Patriot's Conquest (21 page)

He pulled away and grazed his teeth along her throat, followed by gentle licks and kisses, as if he longed to devour every inch of her skin with his mouth.

She whimpered from the delightful feel of his warm, wet mouth moving down the length of her body. Feeling wanton and aching, Amanda arched her back and moaned from the sweet torment. Jeffrey’s hands upon her naked skin made every nerve in her body burn with heat as blazing as the fire he used to work iron.

He cupped her face, forcing her to meet his demanding gaze. In the smoldering depths of his deep gray eyes she saw a mirror of her own burning need. Her very soul seemed on fire and the inferno would consume her. And send her straight to Hell, as mother so often had warned.

But if these lovely sensations were Hell, she supposed she was no angel after all, for she wanted more.

“My darling Mandy, open your legs,” he coaxed, stroking a hand across one round hip.

A shred of resistance and dignity remained. She eased her legs open the barest bit.

“Wider sweet, that’s the girl,” he said soothingly, his hands dipping between her thighs.

Amanda recoiled in shock as he probed her feminine softness with his finger. “Jeffrey,” she squeaked, mortified at this new intimacy.

“Hush, sweet, ’tis natural between husbands and wives. I only want to please you, honey.”

When his finger gently slid into her core, her body tightened. Jeffrey kept kissing her while penetrating her deeper, stroking her, his thumb rubbing against her swollen flesh. She squirmed, desperate for his touch, yet embarrassed.

Then the strokes increased, the delightful friction increasing. A squeak of agonized pleasure tore from her throat.

The delightful feeling in her loins swelled until it consumed her like fire. Confused, she whimpered, aching with a fevered need for something she did not understand, and horribly mortified at feeling this needy. His strokes continued until the heat built up in her body, then exploded in a shattering crescendo. She cried out, clinging to him as her body shook from the waves of pleasure washing over her.

“Jeffrey,” she gasped, shaking as he slipped out of her dewy passage. “I don’t... understand... what happened?”

Amanda felt him chuckle into her hair. “You climaxed, sweet. The pleasure that happens for men can happen for women as well.”

“It can?”

Masculine satisfaction filled his dark eyes as he gazed down at her. “Aye, if the man takes the time to please his new bride.”

Gently he touched the corner of her mouth with his lips.

Jeffrey parted her long, slender white legs with his muscled thighs, then balanced himself on his hands as he mounted her. She sensed some great, unleashed power surging as his stiff member prodded her moist entrance. Tensing, she braced herself, hoping it would be over with quickly.

But he was ever so tender and gentle, easing into her the barest bit. “Mandy, relax honey, I promise to be as gentle as possible. There will be a bit of pain,” he whispered huskily.

She sucked in her breath as he cupped her bottom. Amanda felt herself opening to him, like a rose unfurling its petals to the warm sun.

He thrust forward gently, retreated, then she felt him rub his hardened member against the center which had brought such pleasure. Intense feeling hummed inside her. Acting on instinct, she tilted her hips up.

Jeffrey eased inside her again. She felt stretched, the pressure twisting into pain, and then he surged forward.

His flesh merged with hers and she uttered a cry as he pierced her innocence. Burning pain filled her, along with the odd feeling of fullness between her legs.

Above her, his gaze filled with concern. Locking his enormous muscles, Jeffrey went still, then he kissed a tear spilling from her eyes.

“My sweet Mandy, I hate to hurt you like this. I only want to hear cries of pleasure from you,” he said tenderly, pressing his forehead against hers.

“Please Jeffrey, just... hurry,” she managed to say.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his body moving over hers, the wiry hairs on his chest brushing against her sensitive nipples.

Slowly he moved out of her, the pain lessening. Amanda wriggled her hips as he moved forward again. Jeffrey closed his eyes and groaned. A bead of sweat from his brow dropped upon her breast like a teardrop.

Her husband was using his tremendous strength to take it slow, she realized in growing wonder. Not rudely using her body for his own lusty pleasure, as her mother had warned, but considering her needs as well.

His tender concern overwhelmed her.

And then he opened his eyes and their gazes met. Tender longing filled his, not crude lust.

This was no mere physical act, but something deeper and significant, as if they’d crossed a new threshold and bonded their souls together. Marveling at the realization, Amanda wound her hands around her husband’s neck and pumped her hips upward, obeying an ancient instinct.

“Yes,” he murmured. “Aye, Mandy, just like that.”

He continued to move out of her, then push back inside. With each upward surge of her hips, he quickened the pace. His hard, masculine body became a driving force, muscles coiling and releasing. Amanda writhed, feeling sensual and feminine as he moved above her.

She was causing him to feel pleasure. She was the reason he grunted and groaned in erotic bliss. The knowledge awed her as she stroked the thick muscles of his back.

Jeffrey suddenly stilled. Shuddering he cried out her name, and she felt something warm and fluid shoot inside her.

His seed, she realized. The very thing mother warned would produce children.

Breath sawed in and out of his lungs as he collapsed atop her.

As if fearing he crushed her, Jeffrey rolled off, drawing her into his embrace. His heartbeat gradually slowed as his ragged breaths calmed. For a moment they lay in silence.

“You are mine now, Mandy,” he whispered against her throat. “My wife.”

“Jeffrey.” She could only manage a shaky whisper.

He breathed into her hair and caressed her tousled, tangled curls.

“Yes, sweet. You felt it, too.”

“Aye,” she murmured. “Now I know what the poets speak of.” Was this love? She wasn’t sure, but the powerful emotions assaulting her certainly felt so.

“Passion is one of life’s fruitful pleasures.” He gave a lazy stretch. “There is much more I will teach you, Mandy. And I will relish every moment of each new experience with you.”

New experience? Amanda winced at the soreness between her legs as she rolled over to face him.

“’Twas lovely,” she admitted. “And this is what happens in the marriage bed? All these lovely feelings and sensations. I felt it in my heart, as well. Did you?”

The shy confession filled her with trepidation. But if he dared to show a glimmer of love for her, mayhap this marriage would not be in vain.

Jeffrey brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, but the tenderness fled his expression. Instead, he looked guarded, as he had on that day when she’d first met in him in the blacksmith shop. “I felt many things, sweet Mandy. You have a natural sensuality certain to please any husband.”

He closed his eyes on a heavy sigh.

The truth hit her with the force of a solid slap. Jeffrey wanted her with the fierce passion of a man accustomed to bedding women. But that was all. She was just another bit of excitement he savored. Like his treason against the Crown, he seized upon her like a new experience he craved. And her response to him was exactly the decadent, wanton one her mother told her only shameless doxies exhibited.

Amanda closed her eyes as he kept a possessive arm curled about her, keeping her close to him. Gradually he fell asleep. Her husband. The man with the right to possess her body. She’d have no respected position as a wife with William. No social standing. Her own lust had damned her to his bed and this marriage. She drifted into a dream.

She smelled the sour stench of old rum drifting from her father. “For the sins you have committed, you must be beaten. You have failed as a spy. Failed as a daughter.”

The crowd cheered as her father tied her to the whipping post. The cane made a low, hollow sound against his bare palm. Thwack. Her skin crawled with each successive strike.

Then he changed into Jeffrey. “I married you for your silence. Do you think I could ever love a Tory?” With a savage hand, he ripped the gown from her back. Amanda cried out, knowing what would follow. He raised the cane. She began to scream as the first blow fell upon her bare back. “Please, please you are hurting me. Jeffrey, please don’t hurt me!”

She woke to feel someone gently shaking her out of the nightmare’s grip. In the dying firelight, he loomed large, a hulking beast ready to devour her. Bemused and half-asleep, she screamed again and tried to clamber away.

Two strong arms embraced her. “Hush now, hush,” Jeffrey crooned.

Jeffrey. Her husband, not a monster intent on harming her. Soothed by his husky voice, Amanda buried her head against his chest as sobs ripped from her throat. He rocked her back and forth.

“Let it all out, sweet, you’re safe now,” he whispered against her brow.

Finally, she raised her tear-stained face and mopped her face with the edge of the sheet. With a thumb, Jeffrey gently wiped away a lingering droplet from her eye.

“You had a nightmare, honey. What was it?” His voice filled with tender concern as he cradled her face.

She shook her head, still unable to speak. Jeffrey must not know her humiliation. Pressing her hands to her face, she tried to gather her scrambled thoughts.

He gently removed her clammy hands, clutching them in his strong, warm palms. “Mandy, I would never hurt you. Why did you cry out against me? Do you fear me still? Or is it some nameless beast?”

“’Tis nothing,” she muttered, bending her head. With a finger, he lifted her chin to meet his penetrating gaze.

“You hide something from me.”

Pain laced her as Jeffrey gripped her the back of her bruised arm. She cried out. Immediately he released her. Her husband got up, lit a candle and brought it over to the bed. The hateful illumination cut the blessed darkness. In the dark, he could not see her shame.

With one hand, he jerked back the covers, leaving her totally exposed. “Jeffrey, please.”

“Mandy, I must know. Don’t be afraid, sweet. But you are my wife now and I will find the cause of your fears.”

Flickering light cast ghostly shadows upon the wall as he lifted the candle holder and brought it closer.

Huge goose bumps broke out as he examined her arm. When he saw the fading purple mark, his eyes darkened. He sucked in a whistling breath but kept silent, continuing to examine her.

“Turn around,” he said quietly.

Deeply humiliated, Amanda complied. Jeffrey lifted the long masses of her hair, setting them over her shoulder. With a gentle finger, he traced her back and the bruises left from Father’s cane. Jeffrey set the candle down on the bedside table. His jaw grew stony and his gaze steely.

“Your father beats you.” He gathered her into his arms.

“Jeffrey, ’tis not a concern of yours.” She tried pulling away, but he would not let go.

Pressing his lips against her temple, he spoke in a hard voice. “Nay, Mandy, ’tis my concern. You are my wife now. Anything that affects you, affects me.”

Tears dripped down her cheek. “’Tis not his fault! But mine! Papa only does it when I fail him.”

“The night you didn’t bring him the rum.”

“A few other times. ’Tis the drink that causes him to change.”

“So he beats you when he drinks? Blames you for his troubles. And he’s been drinking more often lately?”

“Since his business has dropped off...” Her voice trailed off, remembering Jeffrey was the reason for the loss in business.

Amanda’s shame dissolved into wild alarm at the fury darkening his eyes. “Jeffrey, what will you do?”

His expression softened. “Mandy, fear not. Only know that you are safe now. He’ll not beat you again.”

By the Almighty, she wanted to believe him, desperately needed to know that particular nightmare had passed. Amanda slowly began to relax as he quietly held her, murmuring assurance. “He will not? Are you certain?”

“That I can most definitely promise,” he said tightly.

At last, she slept. Curled up against him trustingly, Amanda lay quiet, her expression as innocent as a child’s.

He could not sleep. Not while this hot rage claimed him.

Jeffrey exhaled a shaky breath as he stroked Amanda’s brow. She sighed and nestled closer. He wanted to toss a saddle onto Liberty, ride to Arthur Reeves’ house and slam his fist into the man’s jaw for what he’d done to Amanda. He hadn’t felt this violent since his military days. To calm his anger, Jeffrey silently ticked off Rogers’ Rules.

When finished he swore a silent oath. No one would ever dare hurt his Mandy again, nor would any other man touch his wife. A fierce, protective feeling filled him. He wanted to hold her, and shelter her from all pain and hurt. He’d brush away all the cobwebs of her nightmares, if only she’d let him.

Jeffrey watched her tenderly as she slept, wondering what in hell he’d gotten himself into. He’d sworn their marriage was a convenient arrangement and no more. He’d claim her lovely body for his pleasure and she’d bear his name and later, his children. No emotions involved. Not as before with Caroline. Yet here he was, feeling all protective and tender. Ready to take on the demons of Hell to keep her safe.