The Vengeful Bridegroom (15 page)

“You do disturb me and my appetite, for you.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her close, determined to finish what he started. If he thought her lips as sweet as honey, it was nothing compared to the luscious taste of her tongue as she returned his passion, lick by lick. He felt her arms around his shoulders, her breasts pressed against his chest through thin muslin. One hand cupped her back while his other hand slid down her arm to her hand.

He wrenched his lips from hers to take a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers, and brought her hand up to lick the remaining lemon stickiness from each finger. His eyes held her startled but passion-filled blue eyes, and he felt her shiver as he took each graceful finger into his mouth to suck each sweet, sugary speck.

When he playfully bit one of her fingers, he heard her giggle, bringing a smile to his face.

Tonight she would be his. She was his wife. He would not tolerate any longer this beautiful woman not lying by his side every night. He didn’t question how long it would last, his desire for her. He only wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her. For the moment.

When he had removed the last of the sticky residue, he planted a kiss followed by a quick lick on each of Madelene’s palms. She inhaled quickly, wondering what other surprises this night might hold, considering the seducer was the one being seduced.

Still holding her by the waist with one hand, he brought her closer for another searing kiss, tasting her lips over and over again, almost as if he was drawing breath from her. She returned his passion in equal measure, pressing her thinly clad body to his muscular form, seeking to match every contour, every roundness, every hardness and shadow to his. Her hands encircled his waist, touching the dagger’s sheath hooked to his pantaloons.

“You taste sweeter than any cake Mrs. Lavishtock could bake,” he murmured into her hair, while glancing around the room. “Ah, I have just the thing to complete our feast,” he told her, loosening his hold on her.

Madelene blinked and slowly backed away, frowning. What had happened? First, she was eating cake, then her husband arrived to—what did he have planned? Obviously, Gabriel had a lot more practice at the art of seduction than she.

Before she had recovered from his passionate assault that burned like a brand on her skin, he grabbed her hand, tossed a peach, a nectarine, and a bunch of grapes into a bag, and pulled her to the door and out the servants’ entrance.

Falstaff’s tail thumped softly outside the open kitchen doors, which led to the rest of the house. He knew what happened next. Mrs. Lavishtock bent her full form slightly and handed Falstaff his biscuit. She would have patted him on the head if she could have reached that far, but the dog tore off, eager to enjoy his reward. Smiling, she lurched back to her bedroom, satisfied with the night’s outcome.

Refreshing after the heat in the kitchen, the warm breeze faintly cooled the lovers, tickling Madelene’s hair. Gabriel broke into a run, pulling her in his wake. The meadowed grass felt delightfully cool beneath her bare feet, and her nightwrap billowed around her.

Where was he taking her? And why? At least he had the dagger with him. If she could distract him, she should be able to sneak the dagger from its sheath. Although he had definitely kissed her into insensibility back in the kitchen, she wouldn’t let it happen again. Here in the fresh night air, with her senses collected, she would be the seductress and gain what she sought.

Gabriel led her across the nearby meadow into a clump of old sycamore trees, their leaves dashing the moon’s light. He appeared to know the way without any illumination, having probably walked this path many times before.

To make sure she didn’t trip over any large stones or downed branches, he walked the dirt path in front of her, grasping her hand. Odd, Madelene thought, how safe she felt with him and knew he would never let any harm befall her.

“Shh!” He quickly turned around and shoved Madelene behind the nearest tree and stepped behind her until he pressed against her.

“What?”

“Shh, it’s Hayden Bush. I failed to remember he likes to stroll around the lake on his way home from visiting his godchild, Lucas Monroe. The Monroes live on the road to the village,” Gabriel whispered in her ear, his lips close to her cheek.

In the quiet, they could hear Hayden Bush whistling as he ambled closer to their hiding spot, then passed them. They listened to his whistling and footsteps fade away.

Leaving their hiding spot, Madelene asked, “I’m curious. Since Mr. Bush is blind, we really didn’t need to hide from him, and since he is your friend, we could have bid him good evening.” She had to shout to be heard over his shoulder because he had continued down the meandering path.

When he stopped to reply, she ran right into the back of him. He turned to catch her before she lost her balance. “My dear, I did not want Mr. Bush to hear us about and have to make excuses for our reason for being here. And he enjoys his solitary walks.”

Hmm. That still didn’t explain why they had to hide behind a tree with her husband wedged tight up against her. She sensed he had something other than eating on his mind, remembering vividly how his hard body pressed against hers.

A few more yards and they arrived at the large lake, mirroring the now bright moon’s light. Holding hands, Gabriel and Madelene stood on the slight knoll, admiring the dark beauty of the water. Madelene caught her breath, whether from their trek or the nearness of her husband was difficult to determine.

Gabriel dropped her hand to walk down the grassy knoll and found a flat area cleared of brush and weeds. Following him, Madelene knew she wanted to discover a well-kept secret only lovers knew.

Standing across from each other, he reached over and slipped the muslin dressing gown from her shoulders and spread it on the soft grass. With a flourish of his hand, he said, “Your bed awaits you, my lady, my wife.” His warm brown eyes beckoned her to accept the hand he held out to her, which she did, stepping to the thin gown and sinking onto their makeshift bed. Little bits of grass poked through her night rail, but not uncomfortably so.

Not letting go of her hand, he gently pulled her all the way down until she lay looking up at the stars. Before he joined her, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Gabriel removed the dagger from his waist and laid it aside, along with his pilfered bag of fruit.

“Much better,” he told her, sliding down to lie next to her. “This is one of my favorite places on the estate. I used to come to this lake with my sister. She would read one of Mrs. Radcliffe’s novels while I fished, or we’d swim.”

Madelene smiled, thinking of the picture of Gabriel and his sister together. If he missed his sister as much as she knew she would miss Matthew, her heart ached for him.

“I wish I could have known your sister. I think I would have liked her,” she told him honestly.

She felt rather than saw his body tense and could only wonder if it was at the mention of his sister or remembering that her brother had a hand in her dishonor. Their siblings had brought them together, to this moment, for some inexplicable reason.

Gabriel raised himself on one elbow to look down at Madelene looking up at him inquiringly. “Let’s have no more talk of yesterday for tonight, shall we? I would rather us enjoy the moment.” His voice was light and devoid of melancholy.

But she couldn’t dismiss Matthew from her mind. She had to find a way to help him, or she would be left alone in the world, not unlike Gabriel. Surely her husband would understand whatever methods she needed to use to help her brother.

He rejoined her on the blanket, both now seeking the stars as Gabriel stroked her arm rhythmically, caressing her into a sweet haze. But she had to know; she couldn’t forget.

“Gabriel?” she asked softly.

“Hmm?”

“Why did you marry me? Was it truly to enact revenge on my brother?”

Taking her gaze off the stars, she turned and watched a shadow cross his face, then it was gone.

Nonchalantly, he said, “Perhaps or perhaps I fell madly in love with you when I saw you on the dueling field.”

She drew a quick breath, remembering, and closed her eyes. The dueling field, a day she would never forget. The early-morning hours with Gabriel Westcott facing her brother, Matthew Colgate, with pistols. Mr. Westcott believed Matthew had dishonored his sister, and he demanded justice.

Matthew had admitted to Madelene that in a drunken stupor, he had taken advantage of the young woman. But he insisted the young girl had pursued him. What or who to believe? She knew her brother to be in the wrong and greatly feared for his life when she heard of the duel. She wanted to speak to Mr. Westcott to convince him to call off the duel, but her brother would not hear of it.

The day came, and Matthew instructed her not to come to the field. His instructions went unheeded, for she had to watch, desperately scared and wretched. Madelene couldn’t convince her brother not to show because he told her in no uncertain terms that he could never live with that blemish on his character. If he was worried about blemishing his character, Madelene thought, he should have left Mr. Westcott’s sister in her innocence.

As she waited and watched with a physician, a Mr. Arnold Duckins, Matthew’s second, and another man, Mr. Westcott’s second, Madelene could hardly believe when Mr. Westcott had only shot Matthew in the arm, when he could have taken his life. Her eyes blinded with tears, she raced across the field to see to her brother’s welfare.

Matthew clutched a bloody arm and looked up at his opponent with terror written on his face. “Is this the end of it?”

Mr. Westcott fired into the air. “For now.”

Gratitude and anger warred within Madelene, and anger won. She saw Matthew’s pistol lay close by and grabbed it, aiming it in Mr. Westcott’s direction.

Fortunately, Mr. Westcott’s reflexes were sharper than Madelene’s aim, and the bullet whistled harmlessly by his head.

“Madelene, no, leave be!” Matthew yelled to her.

She shook her head, then slowly sank next to her brother, her tears no longer imprisoned.

A year later, Madelene lay with her husband and former enemy, Mr. Westcott, and opened her eyes.

He had turned on his side to face her, his deep stare pinning her to the spot. She looked up and beyond him to the dark night, leaving his gaze without leaving his side. “I hated you. You almost killed my brother.” Her voice was soft, catching at actually saying the words to someone for whom, she had harbored a resentment for so long.

When Gabriel sat up, giving his back to her, she had to join him to hear his reply.

Devoid of any emotion, he said, “I could have killed your brother. But I decided I wanted a more lasting revenge.”

Madelene tried to control a shiver, hating his words. Could she bridge their grievances? “I know Matthew was wrong for what he did to your sister. I know he regretted his action. It seems since Father has gone, Matthew acts like a weathervane, his whims and actions directed by the wind.” She paused and swallowed hard.

What was he thinking? Feeling? Madelene moved to kneel in front of him, wanting to read his expression. “Are you punishing me for what Matthew did?”

Gabriel sat for a long while staring at his hands, then he lifted his head and gazed into her eyes. “That was my plan.”

Tears could fall so easily at his words. Her heart in her throat, she continued, “Was? Do you have some new plan that I’m to be a part of?” She hugged her shoulders to feel the warmth where his words had chilled her.

“It is too soon to know.” His fierce gaze bored into her. “But I do know that I want you, Madelene. I want you to be my wife in more than name.” She looked past the intense desire in his face to some unnamed pain he could not hide.

She might be afraid of what the future held, but tonight, she saw only Gabriel, her husband. At his touch, she knew he would leave his mark on her heart, hidden from others, especially him, doomed to last her entire life.

She could pretend her sacrifice might satisfy Gabriel’s need for revenge, and perhaps the desire they shared could bring them a semblance of happiness. Perhaps he was the man who could see beyond her blue eyes and black hair and no dowry and want her for herself. She wanted to know.

Sighing, she realized that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. It would be no true sacrifice, but a willing mate he would find in her.

Before she gave him the answer he sought, she peered into the dark.

“What are you looking for?”

“Your little dog. He seems to be able to read your mind, and I wanted to make sure he was nowhere in sight.”

He leaned over her in a gentle leer. “Do you wish to read my mind?”

She lay back on their common blanket and held up her arms. “No, I want you to show me.”

Gabriel stared in surprise at Madelene’s bright blue eyes and lovely smile, her silky black hair flowing past her shoulders in a tangled cloud. She had never looked more beautiful, and she was truly to be his. Although he could take more precious moments to wonder at her words, he slowly leaned down and captured her lips lightly with his. He wanted the night to last as long as the old sycamore trees had stood in time. They would keep the lovers’ secrets.

As he lay next to his wife, he realized he enjoyed thinking of Madelene as his wife and not his nemesis’s sister. She was much more. Braced on one elbow, he traced her face with one finger and watched her eyes flutter closed. If he listened intently, he could hear the wings of the fireflies, the murmuring water of the lake, the rustling leaves, and an ancient frog croaking his love song.

He leaned down to kiss her neck, inhaling her lilac water perfume, brushing her soft cheek, her forehead, then her lush lips again. When he pulled her into his arms, she gazed up at him with a heated desire in those spellbinding blue eyes that caught his breath.

In false heroism, Gabriel had told himself, he had married Madelene to save her, but could she possibly save him? She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest, but it was not enough.

Their kiss upon kiss answered hurriedly, longingly, and like they might never share another moment together. With a shimmering knowing look in her eyes, she broke their embrace to pull her night rail over her head and threw it on the grass nearby, shivering, but not from the cold.

She returned to his embrace, reaching for the buttons on his pantaloons, but he would have none of that. Although he knew she could feel his hardness straining against the fabric, his pleasure would have to wait.

She reclined on their makeshift bed, frowning. He planned not to keep her mystified for long. Stretching time as if there was only this night, he tenderly kissed his way down her pale form to her full breasts. He licked and lathed one pink nipple, then the other as only a lover could, paying agonizingly patient attention to each one as Madelene undulated beneath his ministrations.

“Soon,” he whispered to her. “Soon.”

Continuing his pleasure journey, he kissed his way down to her flat stomach until he reached the top of her thighs. As he stroked her slender thighs, she slowly opened them for him. He nudged a knee between her legs while grasping her bottom to bring her close to his mouth.

Exposed, she cried and tried to roll away, but with his greater strength, he would have his way. By the time his tongue had slipped into her wet folds, her body shook from surprise and intense pleasure. He took delight in caressing her with his tongue, with the knowledge that only he could give her the beauty of this moment. Again and again, he heard her moan to stop and continue, and almost smiled.

Concentrating all his efforts, he heard her shortened breath and knew she was near. When she shuddered with her release, he let go and gathered her in his arms, wanting to hold her, to make her feel safe and wanted and beautiful. He lay back on her nightwrap, pulling her with him, so she lay on top of him.

Her skin heated, her mind drugged with passion, she wanted to become a part of him. She wanted to give him pleasure but needed his help. Her arms braced on either side of his head, he shrugged off his pantaloons, causing her to inhale at the feel of his hardened member brushing against her thighs. Still overcome with passion, Madelene cradled his member in her hands before Gabriel guided himself into her wetness, stretching her and filling her. With his hands wrapped around her waist, he showed her how to move in just the right manner to give them both pleasure.

First slowly, then moving her hips more quickly, she felt his body tighten as she grasped his strong arms to steady herself. When he reached between them to touch her again, she cried out, disbelieving there was more to learn, more to feel.

She needed his strength, needing something, someone to cling to, lost as she was at the feeling of oneness with him. She had never been this close to another person. There could never be anyone else. The pleasure he gave her was exquisite, and she wanted to capture it with her hands, her body, her heart.

Soon, soon. He watched her as she watched him consumed in their journey, their chase, their reward. He waited for her, and when he knew she was ready, he pressed deep inside her, both wanting their passion to last longer than would ever be enough.

She fell to his chest, panting, and felt his heart beating rapidly under her cheek. When she had recovered her senses, she rolled off him to nestle by his side. Their heavy breathing slowly subsided as Gabriel gathered Madelene close to his side, kissing the top of her head, hoping, believing, they could be happy, no matter the circumstances that had brought them together.

In the lush peacefulness of unexpected solace, they didn’t notice a figure steal away into the dark trees, keeping more secrets.

Her rumbling stomach awakened Madelene in the early-morning hours. She raised herself on her elbows and noticed the fruit on the other side of Gabriel’s slumbering form. Slowly, so as not to awaken him, she eased herself out of his embrace and reached over his chest for the peach.

Its sweetness almost made her moan as she sat eating the peach, unaware that juices had meandered down her wrist to her arm and from her lips to her neck. Almost finished, she was disappointed to not have another one to feast on. She looked down and noticed Gabriel staring up at her with warmth and amusement in his deep brown eyes, a satisfied smile held his lips.

“Enjoying your fare, my wife? I see none left for me. There must be something—” He swooped in for a few precious licks on her neck and a long tongue slide up her arm, which made her giggle. Playfully pushing him away, she rose and headed to the side of the lake to clean her hands, completely aware that she had halted his pleasure in doing so.

Madelene had no sooner stooped to put her hands in the lukewarm water before Gabriel came behind her and scooped her up and splashed into the knee-deep water.

She began to scream, struggling in his arms, as he dropped her unceremoniously into the dark lake.

“I can’t swim,” she yelled to him, floundering in the water.

He watched her and shook his head with a cockeyed grin. “Madelene, it’s not deep. You can stand.”

Flinging her wet hair out of her face, she pushed off from the lake floor and stood a little unsteadily, gaining her footing.

Gabriel could not take his eyes off this mesmerizing wraith. She seemed born of water as the rivulets and drops caressed and painted her slender form. The moonlight and shadows played a foreign melody on her pale skin.

He wanted her again.

Although she still sputtered around in the water, she soon felt heat from an unexpected source. Gabriel swam up behind her and wrapped his arms about her waist, pulling her bottom against him while he kissed her neck in search of his favorite fruit called Madelene.

She rested against Gabriel’s strong chest, feeling trapped, yet safe and wanted, but not for long because he quickly turned her around so she could feel his hot and heavy need, her erect nipples against his damp chest before he picked her up with no hesitation and wrapped her legs around his waist, searching for a warm, wet sheath for his own dagger.

Tight inside her, he looked into her innocent blue eyes. “How is it possible you destroy me, yet also give me life?” he whispered, overcome by his need and his longing for her.

She simply shook her head, for she had no answers either. Gabriel took it slowly this time, savoring their sodden, slippery union in achingly long minutes. Firmly grasping her bottom in both hands, he directed her movements to achieve the sweetest sensation for both of them. It was far easier to come together in the water, their slick bodies making it all the more pleasurable. Madelene clung to her husband’s neck, pressing her wet breasts and hard nipples against his chest, creating a frisson of heat in a whirlpool of unabated passion. Lips clung, tasted, and kissed with no need for breathing.

Madelene matched his thrusts with equal ardor while taking his tongue into her mouth and teasing him with her engaging and unending innocence. The warm water made a unique bed as Gabriel delighted in his wife’s fervent response as they ached to become as close as two people could get, until two bodies melded into one. No end and no beginning. The first time had only been a fragment, a sparkle, a longing, a single star. This time the blanket of stars enwrapped the lovers in a new world of knowingness and never-ending.

Gabriel delighted in the feel of the bathlike water lapping against his skin as he floated in the calmness before swimming strong strokes from one side to the other. He lazily watched Madelene as she rose gracefully from the water, reinventing Venus Arising, her lean pale form glistening in the late night. Would she ever cease to amaze and delight him? He didn’t plan on finding out.

Madelene walked over to their makeshift blanket and pulled on her night rail, lost in what she had learned, what she had become. Gabriel’s wife. Truly.

While this night changed everything for them, it changed nothing for her brother. She still needed the dagger.

Surreptitiously, she gathered the dagger in the folds of her nightwrap along with the remaining fruit. Looking for Gabriel, she watched him climb from the lake and approach her, dripping wet, in all his nakedness, with a big grin on his face.

He reached down and grabbed his discarded pantaloons, climbing into them with little difficulty. Gabriel had never felt so free, unencumbered. As he watched her start the walk back to the house, he realized in surprise he had never planned for this to happen. He could never have taken her innocence without her willingness. When the wager’s demands had been fulfilled, a year’s span or a lifetime, he wouldn’t be able to let her go. She enlivened his soul, where before there had only been his need for revenge and mourning for his sister.

What lay before him was continuing to build his inheritance from his uncle and finding a willing woman to wed and bear his children. He had never understood that there was more to life than planning sea routes, a good hunt, a fine wine, and preparing his sons for their destiny.

Gabriel smiled. Sons. Yes, indeed, he wanted lots of them, with Madelene as their mother.

Although much between them remained unresolved, including the dagger. And last night.

He stepped in front of her, blocking her progress. “Mrs. Lavishtock found this in the drawing room and gave it to me. It is from the count.”

She looked down to see the note in his hand. Gazing up at him, she asked, “Do you believe me?”

“Of course. I should have believed you last night when you mentioned the count. However, my anger won over my reasoning. If I had understood the true circumstances, I would have searched for his foreign hide and made it unmistakably clear to him not to come anywhere near you. It will not happen again.”

Noting her hands full, he told her, “Please, allow me,” easily divesting her of her treasures. He immediately felt the hardness of the dagger within her thin wrap. “Ah, my dagger. I did wonder what I had done with it.” He watched her with a pleasant look on his face.

She lifted her chin and told him simply, “I gathered everything to carry into the house. It wasn’t as if I was going to steal the dagger.” She hoped she didn’t sound guilty.

But nothing could dampen his good humor. “Of course, because I would know you were the one who had taken it.” He returned the dagger to its sheath, took a bite of the nectarine, and wrapped Madelene’s nightwrap around her before taking her hand to walk back to the house, using the same path they had taken earlier. “If I gave you the dagger, what would you do with it?”

Madelene paused. She shook her head and sighed. What did it matter, for time was running out.

“My brother needs the dagger because the owner is demanding it and has told Matthew in no uncertain terms of the consequences should he fail to deliver it.” She couldn’t stop the tears in her voice, such was her worry for her brother. “But this count wants it, too. I don’t know what to do.” No matter what, Matthew was her only family. She had to help him and could never forgive herself if she didn’t, and catastrophic events resulted.

“I have no doubt, if your brother has the dagger, it will solve many things,” he told her matter-of-factly.

She stopped to stare at him in the lifting gray dawn, haze already drifting over the fields.

“You’ll, you’ll give me the dagger to give to my brother?” Surely, this was too much to hope for. This would fix everything. Almost everything.

“Not entirely. I’ll take the dagger to your brother, and if I’m correct in my speculation, the count will be waiting there as well,” he replied, walking backward toward the house before turning to walk forward.

Madelene hurried to catch up to him and grabbed his arm. “You would do this? But what about Alec? And Matthew is expecting me. He might be, ah, unwilling to meet with you. It would be best if I took the dagger to Matthew.”

Gabriel stopped, turned and took her chin in his hand, raising her troubled eyes to meet his. “Don’t worry your head over Alec, I’ll have a talk with her. As for your brother, you have no choice. Either I meet with him or he won’t have the dagger. Trust me to see this through and to protect your brother from harm.”

At that moment, gazing into his determined brown eyes, she believed him capable of anything, even making their marriage out of a loaded wager.

When she nodded her acquiescence, he took her hand, and they strolled back to the house together in quiet companionship.

Someone watched the lovers from the window in complete annoyance.
So that is the way of it. Enjoy tonight, for there will be no more.