Whistle Down the Wind (Mystic Moon) (17 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Griffin
removed the baldric holding his sword. He pulled the tall, heavy leather boots
from his feet, and tossed them aside with no regard for anything except that
the voluptuous, delightful Catlin Glyndwr was inviting him to seduce her.

He was hard
as stone, and the blood rushed through his veins like liquid fire. For a moment
his conscience battled with his aching need, but his ravenous carnal hunger
overcame his remorse at breaking his word to Aelwyd ap Pryd.

His fingers
tangled in the ribbons of Catlin’s bodice, and he had a brief impulse to use
his dagger to quickly vanquish the pesky fastenings. His heart banged out a
vigorous rhythm against his rib cage and his eagerness to taste the sweet fruit
Catlin offered made him clumsy as an untried youth.

Catlin’s
beautiful, full lips formed into a smile as he made quick work of pulling the
two pieces of silk fabric apart before yanking them above her head. Her gown
quickly followed, for the tortoise-shell buttons fastening it posed no
challenge for his impatient fingers.

When she was
finally garbed only in her stockings and garters, she gave a pretty shiver, but
the expression in her soft blue eyes didn't reflect fear. Griffin breathed a
sigh of relief. He needed to calm himself, take his time and pleasure her with
skill. His impatience to take her was making him awkward.

Griffin took
his time enjoying the view of a naked and aroused Catlin. The pretty speech
he’d planned to make withered in his throat, as mere words seemed too paltry a
thing with which to worship this goddess.

“I dreamt of
you like this so many times, yet the reality of your beauty robs me of my
senses,” he finally whispered.

Sweeping one
palm down from her shoulder to slide across a pink-tipped breast, he paused to
imprint her image upon his memory. If he only had this one night with her, he
wanted it to last as long as possible. Likely on the morrow she would brand him
a scheming rogue and demand he return her to her family. His finger circled the
tender tip of the orb before he knelt and took it in his mouth and suckled.

As his lips
moved to the other breast, she thrashed against the coverlet. Heat pulsed
through him at every touch. Her skin was as soft and supple and he couldn't
resist tracing the outline of her curves with each hand.

His cock
throbbed as it pressed against his wool breeches. He thought he might burst
before he could push himself into the soft, yielding heat of Catlin’s body.
Yet, he wanted to take this lovemaking slowly, to appreciate each precious
moment with her.

Griffin
stood to remove his breeches, and Catlin blinked as his cock sprang free. She
tilted her head as she examined his body, and a slow smile stretched across her
face. "You are far better endowed than the drawings of Greek statues I've
seen. I doubt a fig leaf could cover that very well."

Griffin
grinned as he yanked his shirt off, eager to return to the bed and Catlin.
"Perhaps an oak leaf might suffice?"

She didn’t
shun his nakedness or respond with a maidenly shyness. Instead, her lips
puckered with mirth. "Perhaps two oak leaves?"

He put one
knee on each side of her body, then tucked one of his hands beneath her soft,
round bottom. Her body shifted as he parted her legs, the fingers of his other
hand gently kneaded the muscles at the top of her thigh. He enjoyed the velvet
smoothness of her skin before dividing the dark curls at the apex of her
womanhood to pull her tender lips apart. She gave a low gasp when he touched
her there. 

Catlin’s
eyes widened as Griffin leaned across her body, his mouth trailing hot, eager
kisses down her flat stomach, to her thighs, and then even lower.

She moaned
when his tongue replaced his finger at that most tender of pleasure spots. She
leaned back upon the pillows, twisting beneath him as he savored the sweet
woman’s honey pouring from her. She desired him, for it was in the liquid heat
he tasted with each stroke of his tongue against the satiny delights.

“I, never. .
.” she moaned softly before gasping when his tongue flickered across the
tender, sweet nubbin at the top of the opening.

He could
fulfill her this way, but her sweet taste fired all of his senses, and he
wanted to push himself deep within her, to feel the slick tightness of her body
sheathed around him.

He left her
heat, grasped one of her hands and guided her fingers to his rigid cock. He
showed her how to touch him, and her gentleness against his flesh nearly
brought him to rapture.

“Your touch
could unman me this very instant,” he said, his voice thick and husky with his
desire.

She
quickened the strokes, her mouth opened slightly. Her eyes glowed with a silver
light as she gave him a saucy, delighted smile. He groaned with the exquisite
pleasure she was giving him. Finally he was forced to push her hand away.

He gently
moved her thighs apart and placed his swollen cock into the space between them.
He paused and regarded her stretched beneath him, her lips red and swollen from
the rough, demanding kisses of his lovemaking.

“I will ask
you again, my
bychan
Cat, are you sure about this?”

He held his
breath as he waited for her answer. If she refused him now, he’d need all of
his self-control to climb off the bed and walk away from her. He couldn’t be
sure he had the fortitude to do it.

“I am sure
of this, Griffin. If you don't finish this soon, I predict a nasty tantrum the
likes of which you have never before seen in your life!”

He leaned
down to kiss her and grinned. “’Tis a good thing too,
cariad
, because
even though I asked, I cannot swear I could have stopped myself from ravishing
you.”

She touched
his face gently, her fingers tracing along his jaw line. He’d called her his
darling. Did she truly believe he’d meant it or did she suspect it might simply
be an endearment uttered in the heat of passion? He again guided her hand to
enclose his rigid flesh.

“’Twill be
better your first time if you have some control, for it there will be some
pain, if only for a few moments.”

She nodded
as she placed the sensitive tip of his cock at the edge of her moist, parted
lower lips. Her hand trembled as she paused.

His own hand
covered hers, and he thrust quickly to plunge into her silken depths.

Catlin
gasped as her eyes flew wide-open. Griffin paused for a moment to give her time
to adjust to having him within her. He swallowed at the sight of tears in her
eyes.

He kissed
her gently. "I'm sorry,
cariad
."

Her tight,
hot, softness surrounded him. With the gentlest of movements, he pulled back
before plunging once more into her steamy depths. It was heavenly torture, this
pushing, only to withdraw and then push again. The rhythm of this dance was so
natural, so primal that she tilted her hips up to meet him as he drove his cock
down into her.

Her eyes
closed, but she was breathing in short, eager pants. He put his hands beneath
her bottom again, lifting her closer, plunging deeper.

Her eyes
were glazed when she finally opened them to gaze up at him.

Griffin
paused, fighting the urge to complete this coupling, forcing himself to go
slowly for her sake.

“Are you in
pain, Catlin?” he whispered.

She gave him
a small, wicked smile. “I was, but now, there is so much pleasure and new
sensation, I only wish to enjoy this as much as possible.”

Griffin
couldn’t postpone his pleasure much longer. The slick tightness of her body
brought him to the edge of completion with each thrust. But this was her first
time, and he wanted Catlin to experience that moment of intense satisfaction he
knew he could give her.

His strokes
grew longer, harder and deeper. The rhythm intensified, until tension swelled
within him. He'd soon be pushed over the edge.

Suddenly,
her inner muscles tightened around him. Griffin,” she gasped her voice rough
and husky.

He closed
his eyes as the room tilted sideways. A rainbow of colored lights flashed upon
his lids, making him dizzy with a sensation of soaring through time and space.

A rush of
air escaped Griffin’s lips before he uttered a deep, satisfied moan. The hot
pulse of his seed released into her.

With a few
more thrusts, he stilled and rested upon his elbows on top of her, the expanse
of their naked, sated bodies touching skin upon skin. She still held him deep
within her.

Finally he
regained his senses, opened his eyes, and leaned down to kiss her.

“I’m sorry
if I hurt you,
cariad
.”

Catlin's
eyes slowly opened. "’Twas worth the cost of a pinprick to gain so much
pleasure.” She smiled provocatively. “I have a great desire to be tutored in
the ways of lovemaking, and I believe I could be an apt pupil to a talented
instructor such as you.”

Griffin
grinned down at her. “It will require long hours of tedious exercise, for I can
be a most demanding teacher.” One hand gently stroked her breast and the rosy
nipple grew to a hard nubbin in his hand.

Catlin
moaned. “I shall apply myself most diligently to my lessons, I assure you, Sir
Reynolds.”

His mouth
moved to explore the hard tip of her round, full breast, and she squirmed
beneath him.

“Well,
schooling will likely resume in a short time, but for now we should enjoy a
brief respite.” He kissed her gently on the nose. “I have business to attend to,
and you should put your new maid to some good use.”

Catlin sat
up abruptly. “God’s teeth, but I forgot all about her!”

Struggling
to bring her legs over the side of the bed, she gave a small flutter of protest
when Griffin easily captured her. He pushed her back upon the pillows, with one
hand enclosing both of hers to pin them above her head.

“Perhaps I
should reconsider.” He flicked his tongue across the tender skin beneath her
ear. “I might not want to release so adept a pupil.”

Catlin
pouted. “But I left Bitsy waiting for me in my chamber, and I promised her a
bath and some new clothes.” She worried her lower lip. “That’s the reason I
went to the taproom in search of you, and somehow I became totally distracted
and forgot the very reason I was pursuing you.”

“Ah, but the
important thing is that you caught me,
cariad
, and for that I am
eternally grateful. It certainly makes me the most fortunate man in the kingdom
today.” His hand brushed against the pile of dark curls between her legs, and
she squirmed before shaking her head and brushing his fingers away.

“We can
continue our lessons at a later time, but I should see to the girl, for she’s
probably terrified.”

Guilt
flashed through Catlin for abandoning the girl to enjoy sensual play with
Griffin. For years Aelwyd had warned Catlin she must learn to control her
uninhibited nature, or it would lead to her downfall.

Griffin
released her, and Catlin jumped from the bed to grab her petticoats. She yanked
them over her thighs and turned to ask for his help in fastening them.

“I derive
more pleasure from divesting you of your clothing then assisting you in donning
it,” he complained.

Catlin
batted his straying hands away and picked her gown up from the floor. “We shall
certainly have more then enough time to indulge in games of pleasure on board
the ship. You said you have business to deal with today, and I must see to
Bitsy.”

Griffin
grinned down at her. “I’m relieved you’ve accepted her services, for I couldn’t
abandon the poor waif upon the dock. She looked so lost and forlorn.”

Catlin
smiled at this proof of his gentle heart. While he might appear a cold and
hardened soldier to some, he had demonstrated to her on several occasions that
he possessed a kind spirit.

“I think you
chose well, for it appears the child has had a miserable time of it these past
few months. We shall make sure her circumstances improve.”

Griffin
stood and snatched his clothes from the messy pile where he’d discarded them.
“I’m going to my warehouse, then I'll stop by and speak to the ships Master.
I'll ask that the knave you told me about be removed from the ship’s crew. Too
bad you don’t know his name. ’Twould make the task easier.”

“But he told
me his name, as if he were fully entitled to make my acquaintance without a
proper introduction.”

Griffin
shook his head. “Imagine the impudence of the man, he should be drawn and
quartered!”

Catlin
frowned. The man had frightened her, and Griffin was jesting. “He is evil
incarnate and should not be allowed on the ship to America. Who knows what kind
of wicked intent he has for traveling to Jamestown?”

Griffin
yanked his breeches up his legs and laced them. “I shall make sure he troubles
you no more, my sweet Catlin. Simply give me the man’s name and I’ll see he’s
put off the ship!”