Authors: Samantha Forest
Clenching his jaw, William tried to organize his thoughts. “I don’t know why I’m so fascinated, Blaine. I just know that something is here. I need to know what it is.”
“William.” Blaine’s serious tone made him freeze. “I urge you to be careful. You’ve been given a direct order from the king. I know she’s beautiful, but is she worth angering the crown?”
He didn’t answer him as he left the room. The crown was the farthest thing from his mind. At the moment, all he could think about was that he’d offended her, and he needed to make it right.
Lightly, he knocked on her bedroom door. “Lena,” he said as he pressed his forehead to the wood. “Lena, please open up.”
The door opened, and he nearly fell forward. She glared at him and wrapped a blanket more tightly around her shoulders. “This is your home, and I appreciate you knocking.”
He frowned as he watched her pale skin. “Lena, it’s freezing in here. Why would you not start a fire?” he muttered as he shouldered his way in. He immediately took a few logs from the pile and stuck a match. The fire crackled to life, and he turned to see the look of surprise on her face. “Are you trying to freeze to death?”
Lena cast her eyes downward. “Of course not. I usually only start a fire for Charlotte.”
“Usually? Or she demanded it?” he asked harshly. His wife-to-be had quite the hardened heart. “It doesn’t matter. When you are cold, you start a fire in this home. Is that understood?” She nodded, and he couldn’t help himself. Crossing the room, he tipped a finger under her chin and lifted it. “I came to apologize, Lena. I did not mean to offend you. Seducing you is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“You’re alone in my bedroom, and you’re touching me,” she said softly. “Are you sure you don’t want to seduce me?”
He chuckled, but he didn’t remove his hand. “Lena, I have to admit that there’s something about you that I don’t quite understand. And yes, I would love to be able to freely touch you. But I won’t ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.” Deliberately, he stopped back and held up his hands. “See?”
She bit her bottom lip, and it took everything William had not to groan out loud. “And now I’m going to step way over here so that I can try to keep my hands off you.”
Lena took a step forward, and he watched as she slowly closed the gap between them. “I have to confess something as well,” she whispered as she reached her hand out. Slowly, she ran her fingers over his face. “My body responds to you. It’s never done anything like that before.”
Lord, have mercy. “Lena, it makes it very difficult to control myself when you say things like that. Surely you understand that.”
“I’m sorry.” She dropped her hand and stepped back. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“My sweet,” he immediately reached for her hand and pulled her closer. “Do not apologize for the truth. And do not fear the reaction of your body. It’s natural.”
“It doesn’t feel natural. It feels like an itch that I cannot even begin to scratch. What is this between us, William? You are a stranger, but I feel connected with you. I feel so close to being complete.”
He exhaled and pressed her hand over his heart. “What would make you feel more complete, Lena?”
“Assuage this ache,” she murmured. “Please.”
“Lena. You are a maiden. There is no going back from this decision.”
She raised her head and pressed her lip hungrily to his. He let her explore for a minute before he roughly pulled her towards him. “I know,” she said when she pulled back. “I know what I am asking.” The blanket fell from her shoulders, and he saw the fire dance in her eyes. She was absolute perfection, and tonight she would be his.
***
His fingers skimmed along her neck as he leaned down to kiss her. It was both gentle and urgent and full of something that she didn’t yet understand. On their own volition, her hands moved to spread them over his chest. The cloth of his shirt bunched in her hands, and she pulled impatiently. She needed to feel his skin under her fingertips. She needed to feel his skin under her nails.
He laughed hoarsely as her fingers went to the buttons. “Lena, you can slow down,” he murmured she made quick work of his shirt.
“No,” she said as she pressed her lips to his skin. “No hesitation. I need this.”
Every woman that he had ever been with faded from his mind, as she pressed open kisses to his chest. She was an amateur, and yet there was more passion in every move that she made than with every woman that he had ever been with. She wasn’t fragile. She was all woman, and he began to work the lace from her dress.
The sleeves slipped from her shoulders, and he kissed the smooth and sensitive curve of her neck. She let out a tiny whimper, and he felt his patience slip.
“You are a witch,” he growled. “And you have possessed me.”
The dress fell from her body, and he began to work on her corset. She stepped back as the last of her clothes fell away, and he saw the fear in her eyes. There was vulnerability that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“So beautiful,” he whispered as he ran his fingers up her side. Her abdomen quivered as his hands reached her full and round breasts.
“It’s yours.” Her eyes rounded as his fingers brushed across her nipples. They tightened, and she gasped. “Every inch of me is yours.”
He backed her slowly across the room until the back of her legs hit the mattress. As she fell slowly to the bed, he followed her down and covered her body with his. Her legs immediately widened. It was almost instinct as she rubbed herself on his hardness.
“Oh,” she cried out softly. She’d read the books. She understood the mechanics, but nothing had prepared her for the sensations that ricocheted through her body. Desire pooled between her legs.
“Easy,” he murmured as he ran a hand along her outer thigh. He pushed himself up and watched her as his touch lingered on certain areas of her body. “I want to know what you like.” He caressed her hips and her abdomen. He trailed a finger along the soft skin in the crease of her leg and pelvis, and her lips fell open as she whimpered.
“I like that,” she admitted. “Do it again.”
“Oh, I can do more than that,” he said with a wicked grin. He brushed his fingers along her secret mound, and her hips jumped at the raw sensation.
“William,” Lena gasped. “Please.”
His hands left her, and she watched as he slowly slid his pants off. When he came back, she could feel his hardness settle between her legs. Her eyes widened in both fear and excitement.
“It’s going to hurt a little,” he murmured. “Because it’s your first time. Do you trust me?”
Lena slowly undulated her hips under him. She needed this. She needed to feel complete with him. “With my life.”
William pressed his lips to hers and swallowed her cries of pain as he slid into her. She stretched around him and gasped as she tried to accommodate him.
“Lay still, my love,” he whispered. “Give your body a chance to adjust to me.”
The pain resided, and it was quickly replaced by the very ache that started it all. She needed something more. As she wiggled her hips under him, he slid even deeper in her, and pleasure shot through her body. Moaning, she moved her hips again.
“Jesus, Lena,” he growled through clenched teeth. “I’m trying here sweetheart, but you have to stop moving.”
“I can’t. Please. William, please,” she pleaded as she bucked her hips again. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he groaned helplessly as he pumped his hips and thrust. Her moans turned into loud cries as he continued to drive her to madness. Tension like she had never known built inside her, and soon she was clawing at his shoulders to urge him harder and faster.
And then something wild unleashed inside her. She wrapped her legs around him and held on tight as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through her. He let out a guttural moan and sank deep inside her, and they both clutched each other as they rode the chaos together.
***
When her heart rate returned to normal, she moved ever so slightly under him. He immediately rolled off her and carried her with him as she sprawled out on top of him. She shrieked with laughter and straddled him. “This could be interesting,” she murmured with an arched eyebrow.
“Oh, my sweet Lena. I would love to introduce you to all the interesting positions I know.”
She chuckled and rested her head on his chest. “I feel amazing.”
“Yes, you did feel amazing.” He idly stroked her back. “No regrets?”
“I could never regret that.” A shadow fell over her face when she thought about the future. “But what do we do now?”
“Lena, I wasn’t lying when I said that I felt something between us. I wasn’t just trying to bed you. Please tell me that you understand that.”
She felt peace settle inside her as she smiled. “I understand that. But that doesn’t change the facts of our little situation.”
“Lena, if I had my way, you’d spend all your days by my side and all of your nights in my bed. Let’s enjoy the time that we have, my sweet. I don’t want to waste a single second worrying.”
It sounded nice. She didn’t have a future with him. That much was clear. But she could pretend for a few weeks that he was well and truly hers. And even if she was heartbroken for the rest of her life, she knew that these past few weeks would be the best of her life.
She closed her eyes, and she let herself fall asleep in his arms.
Chapter Four
Tears blurred her eyes as Lena counted the days again. It was no mistake. She was pregnant.
“Did you miss me, sister?” The cold voice taunted her, and Lena whirled around. Charlotte lounged in the doorway with her arms crossed.
“Charlotte,” Lena gasped. “I didn’t think you were coming until next week.”
“The weather warmed, and I’d thought I’d come early. I missed my baby sister,” Charlotte said with a fake smile. “Imagine my surprise when I see her in what should be my bedroom.”
Lena immediately jumped from the bed. “It is your bedroom, Charlotte. I was just finished the preparations.”
“Yes. I’m sure you weren’t sleeping so close to my future husband. That won’t do at all. Why are you crying, Lena? Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Lena wiped her face. “Of course I’m happy to see you, Charlotte. This is the longest that we’ve been away from each other, and I have missed you.” She prayed that Charlotte would never know the truth.
To her horror, Charlotte crossed the room and leaned over the bed. “You’re tallying the calendar days. Why?” Her eyes narrowed. “Lena, what have you done?”
The duke interrupted them. Her eyes slid up wildly as he knocked on the door. “Lady Charlotte. I’m terribly sorry that I was not here to greet you, but I thought you were arriving next week.”
Charlotte immediately abandoned Lena and crossed to room to William. Lena watched with sick revulsion as her sister offered William her hand. He dutifully kissed it, and Lena was pleased to see that his lips didn’t linger.
Her inner voice taunted her. Charlotte would soon be William’s wife. She would share his bed just as she did. His lips would linger on more than her hand.
“Your Grace, I was far too excited about the wedding plans to squander more time in my home. The weather is warm, and there is much to do. I trust having my sister around wasn’t too much of an imposition? I promise that as soon as we’re married, she will no longer be needed.”
“Needed?” His eyebrows lifted, and Lena gasped inwardly. What did Charlotte have planned?
“She’s hardly marriage material, and she will no longer be useful with a house full of servants. I have plans to send her to a convent where she will be well taken care of.” Charlotte didn’t even turn around to see Lena’s reaction. “Now then, I’d like to meet with your housekeeper. I can see that Lena has done a poor job with setting up my bedroom.”
William’s eye’s darkened. “Blaine will take you to her,” he said softly. He waved his hand, and Blaine materialized from the darkness. Once Charlotte was gone, he turned to Lena. “Are you all right?”
“I cannot go to a convent,” she said softly.
He sighed. “I’ll talk to her.”
Lena shook her head. “You don’t understand. It’s not that I don’t want to go to a convent. They’ll never take me. William, I’m pregnant.”
He stared at her, and she took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to worry. I am more than prepared to tell my sister that it was one of the servants. Or perhaps I can tell her that I simply don’t know who the father is.”
“Lena…”
“You don’t have to worry about your reputation, and I’m hardly concerned with mine.”
“Lena.”
“I’m sure Charlotte will provide you with an heir, so you won’t even need to claim this child.”
“Lena!” His voice thundered over her, and she gasped. He crossed the room quickly and grabbed her hands. “You’re having my child,” he said softly.
“It doesn’t have to change anything,” she said weakly. He looked at her with love in his eyes.
“It doesn’t,” he murmured. “Me falling in love with you changed everything. I should have told you that sooner. But this child is all the evidence I need to take to the King. He wants me settled with an heir. I’ll settle with you and have an heir.”