“It’s—rather cozy,” I said. “Obviously built by a relatively prosperous hunter or perhaps a bailiff from one of the big estates. We were lucky to find it.”
“Lucky indeed,” he said wearily. “I was beginning to worry, love. We’d never have made another hour in this storm. I put the horse in the shed, gave him the rest of the oats and spread the fur rug over him. He’ll be fine. The floor of the shed is covered with hay.”
The fire was blazing now, filling the hut with lovely warmth, and the water I had emptied into the old iron pot was beginning to bubble. I tossed the frozen chickens into it and asked Jeremy for his knife. He handed it to me, a sleepy look in his eyes, and a few minutes later he was curled up on the pile of blankets, fast asleep as I peeled potatoes and carrots and sliced them and tossed them into the pot along with chopped onions. Jeremy was tangled up in the blankets and snorting in his sleep when, two hours later, I gently nudged him with the toe of my boot. He sat up with a start, blinking, looking quite belligerent.
“What! What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, darling. I just thought you might enjoy a nice bowl of hot stew.”
“Stew?” He seemed amazed. “You made stew?”
“I had all the ingredients—even salt. It’s delicious. I’ve sampled it already. Rich, thick broth, lots of chicken and vegetables.”
Jeremy rubbed his eyes. “You’re a wonder, love. Hot stew in the middle of the Russian wilderness, in the middle of a blizzard.”
“The blizzard’s over. It stopped sleeting over an hour ago. It’s snowing lightly now. Poor darling, you were so exhausted you dropped right off to sleep.”
I had placed more wood on the fire, and the room was extremely warm. I had removed the gray mink cloak some time before, and Jeremy shrugged out of his sheepskin coat. The hat had fallen off in his sleep, and his thick chestnut hair was all atumble. His shirt was moist with perspiration, clinging to his skin. The vivid red scarf tied around his neck was limp. He was still groggy, looking about the room as though not absolutely certain where he was.
“I checked on the horse,” I said. “The windowsills outside were covered with icicles. I broke them off and brought them in and melted them, and then I carried water out to the horse. He’s cozy as can be. I also refilled all the canteens,” I added.
“As I said, you’re a wonder—and gorgeous with your hair spilling about your shoulders, in that velvet gown.”
“My hair must be a mess, and the gown’s quite the worse for wear—it’s dreadfully soiled and the hem’s torn and—”
“You’ve never been more beautiful than you are at this moment, love, and I’m beginning to feel extremely amorous.”
“You’d better eat,” I said. “You need to build up your strength.”
“Yes, guess I do. I’ve got a feelin’ I’m going to need all my strength.”
I smiled and handed him a bowl of stew, a spoon, and a hunk of bread. He ate with gusto, finishing the first bowl before I’d hardly started mine, taking a second bowl, then a third, declaring it sheer ambrosia, the most delicious stew he ever hoped to eat. I told him there was a little left and said he might as well finish it off. He did so readily and then sat nibbling on a piece of cheese as I set bowls, spoons, and pot aside. He watched me with lazy, seductive eyes, looking for all the world like an indolent, rather scruffy pasha as he sat there on the pile of blankets, nibbling the cheese.
“About that gown—” he drawled.
“Yes?”
“I think you’d better take it off. It’s warm in here, much too warm for a heavy velvet gown. I’m planning to take off a few things myself.”
“It is a bit warm,” I agreed, playing the game.
He tugged at the red scarf around his neck, planning to whip it off with debonair aplomb, frowning as he fumbled with the knot. I smiled and then sat down on the chair and removed my boots, flexing my naked feet, massaging them for a moment. Jeremy finally got the scarf off and flung it aside and got to his feet. He spread the blankets out over the bearskin rug, one on top of the other, making a deep pallet in front of the fire. He spread my, fur cloak over the blankets and stood back, admiring his handiwork.
“Always wanted to make love on silver-gray mink,” he remarked.
“It’s a lovely idea,” I said.
I stood up and lifted my skirts, reaching under them to unfasten the sash that held the money bag in place. Golden coins tinkled as I placed the bag on the chair. Jeremy watched with one brow cocked.
“You should-a let me do that,” he drawled.
“I’m sure you would have enjoyed it.”
“A lot,” he assured me.
“But you’re no good at knots, darling.”
“I’m good at other things.”
“Oh?”
He sauntered over to me and took me into his arms and gave me a long, lazy kiss, his lips lingering over mine as his arms drew me closer still. I put my hand on the back of his neck and stroked it and then ran my fingers through the rich chestnut waves. He made a moaning noise deep in his throat, swinging me around in his arms. I placed my hands on his shoulders and clung to him as the lazy kiss went on and on and I became a prey to those delicious sensations that had never been so sweet. He raised his head and looked into my eyes, his own a deep, deep blue filled with urgent love. I lifted my hand and caressed his cheek and ran the ball of my thumb along the full pink curve of his lower lip. He opened his mouth, took my thumb between his teeth, gently biting down on soft flesh. Honey-sweet warmth spread through me, and the back of my knees began to ache. He took my whole thumb into his mouth and sucked on it, and after a few moments I pulled it free and brushed his lips with mine, tenderly expressing the love that trembled inside me.
“I’ve waited a long, long time for this,” he murmured, pulling back and resting his hands on my shoulders.
“So have I,” I whispered.
“I’ve thought about it, dreamed about it.”
“And I as well.”
He caressed my throat, his thumb exploring the softness. My breasts swelled, nipples hardening, pushing against the silk bodice of my petticoat. Jeremy drew me back to him and reached behind me and began to unfasten the hooks of my gown, and I pressed my thighs against his and felt the hard, swollen proof of his need throbbing beneath its prison of cloth. He fumbled with the hooks and I shook my head and smiled and reached around to undo them myself. I slipped my arms out of the long sleeves and lifted the gown over my head. Dark garnet velvet rustled softly as I let the gown slip to the floor.
Leaving him but a moment, I stepped over to put out the oil lamp, my gray silk skirts billowing like frail petals, making soft music. Shadows filled the room, walls coated a deep blue-gray, soon shimmering with brilliant orange and gold reflections from the fire. Jeremy sat down on the edge of the chair and struggled to get his boots off. I smiled and knelt and clasped heel and toe and pulled, easing off first one, then the other. I stood and stroked the back of his head as he pulled off his stockings. His thick chestnut waves were soft and pliant, silken to the touch. I ran my fingers through them and gently massaged his scalp. He got up and pulled the tail of his shirt out of the waistband and lifted it over his head and let it float to the floor like a frail white ghost in the semidarkness.
Wearing only his breeches, he turned to me, and I placed my fingers under the waistband and slowly began to pull downward. Jeremy moved his hips, assisting me, and I knelt and continued to tug and heavy black cloth slid down over muscular thighs and calves. Jeremy stepped out of the breeches, kicking them aside. He caught hold of my wrists and pulled me up and cradled me in his arms and nuzzled my neck and gently nibbled at my earlobe. I ran my hands over the smooth skin of his back and felt the strong musculature beneath. Each sensation that swept through me was sweeter, stronger than the one before. The firelight flickered and orange-gold patterns shimmered on the shadowy walls and radiance shimmered inside me as Jeremy unfastened my petticoat and lowered the bodi
ce and caressed my breasts, fingers lightly stroking the swelling flesh, palms massaging the taut nipples with a gentle, circular motion. I felt a shock wave of delirious ecstasy as he circled my waist with his arms and bent his head down and covered each breast with fervent kisses. Arching my back and closing my eyes, I reeled in a sea of shattering sensation.
Jeremy caught hold of the petticoat and pushed soft silk down my body, and layers of skirt billowed like gray petals again, fluttering and unfurling as he shoved them to the floor. His hands slid down my legs, firm, strong hands that had the feel of warm, smooth leather, and when I had stepped out of the circle of silk and shoved it aside with my foot, his hands moved back up my calves and clutched my knees and traveled slowly up my thighs, squeezing gently, leisurely exploring every inch of flesh. And when, shuddering, I could take no more torment and swayed, knees buckling, he caught me and held me to him and lifted my hair and kissed the side of my neck, supporting me as I went limp against him. Murmuring tender words, he lifted me up in his arms and carried me over to the pallet and carefully lowered me onto the incredibly soft mink.
Firelight washed over me, warming my skin as I stretched and writhed on the fur, but another warmth glowed inside me as Jeremy stood there with hands resting on his thighs, lazily admiring me with eyes full of smoldering emotion that need not be expressed in words. I raised up and curled my arms around his legs and rested my head against his thighs, and he caught his fingers in my hair and tugged gently, tilting my head back, and I looked up at the glory of him and he smiled and kneeled down and covered my mouth with his, pushing me back onto the fur, climbing atop me, pinioning me with his weight. His tongue slowly slipped into my mouth, the tip making soft jabs, and I wriggled beneath him and wrapped my arms around his back and spread my legs and wrapped them around his, lifting my body up, up in that splendid search that would end in ecstasy.
He placed a palm on either side of me and raised himself up until he could look into my eyes, and I gazed up at that beloved face and saw the smile spread on that wide mouth and saw the love glowing in those vivid blue eyes, love reflected in my own, and that love bound us, a wondrous magic that augmented each sensation and made each touch twice as tormenting. He smiled and, still gazing into my eyes, told me without words all those things I already knew, and I was breathless, enraptured. He parted his lips. His tongue flicked out, the firm pink tip touching the side of his cheek as, tightening his buttocks, he lifted and lowered and made his entry, and as the first sweet shock shuddered through every fiber of my being I cried out, raising, reaching for more.
Slowly, slowly, flesh filled, flesh clasped, flesh caressed flesh, demanding, pressing, probing deep, deeper, deeper still, and a glorious radiance suffused me, shredding senses with its glory. The beauty was beyond endurance, beyond belief, a shimmering, shattering thing that lifted us both into a realm of sheer enchantment rarely reached. Still we were not there, still we scaled the peak of ecstasy, climbing higher, yet higher, together, as one, the summit soon in sight. I tightened my legs around him and ran my hands over his strong back and finally caught my fingers in his thick chestnut waves and tugged them as he thrust and strained in jubilant quest. We reached the top at last, stunned and shaken, and, breathless, hung suspended for an instant of soul-shredding bliss. His teeth sank into my shoulder and I cried out again as, together, we plummeted into an abyss of joyous oblivion.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Radiant sunlight gave the snow a brilliant white dazzle and touched the ice with a translucent rainbow glitter. The sky was a pale blue vault, clear and lovely. Never had there been a more beautiful morning, I thought, and never had I welcomed a new day with greater joy. There was a crisp, invigorating chill in the air, but it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been. I had come outside without my cloak, for Jeremy was still asleep inside, using it for cover. Gazing up at the gorgeous blue sky, I folded my arms around my waist as though to embrace the joy that filled me like a glorious tonic. I had come to feed and water the horse and, that accomplished, couldn’t help but linger a few moments to savor the dazzle of the day.
A bird celebrated the sunlight from a tree limb nearby, its song a throaty warble embellished with trills, and as I stood in front of the hut a rabbit darted across the snow. I smiled, for no reason, for every reason, for the languorous ache in my bones and blood, for the teeth marks on my shoulder beginning to bruise, for the ashes of aftermath still glowing warmly within. We had made love a second time on the fur, before the fire, rousing and energetic, and much later, as white flakes floated in the brightness beyond, as pale moonlight turned the walls of our haven a soft silver, as logs glowed a rosy pink, turning to ash, he woke and reached for me and we made love yet again, leisurely, lazily, with tender expression that swelled to splendor. The smile curved on my lips as I remembered, rejoicing anew.
I breathed the crisp air and sunlight stroked my cheeks and I realized that I had never been as happy as I was at this moment. Happiness, so elusive, so ephemeral, was mine at last, and it was as though I had been in a stupor before, half-awake, half-alive, incomplete. And so I smiled, folding my arms closer around my waist, listening to the bird’s silvery song, complete and completely happy. Jeremy was inside, Jeremy my love, and life had sparkle, was now full of splendid promise. A gentle morning breeze ruffled my coppery red locks, blowing wispy skeins across my cheeks. Snow glistened, gilded with sunlight. I had never dreamed that love, true love, could bring such elation, such jubilation.
I had loved Derek Hawke, yes, but that love had been a dark, brooding obsession, fraught with shadow and doubt, a constant torment tearing me asunder. There had been turmoil and tension and tears, never this joy, never this celebration in the soul. I had loved him, yes, but that love had died in the darkness of its own futility, supplanted by the vitality and exuberant splendor of emotions Jeremy had stirred from the very first. Obsessed by that darker love I had fought the new, denied it until, in the carriage, on my way back to London, it had burst upon me like a shining revelation … and then fate had intervened.
An accident, a misplaced letter had almost robbed us of our future together, but, miraculously, we had been given a second chance. The happiness I now celebrated was all the more blessed for having almost been denied. As I gazed at the beauty of the morning I knew I was the most fortunate woman alive. All the grief I had endured was but a small price to pay for the joy I now cherished in my heart. I brushed the silky skeins of hair from my cheek and listened as the last notes of birdsong rose in the air.
Inside, sunshine poured through the windows, filling the room with radiant light. I had put more wood on the fire, and it now crackled heartily, flames a lively orange. Jeremy was still asleep on the pile of blankets, on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. The gray mink cloak was twisted around his legs, barely covering him, and his bare chest rose and fell with his steady breathing. His mouth was open, and he groaned as I crossed the room and took up his knife and began to slice bread and cheese.
I toasted the bread over the fire, using a long, thin stick I had brought in earlier, and when it was nicely browned on both sides I placed the cheese on top and held the bread high up over the flames until the cheese melted. It was not a splendid breakfast, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances. When the toast was ready, I nudged Jeremy awake and he sat up with a start and glared at me through a mass of waves that had fallen across his brow. He scowled and lay back on his side and pulled the cloak up over his shoulder. Smiling, I jerked the cloak off him and he sat up again and told me in no uncertain terms just what he thought of bothersome females who wouldn’t allow a chap to get some much needed sleep.
“You’ve been sleeping for hours,” I informed him.
“Hunh?”
“It’s a gorgeous day, Jeremy.”
“Just a few more minutes’ sleep,” he begged. “I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“Here, have some toast.”
“Who wants food?” he snarled.
>
He took a piece of toast and examined it with disdain and then proceeded to eat all four pieces I’d prepared, and then, while I ate an apple, he gnawed a piece of dried beef, hair still spilling over his brow as he sat with knees propped up, quite naked in front of the roaring fire. I finished my apple. He had two more pieces of beef and then, finally full, gazed at me with that smoky, seductive look in his eyes.
“I’d love a cup of coffee,” I said wistfully.
“I can think of something I’d love a whole lot more.”
“Oh?”
“Come here, why don’t you?”
“Really, Jeremy—”
“Did I dream last night? Did it actually happen?”
“It happened,” I said. “You were magnificent.”
“That was just the beginning,” he said. “I was exhausted, worn to a frazzle, but now that I’m all rested and bursting with energy—”
“You’d better get dressed, darling. It’s late.”
He gazed at the bright sunlight and frowned and reluctantly agreed that amorous dalliance would have to wait. He got up and stretched and kissed me lightly on the tip of my nose, then began to pull on his snug black breeches. I shook out the mink cloak and held it to my cheek for a moment, then put it on and carried the blankets out to the sleigh. The bird was warbling again, merry notes rising in silvery peels. When I went back inside Jeremy had put on his stockings and was pulling on his boots.
“Wonder what time it is,” he said idly.
“Well after ten, I should think.”
“Jesus! You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long, love.”
“You needed it,” I replied.
“What time did you get up?”
“A couple of hours ago. I washed all the things we used last night—I want to leave everything just as we found it—and then I brought some more wood in from the stack by the shed and built the fire and went back out to feed and water the horse.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Such industry, so early in the morning! You’re amazing.”
When Love Commands Page 55