Fergus studied it with a frown. “Nay.” He put it in his pocket then picked up a cloth and kept the sword with him. “I’ll see what I can find out and leave you to your sport.” He stepped outside and I heard the door shut and lock.
“Did he lock us in?” I was tempted to try the handle.
“His idea of protection.” Jeremiah slid his cloak off my shoulders and dropped it on a table. “Don’t let it concern you.” He pulled me deeper into a room made comfortable with beautiful rugs on the stone floor and furniture facing a huge fireplace. “Come close to the fire.”
“Where are we? Under the ground, I know. Why?” I looked around. No windows of course. But this was no dungeon. There were fine pieces everywhere. Jeremiah was obviously wealthy. But where did the air come from? I could see several doorways. I had to stop feeling closed in. The room was large and there was more than one. No reason to think I was trapped. I inhaled and realized there was fresh air coming from somewhere. God knew it was better than the rank odors of the place where I’d been forced to sleep for the past twelve months.
Of course the worst or best was yet to come. I couldn’t look at the man who’d brought me here. Instead, I walked around the room, pretending to examine books I could not read, touching a glass jug here, a fine piece of cloth there.
“Fergus thinks we are safer here. It is easier to protect us with only one way in and out.” Jeremiah had filled a goblet with wine and brought it to me. “Drink. It will help put you at ease.”
“Won’t you drink with me?” I sipped the wine. It was very fine and did make the knot in my stomach untangle a bit.
“I am used to being here.” He smiled. “Come, sit in front of the fire.” He pulled me to the velvet couch facing the fire and sat beside me. “Where were we?” He slid his arm around me and kissed my bare shoulder. “Ah. Lovely.”
“You are very determined to get on with it, aren’t you?” I set the wine glass on a nearby table. Would this be Michael’s way after all? A quick tumble? Perhaps that would be best. Then a fine sleep for the first time in a year. I was sure there was a bed somewhere nearby. But that thought brought only dread. I realized the excitement from those kisses in the alley had vanished and I was nervous again. He was very big, masculine. I had to handle this carefully or risk angering him. “Would you be disappointed if I asked you to go slowly?”
“Very disappointed.” He leaned in and kissed my neck then inhaled deeply. “You smell like roses and woman. Pleasing.”
“Thank you. That’s the scent of my soap.” I leaned back against the cushions as he kissed me again. A seducer then. And so very, very good at it. Why was I resisting? I tried to relax. When he slipped his hand inside my bodice, palming my breast, I found the pleasure again, my breath catching.
“So very beautiful.” He pushed the velvet down so he could use his tongue then his lips to pull my nipple into his mouth.
“Jeremiah.” I ran my fingers through his hair, pulling the satin ribbon out of it and casting it aside. He’d tossed his hat on the table when we’d come inside. He moved to my other breast and I landed on my back, my head on a pillow at the end of that couch. He lay on top of me, one hand pulling me up so he could bring my breast to his mouth and devour it. My body arched and I was on fire for him.
“Let me see all of you.” He unlaced my bodice, pulling it open. “This must go.” He reached as if to tear the shift.
“No!” I stayed his hand. “Have a care. This is a borrowed shift.”
“Then you must take it off yourself.” He grinned and sat up. “Be my guest.” He helped me until I stood before him.
I looked down to where my dress gaped open to the waist. A simple shrug and the dress fell to the floor. I stepped out of it and carefully laid it across a nearby chair, then toed off my shoes and left them there as well. No stockings of course. Mine had been mended until they were the rags I’d stuffed into the toes of those borrowed shoes. When I looked back over my shoulder, I saw him staring at me. Yes, that shift was very sheer. When I turned around again, I would be as good as naked for him. And he sat there wearing every bit of his clothing except for his cloak.
I moved the dress and sat in the chair, my hands crossed over my breasts. “Mayhap I would be ready to take off my shift if you were more comfortable yourself, Jeremiah.”
“Really?” He stood and took off his jacket. “Does that help?”
“The waistcoat as well, if you please.” I made an airy gesture with one hand. I couldn’t believe he’d dropped that rich jacket on the floor. I waited while he opened his buttons and discarded the waistcoat in the same careless manner.
“And then there is the shirt and collar. Such fine lace but it would be a shame to tear it in my ardor.” I fanned my face with my hand, almost laughing at his haste to pull his shirt off over his head. Oh, but he had a fine broad chest. He’d obviously seen battle as scars marred the golden skin of his shoulder and low on his stomach as he strode toward me. He stopped mere inches from my chair.
“Look your fill, love.” He still wore his plaid belted at the waist though he pulled the pouch from it and tossed it on a nearby table. I heard the clink of gold coins as it hit. I noticed he’d stripped off his stockings and shoes while I’d been losing my dress.
“I see you believe in saving the best for last.” He grinned as he held out his hands.
“And have you as well? Saved the best for last?” I could see the bulge in his kilt. My God, if it wasn’t the best, it was certainly the biggest.
“You will see, Gloriana, you will see.” He lifted me to my feet and took my shift’s hem, pulling it up carefully when I raised my hands over my head. Then it was off and I stood naked in front of him.
I started to cover my breasts with my hands again. No chance. He pulled me flush against him. Ah. Skin touching skin. He moaned. It felt wonderful that I could pull that sound of wanting from him. His hardness pressed between my legs and I needed the rough wool plaid to hit the floor, too. How did it fasten? I reached for it at his waist but didn’t have time to find out. He swung me into his arms and carried me toward one of those dark doorways.
Chapter Three
There was no fireplace in this room but it was obviously a bedchamber. A massive bed claimed pride of place against one wall. Only the firelight from the doorway allowed me to see shapes in the dark. Jeremiah stopped beside the bed then tossed me into the middle of it.
“Oh!” I lay there, stroking soft furs as he moved around the room. A candle bloomed to life next to the bed and I drew in my breath in surprise. He’d removed his belt, the plaid along with it, and was gloriously naked.
“You are a bonny lass.” He stared down at me. “Should I light more candles?” He held a flint in one hand.
“No, please.” I licked my lips. Though I liked seeing him, I felt shy as he studied my body. I thought to pull one of those furs over me.
“Don’t cover yourself.” He dropped to one knee on the bed. “I want to see all of you.” He slid a hand over my shoulder and down one arm. He spread my hands wide so I was open to his gaze. “Don’t move.” He shook his head when I started to cover my breasts. “You are perfect. Though I think you could do with more meat pies. Fergus will bring in food when he returns. But that won’t be for hours.” He leaned down and kissed one of my nipples, making me gasp. “Will you mind waiting?”
“I think you can keep me well occupied until then.” I couldn’t believe I spoke so boldly. But he was making me feel flutters low in my belly when he stroked my stomach. He had a swordsman’s hands with callouses on his fingers and palms. The roughness did delicious things to my skin as he touched me even lower.
“Aye, I will make sure of it.” One of those fingers brushed my nether curls then eased inside me.
I writhed beneath his touch, grasping his soft hair when he kissed a path down my stomach. “Jesu, but you cannot mean to--” I had heard the women in the theater whisper of such but hadn’t believed them. Now Jeremiah pulled my le
gs apart, draping them over his shoulders to kiss me deeply there.
“Gods!” I shrieked at the stroke of his tongue, my grip on his hair no doubt painful. Keeping him there or wrenching him away?
Of course I didn’t want him to stop. I fell back, lost to rising desire that moved my hips. He held me firmly, using me as if as pleased by this as I.
“Stop! I cannot--” I arched off the bed, gripping the furs when something inside me crested and broke. He finally, finally pulled back and slid up my body. That smile, that satisfied look on his face. I turned away from it, my body shaking. When he gripped my hips to push inside firmly, possessing me, the pleasure pain was almost unbearable.
“Bastard!” I hit his shoulders with my fists but the way he filled me … I closed my eyes when my body betrayed me, thrusting upward to meet him eagerly. My hands opened and I grabbed his shoulders, holding on. Now I was shameless in my craving to take and take while he used me. But wasn’t I using him as well? I didn’t care. Suddenly I was desperate to see his face. I prayed he would look down and see me, Gloriana, not a nameless slut to be used then cast aside.
To my shock, he stopped moving and gazed into my eyes before he gently brushed my tangled hair back from my forehead.
“Ach, I do see you, lass. Gloriana, you are beautiful.” He leaned down to kiss me, then nuzzled my neck before he began to move again.
I held on, my legs wrapped around his narrow hips. Joy filled my heart while pleasure swept over my body. Perhaps this would be all right. I could lie with this stranger and we would ease each other. It was a fair bargain. I had been lonely and scared. He thought me beautiful. I knew I was not, but I could at least give him as much pleasure as he’d given me. I touched his face, pulled his lips to mine and kissed him this time. When I ventured to use my tongue, I pricked it on his sharp teeth. What was this? Oh, no matter. His mouth went to my neck again and he thrust into me until I could barely gasp out his name.
“My lovely. I must taste you.” He murmured just before he stroked my neck with his tongue. A sharp pain then a hard pull when he pressed his lips to my skin. I’d never felt such a thing. Was he trying to bite me? Surely not. He wrapped me in his strong arms as he took his pleasure, pounding into me until he found his release with a final groan of satisfaction.
I couldn’t move, his weight crushing me. “Please, release me. I cannot breathe.” That was the least of it. I fought tears at the throbbing in my neck. “Jeremiah!” I pushed at his head. The room darkened and I feared I might faint. “Let me go! I feel unwell.”
He finally heard me. His lips brushed my neck then he sighed and pulled back. He leaned on his elbows, so masculine, so very handsome as he studied me. The scent of our joining and something sharp that I recognized but could not place, lingered in the air.
“You are pale. I’m sorry, Gloriana. I lost myself in the pleasure of tasting you.” His own cheeks were flushed as he wiped his mouth, then reached for a goblet of wine he’d left beside the bed. “Here, drink.” He threw a fur over me then helped me sit up. “It will help. Strong red wine.”
“Help? What happened?” His words made little sense but I drank deeply then touched my neck. It was sore and torn. Then I noticed the back of his hand was streaked with blood. “Did you bite your lip?” I reached for him but he moved away.
“Nay.” He took the goblet from me then lay beside me. “Here, let me take care of you.” He leaned closer and stroked my neck with his tongue. Miraculously, all pain vanished.
I touched it and the wounds were gone as well. Had I imagined them? No, of course not. Yet they had disappeared as if by magic. “Jeremiah, what is happening here?”
“We enjoyed bedsport, Gloriana.” He smiled and stared into my eyes.
I had that feeling again, as if I were falling under a spell. What nonsense. I tossed my hair and smiled, all my foolish worries had vanished. “Yes, indeed. You are a skillful lover.”
He looked under the fur and ran his fingers down my side. “You are too thin. I hope Fergus brings back roast beef and fruit tarts. Perhaps some hot chocolate? Would you like that?”
“It sounds delicious.” I would eat every bite and be glad of it. A quick romp in his bed and Jeremiah could well send me on my way after he fed me. Michael had taught me that was the way men treated such things. Get the deed done then off you go, there’s a good girl. Dear God, what would I do if Jeremiah felt the same?
I sighed and ran a hand along his shoulder. My knee rested against his hip and his cock stirred. Bedsport was clearly still on his mind. I ached from the unaccustomed use of my body but it was a pleasant ache and I could certainly accommodate him again. I wondered if I should say or do something to encourage another go.
How long would he have me stay? Would I be back on the lane soon? What future did a trollop like me have? I determined to make this last as long as I could. I would not ask for coin. That would make me a whore. But I would do my best to please this man who’d saved me from walking the streets and landing with someone who might have given me rough treatment. I turned to him and smiled, tracing a path across that fine, broad chest.
“Bedsport. Yes, we had a fine time, didn’t we?” I leaned over him to kiss his firm stomach. “You taught me something new this night. I wonder. Would it please you to have me kiss you as you kissed me?” I looked down to where he was already aroused.
“It most certainly would.” He laughed and pulled me on top of him. “But first, my girl, I think we could both use a bath. What say you?”
I closed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming. Not since I’d waked up on the stones of that alley and seen Michael fighting off thieves had I met anyone who wanted to bathe. Now here was a man who had suggested it? I opened my eyes and saw him smiling at me.
“There is a hip bath in the next room. Will you help me fill it? Or we could wait for Fergus to return.” He said no more when I kissed him full on the mouth.
“Show me where to get water.” I hopped off the bed and dragged his plaid around my shoulders. I staggered, the room spinning and my knees weak. Not surprising since the exercise I’d just enjoyed in Jeremiah’s bed was more than I’d done in ages and with no more than a meat pie and wine in my belly. I gave him a flirtatious look, well aware that I was bare from the thighs down. Perhaps it would please him to see me half naked, dragging pails as we filled the bath. I laughed as I watched him carry the tub to the front of the fireplace. He handed me a kettle so I could heat water on the hob. I threw off the plaid when the tub was half full and sank into it with a sigh.
“Ah, this is heaven. I’ve not had more than a rag and a pail for bathing in an age.” I took the cloth he handed me and the bar of plain soap and went to work. My hair! I slid under the water and gave it a good wash. It shamed me that the water was soon gray with my dirt. There was no chance Jeremiah would use this water on his own body after I was done. I scrubbed and scrubbed some more. Between my toes, My elbows. La, there was no part of me that didn’t need to be rubbed raw.
“Gloriana, spare yourself.” He stepped up to the side of the bath. “Let me dump this water and put in fresh.” He frowned. “You have been ill-treated. I can see that.” He held out his hand. “Come. I swear, you will have another clean bath and can just sit and soak in it.”
“Truly?” I gazed up at him. He was being so kind, tears filled my eyes. No, that would never do. Men hated such displays. I took his hand and stepped out of the tub and into a cloth he had warmed next to the fire. If I could lose my heart over a simple kindness, mine had just dropped into the hands of this Scotsman.
He didn’t answer me, just walked away with the heavy tub as if it weighed nothing, dumping water into a corner where it went down a hole in the floor. Then he quickly brought it back in front of the fire and filled it again while I just stood there, watching the play of firelight on his strong body. I couldn’t look away from the strain of muscles in his arms and shoulders as he poured bucket after bucket of water into the tub. Jesu help me, I admi
red the way his fine buttocks and thighs moved as he bent over. He was a lovely figure of a man and seemed not to care that I gazed at his body as if he were a meat pie and I’d not eaten for days.
“There, ’tis ready for you.” He turned and held out his hand.
“Only if you’ll join me.” I dropped the cloth on a chair then walked toward him. Oh, yes, his eyes darkened as he watched the sway of my hips. When my breasts brushed his chest as I took his hand and stepped into the water, his smile widened.
“It will be a snug fit.” He studied my pose as I waited for him, one hand on my hip, the other held out in invitation.
“I’m sure we can manage.” I leaned down and scooped up water, letting it stream down my body. He’d added a good bit of the hot water and the temperature was perfect. “Come, I will wash you.” I picked up the cloth and soap from the hearth, aware that I was giving him a good look at my backside. “Front first? Or back?” My smile was as saucy as I could make it. God knew I’d never done anything like this before.
“As you wish.” He stepped carefully into the water then sat, pulling me into his lap. Of course his cock was standing at the ready. Should I ignore it? Wash it? I settled astride, moving the cloth over his chest and shoulders. He leaned back and closed his eyes. “You are being very helpful.”
“Not really. But I do like to be clean. And I like a clean man as well.” I put more soap on the cloth and slipped it down his stomach. His eyes popped open.
“What’s this now?” He grinned. “Are you playing with me?”
“Nay, sir. I think to make you comfortable.” I rinsed the soap from the cloth and began again, at his shoulders, his chest, drawing circles around his brown nipples. Then I let that cloth travel below the water again. When I felt his cock jerk I dropped the cloth and took him in hand.
“Ah. Do you know what you are about?” He eyed me, smiling.
“Nay, but perhaps you could show me what pleases you.” I placed one of his hands over mine. “Should I be firm? Or gentle?” I let him guide me as I ran my hand up and down his length.
Real Vampires: When Glory Met Jerry Page 3