by Lydia Dare
“I’ll never get used ta that hearin’ ye have,” she laughed as she went to the door.
“I’ll never get used to the coven, love, so we’re even.”
“I heard that!” she called back.
“Of course you did,” he replied, unable to keep the smile from his face.
He quickly washed and dressed while his wife talked with Sorcha in the kitchen. Elspeth came in when he was nearly dressed, looking so cute in her frilly white nightrail that he simply stood and looked at her. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in disarray. He wondered what she’d look like in fifty years. Still just as beautiful, he’d wager.
“Will’s here already?” he asked.
She nodded. “Why else would Sorcha be here? I doona ken what I’ll do with the girl.”
“I know what Will would do with her, so keep her far, far away from him, love.” He kissed the top of her head as he walked by her and hefted her heavy chest of clothes with ease.
“There’s another by the door,” she said, pointing to a small bag full of bottles and pages with notes.
“Are you sure you need to take all this with you? Might not be much need for healing in London.” What he really wanted to say was that people didn’t readily seek out her kind of healing unless they couldn’t afford a doctor. And he’d not have all the miscreants and vagrants knocking on his door to summon his wife.
“There’s always need for healin’, Ben.” She simply smiled at him, so he loaded the bag along with the chest.
As they prepared to leave, Rhiannon and Blaire arrived. He chuckled under his breath when Blaire said, “Ye hurt her, Lord Benjamin, and I’ll do the same ta ye.” She glanced toward Will. “Or someone ye care about. Ye ken?”
“I wouldna laugh at her, Lord Benjamin. She has power like ye’ve never seen,” Sorcha said as she walked by a plant in the front yard. She touched it and it immediately flowered. She plucked it, smiled softly, and held it out to Ben, who just shook his head. Would he ever grow used to women with powers?
“You do not have to worry about Elspeth. I would protect her with my life.”
“But who will protect her from ye?” a voice called from the other side of the carriage. Then Caitrin stepped into view.
She took Elspeth’s hands in her own and squeezed so hard that Elspeth winced.
Ben moved toward the two young witches, but Will’s hand suddenly hit the center of his chest, stalling him. “Let them work this out,” he said quietly. “I’d rather not see an example of their powers firsthand.”
Ben just grumbled to himself as he finished helping his coachman load the bags onto the carriage.
“I canna see yer future, El, ” Caitrin admitted.
Good. That suited Ben just fine. He liked having some surprises in life.
Caitrin continued quietly. “I think it’s because ye’re already separatin’ yerself from us, with yer mind.”
“But never with my heart,” Elspeth said vehemently before she dropped Caitrin’s hands. “I will see ye all very soon.” Then she addressed each sister in her coven separately before stepping inside the coach.
It wasn’t until he closed the door and pulled her into his lap that she finally broke. She turned to his shoulder and sobbed. When her tears subsided, he passed her his handkerchief and stroked her hair. It nearly broke his heart to see her so upset.
“We can stay here if you’d rather,” he offered. Though in the back of his mind, he really liked the idea of having her to himself for a bit.
“No. I need ta find my father.” She sniffed loudly. “I need ta understand why he left my mother.” She sniffed again. “And me.” Then she tucked herself into him again.
“We’ll get the answers you seek. I’m sure of it.” But he truly wasn’t. And he was fearful that she wouldn’t like the answers they did find.
“Where is yer brother?” she asked.
“He’s riding alongside until we reach the first coaching inn. I wanted to be alone with you. I feel like we haven’t had any time together.”
“My coven,” she started.
But he cut her off by tipping her chin up and kissing her softly. “They’re not with us now. It’s just you and me.”
“Tell me why ye came lookin’ for my mother, Ben,” she said as she slid from his lap into the seat beside him. He instantly felt the loss.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and thought. Then he let out a sigh. “You know why. Because I was broken.”
“Ye’re no’ broken,” she said as she reached up to brush the hair from his forehead.
“I’ve lost a part of myself, Ellie. And I’d hoped your mother could help me find that part.”
“I can help ye, Ben. I ken that I will be able ta do it.”
“If you can’t, I’ll be all right without it. I have you.”
“Ben Westfield! Doona ever say that! I couldna take the place of yer wolf. Nor would I try.” She batted at his hands as he tried to pull her near.
Maybe a kiss would take her mind off his problems.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ye willna take my attention from this topic. No matter how sweet yer kisses.”
He smiled. “You think my kisses are sweet?”
“Ye ken I do,” she giggled as his questing fingers traced the line of her bodice. “Stop that.”
“I can be even sweeter,” he teased.
“Ben, yer brother is outside the carriage, and he has the same hearin’ ye do!” she reminded him.
He pulled her atop him, despite her halfhearted protests. “I can be quiet,” he whispered as he tugged her dress off her shoulder. Her breast popped free, and he immediately took her nipple in his mouth. Her head fell back. He loved how responsive she was. “Can you?” he asked, catching her gaze with his.
Elspeth seriously doubted she could be quiet, not as quiet as she needed to be. If Will’s hearing was anything like Ben’s, he’d hear every gasp and sigh.
She drew her bottom lip between her teeth to keep from crying out as he uncovered her other breast and pressed them together so that all he had to do was turn his head back and forth, giving more and more pleasure with each turn of his head.
“Quiet, now,” he laughed when she couldn’t contain her gasp as his fingers slipped beneath her skirts and tiptoed up her leg to touch her heat.
“Ye beast,” she whispered.
“Not so much anymore,” he said, a sad look crossing his face.
“Aye, ye are,” she affirmed as she let him move her to the seat beside him. He threw her skirts up to kiss her inner thigh and then pulled her drawers off and bent to kiss her center.
“You bring it out in me.” He opened her with his fingertips and licked slowly across her center. She squirmed, hoping he would touch the place she needed most. Then he did. She couldn’t contain her groan as her hands moved into his hair.
“Shhhh,” he said, his breath blowing softly against her tender flesh. He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. She drew it into her mouth and sucked, then nipped the pad of his finger. He groaned that time.
“Shhhh,” she said with a light laugh.
“Witch,” he remarked as he went back beneath her skirts.
“Aye, and ye’re my beast.” She threw her head back as he licked her to new heights, then he finally pushed her over. But he caught her when she fell. Before she’d even come back down, he picked her up and opened her legs to straddle his lap. Then he lowered her slowly onto him.
She took him carefully, her gaze never leaving his as she settled around him. He gently helped her rise and fall, riding him until her body fluttered, and then he joined her in pleasure.
“We were no’ very quiet,” she whispered as she lay against his chest, her breasts bare and her skirts around her waist. It felt perfectly decadent to be so free and open with him.
“Yes, I know. My brother will be ready to do bodily harm to me by the time we get to the coaching inn.”
“Why?” She didn’t understand.
&
nbsp; “‘Cause I plan to take you again. At least once more. And I plan to make lots of noise,” he laughed.
Thirty-nine
The coach finally stopped, and Ben stepped from its confines, eager to stretch his legs a bit. Again, he thought to himself how coaches weren’t made for men his size. He stepped out and asked the coachman, “Where is his lordship?” as he looked around for Will.
“He went ahead as soon as we left Edinburgh, my lord.”
“Do you know where he was going?”
“Permission to speak frankly, my lord?”
“Of course,” Ben said, waving his hand impatiently as he glanced at Elspeth to be sure she wasn’t listening.
“He said he was going to find a whore.” The man shrugged and smiled. “Not sure what put him in such a hurry.”
As though Will needed an excuse.
Ben offered his arm to Elspeth and escorted her through the inn yard. “Where is yer brother?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea, apparently he rode on ahead.”
Elspeth breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens. I was so sure he would have heard us. I doona think I could ever look at him again.”
“Ellie,” he laughed. “You are my wife. I’m certain he has some idea of what happens between us.” He pulled open the door to the taproom and directed her over the threshold.
As soon as Ben’s eyes adjusted to the darkened room, he noticed his brother, relaxed and clearly sated, enjoying a pint in the far corner. With a rakish grin, Will lifted his mug in a mock toast.
“Found him,” Ben muttered, though he wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not.
“Ah, Benjamin,” Will called. “I’ve already acquired rooms for us. The beds are rather comfortable.”
After more than a fortnight of travel, Elspeth had decided that even though her brother-in-law was an unrepentant rogue, she liked him quite a bit. William had a charming personality, though he seemed to irritate Ben to no end.
He knew about her healing powers, but not why Ben had sought her out. As London came into view, she stared across the coach at Lord William. Once they arrived in Town, she was sure she wouldn’t see much of him. She had been wondering something about him ever since they met.
As Ben was sleeping, she knew this was her last chance to find out. “Will,” she began quietly, “doona ye tire of yer debauched life?”
He winked at her. “My life is wonderful as it is.”
“But Ben says there’s a girl, a neighbor, who owns yer heart.”
Will took a deep breath, his eyebrows knitting together. “Ben says more than he should.”
“Who is she? And if ye care for her, why do ye…?” She waved her hand to encompass his entire person. After all, the man hadn’t spent one night alone since their journey began. It had taken only one day for her to be glad he wasn’t still in Scotland near Sorcha.
“Things with Miss Hawthorne will never come to fruition, no matter how badly I may want otherwise.” His gaze flashed to Ben, she assumed to make certain his brother was truly asleep. “Since that’s the case, there’s no reason I should stop living my life, Elspeth.”
“Why do ye say things willna come ta fruition?” He seemed so sad about the situation.
Will shrugged. “You haven’t met her. Once she’s made up her mind about something, there’s no changing it. Prisca is the most stubborn woman I know.”
She reached across the coach and squeezed his hand. “I am sorry.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.” He pulled back the curtain and stared out at the ever-approaching skyline and let out a world-weary sigh. “So what is the plan, Elspeth? How do you and Ben plan to discover your father’s identity?”
She leaned against her husband’s shoulder. With him she always felt so safe. “Ben says we’ll go see Major Forster, that there are records in yer Society that can be of help.”
“It’s a start. If you don’t end up with your desired results, we’ll think of something else.”
We. How nice to be part of a family. Her coven sisters were one thing, but now that she was part of the Westfield family, she realized how much she’d been missing. “Thanks.” Then she cleared her throat. “Yer mother… Ben seems ta think she’ll like me, but I’m a bit nervous.”
Will dragged his eyes from the window and smiled at her. “Ben’s right. She will love you, but if I were you, I’d wait to inundate yourself with the Westfields. Mother will demand your time. Simon’s wife is a bit of a mother hen, though I must admit I don’t know her well. Find your father, then step into our fray.”
“He’s right, love,” Ben mumbled from beside her, stretching his arms above his head and groaning as he woke from his nap. “Steer a clear path away from the Westfield women, or they’ll drag you down like a hare caught in a trap.”
She punched his shoulder. “I thought ye were asleep.”
“I was for a bit,” he said, then shot an uncomfortable glance toward Will. “I only heard you when you began to talk about Mother.”
“That’s because you’re a mama’s boy,” Will said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“There’s nothing wrong with a grown man loving his mother, is there, dear?” he asked playfully as he dropped one arm behind Elspeth. “You should try it sometime, Will.”
“Aye, I heard it said once that you can learn a lot from a man by the way he treats his mother. If he treats her like a prized possession, he’s capable of lovin’ with all his heart,” Elspeth said, watching Ben’s face as she said the last. He turned from her with an uncomfortable look on his face, as though he was suddenly ready to change the subject.
“You two know how to turn a man’s stomach, don’t you,” Will broke in. “All this talk of love. It’s all fluff and nonsense.”
“Ye ken that’s no’ true,” Elspeth scolded as the coach came to a stop.
“Ah, home at last,” Ben sighed. He opened the door and stepped out of the coach. And out of her conversation about love.
Forty
Ben was quite happy to stand outside of his townhome in Mayfair and direct the servants instead of being swept inside with Elspeth and the household staff after introductions were made. In truth, his presence wasn’t needed. His staff was competent, and he would be much more of a hindrance than a help.
“If I didn’t know you better, I would accuse you of avoiding your new bride and her discussion of love,” Will said from behind him. Ben groaned and turned.
“Can’t a man get five minutes to himself to think about things?” Ben bit out. “You’re too bloody nosy for your own good.”
Ben stepped into the entryway of their home and glanced left and right.
“Playing hide-and-go-seek, now, are we?”
“Go to hell,” Ben snarled as he walked toward the study. He cringed when he heard the clop of Will’s shoes as he followed him. “Now you’ve taken to stalking me?”
“I believe you’ve forgotten that I live here, too,” Will reminded him. He turned and poured two tumblers of whisky and then handed one to Ben. “You’ve a perfectly lovely wife, Ben. Congratulations.”
Ben harrumphed and downed his liquor in one swallow.
Will would not be set off his path, evidently. “She’s easy on the eyes.”
“She’s bloody gorgeous,” Ben grunted as he tried to occupy himself with rifling through his correspondence and ignoring his brother.
“She’s smart.” Will filled Ben’s glass again. He tossed it back. The bite of liquor soothed the bile that rose up in his throat like fear.
“Brilliant.” Ben nodded absently.
“And head over heels in love. With you.”
Ben glanced up quickly. There was no teasing glint in Will’s eyes. There was no sarcastic twist to his mouth. Just a stare that searched him, reaching all the way to his gut.
“And you, my brother, are a fool,” Ben growled.
“I am a fool about a lot of things.” Will blinked once, obviously thinking about something. “A go
ddamn bloody fool.” There was no doubt in Ben’s mind that he referred to Prisca. Will placed his glass so hard on the table that it made a knocking noise. “But that woman is in love with you.”
“And what am I supposed to do?” Ben said as he stood up to pace.
“Why did you marry her if you don’t love her back?” Will asked.
Ben shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.” He knew he sounded like a complete idiot. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his fists in frustration. “She didn’t have anyone. Her grandfather had just died. And I wanted her.”
“You still want her.”
Ben’s head shot up. “Of course I do. I’m simply not sure I’m capable of… loving her.” His eyes rose to meet Will’s. He saw no censure in his gaze, thank heavens. No judgment. “I really fouled things up in Brighton.”
“Yes, you did.”
Will’s eyes narrowed, but Ben continued. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“No one thinks you did. You mustn’t blame yourself for being too much of a Lycan. There’s no such thing. You simply chose to go to a whore too close to the full moon.” He shrugged, as though he’d just solved the riddle to how the universe was created.
“I hurt her,” Ben said quietly.
“It wasn’t something she didn’t recover from. You scraped up her back with your fingernails and got too rough with her. I’m sure she’s had worse happen in her line of work. Simon settled a tidy sum on her, by the way, so she’s quite happy with the way things turned out.”
“I didn’t mean her.” Ben let his voice trail off and refused to look up at Will.
“Then who the bloody hell did you hurt?” The dawning of recognition passed over his face. “You hurt Elspeth?” Will gasped.
Ben nodded as he picked at a fingernail.
“What. Did. You. Do?” Will bit out, syllable by syllable.
“I got too rough with her,” Ben said as he buried his head in his hands. “If I allow myself to love her, it will mean nothing but trouble for her.”
“Something tells me she’s not going to settle for that. You’ll work it out. The two of you, together. Talk to her. She’ll understand and will probably welcome you with open arms, no matter how stupid you are.”