“Sir Rick, mayhap –”
He leaned forward and kissed her, mainly to keep her from protesting, partially because he was trying to distract her, but most of all because he really did want to kiss her. Once their lips met, her protesting ceased. He slipped his hands around her neck, managing to clasp the necklace even without looking.
“There,” he said, reaching out and picking up the heart, feeling a surge of energy go through him that seemed to be coming from her. He released it, dragging his fingers downward, letting them graze past one breast.
He heard her take a deep breath, and couldn’t help but notice her bosom rise and fall. Suddenly, he was thinking about her breasts instead of getting her out of the cave. Lust overtook him. He wasn’t sure if it came from need, not having made love in a hundred years, or if it was his dark self emerging again, wanting to ravish her body.
“Thank you,” she said, looking down, holding the heart in her hand. She rubbed her fingers over it. With each stroke, he felt it as if she were stroking his hardened length.
He couldn’t stop his want. Mayhap it was because he was too close to the flame. Even if it wasn’t, he no longer cared. He bent forward, kissing her deeply, getting lost in the taste of her honeyed lips. Her scent of fresh air and sweet lilies filled his senses, making him able to think of nothing other than her.
His hands skimmed down her back as they kissed, and he pulled her up against him. The heat from her body felt like he was walking through flames. Mayhap it was his own heat. He was no longer sure. His body ached to have her, and if he didn’t take her soon, he was going to burst.
Sliding his hands up her legs, he dragged her gown higher, picking her up to sit on the table, wedging his way between her legs.
If Hope hadn’t been so infatuated with Sir Rick and his kisses, she would have realized where this was leading. Normally, she wasn’t such a lusty girl, but something about being in this cave with the flickering of the torch and Sir Rick’s hot body pressed against her was driving her mad.
“Sir Rick,” she whispered through their kissing and his heavy petting. His hands slid up under her gown and she felt him tugging at the strings of her undergarments.
“Shhhh,” he whispered, managing to slip off her braies and pull down her stockings, leaving her backside bare but still hidden under her gown.
“I don’t think this is appropriate.”
“Tell me you don’t want me to continue and I’ll stop,” he challenged her, reaching down and kissing her cleavage next. She was going to stop him, but when his tongue shot out and licked her skin, she almost shot off the old, wooden table with desire. Suddenly, all she could think about was making love to the man.
“Do it,” she heard herself say, not even sure why she said it, or if it was really her. But by the way her body vibrated and the tingle of excitement that went up her spine, she couldn’t turn him away now, even if she tried. “Make love to me, Sir Rick. Right here on this table in the cave.”
“You don’t mean it. Do you?”
“What do you think?” A playful, randy side of her emerged, and she found herself pulling at the ties of her bodice, giving him easy access.
“I think you are a beautiful woman who longs to be loved. And I am a very randy man who wants to love you.”
As if under a spell, Hope threw back her head, exposing her neck to him. Sir Rick trailed kisses down her neck and when she felt the cool air on her bared breasts, she smiled wickedly, because she wanted it so desperately right now.
“Oh, Sir Rick,” she said and moaned as he took one breast in his hand and suckled at her nipple, causing it to go taut. “Ooooooh.”
“I feel an urgency that I’m afraid I can’t control,” he whispered into her ear, licking at her lobe as he did so. A tingle shot up her spine. And when he took her bottom end in both hands and pulled her closer to him near the edge of the table, she felt his hardened form up against her.
She was the one to reach out and unbuckle his belt, letting his braies drop to the floor. Looking down at his erection, she gasped. He was one healthy, handsome man and all she could think about was how he would feel inside her.
“Spread your legs wider,” he told her, stepping in between them, picking her up and holding her against him tightly. She wrapped her legs around him and he slowly dropped her down, sliding his length in between her womanly folds.
Hope cried out in ecstasy as he entered her. His face was pressed up against her breasts as he thrust in and out, guiding her body to slip up and down his length.
Never had she felt like such a strumpet and neither did she care. Something about being here in this cave brought out a dark, daring, dangerous side of her that she’d always ignored or repressed her entire life. Sure, she’d had illicit thoughts and secret desires that she had never shared with others. But now . . . now she was living out this naughty side of her and Sir Rick was the one she wanted to share these feelings with, and no one else.
In their heat of passion, they both surrendered to their unbridled desires. Before she knew it, she was crying out, having found her release. And if that hadn’t surprised her, what he did next certainly did. He found his release as well, and it was very vocal. With the way he moaned and shouted out when he spilled his seed, he sounded as if he hadn’t had a woman in a very, very long time.
“Oh, Sir Rick, that was wonderful,” she said through ragged breathing, as he set her on her feet and helped her to fix her clothing. “It felt so good, I cannot even believe it.”
“You have no idea,” he said, fixing his clothing as well.
“I’m not sure what got into me,” she confessed. “I don’t want you to think I’m a strumpet. I don’t usually act this way.”
“I understand.”
“It’s something about being here . . . in this cave. It almost brought out a dark side of me, or should I say a naughty side, that I didn’t really know I possessed.” She giggled, but he scowled and glanced over toward the torch on the wall.
“Let’s get going,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward the exit.
“Wait,” she said, stopping him and turning around. “I need to bring back the Eternal Flame.”
“Well, that’s not it.” He grabbed her wrist, but she struggled and got away from him, heading toward the torch.
“It is the Eternal Flame. I can feel it,” she said with excitement. “Plus, I heard Orrick telling Lord Corbett about it. Then Orrick came here. This is the flame and I’m going to bring it back to Lord Irwin.”
“Nay!” he called out as she reached for it.
She slowly turned around. “Why not? Did you want the Eternal Flame for yourself? Perhaps you and Lord Irwin can share it.”
“Nay, I don’t want to share the flame with anyone, and you’re not taking it because . . . because it isn’t the Eternal Flame at all. It’s only a simple burning torch. Now let’s go.”
Something was odd with the whole situation and Hope didn’t believe for one moment that what Sir Rick was telling her was true.
“If it’s just a torch, then we’d better snuff it. If we don’t, something might catch on fire.” She tested him. If it wasn’t the Eternal Flame, then he’d put the fire out. If he didn’t, then she was sure she had found what she’d been searching for. “I’ll snuff it.”
“Nay, I’ll do it,” he said, grabbing the torch from the wall. “Go on,” he said with a nod of his head. “I’ll wait until you get to the mouth of the cave so you don’t trip in the dark. Then I’ll extinguish the flame.”
“All right,” she said, walking, but looking back over her shoulder. “I’m here. Go ahead and put it out.”
He looked at the flame, then turned around with it in his hand. She couldn’t see what he did, but when the flame went out, she felt disappointed. All her dreams came to a crashing halt. She had been so sure she’d found the Eternal Flame. But now that he’d extinguished it, she could see that the torch was just a torch, like he said.
“Sh
all we?” he said, approaching her and holding out his arm.
Hope exited the cave first, leaving Orrick standing there by himself in the dark for a moment.
Orrick pulled a small vial out of his pocket, checking to see the Eternal Flame still burned within it. The flame didn’t need air. The flame couldn’t be extinguished. It was a close one. Hope had almost discovered the flame he guarded. But with his quick thinking, he was able to magically put the flame in the vial instead, therefore giving the illusion of the flame being snuffed.
“Damn,” he spat under his breath as he headed for his horse, slipping the Eternal Flame back into the pocket of his cloak. Being so close to the flame again had only managed to release that dark side of him that he thought he’d managed to control. And worse yet, the flame seemed to affect Lady Hope as well because he was sure that never in a million years would Hope beg a man she barely knew to couple with her in a cave of all places.
This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. For one hundred years, he’d managed to control this erratic behavior. But now, he’d unleashed the beast. And because of it, he’d basically abducted a woman who he really liked. After today, Lady Hope would hate him, and she would also hate herself.
He deserved to be hated, and he didn’t care what happened to him. But Lady Hope’s innocence was gone and it was because of him. He’d felt her virginal border break during their coupling. He’d ruined her for any man she might ever want to marry. And the worst part was that he couldn’t even step in and marry her, which would be the proper thing to do.
Nay, he could never love a woman and make her his wife just to watch her suffer, grow old and eventually die. He couldn’t even sire her children. God’s teeth, what had he just done?
He mounted his horse and rode hard and fast back to the castle. He needed to feel the cold sting of the wind against his face, because he hoped it would bring him back to his senses. He had just dragged Lady Hope into his life of turmoil and doom and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
He slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling the heat of the vial that was about to burst. He had to transfer the flame to somewhere else. He’d had no choice but to do it since the girl knew of its location. The only thing now was, he had no idea where to hide it so no one could ever find it again.
Chapter 12
“You did what?” gasped Grace, sitting in their solar later that night after the last meal of the day.
“You heard me, Grace.” Hope sauntered over to the fire in the hearth, holding out her hands to warm them. “I’m not proud of what I did and, honestly, don’t even know why I did it.”
“I know why you did it,” said Grace, plopping down on the bed and getting up on her knees. “Sir Rick is a handsome knight. I don’t blame you for wanting to make love with him. So, how was it?” she asked anxiously.
Hope turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. “What kind of a question is that?”
“One that I’d very much like to know the answer to since I’ve never had the chance to experience it myself.”
Hope let out a sigh and headed over to the bed. She’d just tell her sister enough to get her to stop asking and then change the subject. “It was . . . wonderful,” she said, feeling a thrill go through her just by thinking of the intimate time she’d spent with Sir Rick. “I know it was naught more than lust for both of us but, for some reason, it doesn’t even seem to matter. We both wanted it, and I don’t regret doing it at all.”
“You don’t?” Grace cocked her head. “What are you going to tell Lord Irwin?”
“Oh.” A sense of dread washed through her. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Hope’s smile faded to a frown and she held on to the bedpost for strength. “I don’t want him to ever find out. If so, he’d want to duel with Sir Rick and would probably fight until one of them was dead. Grace, you have to promise never to tell him.”
“Of course not. But he’ll know you aren’t a virgin when he takes you to your wedding bed.”
“Nay! That is never going to happen.” Hope started to pace the floor.
“But it will,” said Grace. “Father and Lord Irwin have made the betrothal. You have to marry him.”
“Father might have made the deal, but Lord Irwin and I have our own deal and you know it. If I can produce the Eternal Flame for him, he’ll call off the betrothal. He’s only marrying me for Father’s money. So if he has something worth more than money, he’ll be satisfied and I’ll be let off the hook.”
Grace answered with a sigh. “I hope it’s that easy. After all, we don’t even know if the Eternal Flame is real.”
“It is! I saw it in the cave today, Grace,” Hope told her, feeling filled with excitement.
“You did?” Grace bolted from the bed and grabbed on to Hope’s arm. “You found the Eternal Flame and took this long to tell me about it?”
“Well, don’t get too excited,” said Hope, trying to calm down her sister whose eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her head. “It ended up not being what I thought it was.”
“I don’t understand. Tell me what you mean.”
“I mean, I heard Orrick talking to Lord Corbett in the stables about the Eternal Flame. He said he was the Keeper and that he was going to check on it. So I followed him to the cave, and that is where I found Sir Rick.”
“Sir Rick? What happened to Orrick?”
“I’m not sure. I guess he had to leave. That’s what Sir Rick told me. I was sure the torch that burned in the cave was what I’ve been looking for. However, Sir Rick extinguished the flame. Since I don’t believe the Eternal Flame can be snuffed, it seems it really wasn’t the flame at all.”
“Oh.” Grace made a face. “Then where is it?”
“I don’t know. But since I now know that Orrick is the Keeper, I think we need to sneak into his tower chamber and take a look around.”
“That is not going to be easy. Not when Orrick or Sir Rick always seem to be there.”
“Then we’re going to have to be sneaky about it,” said Hope, pacing the room, tapping her fingers together. “Perhaps we can listen and watch closely. Then when we know that neither of them are in the tower, we’ll sneak in and explore.”
“Good thing I still have the key.” Grace pulled the key out of her bodice.
“You keep it there?” gasped Hope.
“Well, you never know when you might need it. How about if we go now?”
“Nay. It’s nightfall and Orrick or Sir Rick is sure to be in there. We’ll wait until tomorrow. When Sir Rick is on the practice field, we’ll find a way to make sure Orrick is somewhere else and then we’ll move in.”
“I like the way you think,” said Grace, tossing the key in the air.
Hope’s hand shot out and snatched it away before Grace could catch it. “Don’t get too comfortable, Sister. We need to stay on our guard. I don’t trust Sir Rick and I certainly don’t trust Orrick. Something is odd with them but I can’t put my finger on what it is.”
“How so?”
“I’m not sure, but I can feel that whatever it is, magic is involved,” Hope said as she handed the key back to Grace.
* * *
Orrick woke up the next morning in his chamber, contemplating what had happened yesterday. He hadn’t told a soul that he’d made love with Lady Hope. If word got out, Lord Irwin, not to mention Lord Corbett, would want to kill him. What the hell had he been thinking? He was so worried that Hope would figure out the torch burned with the Eternal Flame, that he did whatever he could to distract her.
Too damned bad the act had distracted him as well.
He yawned and stretched and sat up on the bed with his feet dangling off the edge. The Eternal Flame burned brightly from a beeswax candle in the center of his table. He didn’t like bringing it here, but he didn’t know where else to take it. Once Hope announced that she thought it was the Eternal Flame, he knew he had to remove it from the cave. That’s all he needed, for Hope to tell Lord Irwin where it w
as, and then the man stealing it from him. What kind of low-down, seedy cur would even consider stealing the flame in the first place?
Orrick’s stomach twisted into a knot when he realized he had done just that, stealing the precious flame over a hundred years ago.
Releasing a breath of air from his mouth, Orrick stood up and got dressed. Straightening his tunic, he studied himself in the standing mirror. He looked young, strong, and full of life in this form. He liked this version of himself and was starting to dread turning back into the old sorcerer. If he had his way, he’d never go back to the old body again. It had felt damned good to make love to a beautiful woman. It only brought to life that dormant need in him that he’d put to rest since the day he’d lost his wife.
He walked over to his shelf that held books on magic and spells. A thick coat of dust covered not only the books but also the stuffed carcass of an owl as well as crystals, candles, and his wand.
Orrick chuckled as he picked up the wand that was nothing but a stick carved with mystical images of mythical creatures. It was the only thing he had left from his short apprenticeship with the old sorcerer, Merlin.
He tested the weight of the wand in his hand, remembering how adamant Merlin had been that he could use this to do magic. Orrick waved it around in the air but, like always, nothing happened. He’d never believed it was anything more than a stupid stick and that Merlin had been teasing him, just to get him to find the magic within him. After all, as he’d been taught, sorcerers didn’t need wands, spells or potions, or even gazing crystals at all. Those things were for wizards who had to look outside of themselves to find their powers. A sorcerer was born with his power and had it in him from the beginning. Sorcerers only needed to learn how to tap into it to use it.
There came a knock at the door and then the voice of Lord Corbett.
“Orrick, are you in there? Open up.”
Out of laziness and not wanting to walk across the room, Orrick waved his hand in the air and the knob turned and the door opened.
Keeper of the Flame: Second in Command Series - Orrick Page 11