She walked across to her dresser to retrieve the drawstring bag that contained her powders and blusher and then sprayed her neck with liberal quantities of the floral perfume she kept for special occasions. When Alecia turned back to Vard, he was right behind her, his body tensed as though ready to fight…or run, his eyes burning with potency.
“Are you well, Captain?” Excitement and fear charged her body. Perhaps it was contagious.
He blinked and seemed to relax a little. “I’m well,” he said, “but I can see you’re nervous. I’ll keep you safe; you must do your best to enjoy the evening.” He smiled suddenly, one of the first real smiles Alecia had seen on him. “I certainly look forward to the company of a beautiful woman tonight.”
Alecia peered up at him. His smile had ignited a warm glow low in her belly and she was drawn to him as if she had no free will. Unable to look away, she stepped closer and laid her hands on his chest. He tensed, his gaze falling to her mouth and then darting around her face before coming to rest on her eyes once again. His throat spasmed as if he warred with some emotion.
She braced herself for his rejection but kept her eyes on his, willing him to accept what she offered. Slowly his arms came around her waist and crushed her against his hard maleness. Her heart beat wildly, or was it his? They stood like that for long moments, welded in the embrace, Alecia drinking in his heady scent, her body alive to his touch, yearning for the thrill of his skin against hers. She brought her hands up to place some distance between them but Vard’s arm moved up her back to cup the base of her skull, and he tilted her head until their eyes met once more. His irises revealed the depth of his arousal: mere bands of gold around swollen pupils. Alecia’s heart leaped as she watched his lips descend to hers.
His mouth was hard, demanding, his lips possessing hers from the first touch. As she responded, arching her body against his, his tongue forced its way into her mouth and she moaned at his intimate exploration. Alecia pulled his face hard against hers, her fingers trapped in his hair, her tongue probing with a life of its own. Now it was Vard’s turn to groan and his hands roved over her back and buttocks, kneading the soft tissue there and pulling her against the bulge in his breeches. Her body betrayed her desire, pushing closer, wanting him inside her.
Vard walked backwards with her, their mouths fused as one. Alecia hardly knew what she did. Her body moved of its own accord, desperate to sate the explosive need that had built low in her abdomen. She fell onto him as he lay back on her bed. He pulled her leg across his hip and raised her skirt in one practised motion. The warmth of his fingers crept up the back of her knee. It only served to heat her blood further. She didn’t object as Vard reached up inside the long leg of her pantaloons and then rolled her onto her back. His weight trapped her as he raised himself to look down on her.
“Is this what you want for your first time, Alecia?” A muscle tensed along his jaw as he waited for her reply.
She swallowed and tried to form the words that would reassure him, but the tumult of emotions tied her tongue. She nodded, her eyes unable to leave his face for fear that if she broke the contact, he would walk away from her.
Alecia poured all the hunger inside her into her gaze and seized the hair at the nape of his neck, determined to finish what she had started. He groaned and lowered his lips to hers once more, this time more sensually, bringing her to the peak of longing. Her hips strained against his and she cursed the fabric that separated their skins, anticipating the firestorm that would consume them when all barriers were stripped away.
The inhibitions she had felt with their first kiss were gone now. Alecia moaned as Vard pulled the shoulders of her gown down her arms to expose the swell of her breasts. His lips caressed the exposed skin while her hands raked his shirt below his tunic. Vard paused long enough to shrug out of his tunic and strip the shirt from his body before lowering his head to her neck once more.
“I want you,” Alecia said, her voice tense with need. “Take me now… please.”
He rolled onto his side and pulled her around to face him, his eyes almost completely black. She ran her fingers through the hair at the top of his chest and let them slide down his abdomen. His skin felt hot enough to scorch but it was nothing beside the heat in her core. She knelt on the coverlet, undid the pearl buttons she could reach and then sat back on her heels. Slowly, Vard crouched before her and pulled the creamy material down her arms. His teeth grasped the satin over her breasts and tugged until her snowy mounds were freed, the nipples standing pink and erect. He rolled her onto her back and she gasped as his lips and tongue caressed first one nipple and then the other. She was lost in a torrent of mad desire. Her only thought was to push this man to the brink and then fall over it with him.
As Vard’s hands pushed her skirts up, his mouth continued to ravish her breasts. Her body moved of its own volition, hips straining upwards in open invitation. He teased her pantaloons off and she moaned in anticipation, gasping as his fingers found the slick wetness between her thighs. There was only one thing she wanted now and it had to be soon or she would explode. Alecia groaned and fumbled at the waist of his breeches. Fulfilment was so close she could taste it. The very fibres of her being hummed in tune with Vard’s. His hard manhood pushed against her; she knew it would fill her, satiate her.
A gong sounded. Alecia barely heard it. It was nothing; an annoyance, a distraction.
Vard froze, poised over her. “What are we doing?” he said, his voice barely recognisable. He pried her fingers from his breeches, pulled her skirt down to hide her desire and swung his body from the bed. “Cover yourself.”
Cold shock struck Alecia. How could he pull away? This was all she wanted. She stood, kicked her pantaloons from her ankles and faced him, her breasts still exposed above the neck of her gown.
His eyes fell to her chest and he groaned. “I can’t have you.” He reached for her but instead of caressing her flesh, he tugged at her dress to cover her nudity. His fingers trailed over the satin of her bodice as they dropped to his sides.
Shudders ripped through her body at his touch. The pressure in her loins was almost a physical pain. She reached for him again. That was where all this had started. She buried her face in the hair of his chest, breathing in his scent and letting her fingers trickle through the hair that ran down to the waist of his breeches.
Vard pushed her away and reached for his shirt. “That’s the gong to announce the beginning of festivities. We’ll be missed.”
“If that is all you are worried about,” Alecia said. “I can call Millie and say I am unwell.”
He paused in buttoning his shirt and she thought she had won. “Fix your hair and face, Princess. I’ll wait outside.”
“No!” Alecia took two steps and flung herself into his arms, arching her body against his. His rock-hard arousal assailed her through the layers of her skirts. His pupils contracted and dilated as the war raged within him. He could not refuse her now!
Vard grasped her wrists and pushed her away. “Your body invites me, tempts me, but we mustn’t let our desires rule. A woman like you, a princess, should save herself for her husband.”
He tried to walk past her and Alecia wrapped her arm around his waist, her face so close to his that she breathed his ragged exhalation. The war still thundered within him.
“A moment ago, you had forgotten what I am,” she said, “Take me now, please.” Giddy exultation surged through her as he bent his mouth to hers again, but his lips were like granite as he ravished her, leaving Alecia in shock at his brutality.
“It’s been fun, Princess,” he said, his mocking smile belittling everything they had just shared. “I’ll wait outside.” Vard left and the door closed with a sharp click.
Chapter 12
Alecia stood, too dazed to move. The fire of her desire still burned but there was a cold hard lump in the pit of her stomach. She had thrown herself at him, begged him to ravish her and he had rejected her. Again. Thank the Goddess that she
had not coupled with him. What was she thinking? I begged him! And truth be known, she would still allow it should he return. How could she hide the torrent of her emotions from the eyes of the partygoers?
The mirror showed her dress in disarray, bodice sagging and skirts rumpled. She straightened the bodice and laboured over the buttons at her back. Her face heated as she spied her pantaloons on the floor by the bed. She pulled them on and smoothed her skirt, then returned to the mirror. Her hair was a bit squashed at the back but she ran her fingers through the jumbled tresses and managed to restore the style to respectability. Then she repainted her face with a shaking hand. The results were acceptable but she knew she would not fool Millie if the maid were to see her. She retrieved her purse, slipped on her satin shoes and opened her chamber door.
Vard waited for her, resplendent in his dark uniform. His features were composed as he held out his arm for her hand. There was no recognition in his gaze of what they had shared. Her body began to tremble as she realized how close she had come to losing herself to this man and she determined to put the experience out of her mind. They made their way down the hall to the top of the stairs, where Ramón waited.
“Good evening, Princess,” the squire said, bowing. “Captain.”
Alecia’s throat clogged. She coughed and found her voice. “Good evening.” She smiled, striving to regain her composure, to appear the woman she had been before Vard’s rejection. “Do you have no one on your arm tonight?”
“The prince has not requested my services, and so I am free to dance with whomever I please. I hope you will save me one.” His blond locks were tied back in a band and he wore a cream silk coat over black breeches.
“Of course.” Her words were for Ramón but every particle of her being was in tune with her escort. And she sensed his growing impatience.
“Excuse us, Squire.” Vard stepped off with Alecia down the stairs.
“Oh Goddess!” she muttered. In seconds she would have to face the curious stares of her father’s guests when all she desired was to curl up and forget the rest of the world existed. At the base of the staircase she stopped.
Vard turned to her, clearly puzzled by the abrupt halt. “What’s amiss?” His gaze met hers and the rest of the world fell away.
“I cannot face those people tonight,” she said. “Take me somewhere where I can be alone.”
A muscle in his jaw tightened. “That wouldn’t be wise on many accounts. This event won’t be as odious as you imagine. I’ll stay by your side.”
“Will you? You did not give that impression just a few minutes ago in my room.” She clamped her mouth shut to stem the flow of words that threatened to spill. “We cannot leave things between us as they are.”
Vard opened his mouth to reply but at that moment, the master of ceremonies spied them. He announced their names and Alecia suppressed a shudder as all eyes turned to the latest arrivals.
The ballroom was almost full. The guild masters were in attendance with their wives, as were several of the minor country lords. Others she did not recognize must be members of the King’s retinue. His Majesty and the Queen had not arrived. Squire Ramón was announced, pounced upon by a gaggle of young women and drawn away to the buffet table.
“Can I fetch you a drink, Princess?” Vard gazed down at her. If he was upset by what had passed between them in her chambers, he did not show it. It is better this way. She would bury her feelings for Vard deep where they would not trouble her. Even as she made the decision, her body betrayed her, nerve endings tuned to his presence. She could have found Vard in a crowded room with her eyes closed.
“Wine would be nice.”
As Alecia waited for her drink, King Beniel and Queen Adriana stepped through the doorway to thunderous applause. Her aunt was elegant in a crimson gown that hugged her figure to the thigh and then fell in full lace ruffles to hide her feet. The strapless silk dress was complemented by full-length red silk gloves. A ruby choker encased Adriana’s neck and extended over her shoulders and chest, much like chain mail. As Alecia moved forward to greet the royal couple she saw that the Queen’s choker was indeed made from silver rings, interlinked, with rubies set about the entire piece.
She curtsied before the royal couple and King Beniel drew her into his embrace.
“Alecia, my dear, you are ravishing this evening. How am I to claim you for a dance? I will have to fight off the young men…and the not so young.”
Alecia laughed. “Nonsense, Uncle, you are still the most handsome man here. Besides Father, of course.” She smiled at the Queen. “That is a striking necklace, Aunt.”
Queen Adriana kissed her niece on both cheeks. “It is just something my master jeweller fashioned for me,” she said. “He knows how I adore watching the knights on the tourney field and thought it would amuse me to wear chain mail. Quaint, is it not?”
Alecia murmured agreement but the Queen’s attention shifted. The monarch suddenly reminded Alecia of a hunting lioness.
“Your wine, Princess,” Vard said.
Alecia took the embossed silver goblet from the captain. He swept the King and Queen a low bow then rose and took Adriana’s offered hand. “You look exquisite, Your Majesty.”
“You are kind, Captain.”
The orchestra chose that moment to play a lively tune that heralded the beginning of the dance music for the evening. Queen Adriana stepped closer to Vard and spoke into his ear. Alecia’s nails dug into her palm as her escort swept the Queen away, the first of many couples who took to the dance floor. Ramón had a buxom blonde girl in his arms and Prince Zialni danced with the wife of the master goldsmith. Alecia glared at Vard and her aunt, stupid tears threatening. How dare he leave me in the corner?
“May I have this dance, niece?” The King’s strong arms swept her in among the other dancers. The style of dance was such that partners were changed on a regular basis, and she soon found herself with Vard. He pulled her close against him and she fought the urge to melt into his arms, her heart pounding so hard she could not concentrate on the steps. Where had a soldier learned to dance with such flair?
“Please accept my apologies, Princess,” he murmured against her hair. “The Queen is difficult to refuse.” His strong arms guided her expertly around the floor and into Ramón’s at the next change.
“That man dances well for a soldier,” Ramón said. “Do you wonder how?”
“It had not occurred to me to wonder,” she said, still thinking of Vard’s apology. Apparently she, Alecia, was all too easy to reject.
“What is wrong, Princess? What has he done to you now?”
“Why do you think he has done anything?”
“He has hurt you!”
“Keep your voice down! This is none of your business.” She flew from his arms into the sweaty paws of another guild master and then into those of Lord Finus.
“Your beauty dazzles me tonight, Princess Alecia.” The lord’s eyes gleamed, his dark gaze lingering on her bosom. “Did you have the dress made for this occasion?”
Alecia clenched her teeth to hold back the anger. “No, Lord Finus. I wore this gown to my debut at the King’s palace. I would not expect you to know. You were not with us then, were you?”
Lord Finus frowned and Alecia’s heart lightened as her subtle barb hit home. He did not like to be reminded that his influence with the prince, though strong, had yet to stand the test of time. Her father was the next man to take her in his arms.
“Are you enjoying the dance so far, Daughter?” Prince Zialni said.
“It is a fine gathering, Father. Uncle Beniel is delighted.”
“I did not plan this celebration for Beniel. There is a rather more special reason for the ball tonight.” He focused on her properly now. “You look lovely. I am proud to call you daughter.” The song finished and he squeezed her hand. “We will talk again later. Until then, enjoy yourself.”
Prince Zialni left the dance floor and was immediately surrounded by guild masters and the
ir wives. Several had goblets of wine, which they offered to her father. He declined all and had his personal hand servant refill his wine glass. No doubt he feared drugs or poison.
Alecia retrieved her goblet of wine from the table where she had left it and allowed her eyes to wander over the crowd. Vard escorted Adriana back to the Beniel’s side and his eyes met hers across the room. She raised the goblet to her mouth and he shook his head and began to move towards her. Alecia suppressed the sudden urge to drink the wine anyway.
When he reached her he took the goblet, lifted it to his nose and inhaled deeply. “The wine is safe, Princess, but don’t drink from any vessel this night that hasn’t come from my hands or that of the prince’s servant.” He handed the wine back to her and she downed it in one go.
“What are you?” Alecia asked, mentally listing all the reasons that Vard was like no other man.
He stiffened. “Suffice to say that I can detect poison in food and wine.” He studied her, appearing to take in every aspect of her face.
“I think we both know I was not speaking of the wine.” Heat rose in her bosom and all of a sudden her head was fuzzy, the rest of the room falling away until she and Vard stood in their own cocoon. He grasped her by the elbow, the intensity of his gaze making the breath catch in her throat. Had he changed his mind?
“Come with me, Princess,” he said. “I’ll fetch you some food to have with your wine.”
Suddenly she could breathe again. How could she make such a fool of herself over a man? “I will wait here,” she said. Perhaps some distance would allow her to banish her silly fancies.
Vard frowned but acquiesced to her wishes and slipped into the crowd that lay between him and the food-laden tables.
She chewed her bottom lip as she watched him go.
Ramón appeared at her side. He pulled her around to face him and held both her hands, his baby-blue eyes serious. “Now what did he do to you?”
Alecia’s eyebrows arched. “Who?”
“You know of whom I speak,” he said.
Princess Avenger - Brightcastle Saga Book 1 Page 11