“Marvelous. Be certain to convey my appreciation to your friend when she returns.”
He nodded, smiling at her. “Remember I warned you. William will not like your interference into his affairs.”
“And I did not appreciate his interference into mine. However, as it turned out, I am grateful. Perhaps, he will be grateful as well.”
He rose from his chair, as did she. He stood above the top of her head a good head taller. There was something about her, a measure of assurance and strength that captured one’s notice of her.
“Will one o’clock be suitable?”
“Yes, perfect,” she said. “Thank you for your help, my lord.”
“Save your thanks, my lady until after you’ve met with my friend.”
She said nothing further. She simply lifted the silk day dress and swept from the room. Damien watched her leave and the smile he had had turned to one of amusement. William had certainly met his match in Lady Katherine. Given different circumstances, it would have been amusing to watch their clash of wills. As it was, however, Katherine’s interference only increased the danger for William.
He wondered what his friend would say when he learned about tomorrow’s meeting.
“Good God, man! You are telling me that this woman marched into your home, told you she knew I was William Spencer and then demanded a meeting or she would give me up?” Standing in the sitting area of his bedchamber in the tower, William fought hard to control his rage.
Damien smiled. “Something like that.”
William slammed his fist on the table. “Well she can just forget it. I am not going to dance her dance. Tell her she can go straight to hell!” He paced around the small room. “How in the hell did she figure it out?”
“I don’t have the slightest idea.”
“I should have known she would be curious. She is smart, too smart. I should have guessed she wouldn’t be satisfied to just let the matter end.”
“You have to meet her,” Damien said. “You can’t be certain what she will do to you if you don’t.”
“And I can’t be certain of what I’ll do to her if I do.”
Damien laughed softly. “She is a handful. Full of fire and beautiful too.”
“Makes a man want to take her to bed,” William growled.
“Exactly,” Damien agreed. William lifted his head. “Relax, the girl is all yours. I am happy with my current mistress.”
William stared out the window. “I don’t believe she would tell anyone, but after Jane, I am not certain of anything when a woman is involved.”
“The meeting may prove interesting. I am curious as to what she wants.”
“God, who knows!”
“God and you tomorrow, William.”
William said nothing, just stared at the rolling green hills between the tower and the town. He was furious at Katherine’s interference.
Chapter Ten
Katherine coaxed the fire she had started in the heart of the widow’s house. She was dressed in a plum colored riding habit, fashioned in the military style of the day. The house was larger than she had anticipated, covered in ivy and recently whitewashed.
The duke’s key did indeed let her into the house whose interior was topped by huge oak beams. The house was immaculate, the sofa and chairs were upholstered in a blue and white floral design, giving the home a feminine warmth.
She held her hands up to the fire as she poked the flames as they licked the wood and as she listened for William’s footsteps. The only sounds she heard though were the creaks and groans of the house.
After yesterday’s visit to Damien’s estate, she had returned to Sussex Manor to play the part of Benjamin’s future bride. She had made excuses today, had a horse saddled for her and rode off to the nearby town.
She walked over to the window, pulling at her riding habit. She peered out the windows looking out toward the rolling green hills in front of her and beyond. Where was he?
“Looking for me, my lady?” The commanding, deep voice came from behind her as she nearly jumped through the roof.
“You scared me half to death! How did you get in?”
He was leaning against the end of the mantel, one shoulder propped up against it. She didn’t miss the tension rippling through his tall frame.
“Getting in wasn’t all that hard. You should know by now I am a man of many talents.” Though his voice was soft and calm, there was something of a threat in it.
He started across the room in her direction and she caught the fire in his eyes. His jaw was clenched shut and his hands were in balled fists. The duke had warned her, he was angry, even furious and she was still unprepared.
“I know you are upset with me. I suppose you have the right to be angry, but I had to see you.”
“Why?”
“I know who you are.”
He moved closer to her, his eyes piercing right through her. “I don’t like to be threatened and you my lady threatened me.”
“Well, I didn’t like you abducting me, but that didn’t stop you from doing it just the same.” She stood her ground with him, defying him.
“I didn’t have a choice.” He was dressed for riding she noticed. Odd thing to notice.
“So you have come here against you will. Did you really believe I would turn you in, my lord?”
“I had hoped you would not, but I could not be certain what you would do.” His eyes were fixed on her now. “I did not think Jane, the duchess of Cromwell would have stood by and watch me hang, but she would have done just that and without hesitation.”
“Lady Cromwell betrayed you. I would not. I do not believe you killed your father. I know that you loved him and I want to help you prove your innocence.” She rested her hand on his forearm and felt the muscles quivering with tension.
She backed away from him, lifted her skirts, and curtsied. “Your grace.”
William stood there not speaking. He reached out for her, his hand shaking, entwined her fingers within his own and urged her to her feet. He then swept her into his arms.
“My lady, no one has called me that in a very, very long time.”
Katherine clung to him, her arms sliding around his neck, his cheek pressed to hers. She blinked her eyes, trying to keep back the tears. “I want to help you. That is why I came. I want you to tell me everything so I can find some way in which to help you.”
He shook his head. “I appreciate your concern, my lady, but there is nothing you can do. Involving yourself in my affairs would only cause you trouble, not to mention it could even be dangerous.”
She lifted her eyes to his face, looking, trying to make sense of what was behind it. “I want to learn everything about it, William. Please, tell me.”
With a heavy sigh, he turned away from her, taking her hand as he led her over to the sofa as he took a place next to her.
“It is still hard to speak of. I was so stupid back then. I never even suspected a thing.” He shook his black curls. “They had planned it from the start. Benjamin and Lady Jane.”
“Benjamin is the one who killed your father?”
“Yes,” he nodded his head. “Who did you think?”
“I thought that perhaps he was duped, that there was some sort of mistake that had convinced him of your guilt.”
“There was no mistake, my lady. Jane wanted money and Benjamin wanted the dukedom. They decided together to get rid of both my father and me. Perhaps not at the same time. They were looking for the right moment to put their plan into action. When my father left to follow me that night, Benjamin realized what was happening. He saw his opportunity and he seized it. I made it all so easy for them. I fell in love with Jane and I could not see the danger. I could not think of anything but her.” He laughed bitterly at the thought of that evening.
“I know you had been thrown in prison. How did you manage to escape?”
“I didn’t. The first night I was there, a group of inmates attacked me. They wanted my clothes, my shoes
. In prison they were worth a small fortune. They beat me nearly to death, stripped me naked and then left me with only the rags they had discarded.” He glanced away from her for a moment, caught up in the painful memories. “Unfortunately, the gentleman who was wearing my clothes didn’t get to wear them for very long. Later the man was attacked and knifed to death, his face badly disfigured during the attack. When the guards found him, they assumed the man was me. He was of the same build and hair color. I often wondered if Benjamin might have been behind that attack. Damien was trying to stop the hanging. Benjamin wanted me dead and he isn’t a man to take chances.”
“Oh, William.” She wanted to hold him, to take away the darkened look that was on his handsome face. Instead she waited for him to finish.
“That night I escaped the hangman, but there were other times I wished I had died. In the morning when they came looking for the prisoner, the man who was killed, I took his place. They transported me to London, where I was enslaved for a few more years before I escaped. The only thing that kept me going during all that time was the promise I made to myself that I would come back here.”
Katherine didn’t realize she was crying until William leaned forward toward her and with one of his long fingers brushed them away. “It’s all right. As I told you there is nothing you can do.”
“You can’t be certain of that. I am staying at Sussex Manor for one more day. It is enough time to look around, perhaps ask a few questions. I found out about you there, perhaps I’ll learn something else that might help you.”
“And your questions may stir up Benjamin’s suspicions and if that happens I’m as good as dead.”
A shiver ran through her at the thought. “The odds are just as good that you will do something to alert him.”
“I am not fool enough to do something like that.”
“Point in fact, your appearance at the costume ball. That could have been disastrous. What if someone besides me had recognized you?”
“I was wearing a mask,” he replied.
“Little good it would have done if someone had caught you going into Benjamin’s study. I am not such a fool that I would not take care. Please, you must let me try. Surely the longer you delay in finding proof, the greater the odds of your being discovered.”
“More than apparent.” His face grew grim.
“Let me help you.”
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “No I don’t want you hurt.”
“Good God man. I want to help you!”
“And I said no Katherine and I mean that.”
She glared at him intently. “Do you really think you can stop me?”
Anger swept over him. His jaw clamped shut. “You are the most willful, stubborn woman.”
“I am going to help you William, whether you like it or not.”
“God speed woman! I should have thrashed you harder!” He grabbed her shoulders, his eyes like fire. A long moment passed but neither of them moved. Then William let out a groan of defeat as he pulled her against him. “But, truth be known, I would rather kiss you.” He kissed her in a ravaging kiss, his lips moving hotly over hers, urging them to part for him.
She clung to him as she relished the head pulsing through her, the taste of him in her mouth. His tongue tangled with hers, the stroking deepened, possessing her as if he owned her. The kiss was hard and rough. Heat fanned out from the base of her throat, crept over her shoulders into her breasts, making them swell within her gown.
William deepened the kiss, taking her mouth so thoroughly she felt faint. His hand moved down to her breast, cupping the fullness, making the nipple harden. He worked the buttons on her bodice, parted the fabric and slid his hand inside. His palm abraded her nipple and it tightened even more, forming a painful peak beneath his hand. Warmth invaded her, a melting sensation that wrenched a small groan of pleasure from her lips.
Katherine heard him groan. He was now kissing her throat, pulling the pins out of her hair.
“William. . .” she whispered, but his kiss muffled her protest, and his hands continued their assault. He slid the bodice of the gown off her shoulders, a strap of her white chemise fell away. The second strap slipped off and he eased the fabric down, baring her to the waist. When e lowered his head and took a nipple into his mouth, a ripple of heat scorched through her.
“Sweet lord. . .” the words slipped out, but she did not try to stop him. Her body instead arched upward, pleading for more. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and muscle beneath her hand. She trembled as his hand moved lower, shoving her skirts up, working to bunch them around her waist. His head came up. He sucked in a deep breath of air. “We have to stop, Katherine. If we do not, I won’t be able to in a few minutes.”
But she didn’t want him to stop. She was in love with him. She had tried to deny it, but the moment she had seen him, the moment he had touched her, she knew it was true.
She pulled the black ribbon that tied back his long glossy dark hair, slid her fingers through the strands, and dragged his mouth down to hers for another kiss. “Make love to me, William. Please, I don’t want this to end.”
He shook his head, even as his hand gently fondled her breast. “I want you, Katherine. I cannot remember wanting a woman more. But we can’t.”
“Please, William,” she whispered, afraid that if she didn’t grasp the moment to discover their true passion, the time would never come again. William fiercely kissed her. When she opened the buttons on the front of his shirt, she slid her hands inside as a shudder rippled through him. She knew she had won.
With a hand that was suddenly unsteady, he began to unfasten her clothes, releasing the tabs on her skirt and panniers and stripping them away, then bending to remove her shoes and stockings. In a flash he had stripped her bare and pulled off his clothes. He eased her down on the sofa, his hardness pressed into her thigh.
She would not have been frightened, but she had found that she was not. He was powerful, but somehow she knew he would take care not to hurt her. His hands caressed her breasts, stroking them. She whimpered when he moved lower, cupping the mound of her sex, his fingers lacing through the hair at the apex of her legs.
The feeling was so intense, so new, she stiffened a little, afraid for a moment. William kissed her again, his mouth and tongue gently persuasive, and her fear began to leave her.
“William. . .” She moaned when he parted the slick damp folds at her core and a long dark finger slid inside her.
“God, you feel so good.” A thorough kiss followed, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with the same sensuous rhythm as his hand. She shifted restlessly, feeling the fire, arching against him. Wanting him heedless of the consequences.
Suddenly he paused, his gaze moving up to her face. He was breathing hard, his eyes with a hunger he no longer tried to hide. “We must stop, Katherine. I won’t marry you. Even if I wasn’t facing the gallows, I wouldn’t marry you. I can’t. Stop me now before it’s too late.”
Her heart pounded painfully. “You have a wife, you are married?”
He shook his head. “No.”
He wouldn’t wed her, he didn’t love her. The thought made her ache inside. Still, she wanted him. She desperately wanted to know this one moment of passion. “Then make love to me. It’s what we both want.”
“There are things you don’t know, things I cannot explain. You’ll regret it. Stop me now while I am sane enough to stop.”
I want this, please.”
He stared down to her face. “I’ve learned to be greedy, Katherine. You may regret this, but I assure you I will not.”
He took her mouth in a savage kiss while his hand cupped her breast, teasing it. In minutes, she was on fire for him as he stroked her damp passage once more.
“You are ready for me Katherine. I’ll go easy and try not to hurt you. Trust me. Let me make it good for you.”
She realized she did trust him. More than any man she had ever know. “Yes. . .” she said softly. “Yes, William
.”
He spread her legs and settling his tall frame between her thighs, he kissed her again, taking her mouth while his fingers stroked her. Then he eased his hardness inside. He didn’t stop until he reached the barrier of her innocence. He plunged deeply and Katherine cried out, but the sound was muffled by his lips.
A shot of pain went through her, a searing moment that had her clamping her teeth. As quickly as it came, it was gone. William loomed above her, resting on his elbows, his muscles knotted, holding himself immobile by sheer force of will. “I’m sorry. I tried not to hurt you. Are you all right?”
“The pain is gone. I only feel a strange sort of fullness.”
“You will feel more my love. Of that I promise.”
Slowly he began to move, his hips rising, easing him almost all the way out. Then his buttocks flexed and drove him deeply back in. In and then out. Sinking in until he filled her, then withdrawing until she ached for his return. She could feel every hard inch of him, feel the heavy thrust and drag of his shaft, and tiny vibrations rushed through her. Her body trembled and she arched upward taking him deeper still. Her hands gripped his sweat-slick shoulders and the heat in her loins fanned out through her limbs.
Warmth coiled low in her belly. Her body seemed to burn.
In and then out, faster, harder, deeper. Pounding, pounding, until the pleasure was unbearable.
“William!” Her body tightening, shimmering, then shuttering into a thousand pieces. Pleasure broke over her, ripples of fire. She clung to him, wept his name against his shoulder, held him and let the waves of pleasure wash through her. William’s body tightened above her. She felt the last of his hard driving thrusts, heard a groan rumble from his throat.
For a long, tender moment he just held her. Katherine clung to him and thought she had never experienced anything so wonderful. Whatever happened, she would always have this moment, this moment of passion that couldn’t be taken from her.
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