“Yes, make your way there. They will give you food and shelter. I’ll make sure they expect your group.”
A cackling laugh sounded from the back of the hand cart where an ancient man sat on top of a pile of linen. “An’ you think they’ll listen to you, my cock sparrow. I’ve told my daughter it will be just like when the plague came. The doors will be bolted and we’ll sleep cold in the forest.”
“Believe me, grandfather, they’ll listen to me. I’ll make sure they have a warm place for you.” A child cried and the little group muttered, but he didn’t linger to argue with the old man. He dug his heels into Starlight’s sides and urged the horse on. Cora clung tight as they trotted down the road.
They approached the castle and his concerns grew. “The gatehouse has shifted on its foundations, look.”
“Will the gates open?”
“They’d better.” As he spoke, one of the gates moved with a squeal. “There.” He rode Starlight through the open gate into the courtyard as the gates slammed shut behind.
Edwin Makefist, the head of the guards, bowed low. “My liege.”
He squeezed Cora’s hand. “I must now be king in name at least, for this man wouldn’t address me so if I were not. Can you slide down?”
“Yes.”
He steadied the gelding as she did and then dismounted himself and stifled the groan of pain. “Edwin, is Owen dead?”
“Yes, sire. He and Lady Olivia, they died together.”
“Where is the chamberlain?”
“Dying, sire. A roof beam collapsed on him. The physician says there is no hope.”
“So you have taken charge?” He blew out a deep breath.
“Yes, my king, but I wasn’t certain what to do. I sent a search party to find you and kept the rest of the men here to protect the castle.”
“Well, I am found. The castle is under no attack or likely to be. I want it opened to the villagers to offer them shelter. Find me some clothes and once I’m dressed we will make plans for the castle and the people.”
Edwin glanced at Cora.
“This is my bride, Cora, and the finest woman I’ve ever met. She will help us with caring for the people.” He took her hand. “Come, my love.”
“This way, sire. We are using the buttery as a makeshift hall. The great hall is too badly damaged.” Edwin turned. “Sire, you’re injured!”
“A sprained ankle, nothing too serious,” Cora said, giving his hip a squeeze. “The king will recover soon but I’d like some bandaging for it before he tries to put on boots.”
“Yes, madam. I’ll see to it and clothes for his majesty too.” Edwin hurried away.
Randolph tilted the flower chaplet Cora still wore. “As I knew, you will be my perfect queen. The buttery is this way, and with any luck, we’ll find food and ale too.”
She shouldered his weight as they walked over an uneven pathway and entered the buttery, where Cora helped him to a seat. “Randolph, as soon as I’ve tended your ankle I’ll go and see what can be done for some of the others injured.”
Through an open door, into one end of the great hall, the view of several people lying on blankets met him. “How many, Edwin?” he asked, as the head of the guard returned with a bundle of clothes.
“There are fifty injured badly, almost all the council and their ladies. They were feasting with Lord Owen and all got caught together. We’ve about the same number with minor injuries and three ladies still suffering terrors.”
“The physician and his apprentice?”
“Working non-stop. They’d be glad of any aid.”
“Then once we have made some decisions they shall have the best I know. That of my queen.”
How pretty she looked with a blush on her cheek. He lifted her hand and kissed it then she took the bandages Edwin offered her.
“My king, please sit still and let me tend your foot.” She knelt before him and his blood soared. So serious, her gray gaze as she looked up from his ankle. “I think the decisions should be, one, we send out men to assess all the local villages for damage. Those folk who need aid and shelter should be brought within the castle confines.”
He nodded. “Are you listening, Edwin, I’d make note of this. Go on, my heart.”
“Two, in the next few days all those able, ladies included, should help gather the harvest if there aren’t enough men to do it. We must have a central store of foodstuff for the displaced people. Firewood too. There is a long winter to get the people through.”
“Agreed. Edwin—Ow!”
“Sorry, but this will be better than a scrap of my petticoat. It will support your foot properly.” She met his gaze with her sparkling gray glance before she continued bandaging his ankle.
“Edwin, the queen is quite right. Once we have places for the refugees, some of the troops must go logging to bring back timber for repairing buildings in the coming summer.”
“Yes, I’ll send out a party of the guard to the local villages immediately with the news of your plans.”
“Thank you,” Cora said as she rose. “And now, Your Majesty, I’ll go and help the others while you dress.” She asked Edwin, “Please, send a group of men to my village, Whistlewick, and see if they can discover if my aunt Doreathea needs assistance or wishes to come here to the castle. Let them tell her I am safe.”
“Yes, madam.”
A sense of satisfaction rose in him. His dream maiden was as he’d known she would be. “Don’t work too hard. I expect to see you back here to join me to eat in an hour. We’ll talk more then. There is much for us both to do.”
Chapter 12
The morning of her wedding day Cora rose, pulled a fine weave silken wrap around her, tiptoed from the bed and peeked through a heavy drape. Frost rimed the window. Randolph still slept on; she’d no need to wake him yet. As he’d promised, they’d loved and lain together in a marriage bed every night since they returned from the forest. He’d only laughed at the bishop with the bandaged head who’d tried to make complaints about them. Today would silence any concerns the bishop had, as he’d conduct the wedding in the courtyard that presently resembled a gypsy encampment. Those people in need, after the tremor, sheltered there. All were given food and wood for warmth. Once this cold season had come and gone, they’d return to their villages and begin work on repairs to their homes.
“My bride?”
“Yes.”
“Come back to bed. It’s freezing.”
“I’ll just put another log on the fire. I don’t want it to go out.”
“I swear, my darling, our fire will never go out. Come here and I’ll show you.”
“Before the ceremony?”
His lazy smile spread. The enticing gleam in his brown eyes answered her and turned her thoughts to nothing but him. Warm in his welcoming arms, she kissed him. A tingle of sensation traced from his lips as he kissed down her throat and it made her nipples rise to rigid peaks. He wound his fingers through her hair and caressed down her back. She smoothed his body with her hands, and clasping her fingers around his cock, made him moan. He stroked between her thighs, bent and sucked a nipple. Taunting and slow, he teased with his teeth until she whimpered.
The need for his touch swept through her. She arched her back and ground her breast against his mouth. “Yes, there, Randolph. Now, don’t wait.”
“It’s better if we wait.”
She gave a huge sigh as he stroked again between her thighs, rubbed her clit. “I want you now,” she cried out.
“I swear I’ll never disappoint you.” He rolled her above him and set her in place, straddling his hips. “I’m all yours.”
She leaned down and pressed her lips against his, shimmied, wriggled and tilted until his silken heat found its home and sank down, taking all of him within.
“Beloved.”
“Yes.” She moved along his ridged length. He rubbed both her nipples as she rose for the first time and arcs of sensation traced from his touch.
“I love you.”
“Show me.”
He clasped her waist as she slid along his length and pulling her down hard, thrust deeply.
The rhythm between them built quickly. Randolph closed his eyes. Her breathing sped with his. The blissful wave swelled until she hovered on the edge.
Randolph clasped her waist firm. He lunged to meet her downward thrust yelling, “Now. Yes.”
His peak of pleasure sent her over the brink, and struggling to breathe, she let pure delight claim her.
He brought her down against him, his chest still moving fast. Limp as a wash rag, dazzled by him still, she gazed into his eyes. “I love you.”
“I know. Will you marry me?”
She laughed. “Yes, in about two hours’ time.”
“Good, and next year when the seasons turn, will you come back with me to Gerald’s hut?”
“Happily.”
“Together we’ll keep the fire burning, my love.”
Cora pressed her lips to his and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
About Daisy Banks
Daisy Banks is from the Black Country, the heartlands of the Midlands in the UK. She is proud to count as her ancestors the people who lived in the narrow, blue-brick paved streets. Daisy is married, and now her boys are adults, she spends time writing romance. Daisy loves traditional romantic songs and ballads, is interested in antiques, art and architecture, enjoys travel and occasionally cooks a meal that doesn’t stick to the pan.
Find Daisy at:
Blog: http://daisybanks.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Daisy-Banks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaisyBanks12
Website: http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/banks1532/boards/
Other Lyrical Press books by Daisy:
Timeless: http://lyricalpress.com/timeless/
Fiona’s Wish: http://lyricalpress.com/fionas-wish/
A Matter of Some Scandal: http://lyricalpress.com/a-matter-of-some-scandal/
May I Have This Dance
Paranormal romance by Toni Kelly
The right partner makes all the difference...in love and dancing.
Tired of hiding who and what he is, half-demon Sebastian Reyes is determined to find happiness. Easier said than done, though—his true identity could drive away the only woman he loves.
Chapter 1
Sebastian Reyes leaned against an ivory stone column and stared out into the gray-blue light of dusk. As he sipped rum from the glass in his hand, he dropped a dried leaf from a ground floor terrace of his family’s home. Autumn’s cool night air crept upon him, and he breathed deeply of it.
“Figures I’d find you chilling here.” Nikolai Ivanov joined him through a pair of French doors. “You know the majority of your father’s party is taking place at the other side of your house.”
“I know. Let’s keep it that way.” The thick veil of forest separating the estate’s manicured acres from the rest of northern Virginia society created a sentiment of solitude. Sebastian closed his eyes, letting the thrumming bossa nova strains of La Garota de Ipanema wash over him. “Besides, I can hear them fine from here.”
“Not interested in celebrating the Demon Integration Act?”
What significance did the act have if people and demons remained prejudiced? “Did the civil rights movement yield instant change?”
“Kill joy.” Nikolai held out a snifter with liquid the color of dark honey. “Would you mind?”
“I’m realistic. These things take time.” With care, he touched the glass, pushing warmth from his fingertips into it. Too much heat would break it, too little wouldn’t warm the cognac. “New legislation or not, I never enjoy these parties. My father insists I attend.”
Nikolai shrugged, sipped his cognac. “Your father insists on a lot. I don’t see you obeying every command. I’m sure he’s not wild about you owning a dance studio.” He lifted a brow. “Am I right?”
Of course he was right. His father, Armando Reyes, referred to his dancing as child’s play, a silly hobby he’d soon outgrow. Not likely.
“You sneaky bastard.” Nikolai shook his head. “You haven’t told him you bought the studio.”
“Why bother? I know what he will say.”
“Well, for once you’ve done something you’ve wanted although I’m not sure why you’re sour about all this.” He gestured widely. “I mean, sure it shouldn’t matter what he thinks, but you have to admit you’ve got a sweet deal.”
Sebastian pushed off the column. If only it were that simple. “Believe me, I know. If I could give up dancing and the studio, I would. It sure as hell would make my life easier, but I’m not my father. I won’t let fear drive me away from what I love.”
“Do you really think that’s why your father doesn’t heal others anymore? Fear?”
“I don’t think it. I know it.”
“Are you going to stay here all night?” Nikolai asked. “By now, your father has noticed your absence. Why not leave?”
“I invited some of my students.”
“Human students?” Nikolai shoved a thick lock of dark blond hair from his face.
“Yep.”
“Do they know you’re half demon or that they’re coming to a demon party?”
“Nope.” Sebastian tossed another leaf.
“Holy hell. You’re in for an adventure tonight.”
As usual, Nikolai was the voice of reason, grounded him in reality. Still, Sebastian grew tired of the hypocrisy on both sides. Inevitably, as a half-breed, he always ended up caught in the middle. “We’re celebrating human and demon integration, aren’t we? Seems strange there aren’t humans here.”
“Agreed, but I’m sure your humans would prefer a heads up.”
“Maybe.” An engine’s hum announced a navy Honda Civic making its way up the stone-paved driveway. Not the type of vehicle his father’s friends drove.
“Who’s that?” Nikolai stood beside him.
“I’m not quite sure.” Did one of his students drive a Honda Civic?
“Please don’t.” A female with long blond hair and a waif-like shape backed around the side of the terrace on the lawn below. Human, by her smell. A half-breed like him. Three male demons followed. Their eyes glowed red as they crowded her. As usual, Victor was in the midst of the trouble. The onyx haired demon shoved forward, crowded her against the boxwood.
“What the hell is going on here?” Nikolai scowled and hopped over the railing. He landed between two sculpted bushes. “More shit, Victor? When are you going to grow up?”
Victor laughed. “When you and your half-breed sidekick stop being pussies.”
As much as Sebastian would enjoy breaking Victor’s nose, he wasn’t in the mood to revisit the grade school play yard. Still, he followed Nikolai’s lead and swung over the railing, landing softly on a bed of mulch.
The blonde turned toward them, eyes wild. “Please, help me.”
Sebastian met Victor’s gaze. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I told her the rules. All she has to do is pay the entrance fee and we’ll let her into the party.”
The blonde straightened, her shoulder blades jutting beneath the tie of her tiny halter dress. “My friend invited me. She didn’t say anything about an entrance fee.”
Laughing, Victor trailed a finger down her neck and along her collarbone. “There’s a special policy for half-breeds.”
Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest. “Seems you’re missing the point of this party.”
Victor spat. “Why should the demon kind bow to an inferior race? Your father muddied the waters by bringing you into the world. That was bad enough.”
Nikolai balled his hands into fists and rushed forward.
“No.” Sebastian stopped Nikolai with a hand on his shoulder. He’d turned a blind eye for far too long. As he edged toward Victor and the female, his muscles tightened like the coils of a spring. “I’ll tel
l you once. Leave now.”
Victor let out a low growl. “You threaten me, half-breed? As usual, you are hiding out. Is Daddy afraid you’ll embarrass him by showing your face?”
“Let the woman go,” Sebastian said.
“Defending your own, I see.” Victor stepped back and lifted his hands. “Fine, the half-breed trash is a bit too skinny for my tastes anyway.” He stared at Nikolai then back at him. “You know, if it weren’t for your demon guard dog and your father, I’d have already let you prove yourself a male. A real demon male.”
“Go find your friend.” Sebastian addressed the petite blonde. “Forgive the party scum. He won’t be bothering you again.”
“Thank you.” She looked at Victor then him before backing away and disappearing around the side of the house.
“Now, where were we?” Sebastian unbuttoned the cuffs of his white collared shirt and shoved up the sleeves. “Oh yes, you were going to let me prove myself. By all means, don’t let my father or Nikolai stop you. I certainly won’t.”
* * * *
“Holy guacamole, look at the size of that thing.” Gemma Ashton’s friend, Carlyn Edwards, leaned over the steering wheel of her Honda Civic as she headed up the driveway of the Reyes’ family estate.
“I’m looking at it,” Gemma replied, a bit awestruck by the estate’s grandeur. “I’d feel even better looking at it if I knew you were watching where you’re going.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. Right, Sara?” Carlyn sat back, glanced at her rearview mirror.
“No comment.” Sara slid forward on the backseat. “Wow, I knew Sebastian had money. I didn’t realize he was this rich.”
Sara and Carlyn’s reactions didn’t surprise her. The house, if you could call it a house, was enormous. Arched windows, terraces and balconies. Not to mention thick columns near the entrance. The mansion was an architectural showpiece. The backdrop of trees in every shade of orange, red and yellow only enhanced its beauty. “Technically this is his father’s home, right?”
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