Beneath the Major's Scars

by Sarah Mallory

  A movement on the drive caught his attention. There were shadows on the lawn, two riders approaching the house. Even in the dim light there was no mistaking them. As he watched they looked up at the tower. Dominic jumped back, cursing. What in hell’s name was Jasper doing, bringing Zelah to Rooks Tower? It was late—did he mean to make sure of her tonight? Could he not wait until they had exchanged their vows before he took her to his bed? Dominic dragged the chair over to the side table and threw himself down, reaching for the brandy. Let them do what they wished, Zelah Pentewan was no longer any concern of his.

  He leaned back in the chair and stretched out his legs, wondering how soon it would be safe to cross the great hall to his study. He had no wish to see Zelah. Would Jasper take her into the drawing room where family and friends would be gathered now, or would he take her straight to his room?

  He shook his head to dispel the unwelcome images that thought brought forth. He heard a soft knock and turned towards the door, snarling, ‘Damn you, Graddon, I told you not to come back tonight!’

  ‘I do not recall you doing so.’ Zelah stepped into the room, unperturbed by his ill humour. With a smothered oath he jumped to his feet, sending the chair crashing behind him.

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I saw the light and came to find you.’

  ‘Well, now you have found me you can take yourself off again!’

  ‘You are not very polite, sir.’ She came closer, stripping off her gloves.

  ‘I don’t feel very polite,’ he retorted. ‘If you want me to bestow my blessing upon the match, I will do so tomorrow.’

  ‘If you wish.’ She pointed to the decanters. ‘Is that Madeira? Perhaps I could have a small glass? I have had quite an exhausting day.’

  He scowled, but automatically filled a glass for her. ‘You should not be here.’

  She took the glass from him, her clear eyes upon his face. ‘Why should I not? I have quite come to look upon this room as my own.’

  He concentrated on refilling his own glass and deliberately avoided looking at her. ‘You will soon have much bigger properties than this at your disposal.’

  ‘Ah. You mean when I am Viscountess Markham.’

  She moved closer, so near he could have reached out and embraced her. He had to force himself not to do so.

  ‘Jasper is very rich, isn’t he?’ she said, sipping at her Madeira.

  ‘Exceedingly.’

  ‘Handsome, too, and charming.’

  ‘Yes.’ Dominic ground his teeth. Damn him. He took a mouthful of brandy, impatient for the powerful spirit to begin clouding his brain.

  ‘I turned him down.’

  Dominic choked. Carefully he put down his glass. Zelah put hers beside it.

  ‘I am very sorry to hear that,’ he said cautiously.

  ‘Are you?’

  ‘Of course. He could give you everything your heart desires.’

  She shook her head. ‘No, that is not possible. You see, I do not love him.’

  ‘If you are still pining for Lerryn, then you are a fool,’ he said bluntly.

  She waved her hand impatiently. ‘No, of course I am not. Oh, Dominic, you are so, so dull-witted tonight!’

  ‘Well, I, too, have had a difficult day. Give Jasper time to win your heart. You will come to see that there is not a better man in England—’

  ‘That may be true. Jasper is very charming and I was very sorry to cause him pain, but I am not the woman to make him happy, and he is not the man for me. He is not you.’ She stepped up to him and raised her hand to caress his left cheek, her palm cradling the scarred tissue. ‘There is only one man who has ever held my heart,’ she said softly, her eyes shining into his and filling his soul with light. ‘Only one man that I could imagine spending the rest of my life with, and that is you, Dominic.’

  There. She had said it.

  ‘And what of Jasper? How did he take your refusal?’

  ‘Like the true gentleman he is. I do not think he is truly heartbroken, but even if that was the case, I could not act differently.’

  Zelah waited breathlessly, her eyes fixed on his face. Jasper had guessed her reason for refusing him. He had told her Dominic was very much in love, and all she had to do was to make him admit it. Now, as the minutes ticked by and she could discern nothing in his hard impassive gaze, Zelah wondered if Jasper had been wrong about his twin. Her hand dropped and she turned away, blinking back the hot tears.

  ‘So there it is,’ she said lightly. ‘I am a hopeless case. I have heard nothing back from the widow in Bath, so I must surmise I was unsuccessful there, too. Do—do you think your sister will write me another ref—’

  An iron hand gripped her arm and swung her round. The collision with Dominic’s unyielding chest winded her, but the glow she saw in his eyes set her heart pounding.

  ‘You would take me, rather than Jasper?’

  ‘I will take no other,’ she answered him solemnly.

  She saw the desire leap in his eyes, but also uncertainty. She prayed he would not reject her now.

  ‘Are you sure this is not just...pity?’ His voice was harsh, the words edged with bitterness.

  Summoning all her courage she slipped her hands about his neck. ‘No, not pity. Love. I love you, Dominic. Let me show you how much.’

  She pulled him down towards her and kissed his mouth. His touch was cool, wary, and she closed her eyes, willing him to respond. She felt rather than heard him growl, or was it a sigh? His arms went round her and he kissed her, working her mouth hungrily beneath his, forcing her lips apart, his tongue invading, demanding. Zelah gave way to her passion.

  Her hands scrabbled with his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. The waistcoat followed, but she had to break away to see how to untie the intricate knot of his neckcloth. Impatiently he pushed her hands aside and ripped off the muslin. He was breathing heavily and the crisp dark hair of his chest was visible at the shirt opening. Her hands shook a little as she tugged his shirt free from his breeches. He was far too tall and she could only gather it up and allow him to pull it off. The sight of his naked chest enthralled her. A dark cloud of hair ran down the centre of his chest and the shadows from the candlelight enhanced the rippling muscle. She leaned forwards to press her lips to the ragged scar that crossed his body, trailing kisses down its length as it passed across his breast and the hard undulations of his ribs to the soft, flat plain of his stomach while her hands unfastened the flap of his breeches, her heart jumping with pleasure and anticipation when she noticed how hard and aroused he was beneath the soft buckskin.

  She pushed aside the material and began to kneel, intending to follow that wicked scar its full length, but Dominic stopped her.

  ‘This is unfair,’ he muttered, pulling her to her feet. ‘Let us take this slowly.’

  Her body sang with anticipation as he undressed her, pausing to kiss each new area of skin as he exposed it. She gasped when he reached her breasts. She reached out for him, but he caught her arms, pinning them to her sides while his mouth circled and teased her exposed flesh until she was almost begging him to stop. Only then did he raise his head, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

  ‘Now you know how I feel when you touch me.’

  As soon as he released her she threw herself at him, kissing him hungrily, tangling her tongue with his and pressing herself against him. It was not enough. There were too many layers of fabric between their bodies. In silent accord they hurriedly shed the remainder of their clothes until they stood before each other, naked and breathless. The glow in Dominic’s eyes burned into Zelah. She felt beautiful, powerful. Glorious.

  With a growl he swept her up and carried her to the bed. The silk was cold as he laid her naked body down upon the cover, but only for an instant, and it was soon forgotten as he knelt beside her.

  ‘Now,’ he said softly, ‘where were we?’

  She sat up and reached out to touch him, just below his navel. ‘I was about there.’


  ‘Hmm.’ He cupped her breasts, which tightened immediately beneath his hands. ‘You are a little ahead of me, but I will catch you up.’

  She shifted around until she could place her lips on his abdomen, steadying herself by placing her hands on his hips, revelling in the feel of his smooth skin beneath her fingers, her mouth, her senses enhanced by the attention he was giving to her own body. Even as she made him groan with pleasure he was moving lower, his lips burning a trail across her body while his hands, the vanguard of his exquisite assault, caressed her thighs, preparing her for his most intimate kiss.

  She wanted to please him, to worship his body as he was worshipping hers, but he was sapping her control. She tried to move her hips away from his pleasuring tongue, but his hands gripped her, holding her firm while he continued his relentless onslaught, rousing her to a bucking, crying frenzy that left her almost sobbing with the pleasure of it.

  Dominic gathered her to him and she lay for a few moments in the shelter of his arms. Her senses were still heightened, she could feel his soft breathing, hear the stir of the breeze through the distant trees. The fragrance of lavender from the sheets filled her head, mixed with the musky male scent of the man beside her. The candles had guttered and died and they had only the moonlight now, casting its silver gleam over the tower room. She stirred a little, but when Dominic tried to pull the covers over them she stopped him.

  ‘No, I have not satisfied you yet.’

  He chuckled. ‘There is plenty of time for that.’

  Zelah sat up. ‘No, let me do this.’

  He was still aroused, but she was pleased, and slightly awed, by the way his body reacted to her touch. It excited her and she could feel her body responding again. Dominic groaned and pulled her to him, his mouth seeking hers. His kiss reignited the fire and her body was soon burning with desire. He rolled over her and she opened for him, tilting her hips, inviting him to enter.

  He pushed against her, deep and satisfying. She matched his rhythm as he gradually increased the momentum, each thrust carrying her closer to the uncontrollable excitement that was so alarming and yet so exhilarating. She clung on tightly, digging her fingers into his back, afraid she might faint with sheer pleasure. Then, just when she thought she could stand no more, he cried out. She felt him tense. Her whole body gripped him. He shuddered and her own body answered with a tremor of its own. It was a climax, a tipping point and she clung tightly, as if to let go would plunge her into some black and endless abyss.

  * * *

  Exhausted, they sank down together beneath the covers, Dominic wrapping himself around Zelah in a way that made her feel safe, cherished.

  ‘I hope you are going to marry me after that,’ he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

  ‘If that is what you want, Dominic.’

  ‘I have no choice. I love you too much to risk losing you.’

  ‘Oh.’ She struggled to sit up. ‘Oh, please, say that again.’

  ‘Say what?’

  ‘That you love me.’ Suddenly she felt very shy. ‘I have wanted you to say that for such a long time.’

  ‘Have you? Then I will say it every day from now on.’ He drew her towards him. ‘I love you, Zelah, with all my heart. No, you are my heart. You are my reason for living.’

  He kissed her gently and, smiling, Zelah gave a contented sigh and snuggled down in his arms to sleep.

  * * *

  She awoke the next morning to birdsong. It was not yet dawn, but the lack of curtains or shutters in the tower room gave them no shelter from the grey light. She opened her eyes and found Dominic propped up on his elbow, watching her. The sight of his naked torso was enough to bring memories of the night’s activities flooding back. She put her hand up to his cheek and he turned to plant a kiss in the palm.

  With a little shiver of pleasure, she slipped her arms around him. ‘Oh, I am such a lucky woman!’

  He gathered her against him. ‘No regrets, then?’

  ‘Not one.’ She turned her face up and he obliged her with a long, lingering kiss. ‘Mmm.’ She snuggled closer. ‘I feel quite dizzy. Perhaps I should not have drunk that Madeira last night.’

  ‘You need some water.’ He slipped out of bed and went to the cupboard. Zelah watched him, enjoying the sight of his bare, athletic body moving effortlessly as he crossed the floor.

  ‘How did you know to come back?’ he asked her, pouring water into two glasses. ‘I thought I had done everything I could to keep you away, damned fool that I was.’

  Zelah scrambled off the bed, but she paused to find her chemise from the tumble of clothes on the floor before she joined him, not quite comfortable yet to stand naked before him, except when she was in the grip of passion.

  ‘Jasper told me how angry you were when you thought that he was merely toying with me.’ She took the proffered glass. ‘He said you wanted me to be happy.’ The water was sweet as nectar. ‘So I told him what would make me happy. Pray do not frown so, Dominic. I thought if anyone could tell me if there was any hope, it would be your twin.’

  ‘And what did he say?’

  ‘He had guessed you were not...indifferent to me, but we agreed that you were—how did he put it?—too damned noble for your own good.’

  He scowled at her, his look promising retribution for her mockery. It sent a pleasurable shiver of anticipation down her spine. She continued.

  ‘Jasper consented to bring me back with him, so that I might try to discover how you felt about me.’

  ‘Damned foolishness,’ he said explosively. ‘What if I had turned you away? Worse, what if I had taken you to my bed and then cast you aside?’

  Her stomach tightened in horror at the thought, but she merely shrugged, turning to put down her glass as an old quotation came to her mind. ‘Then I would build me a willow cabin at your gate...’

  ‘Ah, don’t, love!’ He pulled her into his arms. ‘I don’t deserve you,’ he muttered, covering her hair and her face with kisses. The now-familiar flame of desire began to burn inside, but she tried to quell it.

  ‘You are right, of course,’ she murmured, her head against his chest. ‘As I shall endeavour to remind you at every opportunity.’

  He put an end to her teasing by forcing her chin up and kissing her ruthlessly.

  ‘When all our visitors have gone,’ he growled once he had reduced her to shivering, adoring silence, ‘which I hope will be very soon now, I plan to make love to you in every room in Rooks Tower. But for now, we will have to confine ourselves to this one.’

  As his mouth covered hers, his arms tightened and he lifted her off the floor, carrying her backwards until she felt the solid edge of the desk against her thighs. The kiss deepened as her lips parted and his tongue invaded her, hinting at the pleasures to come. Her pulse was racing, control slipping away as he pushed her back on the desk. Her wayward body began to sing, straining for his touch. She made one last conscious effort to be rational.

  ‘Dominic, the books!’ she muttered against his mouth as he swept everything from the desk and laid her down on its unyielding surface. His mouth ceased the tender exploration of her lips and he raised his head a fraction to gaze down at her. The intense look in his eyes was so dark, so dangerously seductive that she shivered pleasurably beneath him.

  ‘Damn the books,’ he growled, before lowering his head again and continuing his meticulous inch-by-inch kissing of her body that taught her more about her anatomy than all her reading had ever achieved.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Whirlwind Cowboy by Debra Cowan!

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  Chapter One

  West Texas

  June 1886

  Where was she? The ground was hard beneath her back. Her head pounded as she stared up at a gray sky and the sun hidden behind red-tinted clouds. Carefully pushing herself up on her elbows, she winced as sharp pain speared through her skull. Her shoulder ached, too. She was behind a two-story white brick building she didn’t recognize.

  She touched her temple, and her fingers came away bloody. She inhaled sharply. Blood also streaked her pale blue floral bodice. What had happened?

  A creaking sound had her looking over her shoulder. A saddled black horse watched her with dark eyes. Then she saw a wet stain a couple of feet away.

  She eased over and touched it, startled to realize it was more blood.

  Cold, savage fear ripped through her and she got unsteadily to her feet, fighting back panic. Whatever had happened here had been deadly. She couldn’t remember it, but she knew it.

  Her head throbbed as she looked around wildly, trying to identify something, anything. Not the building hiding her or the store across a dusty street or the railroad tracks beyond. Nothing was familiar.

  Alarmed and confused, she felt tears sting her eyes.

  From the front of the building she heard the heavy thud of boots. A man muttered in a low, vicious voice. The hairs on her arms stood up and fear rushed through her.

  There was no thought, only instinct. She gathered her skirts and hurriedly mounted the waiting horse, riding astride. Her skull felt as though it was being cracked open and she thought she might pass out from the pain.