The Fall of The Wolf (Historical Romance)

by Lynn Coppersmith

  After Rafe had satisfied his hunger, at least for food, he looked at her expectantly. “Your Majesty, my patience is wearing thin. The time has come for you to explain why you have brought me here.”

  Eleta sighed. “Shall we dispense with titles and formalities? You may call me Eleta, and I shall call you Rafe.”

  Rafe blinked. “Pardon me, ma’am, but no one should call you Eleta other than your family or your husband.” He put the last bite of roast beef into his mouth and began to chew.

  “Or my lover,” Eleta said with a suggestive glance from beneath her sooty lashes.

  Rafe choked on the food and went into a fit of coughing. Despite everything that had happened between them since they met, hearing her bald proposition still stunned him. When he had regained his breath, he swallowed and took a deep sip of wine to clear his throat. His stare was once again incredulous.

  “Your Majesty, why on earth would you take a lover before you are married? Don’t you want to preserve your maidenhead for your husband?”

  Eleta scoffed and gave an imperious wave of her slender hand. “My maidenhead is mine to bestow as I wish.” She pinned him with a meaningful stare. “I wish to be deflowered by you.”

  Hearing her say the word deflowered made his mouth go suddenly dry. “But ma’am, it is well known that no queen of Aglaia has ever been unfaithful to her prince. I find it hard to believe that you wish to break that tradition.”

  “I am not breaking with tradition,” the queen said with a haughty lift of her delicate chin. “I do not have a husband yet, I am merely betrothed. Once I am married, I fully intend to remain faithful to my prince. But until then…,” Her gaze locked with his, and her eyes were full of temptation. Her voice had taken on a husky quality that rattled his senses. “…I am free to make love with whomever I choose.” Her lips parted in a seductive smile. “And I choose you.”

  “But why?” he demanded. “You told me before that you despised me because you thought I was responsible for the raids on your land. Why would you choose to make love to an enemy?”

  Eleta shook her head. “I never said I despised you.” She swallowed hard, realizing that she felt he was anything but despicable. Her task would be so much simpler if only he were.

  “You certainly looked like you despised me today, when you were listening to that young boy’s tale,” Rafe insisted.

  “I don’t despise you, Rafe,” Eleta said softly. “In fact, you are the only one I trust to become my lover.”

  Her words pleased Rafe more than he wanted to admit. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and sharp pangs of desire shooting into his loins. “Why me?” he managed to rasp. “Why choose a total stranger, and moreover, a stranger that you should despise if you believe me guilty of attacking your people?”

  Eleta had no answer for that, and she was momentarily at a loss. Then, remembering her lessons, she gave a husky laugh. Men loved to be flattered and have their egos stroked. She looked at him for a long moment then let her hungry gaze slide slowly down his chest. Her eyes rested briefly on his obvious erection before she met his stare once more. She raised one delicate brow and gave him a suggestive smile. Her voice was as smooth as velvet.

  “Your reputation precedes you, Rafe. Your skills as a lover are legendary. I wanted my first sexual experiences to be memorable.”

  Rafe was mortified to feel the heat of a blush climbing his neck. He had not been so flustered by a woman since he was an untried youth. In fact, he had never felt the degree of desire inspired by the queen, and that thought frightened him. He didn’t like the feeling of not being in total control.

  Recalling his situation, he frowned and drew a deep breath into his strangled lungs.

  “Ma’am, if you wanted…”

  She interrupted him. “Eleta,” she insisted with a smile.

  Rafe gave an exasperated sigh and ignored her interruption. “If you wanted to become my lover, why would you need to abduct me in order to do so? You could have simply summoned me to your palace. I would have been more than willing to indulge your request.”

  Eleta gave a small shake of her head. “I had no wish to conduct my private affairs in front of the members of my court. Nor do I wish for my betrothed to learn of our liaison. I desired total privacy so that we may…indulge… at our leisure.”

  She gave him a smoldering look from beneath her sooty lashes. Both her voice and that look promised all manner of indulgences. Once again, Rafe felt hot blood pounding through his cock, and his balls tightened painfully.

  “Ma’am,…”

  “Eleta,” she interjected.

  His chest rumbled with a frustrated growl. “Eleta,” he said grudgingly, “that still doesn’t explain why I am a prisoner here. Why did you feel the need to chain me like some animal?”

  Eleta wiped her mouth daintily with the napkin before laying it aside. She rose and came to Rafe. Their eyes locked, and she sank onto his lap. The heat of her bottom snuggled intimately against his groin was pure feminine enticement. His shaft throbbed and strained against the luscious globes of her bottom, and he could not resist closing his hands around her waist. He felt her hot breath fan his ear as she leaned even closer.

  “Perhaps I fantasized about having my own personal sex slave,” she whispered.

  She saw his brows lift in surprise, and she gave a throaty chuckle. Not waiting for a response, Eleta looped her arms around his neck and gave him a scorching kiss.

  She had intended to take charge of the situation and put a stop to his questions. She had no way of knowing that she had just destroyed any hope of him retaining some self control. The chivalrous part of his conscience groaned in defeat, while the devilish part delighted. He discarded the last of his inhibitions and devoured her mouth with a kiss that erased her ability to think. She could no longer focus on anything other than his intoxicating kisses. This was a realm in which he was the master, and she was the novice. Learning about lovemaking in theory was all well and good. Experiencing it in the flesh, while at the mercy of an expert, was a whole different thing.

  Heat welled between them until it erupted into a conflagration. He grasped her jaw and held her steady while he plundered her mouth with possessive thoroughness. She had surrendered her body to him, and Rafe simply seized her offering. He inwardly smiled as she melted further into his embrace. He knew there was much she wasn’t telling him. However, he was confident that with enough persuasion, she would reveal all. He intended to entice every secret from her beautiful lips, but there was no way he wasn’t going to make love to her. His reservations had evaporated. He was going to act out every one of his lurid fantasies, and he would worry about the consequences afterward.

  Eleta floundered beneath the relentless pleasure he lavished on her. She could not breathe except through him. Molten heat began to pool in her loins, and the intensity of the sensations made her squirm in his arms. She released a helpless moan. The sound only made him ravenous for more. His lips were cajoling, coaxing hers to answer. She forgot everything she had been taught and simply responded to the glory of his touch.

  Eventually, Rafe began to explore. His lips branded her as he trailed fiery kisses along her jaw and neck. He suckled the pulse point beneath her ear, and she gasped. The flesh between her thighs began to throb, and slick moisture began to dribble down the insides of her legs. All she could do was clutch his shoulders and hang on, shivering with delight as his mouth moved lower. The swells of her bosom were mapped out in glorious detail. His tongue and lips found every curve and valley. His fingers ventured into her bodice, teasing her already hardened nipples. Every flick of his fingers sent a jolt of hunger into her lower belly.

  Eleta didn’t realize he had stood up until she heard the rattle of the chain around his ankle. She opened her eyes and met his gaze as he carried her to the massive bed. He laid her on the soft white sheets, and his hands made short work of removing her gown. The fine silk stomacher, chemise, stockings, garters and slippers provided litt
le challenge, and within a few moments, they were scattered around the bed. Rafe raked his fingers through her hair, spilling pins and combs in every direction. Finally, he had the ebony tresses free. He combed them out, splaying them across the pillows just as he had imagined doing, and then he straightened to look his fill. She was even more beautiful than in his fantasies.

  The room was quiet, except for their ragged breathing and the crackling of the fire. Eleta exhibited no maidenly shyness. Instead, she lay with her arms relaxed on either side of her head, waiting patiently as Rafe visually devoured her body with proprietary thoroughness. She hid nothing from his hungry gaze, and it thrilled her to watch the flames of desire in his eyes leaping ever brighter. The fact that he remained fully clothed while she was entirely nude was strangely erotic. The fact that she was on display for him only heightened her desire, and she revelled in the moment as her excitement continued to build.

  Rafe took in the perfection of her pale skin, smoother than the finest silk. His emerald eyes darkened with passion as they roamed over her plump, quivering breasts. They rose and fell with her rapid breaths, and he yearned to taste them. They were high and firm and even more tantalizing than he had imagined they would be. Her nipples stood impudently firm atop their crests, and he was finally able to see their dark pink color. They reminded him of tiny raspberries dipped in powdered sugar. As he watched, they tightened into even harder nubs, practically begging for his mouth and hands, and his cock throbbed in response. He catalogued her smooth belly, dimpled navel, trim waist and perfectly rounded hips. A coy thatch of black hair covered her mound, and her legs were long and beautifully shaped. The thought of them wrapped around him as he plunged into her made his eyes flare even hotter.

  He met and held her gaze once more, trying to plumb the mysterious sherry colored depths of her eyes. He could find no reason to doubt that she had brought him here to be her lover. No other explanation made any sense. The question plaguing his mind was why. Why go about it as she had done, and why him?

  Rafe shrugged his coat off and tossed it aside. Then, he straddled her knees and leaned down to kiss her. While his lips nibbled at hers, he cupped her breasts in his palms and began to knead. His fingers knew just how to incite her passion, stroking and caressing as her breasts swelled and her skin flushed with heat. White hot flames licked through Eleta’s body to settle in her loins. She released a heartfelt moan and writhed beneath his touch. All her lessons had focused on pleasing a man. Nary a one had prepared her for this.

  Rafe released her mouth and watched her face as he fondled her. Her eyes were closed, and her brows were drawn together in concentration. Her tiny white teeth nibbled her lush bottom lip, and it trembled as she released yet another hungry moan. He was fascinated by the contrast of his sun bronzed hands and her alabaster skin. He rolled her swollen nipples between his fingers and thumbs, teasing and pinching them until they stood even more erect. His reward was a gasping sigh.

  Eleta’s eyes were closed, but they came open in shock when he bent to suckle her breast into the flaming cavity of his mouth. She arched helplessly beneath him, sobbing in pleasure. He suckled strongly at her breast using his tongue and teeth. His hunger was reminiscent of a starving babe. Every strong tug of his mouth caused her womb to throb with empty hunger. Every lash of his velvety tongue made her ache with emptiness.

  When his kisses drifted even lower, Eleta released a frustrated moan. Rafe simply chuckled, nibbling on the underside of her succulent breasts and nipping at the delicate planes of her stomach. He spread her knees wide apart and settled his shoulders between them as he continued to kiss his way to her core. Rafe met her eye briefly before turning his attention to her mound and the tender pink flesh beneath. He trailed his fingers through her folds, marvelling at her slick heat. She shivered with anticipation. No man had ever seen her womanly flesh, and she basked in his hungry gaze as his examined her for the first time.

  Eleta watched his expressions from beneath heavy lids. She knew what he was going to do before he did it. She had been taught that men sometimes enjoyed tasting a woman’s dew. As part of her education, she had watched through secret panels as unsuspecting couples performed all manner of sexual acts. She had seen men exploring women with their mouths many times, taking notes on the techniques used and the ways in which a woman could entice her lover to partake. However, when Rafe swept his fiery tongue along her cleft, she realized all those lessons had failed to make her understand the earth shattering pleasure she would experience in that moment.

  Eleta arched her hips toward him, crying out in helpless need. The heat of his mouth on her was indescribable, and she could not form a coherent thought. She had no choice but to trust him and follow his lead. She opened her thighs wide and tilted her hips up in supplication, mindlessly begging for more.

  Rafe speared her with one broad finger, growling as her velvety sheath clenched around its length. He stroked her slick depths, watching as she pumped her hips in rhythm with his motions. God, she was beautiful! Her musky dew flowed freely over his fingers and tongue, and he savored the tangy sweet flavor that was uniquely her own. His erection strained against his breeches. He ached to bury himself in her welcoming heat, but he wasn’t going to do so until he got some answers. He concentrated all his efforts on drowning her in a blissful haze. He suckled the sensitive nub of her arousal and then stroked it with his tongue. He could not seem to have enough of her, and he gripped the globes of her bottom as he feasted.

  Eleta’s world listed crazily. She was helpless to resist the barrage of sensation. Reasoning and thought were pushed out of her mind. The only things she could focus on were his tongue, teeth, fingers and lips and what they were doing to her tender flesh. His voice finally reached her through a haze of pleasure.

  “Why have you really brought me here?” he asked, never pausing in his ministrations.

  Eleta tried to formulate an answer, but the tension in her womb was winding too tight. She moaned and writhed, clutching his head closer still. “Please,” she moaned, “Rafe, please!”

  Rafe gave a growl of approval when he heard his name as her breathless plea. He drove her ever higher toward the summit, but kept her from reaching the peak. He suckled and stroked, lapped and nibbled until she was sobbing and begging for fulfillment and his own body was clamoring for release.

  “Please, Rafe. Please…” She sobbed.

  “Why have you really brought me here?” he asked insistently. He teased her with his fingers, lightly pinching her hooded nub.

  “To fulfill the prophecy,” she gasped, mindless with need.

  As soon as the words were out, she wished she could take them back. Her response had the effect of throwing a bucket of ice water on Rafe. He froze and his startled eyes met hers. He slowly rose to his feet and stood towering over her. Fiery sparks of suspicion glittered in the emerald depths of his eyes. His gaze raked her from the slick, throbbing flesh between her thighs to her face. His features were contorted by stark desire mixed with mistrust as he all but snarled at her.

  “What prophecy?” he growled.

  Eleta lay pinned beneath his piercing stare. She gulped with fear. She had finally come face to face with the fierce Wolf of the East!

  Chapter Six

  Rafe grabbed Eleta’s upper arms and pulled her up onto her knees on the bed. His fingers dug into her flesh, and she knew she would have bruises in the morning. They were touching from shoulder to hip, and her nipples tingled from brushing against the soft cloth of his shirt. For once, he didn’t seem to notice as he pressed his face toward her until they were nose to nose. They could both smell her musky dew on his lips, and their eyes had matching sparks of desire. His searched her expression for some hint of the truth, and his breath was a hot blast on her face.

  “What prophecy?” he repeated, his voice even more menacing than before.

  Eleta gulped and tried to gather her scrambled wits. This was not going according to plan. Her tutors had not prepared her
for the possibility that the wolf would not be so easily seduced. Everyone had taken it for granted that with her beauty and with the proper coercion, Rafe would simply fall beneath her spell. She had been prepared with all the knowledge and skills necessary to beguile him. She had not been expecting him to beguile and befuddle her. Nor had she planned to tell him anything about the prophecy.

  Rafe gave her an impatient shake that was none too gentle. “What prophecy?” he demanded once again.

  Eleta retreated behind her regal facade that had always served her well in the past. She raised one haughty brow and tilted her chin so that she could look down her nose at him. Her eyes scolded him for his insolence.

  “Let go of me,” she commanded.

  Rafe hesitated, and for what seemed like an eternity, she thought he would refuse. His eyes narrowed as he held her gaze for several heartbeats. Finally, he released her and turned away, placing his hands on his hips. Eleta sank onto her heels, drawing a shaky breath and trying to regain her composure.

  Several fraught moments passed as each of them struggled to leash their own raging desires. Rafe ran a trembling hand through his hair and glanced at her from over his shoulder. She was still sitting on her knees on the edge of the bed. Her long hair framed her nudity, providing enticing glimpses of her curved hips and swollen nipples, still red from his mouth. He snapped his gaze back to the fireplace and growled in displeasure as another wave of hot blood flooded into his loins. He was sorely tempted to take her now and ask questions later.

  “Damn it woman! Find some clothes and cover yourself!”

  Eleta flinched from the harshness of his tone. She rose from the bed and crossed to one of the large wardrobes in the corner. Rafe could hear the sounds of rustling fabric, and he struggled to draw a deep breath into his lungs as he waited. She padded back to him on bare feet, and when he turned, the vision that assailed him took what little breath he had away.