by Lacy Danes
She sank back into the covers as far away from him as she could.
He walked to the sideboard and picked up a glass. “You did quite well, actually. Exactly as I desired.” He returned to the bedside, leaned in and pressed icy lips to her forehead. “Drink this.” He pulled back and pressed the glass up to her lips.
She wrapped her fingers about the stem. The smooth glass clung to her lips. She had done as he desired? How could what had happened with Jordan be as Hudson desired? She inhaled and smelled strong Porto wine.
He poured a large amount of the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed, trying not to choke on the sweet, earthy flavor.
Hudson took the glass from her and set it by the side of the bed on the floor. He stared at her and cocked his head. “You will never leave this marriage. Especially not the way Laura did.” His cold fingers trailed her cheek and then down the side of her face to Jordan’s bite mark on her neck.
He jerked his fingers away as if burned and swiftly turned away from her on the bed. “No matter how well you did, cover that; show that disgraceful thing to no one.” Hudson scurried from the room with his silk robe billowing out around him as if he ran for his life. He hastily closed the door.
Clank.
The lock turned decisively.
Celeste lay in darkness again. He had gone daft. She certainly hoped she would not die of consumption as his first wife had. The hairs on her arms rose, and she glanced at the window once more. She was not mad enough to stay in this room alone. She would use the servants’ doors.
She threw back the covers and stood. Her head lightened, and her stomach dropped. The room swayed in a swirl of dark haze about her. She grasped for the bed pole, missed, and gained purchase on the coverlet. Shaking to her core, she sat back down on the bed. Oh, the room continued to spin. She was unwell.
“He is up to something.” Carmen’s voice echoed in Celeste’s ears. “That window was not left open by him.”
“Oh, and you think that was the peculiar moment this night? How about the fact that he knew what happened in the bath, and his saying that me being with Jordan was what he wanted? That is peculiar and frankly makes my skin shiver.” Her head pounded. Maybe leaving the room was not an option. She needed to lie down.
“Indeed, that is out of sorts as well, but the window… I know who opened it.”
And she was supposed to simply accept that answer? She pulled back the covers and flopped back into the bed. “Well, who, Carmen?” she managed to mumble.
“Jordan’s brother, Ilmir.”
Her eyes fell heavy. She needed to close them just for one moment. Carmen continued to chatter on in her mind.
“Something more than what is seen is turning the events here. Havanis.”
“Havanis? Pardon? This is all mad talk. Who is that? Who are you?” Her voice sounded distant to her own ears.
“I am the one who caused the brothers’ pain. I should have known Havanis was too clever. I was blind.” Carmen’s voice filled with sorrow.
She worked her throat, struggling to push the words from her mind.
“No sound, Celeste?”
Her heart jumped to a dull thud in her chest, but she could not move.
“You are a strong woman, Celeste. Whatever he gave to you, you will be fine. You simply do not realize the power you possess.”
The world slowly slipped from her consciousness.
Chapter Five
Jordan swung down from his carriage in front of the Duke of Hudson’s London estate. He hummed a lively tune as he went up the cobbled walk to the large front door. He would talk to Hudson, and they would make a deal, no matter how long it would take. Hudson would understand. Then Jordan would take his beauty back to Blood Cove and show her the answers to all her questions.
He would hold her hand the entire way on the carriage ride to the beach. The smell of orange blossoms and candied cherries would fill the air in the confined space. He would start on the journey of getting to know her by asking questions. Who is your favorite author, what musical instrument do you prefer, and do you like to swim? His entire being lit from the inside with happiness he could not contain. He’d found her. Her! She was his, for all time.
But first he needed to deal with Hudson. Hudson was aware of the power of the Zir brothers and of how long they had searched for their origins. He would simply explain to the duke that his new wife was the key to Jordan’s existence, that she was Jordan’s Zir soul partner, the mate he had searched five hundred years for. Hudson would understand what needed to be done. He was, after all, friends with the stranger elements that drifted in and out of the Ton. Jordan took the steps two at a time up to the porch and yanked the door pull.
He stared at a pronounced stripe of wood grain in the large door.
And waited.
Odd he had never noticed that stripe before. He pulled down on his waistcoat and cleared his throat.
And waited.
Bloody hell. He never had to wait to enter. What torture this was. Why was the butler away from the door?
He leaned to the side and with as little grace as possible peered through the tall, wavy glass window that flanked the enormous walnut door. Invisible shards of ice swirled about Jordan’s ankles and shot straight up his spine. He tensed his stomach, and visions of each room in the house rushed at him.
She was not there.
No one was.
What in hell was amiss now? Where was Celeste?
The vision of her in a carriage flashed to his consciousness.
Rough rope dug into the delicate skin of her wrists and the side of her jaw, and her shoulders ached with pain. Her heartbeat rapped a steady drum in her chest. Hudson sat opposite her with his skin snow-pale and eyes filled with the now-glowing sun.
Damn it. Jordan hated the way Hudson leered at Celeste. Her hands lay wrapped in a tattered rope and… Hudson had shanghaied her by force.
Bloody hell. This was the one time he wished he was Ilmir. Jordan couldn’t transform into air. He clenched his jaw and fisted his hands.
He spun back to the drive and his carriage. The gray raven sat on a fence. The bird tilted its head to the side, and its green eyes flashed. Jordan jerked, and the vision of the ancient castle, its walls shimmering with rubies and sapphires, surrounded him again. He didn’t have time for this.
In his mind, he stared down at an intricately carved ebony box. Within the box, nestled in a bed of white and blue precious stones, lay four large stone-like eggs. The woman with dark ebony skin and black hair that hung down to her waist stood next to him over the box.
“I shall protect you always.” She waved her hands in the air above the box and sprinkled herbs and brown liquid on the stones.
“Bring frem og beskyt.
“Nære.
“Skjule.
“Transformer disse elementer og æg med magten af mit blod og magi.
“Begyndelse og en unægtelig evig fremtid af kraft.”
She spoke Nordic, the language of the elements, and Jordan understood her words. Bring forth and protect. Nurture. Hide. Transform these elements and eggs with the power of my blood and magic. Inception and an undeniable eternal future of strength.
Her body jerked, her head fell back, mouth open, as she released a primal moan to the ceiling. Her teeth extended into sharp bone shards from her gums. She leaned forward and bit her wrist, then squeezed her hand, and her body convulsed. A stream of her blood trickled down onto the stone eggs. She turned and stared at Jordan.
Jordan flinched. “What the hell?” Then he was back on the Duke of Hudson’s front stoop. The gray bird was gone.
Who was this ebony woman? Twice now she had come to him in visions. He frowned.
Celeste had said a woman now spoke to her. Maybe that was the connection… He had visions of her, and Celeste could hear her.
And the stone eggs… Were they Zir eggs?
Tension clenched his stomach, and he crunched forward to capture the visions of the elem
ents.
Celeste’s fingers wrapped about his bicep from the carriage seat. She knew he would search for her. That he watched her. If she came near any form of water, he would be there in an instant. The carriage passed a wood sign with the painted word Harwich. They headed toward the coast.
He rushed down the steps and back to his own carriage. The family footman held open the door.
“To Blood Cove.”
The footman nodded without hesitation and shut the door.
Celeste sat in silence and stared at Hudson across the carriage. A day before, he was kind, friendly. Last night and today, he had shown another side. She had woken up in this exact position: seated in the duke’s carriage, hands bound with rope, completely dressed. Who had dressed her? The dress they picked was the one she had planned to wear on the day they headed out on their wedding voyage. This was not how she’d envisioned departing for their tour. She shifted her hands, and the rope dug into her skin. What would he do next? My stars, would he kill her? Her skin prickled with fear, and she straightened her shoulders, trying to find some fortitude.
“Why are you doing this?”
He continued to stare at her without answering. Sweat beaded on his brow, its pearly sheen the only indication he was out of sorts at all.
“I don’t understand this. You obviously know what happened with Jordan. Why are you doing this? Why not call him out? Or punish me?” Then again, maybe this was her punishment. She glanced to Hudson’s ungloved hands, which dropped limply to his sides.
“You have not one whit of an idea what happened, nor what is about to.” His lips moved, and his eyes darkened to pure black. “Jordan and his brothers are not the only creatures that possess the power of eternal life, and money buys all kinds of friends.” His tongue slipped out and wet his lower lip. “You are my key at being safe from this world. Sadly, all too late for Laura.”
She jerked her head back in shock. “Pardon?” Why would he mention his first wife? She had died two years back of consumption.
“There is no need to fret, Duchess.” He flinched as he said the word, then leaned forward and placed one clammy, slimy hand over the brown rope that bound her wrists. She held still. “You have my title, and your family has the Ton’s respect. You will never be Laura.” He stared her straight in the eyes. “But you will provide me with a trait more valuable than love, pain and…” He tilted his head to the side and questioned her with his gaze.
Her hands trembled. What did he mean? She bit back her words and continued to stare at him.
“When the time comes, you will do as a good wife does and give me what is rightfully mine.” Hudson sat back. “If you do such, no one needs to know of your connection with”—his throat worked, and he turned his gaze out the window at the passing fields—“him.”
“Pardon?” A shiver of anger clenched her jaw. “You have gone daft.”
He cackled, and the right side of his mouth quirked up. “Precisely so.” He turned from her and continued to stare out the window.
“Pardon?” A deep, bone-jarring chill racked her body. He admitted such a thing?
“You do so like that word, don’t you. Pardon? Pardon?” He raised his gloved hand, and his fingers half covered his mouth. “Pardon?” He shook his head, blew out a breath, and then turned away from her.
What was wrong with him?
“Indeed.” Carmen’s voice rattled her nerves. “Your husband is not well.”
Celeste rolled her eyes. She was not about to speak aloud to her in the cab of her husband’s coach. He already thought her simple and plain. And daft.
The carriage jerked to a halt, and Celeste slid forward in her seat, her knees slamming into Hudson’s.
Hudson’s jaw clenched, and he hit the roof with his walking cane. “What is this?”
The door flew open, and Jordan’s naked body filled the small opening. His fingers wrapped about her bound wrists and yanked her toward him. Her body lifted, and with a thud, she was draped over his shoulder. He slammed the door back on Hudson before either of them could respond.
Celeste screeched and dangled along his back. “Put me down, Jordan!”
“I shall, but not until we are in a safe location.” He spun from the carriage and strode toward the trees lining the road.
“Untie me. Please!” She pushed with her bound hands against the small of his back, trying to distance her face from his round, bare buttocks. He continued on a path through the trees. She glanced behind them, and the duke’s footmen scurried after them with Hudson not far behind. “He is coming.”
“He cannot do that to you.”
“I am not saying he can. Simply untie me. This is not how this needs to happen. Something is wrong with Hudson.”
“More reason to keep going.” He continued to cut through the trees, the earth slicing past her eyes. The smell of the sea surrounded her, and being hung over his shoulder, no matter how fine the view of his bottom, churned her stomach.
Her head spun, and her limbs shivered. This was horrid. “Put me down, please. My head is spinning, and you shall see for yourself how unwell Hudson is.”
Jordan’s footfalls stopped, and the world stopped with them. She inhaled a steadying breath that didn’t calm her one whit.
“Very well, but I am certainly not allowing him near you.”
Jordan’s feet continued. He turned to the left, beyond a grouping of boulders covered in grass and moss. “So much has happened the last two days. I have so much to tell you, but for now…stay here. I will go see what is amiss with Hudson.”
He dropped her down onto a rock. Her bottom hit the moss-covered surface, and the damp thud her body made reverberated through her entire being. There was no doubt that her pale pink skirts would hold the green hue when she stood. She stared up at Jordan.
His chest was smooth, and a light sprinkling of hair darted down from his belly button to between his legs. “Gracious. You need clothing.”
His sea-colored eyes thrashed in turmoil as if a storm roiled the sea. His brow tightened. “Not at the moment.” He turned and sprinted back out of view.
She stared down at her hands still bound in her lap and frowned. Did he expect her to sit here and wait? She glanced around. There had to be something she could use to release this binding. A stick or a sharp rock might do.
She stood, walked toward the edge of the path, and caught a glimpse of Hudson over the boulder.
Her heart tripled its pace, and she held in a burst of nervous laughter as she ducked behind the stone again. She peered out over the edge.
Hudson stood, arms down at his sides, his gaze aimed straight up the path. She followed his stare to Jordan, who stood a good head and more above Hudson. He too stared unwaveringly.
Jordan stood naked before one of England’s most powerful men. His hands unclenched, and his arms lay lax at his sides. My stars, it was as if he lounged in the middle of his library reading a book. What man stood outdoors without a stitch of clothing on and paid no mind?
Hudson’s pale white brow glimmered with the sheen of sweat. He straightened his shoulders and shifted his weight back onto his heels. “You have what you want. So do I. You want her? All you have to do is allow her to stay with me until the first comes.”
Jordan didn’t move. First what? He already had an heir and spare from his first wife.
“Of course not,” Hudson burst out without waiting for Jordan to reply. He waved his hands in the air as if shooing away a swarm of bees. “Why would you bow down to the likes of me?” Hudson’s once-sparking eyes narrowed.
Why would Hudson think such? Hudson was a duke. Had he lost all opinion of himself? Then again, she lost her good opinion of him. This was a disaster. She needed to do something. But what? She bit her lip.
Hudson turned and stared directly at her.
She tried to pull her head back behind the boulder, but her muscles would not obey. She couldn’t move.
Hudson vanished as she stared at him.
&nb
sp; She blinked. What?
The leaves above her rustled. Her muscles strained and released. She looked up.
Hudson descended upon her as if from the tree itself.
She screeched, turned from him and ran. The cloth of her skirts tucked between her calves and wrapped about her feet. She stumbled. The earth rose hastily up toward her. She kicked her foot out and regained her momentum.
She would not look back. Her skirts tangled again. Her balance wavered; the fabric of her petticoat gripped a bit too tight to her thigh, and she wavered again. She jerked up her arms, but the ropes about her wrists bit into her skin. There was no way to catch her fall.
No. No. No. She could not fall.
Tingling warmth tightened her stomach and shot down her legs. In an instant, her footing caught hold. She burst down the path. Jordan would catch Hudson before Hudson caught her. Of course he would. There was a light ahead.
A clearing or something…
She was almost there…
She ran out into the clearing. A beach.
Fingers wrapped about her waist and pulled her up and back against a puffing chest.
She dangled, kicking her feet and twisting her body.
“Shush now. Do not struggle.” Hudson’s grip tightened. “The last thing I am going to do is hurt you.” His smooth, polished tone grated against her ear. He spun her about and stepped forward, then jerked and stumbled. Celeste grabbed on to him as he landed off center as if teetering on something, but there was nothing but smooth beach before them. He balanced and then toppled. They fell toward the pebbles.
Celeste’s bound arms flailed as Hudson’s grip on her waist released, tossing her to the beach. The pebbles and water’s edge rushed up at her. She screeched. Her knees hit first on the damp shore. A stinging pain shot up her thighs. Her still-bound hands hit in a hard thud that splashed water onto her face.