by Ria Cantrell
Erik pinned Randall with those cold Nordic blue eyes and he said smugly, “I am not concerned. I know how to…break down her defenses…though; I suppose I should not say such a thing to her brother.”
Again Randall raised one eyebrow and he said, “Well, I truly would much rather hear how my sister earned a spanking, for that had to be quite a tale.”
“Mmm, tail, yes,” Erik replied with a devilish grin at the pun. “In truth, I think if she could have murdered me after I did it, she would have, but then a storm threatened and she withdrew her daggers. For all her bravado, the threat of the storm took the fight out of her.”
“A storm, ah yes, she does not like storms. I am sure the storm quelled her more than anything your discipline could have done.”
Janelle cleared her throat. She had really grown fond of Rhianna in the short time since first they arrived at du Montefort Keep. Shaking her head, Janelle objected, “You are both despicable men! And Monty, did nothing else that your sister said register? I mean I know you had a foggy memory before, but that is all passed now. Do you not remember what else Rhianna was trying to say?”
“She said that she was spoilt and….”
“No, you and Erik said she was spoilt. She never said she was spoilt. What else?”
“She said I need to see to you, because you aren’t feeling well. After all the care you have given me, she is right.”
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Janelle argued, “She said I am like other women who feel unwell in the morning….”
A look of revelation finally came into Randall’s eyes. “You mean--you are--that I am….”
Janelle smiled despite her queasy stomach and said, “I am, and yes, you are…it seems a good idea that we wed soon after all.”
All teasing and jocularity left Randall and he said, “Oh, my God, Janelle, you are going to have a baby?”
Erik winked at Janelle and silently excused himself from the table. He would have to make amends, no doubt, with Rhianna or there may not be a wedding after all. He also wanted to give the couple privacy to discuss the delicacy of Janelle’s condition anyway, so he took himself off to find and ultimately appease Rhianna’s bristling anger.
Randall grabbed Janelle into his arms and he said, “Really? You are pregnant? You are going to have a baby?”
“We are going to have a baby, Randall. Rhianna has been treating me for the sickness that plagues women in my condition.”
Randall kissed her and said, “Oh, my beautiful Janelle. You have made me whole again. I was not so much even a man when you found me and you have restored my mind and given me so much more.”
“Monty, it was you who restored me. I know that now. I carried the weight of my husband’s death so deeply in my heart, as if I struck him down myself. Don’t you see? Because of your love, I have been granted a second chance; one I clearly did not deserve, but have been granted just the same.”
“I already told you, that was not your fault. But as for second chances, we both have been granted those. Come; let me see you settled and comfortable. You need to rest.”
Janelle was not used to being coddled, but she did feel unwell and thought perhaps a rest would be a good idea.
~Chapter Thirty-One~
When Erik found Rhianna, he approached her with caution and a sheepish grin on his face. She saw him coming her way and she turned her back on him. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and she hissed, “Do not come any nearer, Erik.”
Undaunted, he slid his hands around her waist and pushing her ebony tresses from her shoulder, he kissed the spot where her neck joined to it, knowing that she liked being kissed there.
“You don’t mean that,” he said, gently nibbling at her nape. She felt herself react to him and she fought down the desire he instantly brought to the surface with his charming kisses. She elbowed him and smiled with satisfaction as she heard him grunt from the force of her shoving blow. She turned on him and distilled the desire with her anger. She snapped, “You are a horse’s arse!”
Erik tipped his head and raised his eyes to hers ruefully. With a boyish pout he said, “You don’t mean that, either. Give me a kiss.”
“Oh, but I do mean it. And do not even think to distract me with kisses.”
His sensual mouth started to form a grin and he said, “My kisses distract you?”
“As if you don’t know! Yes, damn you, they distract me.”
“Come here, for I think you are in much more need of distraction than of spanking.”
As shocked horror forced Rhianna to go agape at his words again, Erik grabbed her into his arms and kissed her soundly. Nipping at his bottom lip, Rhianna growled, “I hate you.”
“Yes, I know; so you told me. But you are a terrible liar.”
Pushing her up against the wall without hurting her, Erik punished her now with kisses that made her knees weak. He looked into her eyes as his body pinned her to the cold stone behind her and he said, “Take back what you said. You do not hate me.”
“I do,” she vowed.
Kissing her again, he felt her resolve weaken.
“Take it back, Rhianna. You do not hate me,” he said emphatically. He kissed her again and he felt her respond. As their tongues did the battle that her words could not, it was Erik who felt sorely punished. Feeling her pressed beneath him and her breasts rising and falling as her breathing became heavier was torture to him. By all that was holy, or rather, unholy, he wanted to take her right there against the wall.
He growled, “Take it back, Rhianna. You do not hate me.”
She moaned as she felt his hand cup her breast through her gown. She could feel him grow hard against her thigh as he held her trapped between his two powerful legs.
“I--do--not--hate you,” she stammered and he kissed her fully, allowing the contact of his body against hers to foster the intimacy that was implied with the kiss.
“I knew you were lying,” Erik said with a triumphant smirk.
“But you are still a horse’s arse!”
He laughed at her words. She was not so aroused that she could not still spar with him. If truth were to be told, he loved that about her. Sliding his hand with intimate familiarity into the top of her gown, his fingers delved down until he felt her nipple peak into his palm. He said, “I admit, I can be a jackass, but make no mistake, my thorny little rose, I love you.”
As he tweaked that little bud with his thumb, he felt her gasp again. He loved how she responded to him. He fairly ached for release as he could sense her response to his touch and then his lips were upon hers. He whispered, “I was not joking about the tapestry. In truth, Rhianna, I want you and would not even be afraid of getting caught.”
“No,” she said in horror. She was afraid of being caught and certainly any number of people could pass by them even now as his hand was brazenly inside her bodice.
“But I won’t, love. I would not cause you such embarrassment as to ravish you right here against the wall.”
The way he said that forced Rhianna to grab his face and pull him in for a kiss that now caused Erik’s legs to turn to jelly. He pulled her into a nearby alcove that was used to store old furniture and things and he bumped into a rough bench that was no longer being used. The alcove was dark and by the look of it, few people had ventured into it in quite some time. Kissing her deeply, and feeling her respond to him only heightened his desire. Perhaps he would not ravish her against the wall for anyone passing to see them, but a darkened store room was the perfect place for a heady tryst.
Erik shucked his trews quickly and he pulled Rhianna onto his lap on that old bench. He only hoped the splintering wood would hold for at least a few minutes and not put sharp shards into his behind in the process. His hands crept up her legs and he said honestly, “I want you, Rhianna.”
Her response was a moan that he could not deny and so, pushing her skirts up, Erik drew her on top of him. He wondered if she was ready, for he never wanted to hurt her, but as she put her hand
s on his shoulders and straddled his legs, she guided him inside of her. He felt that she was slick and hot and ready! He forgot about the uncomfortable splinters of moldering wood pricking into his backside for the moment. He only felt the wonderful wet way his beautiful woman welcomed him inside of her body.
Rhianna abandoned all thoughts of propriety and anger as she felt his hard length fill her thickly. She forgot about her duties and tasks at the moment. She lost herself in the blissful joining as Erik moved beneath her. As he filled her, she rocked above him, taking him deeply into her. She sheathed him and clenched around him, causing him to moan softly. His hand wandered beneath her skirts, which pooled around them and he trailed his fingers over her thigh and hip. She sucked in her breath at the feel of his cool touch on her heated flesh. She rode over him, clasping his spread thighs with her own.
Erik’s rigid length seemed to stretch deeper within her and she moved more rapidly; raising her body and bringing it down against him. He was amazed at how quickly she could bring him to the edge and he wanted her to climax with him. His hand moved between them and he circled the little bud which was already swollen and sensitive to his touch. It happened fast this time and she stifled a cry as she tossed her ebony locks behind her. Her voice caught in her throat and it was all she could do to not scream as she reached that heightened place that Erik was so good at bringing her to. His hips pumped faster beneath her as he felt her dewy essence soak over him. He felt the tightening in his groin that signaled he was about to come and kissing her deeply, he released inside of her, spiraling with her as they climaxed together.
He drew her head against his shoulder and he whispered, “I love you so much, my beautiful Rhianna.”
As she fought to control her breathing once again, Rhianna clung to him. She could feel his strength and as he spoke to her heart with words of love, she knew that no amount of the many ways in which he annoyed her could change the way she loved him, too.
When they had calmed enough after their brief but tempestuous joining, Erik helped her off of his lap and he watched as her skirts folded back around her ankles. He tucked himself back into his trews and he stood up. His legs felt boneless and he willed himself to calm enough to walk. He took her into his arms and kissed the top of her hair. He said honestly, “You undo me. No woman has ever had this effect on me. No matter what my resolve is, I cannot seem to keep my hands off of you.”
With a shy look up at him, Rhianna replied, “I am not sure I want you to.”
Erik laughed at her honesty. He loved that about her, too. She spoke her mind and she did not try to pretend she meant something else. What she said, she meant…even if she said she hated him. He was quite sure that at that moment, she had harbored ill will toward him, for Rhianna was not prone to lying. Erik was glad for that. He also knew that she was not one to hold a grudge, so as soon as she was done being angry at him, she thought no longer upon it.
As he held her to steady himself as much as to steady her, she said, “I feel all…trembly inside, Erik.”
“I know. I do, as well. You know how to unnerve a man; that is certain.”
Erik kissed her and added, “But I would not have it any other way. No other woman has ever made me feel like this.”
Tilting her head back and smiling, Rhianna said, “Oh sure, do you expect me to believe such flattery?”
Cupping her jaw with a firm but gentle grasp, Erik seriously answered, “I was not a virgin, nor celibate when I came to your bed. I would be a fool to claim such a thing, but I vow that no woman has ever made me feel as you do. I stand on my honor, Rhianna.”
Like Erik had just thought, Rhianna knew that when Erik said something, she was certain he meant it. She was pretty sure that when Erik Ragnorsen made a vow, his sense of honor would hold him fast to it. She knew he was not some innocent lad when they first made love, and she was actually glad for it. Someone surely needed to know what to do and she was happy that someone had been Erik. She did not hold his experience in that against him, but she was pretty certain she did not want him to share that passion again with anyone else. She put her hands on her hips and she looked up into his cool blue eyes, which sparkled with quelled passion. She said pertly, “You may have not been innocent when first you came to my bed, but I vow, Erik Ragnorsen, that should you find yourself in another woman’s bed hereafter, you will not be permitted in mine again.”
“Saucy witch, I have no intention of seeking another woman’s bed but yours. What you do not know about me is that unlike many men who seek mistresses, once I take my marriage vows, I will not break them with infidelity. That is why I was so miserable when I had learned I was to wed a craven and ancient crone…for I would not seek the bed of one more beautiful once the betrothal was set. How lucky I found myself to be marrying a curvy and tantalizing little sorceress after all.
Rhianna blushed a little at his assessment of her but she retorted, “Perhaps, but do not tempt me, sir, for you may find yourself croaking and leaping about eating flies if you provoke my wrath.”
Erik smugly laughed and said, “You would not dare, else how should you enjoy, hemmm, what we just enjoyed if you do such a thing?”
Rhianna gasped and said, “You are a horrible, horrible man, Erik Ragnorsen.”
“Indeed. It is best you learn it now, so there will be no surprises once we wed.”
She tried to push him away, playfully, but he grabbed her tightly in his arms and he nibbled her sensitive earlobe gently. He whispered more seriously, “I love you, Sorceress, and if I am turned into a toad because of it, I would happily accept my fate.”
She kissed him, then, happy to feel his arms around her and happy that, despite their banter, he loved her and she loved him. Just feeling his arms around her caused desire to course through her again, so soon after they had just found release in each other’s arms.
As Rhianna settled into his embrace, she rested her head on his chest and she heard the wild thudding of his heart beneath the muscled plane her cheek laid upon. She breathed in his scent which was mingled with hers and she closed her eyes. As she enjoyed the peaceful afterglow of the most amazing sexual encounter she had ever experienced, she felt the serenity of being loved. It was short lived.
She sucked in her breath as if her heart had been ripped from her chest as a malevolent vision blurred her mind. Her calm and contentment was instantly thwarted. She nearly fell to her knees and Erik dropped down with her. Concern marred his face. Something was terribly wrong with his beautiful Rhianna. She had gone unnaturally pale and was trembling; this time it was not from passion. He had thought that perhaps she had swooned or was experiencing some sort of attack, but as he knelt beside her, he saw tears welling in her eyes; a look of terror was mirrored in them. Gasping for air, she held a hand over her heart as if she was in danger of it stopping. Pain seared through her chest and she struggled to breathe. Erik demanded, “Beloved, what is it? What is wrong?”
“Danger; there is great danger for you....”
“I am here to protect you. I am not in any danger.”
“And for me. Erik, the sinister evil is not done with us. I saw it, like a picture unfolding before my eyes. The evil is within our walls…it is here; it is!”
Erik was not a man usually prone to superstitious predictions, but somehow, he believed that if Rhianna perceived a threat of some kind, he knew better than to negate it with logic.
“I promise to keep you safe, my love. You have nothing to fear.”
Raising her widened eyes to his, Rhianna sobbed, “I have everything to fear if I lose you.”
~Chapter Thirty-Two~
Drew was coming off of his watch duty and heading toward the main hall to get a bite to eat when he felt this strange panic well up inside of him. Something was wrong; dreadfully wrong, but he could not pinpoint what the trouble could be. Since coming to du Montefort Keep, his sense of intuition was growing stronger. Though he had been able to keep it at bay for most of his life, he harnessed it to
his advantage in becoming a strong soldier. He had become a leader of men because of his ability to sense his foe’s next move and always be one step ahead of any imminent danger.
Drew was not one to believe in such things, per se, but as time went on, he realized that this sixth sense had been used to his benefit. Today, at this moment, it was different. He sensed a presence of evil and he felt it to be close by. The magnitude of it nearly took his breath away. He would need to find Erik, but he did not talk of this sort of thing to him. Drew had been able to just keep it mostly to himself and he was not certain how he would approach Erik with his reservations. He could not simply go to Erik and say that he felt danger or evil under their roof. Erik would think he had gone mad and Drew was not so certain that he would be incorrect in that thinking.
Drew did not understand why his sixth sense had heightened since his arrival in this place, but it seemed his instincts and precognitive perceptions were increasing. Drew had a feeling that being in Rhianna’s presence had something to do with the magnifying of his own uncanny senses, as he was wont to call them.
He sat down at a trestle table and pondered how he would broach the subject with Erik. Erik was always cool and logical. He was not a man to give in to silly superstitions, but Drew knew this was not just simply being irrational. Dragging a hand through his hair, he blew out his breath heavily. God’s teeth, the imminent danger was almost palpable. He would try to convince Erik to double the guards, but somehow, Drew felt that it would not matter. The threat was already under their roof under the guise of a friend or an ally of some sort.