Audelia turned on her side, watching the flame as it danced, molten wax slipping down the length of the candle and into the saucer that held it. She knew she shouldn’t want more than what he was offering but a tiny space in her heart triggered sparks of hope with each passing hour.
A tap came on her door so gently that Audelia had almost missed it. Glancing up, she frowned, listening. The tap came again and she quietly eased out of bed, taking the candle with her. Pressing her ear close to the cool wooden door, she curved her hand around the flame, lest it was to blow out.
“Who is it?”
The smooth sensual voice that came afterwards sent a jolt of electricity straight down into her toes. “Unlock your door before I manage to wake the entire house.”
Shuffling clumsily, she slid the bolt aside and opened it to see Lord St. Rosso taking up the entire entrance. “C-come in.”
“I hardly thought you’d leave me standing here on so cold a night.” Ulric smiled and stepped over the threshold, his hands clasped behind him. In truth, it was the only thing he could do to save himself from thrusting his lustful hands all over her body. “Couldn’t not sleep, could you?”
Audelia took a wide path around him and placed down the candle. “I was reading.”
“About romance again?”
“Medicine, actually.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed, now at a good enough distance where she could watch him comfortably. Ulric St. Rosso was certainly not overdressed. In fact, he looked as if he’d come to see her straight from his own bed. His white long-sleeved cotton shirt seemed as if it had simply been thrown on, the neckline unbuttoned and revealing a portion of a smooth wide chest. His breeches were also folded at his knees, exposing well-formed and very, very naked legs. Sweet heavens, his feet were bare. Audelia swallowed and forced her gaze elsewhere, anywhere but on him.
“Medicine?” Ulric raised a brow and chuckled. “You read about philosophy, romance...and now medicine. Are you still expecting me to remain convinced that you are just an average wench?”
“We are all entitled to our own opinions,” she muttered, breath jilting as she watched him move closer. “Medicine happens to be a long-time interest of mine.”
“So, you’d aspired to be a physician then?” He sat next to her, pulling her hands into his.
“Yes.” Audelia watched his thumbs as they moved slowly over her palms, gently kneading the area. “It was what I’d dreamed of.”
Ulric brought one trembling palm up to his jaw and turned his face into it, kissing the inside of her wrist. “An ambitious dream, that was.”
“I suppose.”
“I missed you dreadfully today.”
Audelia licked her drying lips, startled at his confession. Men like him were not supposed to be so open with expressing their feelings. “I thought you were avoiding me.”
“Hardly. My sister had you in tow for the entire blasted day. I was almost ready to steal you away from her selfish clutches.”
Audelia chuckled, reveling in the way his lips felt against her skin. “But then you’d have to come up with a plausible excuse as to why you were in need of a lady’s maid.”
“That too. My dignity would have suffered greatly.”
Smiling, she slowly pulled back her hand and quickly glanced down at her thin white nightgown. Instinctively, her arms went upwards, folding about her breasts. The last time they had been together, his gaze had not been so painfully thorough and Audelia feared that she might lose all the courage she had carefully cultivated over the past year.
“Why’d you come?”
Ulric pulled Audelia’s arms from their firm hold about herself and moved in just a bit closer, tipping her chin so that she looked him in the eyes. “I should think that was rather obvious. My day has been miserable.” He then lowered his head and murmured against her sweet lips, “I’ve missed these.”
“I’d missed you too.”
Pulling back, he raised one skeptic brow. “Did you, really?”
She nodded, reaching for his hard muscular shoulders. “I did.”
“Why not seek me out then? You knew where to find me.”
“That would have hardly been proper.”
Tracing a finger down Audelia’s neck and slipping it inside the neckline of her gown, Ulric teased the soft flesh of her breasts, never missing the low eager gasps that rushed pass those luscious lips.
“ ‘Proper’?” Hardly the word he’d expected from her mouth. He nipped at the corner of her mouth and brushed his thumbs over the pebbled imprints of her nipples. “I am not a proper man, Audelia. This...is not proper. And the things I want to do to you is very far from it.”
Swallowing, Audelia released a throaty moan as Ulric’s forefinger and thumb did marvelous things to her right nipple. “What...what things?”
Covering her mouth with his, Ulric crushed her slender body against his, his hand slipping beneath the hem of her gown, and yanking the fabric up over her blessedly cool naked thighs.
“Do you want me?” he breathed against her neck, longing to hear her say the words that would set his blood on fire. “Say it.”
“I want you. Please...”
Ulric lifted her and dumped her lightly in the middle of the bed, her raised hem giving him quite a pretty view of her dainty little drawers. That would have to go very soon. His hands worked easily and quickly, easing the nightgown up and over her head, her small breasts jiggling teasingly by the movement. Sliding over her length, he took one hard nipple in his mouth and sucked hard, grinding against her as small feminine fingers gripped into the hair at his nape.
“Say my name, Audelia,” he whispered fervently against her smooth skin. “Tell me what you want.”
She sighed and wrapped her thighs about his waist. “Touch me, Bryce.”
Groaning, he slipped a hand between them, reaching inside her drawers. His fingers brushed through the low soft curls that he found there and then pressed firmly against her hard bud. Audelia’s hips shot off the bed but he held her firm, teasing and taunting her as she writhed and squirmed beneath him. Good heavens, she was so very passionate, an attribute that did not serve well in dampening his growing ego. Passion such as this was certain to keep him coming back to her bedchamber for more and more...and damned more.
Ulric slid his tongue inside of her mouth, thoroughly pleased when Audelia pulled him in closer and took control. Her small wicked tongue swept in and sparred with his own, teasing him back into an ardent kiss. Slipping two fingers inside her already damp heat, Ulric hissed a low curse and pumped in and out, feeling the tremors that coursed her body.
“Oh god,” she gasped, clutching on to his shoulders tightly, her low nails biting into his skin. “That feels... That feels... Oh! Oh my...”
Audelia squeezed her eyes shut, reaching for Ulric’s hand where it was doing deliciously wicked things to her body. She yanked on his wrist and he obliged, looking down at her with a satisfied grin.
“I’ll only do what you permit me to do,” he said, brushing his mouth across her sweat dampened cheek.
“I want to feel you,” she panted, swallowing deeply and trying to catch her breath. “Let me feel you.”
Ulric rolled to the side and eased from the bed, yanking off his shirt in record speed. He could feel her gaze on him just as much as he could see it, and his manhood twitched at the very thought of it, its head straining at the front of his loose breeches, raring to go. Slowly unbuttoning his trousers, Ulric watched her as she watched him, her glossy brown eyes eager and showing him just a hint of the pleasures he would be accomplishing tonight.
“You stare so boldly,” he stated, sliding the garment down his thighs and kicking them off his feet.
“And you tease.”
Audelia’s chest was still moving in a rhythmic heave, her fingers unknowingly and gently tugging on one ripe nipple. The action aroused Ulric to the brink and he moved in on her and pinned said hand down above her head, licking at the nippl
e. “You are a wicked woman.”
Before she could even take another breath, Ulric found his way back between her accommodating thighs and pressed deep until every glorious inch of his length was buried to the hilt inside her sweetness.
Audelia’s moans echoed in his ears, growing louder and louder with every firm thrust of his hips. He kissed her then, swallowing her fervent whimpers and sighs. If they were in his own bedchamber, Ulric would have allowed her to scream and groan all she wanted and as loudly as she wished. But as much as he loved the way she moaned in effect of his own doing, Ulric hardly desired to wake the servants who were less than two doors away in this otherwise silent night.
Holding her tightly to him, he continued to kiss her senseless. He pushed her legs even further apart as he pounded harder and harder inside of her until she was shaking like a leaf beneath him, clutching to his body as if her very life depended on it. It was not much longer that her nails sunk deeper into his back, stilled for a blinding moment...and then her damp beautiful body went totally limp.
Ulric gasped, releasing a wild curse and then whispered her name as he released his seed deep inside her womb. When he rolled off her, his own limbs felt weak, his strength drained and he pulled her over onto his chest before succumbing to sleep.
*
Some time later, Audelia’s eyes fluttered open, her gaze taking in the complete darkness that filled the room. She could not make out a thing except for the warm wide chest that cushioned her cheek and the strong heartbeat that echoed within it. One strong masculine arm circled her waist, providing a protective embrace that she had never had before. But the feeling was a good one, to be in the arms of man. A man who made her feel so many heartwarming things. A man who pleasured her beyond comprehension and with very little restraint. Closing her eyes, Audelia inhaled lightly, taking in his manly scent of rich spices, leather and a hint of lavender.
“How are you feeling?” His deep voice rumbled softly against her ear and her eyes shot open again.
“How’d you know I was awake?”
“Because I am and your breathing has changed.” Ulric shifted on the bed which, more than likely, was far too small to be comfortable for a man of his size. But if that were the case, he gave no indication of the fact. “Are you alright?”
“I’m okay. Just thinking.”
His palm caressed her lower back gently, tracing small circles against her skin. “About?”
“Medicine.”
Ulric chuckled and pulled her over on top of him, his hardening manhood pressing between her legs. “That’s hardly what a man would like to hear after a proper coupling session. Are you trying to think up ways of how to poison me?”
Audelia beamed and pressed her lips against his own smiling mouth. “I was only jesting,” she giggled softly, cupping his right jaw. The light regrowth of beard along his cheeks and chin tickled her palm and teased her fingertips. “I was only thinking of you.”
“Now you mean to sweet talk me, don’t you?” Ulric touched a finger to her sex, pleased to find her wet there, and then lifted her hips, sliding her down onto his burgeoning shaft. “I, for one, mean to make you think of nothing else.”
Fifteen
Ulric handed his sister up into the carriage and pressed a kiss to her cheek. It wasn’t a gesture he had done much over the last few years that they’d shared the same home, and he found himself trying to at least make up for it a little.
Ryia’s mouth dropped open and she grabbed on to his shirt sleeve, eyeing him suspiciously. “Are you sick?”
Chuckling, Ulric unfolded her dainty fingers from his clothing. “Possibly.”
“You are acting...courteous. Should I be worried?”
“Can’t you just accept my kindness?” He flashed a slanting smile and stepped back. “Chivalry isn’t dead, you know?”
“Oh, I know it isn’t dead,” she remarked, adjusting her light green bonnet. “But you certainly must give me a moment or two to adjust to this...sudden change. In the meanwhile, I shall stick to my theory.”
“Theory?”
“Yes. You have either hit your head on something this morning or the Good Lord had paid you a very special visit last night.”
Grinning, he shoved the carriage door close and nodded to the coachman. “Enjoy your outing, sister.”
Ryia pulled the white silky curtains aside and beamed through the window. “It isn’t too late to change your mind, you know. I daresay Miss Agnete Galtran would love to meet your...reformed company.”
Ulric snorted. “Miss Agnete Galtran is a bad-tempered lass who ought to be locked in a nunnery.”
“Bless you, Bryce! At least some things haven’t changed.” His sister giggled and rapped the roof of the carriage, a signal to the driver that she was ready to go.
Ulric watched as the carriage circle the graveled drive and then advanced through the heavy iron gates that lead out of the estate. Turning on his heel, he shook his head, realizing he’d still been smiling and headed up the steps towards the front door.
His messenger boy, a wispy blonde-haired lad of seventeen years old, met him in the foyer with a neatly folded parchment.
“Milord, I received this missive for you just this morning in the marketplace.”
Ulric took the letter and broke the wax seal. Immediately recognizing Edwin’s handwriting, he nodded his thanks and bounded the staircase. He’d had every intention of seeking out Audelia for a mid-morning snack but perhaps, it would be another few minutes until he was to do so.
The moment he entered his study, Ulric settled down behind his desk and fully unfolded the parchment. Edwin was not a man who penned letters often so Ulric was convinced that something dire must have happened. He read through the scribbled cursive and chuckled.
‘15 March 1401
Henshire House
Dear Lord Recluse,
My mother is recovering rather well especially since I’d discovered that her supposedly grave ailment happens to only be a common cold that she had acquired from a brief encounter with the morning rain. Apparently, she had exaggerated her condition with the sole intention of forcing an earlier visit. She misses me, she says, even though it had only been a week since I’d brought her favorite lilac flowers for the sitting room, and sunflower seeds for her precious garden. I daresay, the woman is making me rather vain. No, I take that back. I’ve always been known to be splendid company...’
Grinning, Ulric leaned back in his chair and continued.
‘Anyways, things seem to have become rather festive here in Henshire over the past couple days. My sister, Giselle, has become engaged just last eve to Sebastian Bastille, a rather successful wool merchant with a bookish temperament. I am not complaining at all. At least, she can focus her endless nagging on someone else for a change.
My second cousin, Charmont, has also been successfully hitched. I’m sure you remember him from our school days at the Academy. He doesn’t drink much any longer, I’ve been told and seems to be falling all over himself at the sight of his new fiancee. She’s a gentle lass by the name of Jocelyn, Giselle says.
All these festivities and smiles and bride-talk is giving me quite a headache so do expect me back within the next day or two. Until then, save me a bottle of brandy, and don’t forget you owe me a re-match at chess. You cheated last time.
Your loyal friend,
The Amiable Edwin.
Ulric refolded the missive, still chuckling and shoved it inside a drawer. Poor Edwin. He must be truly suffering over there at Henshire but at least he wasn’t the one getting shackled into marriage. Ulric still viewed both of them as bachelors to the very end because nothing felt better than the ambiance of being a free man.
Except for... Shaking his head, Ulric quickly dismissed the notion. Audelia Rolfen was proving to get more and more beneath his skin with each passing day and with each time they made love. It was almost impossible to get her out of his mind, out of his head, out of his very thoughts. It was if the woman
had been sent purposefully to entrance him, a woman after his own affection. Clasping his hands together, Ulric jumped out of his chair, almost toppling it over and strode from the room, in search of the very temptress who’d been consuming his thoughts all morning.
He hadn’t found her in her bedchamber or the library as he’d hoped but due to a moment’s surmise, Ulric had found himself wandering towards the kitchens once again. It was there that he’d discovered her, fully engaged in a tête-à-tête with Cook.
“Pardon me, if I am intruding,” he said. In fact, Ulric truly meant to intrude as he had no intention of losing time with Audelia that, by right, should be his.
“Your Lordship,” Cook exclaimed, her hand stilling on the wooden spoon that she had been beating quite ferociously inside a large bowl just a moment before. “What a pleasant surprise to see you here again.”
Ulric smiled and nodded politely, passing a fleeting glance in Audelia’s direction. She was standing, a tray of eggs in her hands, and her gaze locked tightly on him. Sweet heavens, even with flour dusting her hands and cheeks, the woman still looked ravishing.
“Yes, I uh--I came to request that you pack a basket for me. I am to go out for a ride and may tarry a while.”
“Of course, milord.” Cook dusted her palms against her apron and spun on her heels. “Say...in the next ten minutes, Your Lordship?”
“Sounds splendid.” And he deliberately turned away, heading for the door. But just at the very last moment, Ulric pivoted, pretending as if he had forgotten something. “Uh...Miss Moresen. I would also like a word with you. Urgently.”
Audelia nodded abruptly, bid Cook a farewell bob and then followed Ulric through the kitchens, down the hall and then up the winding staircase. Her heart tapped wildly against her rib cage and in a minute or two, she found herself being shoved through the door of Ulric’s study and her back pressed firmly against the wall.
Ulric’s mouth came crashing down on hers before she could utter a single word, his tongue teasing against the crease of her lips and taunting her mouth open, delivering a kiss that pronounced a longing which mirrored her own.
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