ARINA'S MATE (Shifters of the Bulgarian Bloodline Book 2)

by Dalia Wright

  Relieved at having something to do she readily consented and for once didn’t even feel affected by his closeness. After the first dance they naturally eased into a second one. Both were on their best behaviour and conversation between them flowed easily and naturally. She even made Devon laugh a few times! Something she believed he was incapable of doing. Until that night she had only seen three emotions on his face: anger towards his father, a smirk for her, or complete disinterest. But as they danced and chatted she saw other emotions - interest, pleasure, and animation. When they stopped for a break after their fourth dance, they became aware of the mutterings of gossip swirling around them as people began to comment on the closeness between the disgraced noble and the Duke’s rakish son. Violet felt deeply ashamed of her behaviour so when Devon brought her a plate of food, she told him he should go mingle with his friends. He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “And abandon you to the mercy of these wolves?”

  “People are talking and it’s not fair to you or your father.”

  “You think I give a damn what people say about my father or about me? People will always find things to talk about. I don’t care about scandals and neither should you.” His emphasis on the word ‘you’ left Violet wondering if he could possibly know the truth about her secret.

  “Now, shall we dance some more or would you feel better going for a stroll in the garden? It will give people more things to gossip about,” he added with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “A stroll sounds lovely,” Violet replied, feeling a sudden burst of defiance; if people were going to be talking, then she would happily give them something to discuss.

  Sending a brilliant smile his way, she took his proffered arm and they disappeared through the glass doors leading into the garden. They strolled down the pathways in silence and both found, to their surprise, that they were enjoying each other’s company. Violet couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about being near Devon felt right. At length they began to speak; at first merely exchanging superficial pleasantries, but soon they were speaking comfortably about their childhoods, books they had read, places they had travelled. Devon, it transpired, had travelled extensively and had fascinating stories of his exploits. Violet was coming the slow realization she had greatly misjudged Devon in many ways, and was shocked at how free and open she felt around him. She even had an overwhelming urge to confide in him about Eliza, especially when he echoed his sentiments from earlier that week about her engagement to his father.

  “There has to be more to the story - why are you doing this? You do realize he’s a despicable man?”

  Violet smiled in response and shrugged her slim shoulders, refusing to rise to the bait. But he wasn’t one to let up and pressed on.

  “What does he have on you? A beautiful woman like yourself, in the prime of her life, deserves a virile, young man. But you’re choosing to saddle yourself with this old man. Why?”

  “Not every question has an answer,” Violet demurred.

  Devon abruptly pulled her close to him until she was almost crushed against his chest. His breath was warm and enticing against her lips.

  “You’re so beautiful; that old man won’t even know what to do with a woman like you.” His hands ran up and down her bare arms making her skin tingle. His lips pressed against her ear as he whispered, “Can he pleasure you the way a young man can? Can he kiss you the way I did?”

  It was a rhetorical question, but before she could process the meaning of his words, he had captured her mouth in a passionate kiss. Being kissed by Devon was unlike anything she had experienced with William or the Duke’s sloppy kisses. Violet had never been kissed like this before, and she was swept away by the myriad of sensations, which swept through her body. Warm lips molded against hers and softly teased them open. He ran his tongue along the length of her teeth and she felt him thrust it inside her mouth, exploring hungrily. Moaning with desire, she sank into his arms and gave herself up fully to his kiss. The way he was making her feel terrified her, and yet her body screamed for him to do more. Taking his cue from her physical response, Devon’s hands tightened around her waist and travelled to her bottom. When he began to massage her gently, Violet was roused from her stupor and she came crashing back to her senses.

  “We can’t…we have to stop,” she gasped out loud, taking a step back away from Devon as her fingers fumbled with the lacings of her dress.

  When her protest met with no complaints from Devon, she felt both relieved and disappointed. Gathering the folds of her dress she headed back into the ballroom leaving Devon staring after her.

  CHAPTER SIX:

  Later that night, Violet lay in bed replaying the events of the ball and feeling like a giddy schoolgirl. She kept thinking of Devon and the wonderful time they had spent together. He was definitely a rake - there was no doubt about it - but there was also a softer, gentler side to him. She had a feeling not many people were privy to that side, and she was terrified to admit to she was developing deep feelings for Devon - had been since he had first kissed her in the stables. She felt different when she was around him; she felt alive, hopeful and even happy. And when he touched her….just thinking about it had her aroused. Half a dozen times she had gotten to her feet intending to seek him out, but each time her courage failed before she could reach the bedroom door. Deciding she was being utterly foolish, she settled back into bed intent on staying put for the night, when she heard a soft knock on her door. A second knock followed the first; Violet got to her feet and went to open the door praying it wasn’t the Duke. The last thing she wanted to deal with were his unwanted advances, but it wasn’t him knocking on her door.

  “Devon?”

  Wordlessly, he grasped her around the waist and pushed her further into the room. With one foot, he closed the door while she turned the key in the lock. Violet felt she should protest - but hadn’t she been wanting this very thing since the night she had caught him in his ménage à trois? Why fight it any longer?

  Reaching up to twine her arms around his neck, she made the first move and kissed him, snaking her tongue in and out of his mouth, licking his lips, biting down on them with a wantonness she didn’t know she possessed. Every emotion and desire she had been repressing since first meeting Devon seemed to spill out into that kiss. His hands twisted in the folds of her dark hair and he pressed his body close against hers. He dragged her towards the bed and they collapsed upon the mattress as one joint unit. His lips travelled from hers to her chin, and slid down the length of her throat and across her neck. He placed his tongue in the little hollow of her neck. She closed her eyes and moaned again as he ran his hands down her body undoing the lacings which held her nightgown in place. The silky material slithered down her shoulders exposing her breasts. Cupping and massaging the soft curves of her breasts, his thumb rolled over one swollen nipple. His fingers brushing over her nipples filled her with an uncontrollable desire to rip everything off her body and display her nakedness to him.

  “Take it off, please.” She half whispered and half cried out the words. Her own fingers slid from around his neck and fumbled with the buttons of his pants.

  “Touch me.” He whispered and guided her hand towards his manhood.

  Violet cried out in surprise as she wrapped one hand around his sizeable member. It was strong and hard and much bigger than William’s.

  A grunt escaped his lips as her fingers caressed him. In a sudden frenzy he yanked at her nightgown and it slipped down her body leaving her completely naked. His mouth moved from her neck to her breasts, where he paused to stare at them in wonder.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said in awe, staring at her pert breasts with their very large nipples. His lips closed over one pale, hot, swollen nipple while his hand travelled down her smooth belly and reached for the softness between her thighs.

  With her eyes closed Violet sank into a pool of ecstasy and gave herself up to enjoying the sensations Devon was invoking within her. He continued
to kiss her body and settled his mouth between her legs; his tongue did things to her she could never have imagined, drenching her with need for him. Violet thought she was going to explode as his tongue flicked out and teased her.

  “Oh my!” she screamed. “Oh god, Devon! Oh! Oh! OH!”

  His tongue flicked in and out, and in her hands his manhood hardened even more. She arched her body and brushed her fingers over the head; it was sticky and wet. Once he was done kissing her between the legs, he nudged her thighs apart, his eyes trained intently on hers.

  “Are you sure?”

  Delirious with pleasure, Violet nodded and parted her legs wide; it was all the invitation he needed. Pressing himself close to her body, he drove himself forward and pushed inside, inserting himself inch by agonizing inch.

  She wrapped her arms around his body and their bodies moved as one. He peppered her face with kisses and she felt him getting harder inside her. She urged him on, moving herself against him at a quicker rhythm while his fingers toyed with her body. She arched her body and convulsed with desire; they looked at each other and rocked back and forth faster and faster, simultaneously reaching the peak of their passion. She felt him explode inside her and everything went still. Wrapped in each other’s arms, their bodies pressed together, they lay still in the darkness listening to the steady beat of their hearts beating as one.

  They made love again twice more through the night and both fell into a contented sleep. When Violet next opened her eyes, she found Devon staring at her quizzically.

  “What’s wrong?” she murmured sleepily.

  “You were talking in your sleep,” he replied. “You sounded sad and fearful and kept whispering the name ‘Eliza’.”

  At once Violet felt alarmed - what secrets had she revealed in her sleep? At the same time did it really matter if her secret was out in the open? Soon enough Eliza would be coming to live with them and the family would know her secret anyways. But even so, she owed it to the Duke to wait until he was ready to tell the family himself, so she threw Devon a look of confusion and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

  “Eliza? I don’t remember what I was dreaming about. No doubt it was something utterly frivolous. What time is it?” She posed the question in an effort to steer the conversation away from the topic of Eliza.

  Devon looked at the pocket watch lying on the bedside table.

  “Almost six in the morning.”

  “Oh dear! So late already?” Violet scrambled to a sitting position, wrapping the white bed sheet securely around her breasts.

  “You have to leave now! The maid will be here soon to light the fires and everyone in the house will be stirring.”

  A rakish smile spread across Devon’s handsome features and his eyes twinkled with devilment.

  “Would it be so terrible if they found me here?”

  “Yes, yes it would be terrible,” she giggled as he reached for her breast. But she was quick on her feet and managed to slip out of the bed in the nick of time. A pillow flew across the bed and landed squarely on his head.

  “Now get out!” she ordered with mock sternness. “You know as well as I what would happen if we were to get caught.”

  The mirthful tone suddenly disappeared from her voice and she sighed heavily.

  “We’ve sinned, Devon. What we did was so wrong.”

  He slid out of bed and pulled on his breeches before coming to stand next to her. He tilted her head up gently towards him.

  “Was it?”

  “Of course it was! I’m going to marry your father in less than a week… I’m about to become your stepmother and yet we - we…”

  The rest of her words were cut off as Devon placed a finger on her lips.

  “Shhh… we did nothing wrong. You deserve happiness, you deserve love in your life; you deserve so much more than to be shackled to a man like my father for the rest of your life. Why are you doing this, Violet?” he asked her for the hundredth time.

  Violet struggled to provide an explanation without giving away too much of her secret and settled by telling him she had her reasons.

  “I can’t explain them now, Devon… but soon I will. Your father may not be Prince Charming, but he’s willing to accept certain things most men wouldn’t, and for that I am grateful to him.”

  Her words did nothing to ease Devon’s confusion and, if anything, had him even more intrigued. But he could tell from the stubborn set of her jaw she had no intention of telling him what the ‘certain things’ were that his father was willing to accept.

  “Fine, don’t tell me then.” He tried to keep his voice steady and pleasant, but Violet heard the note of anger and hurt threaded through his words and felt terribly guilty.

  “Don’t tell me, but heed my words, Violet. I have known my father my entire life and you can be certain he is not the type of man who is willing to accept things out of the norm. If he’s made you promises of any kind - promises which don’t benefit him in any way - I can guarantee you he won’t be keeping them. So if I were you, I would tread very carefully.”

  With those parting words of advice, he pulled on the rest of his clothes and slipped out of the room, leaving her full of doubts about the future and the path she had chosen for herself.

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  All morning, Violet felt unsettled by the way her magical night with Devon had ended. Her mind felt clouded by innumerable questions and she could feel her resolve to marry the Duke slipping. She needed to remind herself why she was doing this. After a quiet lunch, which she ate by herself since the twins were away on a visit and Devon was nowhere to be found, she went down to the stables and asked to have her horse saddled. While she waited she scanned the stables hoping to spy Devon in one of the stalls, but no such luck.

  Once her horse was ready, she set off towards the village. Just outside it she came upon her destination. The grounds of the nunnery were quiet and serene. She tied her horse to a nearby tree and sat on a bench near the grounds, not daring to go inside. Once a week she made the visit, and each time she followed the same routine. She had never been lucky enough to see Eliza - not that she expected to. Only the older children were ever allowed into the gardens and Eliza was still just a baby, but it gave Violet an enormous amount of comfort to know her precious daughter was safe, secure and well cared for by the nuns. And soon she would be able to take her away form here and care for her herself. The thought warmed her and she was reminded again of why she was going through with the wedding to the Duke.

  “Violet?”

  Lost in her thoughts, it took Violet a moment to realize someone was calling her name. By the time she turned around, he was standing two feet away from her.

  “Devon!”

  Startled by his sudden apparition she jumped to her feet throwing a guilty look towards the convent. All day she had been hoping to run into him, and now that she had she couldn’t think of what to say to him. Memories from their passionate night together kept flashing before her eyes and she felt embarrassed. If Devon was thinking about their night too, he didn’t show it.

  “What are you doing here…” He looked around at where they were, “…by a nunnery? Not thinking of joining the cause are you?”

  Violet gave a weak laugh and shook her head.

  “I… umm…. was headed to town for some errands and felt a little faint… so…” she shrugged and left her sentence unfinished.

  “Are you quite alright now?” he studied her face looking concerned.

  “I’m perfectly fine now. Thank you.”

  “Shall I escort you to the town then?”

  Violet gave him a blank look.

  “The village?”

  “Yes, you said you were headed there for some errands?”

  “Oh, that’s right. I was going to pick up some ribbons for a new hat but I should be heading back to the house now.”

  “Or we could go for a ride together? It doesn’t have to be a long one.”

  The idea of going for a ride wit
h Devon was too tempting to turn down and Violet readily accepted. As they mounted their horses she asked him where he was headed.

  “Getting a room in the town hotel,” he said briefly not meeting her gaze.

  “Why?” But even as she asked, she had an inkling it had to do with their night-time rendezvous.

  “I think it’s best if we’re not living under the same roof just now. My father is not a stupid man, and while I don’t care, I don’t want to make things more difficult for you since you insist on going through with this marriage.”

  “Your father needs a wife and I need money,” she said bluntly.

  “You don’t strike me as the type of woman who would so debase herself for money. There’s another word for women like that.”

  “There’s no need to be so offensive,” Violet replied stiffly.

  “You’re hiding something from me.” He spoke gently, his eyes boring into hers as though to strip her bare of all her secrets. Violet blinked and looked away; she knew this was her chance to tell him about Eliza, but somehow she couldn’t get the words out. Instead, she gave him the next best explanation.

  “Life is not always black and white, Devon,” she said softly. “Not every decision make sense to the outside world. My parents died when I was very young and I was raised by a very strict aunt who didn’t love me; in fact I would go so far as to say she hated me. We were dirt poor and some mistakes I made will always get in the way of me making a good match. Your father is the best I can, and will ever be able to, do. In fact, I’m grateful to him for agreeing to this match. I’ll never have to worry about my next meal or my place in society after our wedding.”

  She looked him straight in the eyes and added, “For a man, that may not mean a lot, but for an impoverished lady with very little options, it means the world.”

  She could tell from Devon’s expression that he was surprised by her revelations, and the kindness in his eyes betrayed the pity and sadness he felt for her childhood. Pity was the last thing she wanted.