Surrender by Moonlight

  "Just the inside servants. The outside men were not about when you brought her in. There has been no rumor outside that she's here."

  "I want three men that you trust and I do mean trust, Cesar. They'll know she's here so we have to be sure of them. Post one at the kitchen door, one at the main door and one inside, in the hallway here, near her door. We will take no more chances."

  "With the situation thus," Cesar said briefly, "I'm not sure whom I can trust."

  "Then ask Andres. If anyone here knows who is safe and who is not," Dimitri said ruefully, "it's Andres. He's been trusting his men with his life for months. And he knows, and his men know, how vital it is to keep Senorita Leonor safe."

  Cesar smiled and agreed. "I will see to it now."

  "I want the men posted tonight. We can discuss other precautions in the morning. And, take the dead man to the barn."

  Cesar wrapped a towel around the man's bloody chest, hoisted him to his shoulder and carried him from the room.

  While Sergei brought a clean nightshirt, Dimitri glanced at the head of the bed. The brandy combined with the night's events had done its work well. Leonor, snuggled under the covers, was asleep.

  Sergei leaned over her and then looked at his master, now attired in the fresh nightshirt. "Shall I carry her to her room, my lord?"

  "No, leave her. She's exhausted and I'd feel better having her here for the rest of the night. I don't think we'll be treated to any more attacks but we'd best be on our guard."

  Dimitri locked the door after Sergei reluctantly left. Then he went back to the bed. He slid under the covers, easing his arm in carefully, and curled up behind her, drawing warmth for his chilled body from her. He was weakened by the loss of blood. He appreciated the irony that had so unexpectedly put her in his bed. His only regret was that he was too tired to take advantage of the fate that for the first time tonight seemed to be smiling on him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Frost crunched softly under the heels of the armed guards as they patrolled a tight area around the house. No second intruder would breach the security of this house tonight! Pale streams of moonlight washed over the white stucco of the house, highlighting the intricate wrought-iron grilles over the windows. The house had once again settled into silence and slept. The only sounds breaking the quiet were the muted creaks and shufflings of the wooden floorboards as the guards inside shifted position during their lonely vigil.

  In the master bedroom across the end of the house, Leonor and Dimitri slept. A breeze sprang up shortly before dawn, stirring the trees and whispering around the corner of the house. A bare branch, moved to and fro by the wind, beat a soft, staccato rhythm on the wrought-iron grille barring the window.

  Leonor stirred. The sound pressed against her mind, demanding recognition. She blinked the sleep from her long lashes and looked around the room, trying to identify the sound. Her movement awoke Dimitri.

  "What is it?"

  "I don't know," she answered drowsily, still drifting upward through layers of sleep. "A tapping—"

  He listened. "A branch hitting the window grille."

  "Oh," she murmured, sinking down again. As her head touched his shoulder, awareness shot through her somnolent daze. She was in bed and Dimitri was here beside her! His unbandaged arm was around her, her head pillowed against his shoulder. She could feel the length of his body against hers. Abruptly she raised her head and looked down in the gloom at his face.

  "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

  A smile quirked the corners of his mouth. "It's my bed."

  "Oh." She thought about that. "Then what am I doing here?"

  His eyes twinkled as he said, "You went to sleep here while Sergei was patching up my arm. The brandy, no doubt. The glass was half full."

  "You could have moved me," Leonor accused him.

  "My arm is injured, remember. Besides, why should I? Why are you making such a fuss about it? It's a big bed."

  That was not what she meant and he knew it. She started to pull away and his arm tightened. "Where are you going?"

  "Back to my own bed."

  "Why? We're perfectly comfortable. Cosy, in fact."

  Leonor considered telling him that cosiness was the very reason she was going back to her own bed but she suppressed the remark. She was increasingly conscious of his nearness, of the strength and warmth of his body pressing against hers. Her hair spilled like a dark, silky curtain over his arm and chest and he reached up and stroked it.

  "Go back to sleep."

  "I think I'd be more comfortable in my own bed," she said hastily. She did not trust that glint in his eye.

  "Oh, I don't think so." His arm held her clamped to him and his hand slid under her hair to cup her nape. He drew her head down.

  "Dimitri!"

  Her protest was smothered by his lips, warm, still faintly smiling. Her mouth trembled under his and she twisted her face away. "This is no time to continue that lesson," she protested, her voice trembling slightly.

  His lips caressed her ear. ''I can think of no better time."

  His breath tickled her cheek and ear and she stiffened. "Please, let me go."

  "Not this time." His words, whispered against her cheek, hung in the air. Leonor turned to face him, her lips parted in protest but his mouth covered hers, silencing her.

  It was a kiss such as Leonor had never experienced and she was not at all sure how she should deal with it. It was demanding and urgent and, at the same time, infinitely tender. His mouth clung to hers and gently eased her lips apart. After a long moment his tongue darted out and, like a butterfly's wing, touched and tantalized her lips. When his tongue entered her mouth, she drew back slightly, astonished, not sure what he meant to do. But he quickly showed her and after a moment, tentatively, shyly, she brought her own tongue into play. When first she touched his tongue, a shock of delight coursed through her body and a burning ache awoke. At first she was barely conscious of it but as time passed and Dimitri taught her the delights of love, the ache became a throbbing need and she knew instinctively that it could only be assuaged by Dimitri. She forgot that he had often been patronizing, that only last night he had offered to marry her so that they could produce heirs. For, as his mouth teased and tormented hers, she knew that he was her chosen one and there could never be anyone else. For the moment, it did not matter so much how he felt about her.

  "Leonor," he whispered as he pulled the nightshirt from her shoulders and kissed the creamy flesh, savoring the taste of her. He ran his lips lightly along her neck and to her ear where his tongue touched and caressed her delicate lobe until she gasped with delight. Every part of her was conscious of his touch, every part of her was sensitive and responsive as it had never been before.

  "Let's get rid of this," he murmured as he sat her up and pulled the nightshirt over her head and flung it to the bottom of the bed. In the dim room he could see her as she quickly grabbed the sheet to cover herself. Her shyness delighted him. It would be thrilling to break down her reservations, her timidity, little by little, to turn her from reluctance to giving.

  "No," he objected softly as he drew the sheet from her.

  "You're not being fair, Dimitri," she said clearly. "You divest me of my clothing and yet you still wear yours."

  He chuckled. "That can be easily remedied," he said as he removed his nightshirt. "There, are you satisfied?"

  She did not answer and he moved away a few inches and feasted his eyes on the creamy loveliness of her, the long neck, her breasts that rose and peaked so proudly, her smooth stomach, and the dark hair that concealed the delicate lips that hid her womanhood. Her sweetly curving thighs, and her calves enchanted him. Such feminine beauty had never before stirred him so much.

  "You are lovely," he whispered. "I have never seen such loveliness, such perfection. Do you know how beautiful you are?"

  He did not wait for her answer but buried his face in the long, sweeping hair that fell below her shoulders. "Some day yo
u will have to let me take the hairpins out and watch it cascade down your back."

  she smiled at him. "Will you wait while I return to my room and dress my hair so that you may have the pleasure of taking it down?"

  "Not this time," he said as he turned her over so that she stretched out on her belly. He trailed a gentle finger down her curving figure to her buttocks. "The results of those lessons with the whip do not show," he murmured and, bending his head, he kissed each rounded hip over and over again. Then he kissed her thighs, parted them slightly and when he touched the back of her knees she writhed with delight and tried desperately to turn over.

  Skillfully he turned her to her back and moved his hand down her throat until it reached a firm breast. He closed gently around it and then touched the nipple. Instantly it hardened into a throbbing peak and she drew her breath in a little gasp. But he had just begun to teach her the delights of love. He bent his dark head and took the rosy peak in his mouth and Leonor felt a hot throbbing begin in her loins and sweep upward and she arched against him. Imperturbably he moved his head to the other breast and bestowed upon it the same loving attention. Leonor cried out.

  She moved slightly and pulled his mouth up to hers. There, with the dark of night surrendering to the pale dawn, she gave herself to him, irrevocably and forever.

  His hands and mouth were everywhere, touching and caressing and adoring and she delighted in the pleasure she was giving him. She felt no shame. This was what she was born for. He crushed her to him and, taking her hand, led it down to his manhood so that she would know how he needed her. He readied her with all the skill he possessed, feeling the warmth of her until she was writhing beneath him, gasping with pleasure.

  He entered her gently, holding back his own passion, determined to minimize the inevitable pain and he was rewarded. There was the tiniest cry of pain that she could not suppress and then she moved with him and together they swept the stars. They rode out the mightiest wave and Leonor, in a trance of wonder, found herself wrapped about him as he thrust into her. With a great burst of ecstasy she relaxed against him. When he was sure that she was replete, he could take his own release. This he did with a groan of pleasure and collapsed against her. He lay in her arms, quiet, exhausted, his damp hair tickling her chin. For a long moment they clung to each other, as close as one person can ever be to another, and when he moved to leave her, she felt a brief sadness. But it was immediately extinguished by the remembered delight.

  "You are adorable," he said.

  Leaning over her, he brushed his lips across her forehead and then he gathered her into his arms as if he would never let her go and, together, they once more drifted into slumber.

  Dimitri awakened early. To his surprise, considering the activities of the past twenty-four hours, he felt refreshed and ready to tackle the new day. He gently eased from under the covers, being careful not to awaken the sleeping woman. His arm was a little stiff and sore but not enough to hinder free movement. Dressed now, he returned to the side of the bed and looked down at Leonor. She slept curled up, her cheek resting on her palm, her hair spilling over the pillow in a dark, silky curtain. A tender smile curved his lips. He leaned over and brushed a long strand of hair from her cheek and tucked the covers over her bare shoulders.

  Sergei was coming down the hallway as he opened the door. Dimitri signalled for silence and gently closed the bedroom door. "Downstairs," he said, keeping his voice low. "She's still sleeping."

  Breakfast was already laid on the dining room table and Dimitri accepted the steaming cup of tea that Sergei carried on the tray.

  "A man arrived this morning," Sergei said, serving Dimitri's plate with fluffy eggs and a slice of ham. "From Captain Pokovich. The ship's in the bay and the captain wants to see you."

  Dimitri scowled. "Just what we needed today, isn't it? I don't particularly want to be absent now but I suppose we'll have to go. He's come for my report. Very well, Sergei, feed the man and have him rest his horse and send Cesar to me. I'll also want paper and pen. I have to give the Captain a written report to take to the Czar."

  Dimitri had just finished his breakfast when Cesar came into the dining room. "You wanted to see me?"

  "Sit down, Cesar. Is everything quiet outside?"

  "So far," admitted Cesar. "It's early though. Do you expect trouble today?"

  "I think we'd better expect trouble every day for a while and be alert for it. I have to be away today," he began and saw the dismay in Cesar's face. "I know but it is important. I'll be back tomorrow. I want you to stay here in the house and take charge of guarding Senorita Leonor. Put guards in a tight ring around the immediate vicinity of the house, as well as patrols out on the estate. She is to stay in the house until I return. And don't let anyone in the house except Andres. If Don Carlos or Don Gilberto should come visiting, don't let them in. At all costs, we must keep her out of sight. It is not unlikely that Don Carlos will either come by or send someone, on some excuse or other, to find out if his man was successful last night. Your guards are to prevent their entry into the house by force if necessary. Say it is by my orders. When Senorita Leonor awakens, she can come down to the dining room and the sala but only if you accompany her. Do not leave her side for a moment, no matter what happens outside. Put Andres in charge of the outside guard and let him deal with anything that happens. You don't leave her unless she's locked in her room."

  Cesar swallowed hard. Why could he not be given the easy job, that of supervising the guards outside. "The senorita will not like that," he admitted.

  "I know but we have no alternative. Ignore any command she gives you that contradicts my orders. Remember that you will be answering to me."

  "Yes, senor. Andres brought her clothing and I gave them to Sergei. The maid, Paquita, did just as you instructed last night and Andres says that Don Carlos was also there when she reported Senorita Leonor's disappearance. I sent a man over an hour ago and he reported that a search of the estate has begun. Don Carlos, he was told, was bringing soldiers this morning to search the road." Cesar smiled. "I sent three men to the little woods just after dawn, senor, to bury the man's body that was left there last night and to catch his horse and bring it here. There are no traces there now of any activity. The men made sure of it. They even found Senorita Leonor's whip on the road and brought it back to me. When the soldiers search there, they will find nothing."

  "Good! If they come here and ask to search my estate for her, tell Andres to deny them, on my authority. He can say we will conduct a search for her here and advise them if we find her. If any ask where I am, he can tell them I am away on business."

  Cesar promised to carry out all the orders and left. Dimitri drew the paper and pen toward him and began to write. The letter he had to write to his father was the most difficult one he had ever written. There would be no easy way to say what had to be said. Duty, ever a capricious mistress, could sometimes be very painful!

  <><><><><><><><><><><><>

  Leonor stirred and stretched. Only emptiness greeted her outstretched hand and her eyes fluttered open. The bed beside her was empty, showing no signs of the man who had slept there. For a confused moment she thought she had dreamed the ecstasy of the night. The morning sunlight poured in the tall windows as she sat up, groping for her nightshirt. A sudden, unexpected blush stained her cheeks as she saw it crumpled at the bottom of the bed where Dimitri had thrown it. The room was still chilly as she pulled the rumpled shirt over her head and hugged it around her. Where was he?

  His nightshirt and dressing gown were thrown over the back of a chair and she pulled his warm brocaded robe around her before padding to the door. An armed guard stood outside the door and, after a startled pause, Leonor shut the door again and retreated back to the side of the bed. Was she to be confined to this bedchamber all day?

  He should be here to reassure her, to tell her he loved her, to talk of their future. Why had he gone and left a man, a man with a gun, outside? The least he could have done wa
s to tell her his plans. Or was life with him going to be spent secluded in rooms, waiting, always waiting for him to complete his masculine pursuits? She resented his callous treatment of her, particularly after last night. Last night! She would never forget it. All the songs and stories about love had not prepared her for the wonders of the night before. But it lost some of its magic when Dimitri was not there.

  A light tap on the door roused her. A maid stood outside, balancing a heavy tray. She gave Leonor a bright smile as she eased the pitcher of hot water onto the washstand and put the tray with the cup of chocolate on the table by the door. She had been taught to make morning tea for the Russian master but proper Spanish ladies drank chocolate and it was a pleasure to serve one once more.

  "Buenos días, senorita. Sergei tells me there are fresh clothes for you in your room. Shall I bring them in here for you?"

  Leonor nodded. "Where is Sergei?"