by Connie Mason
Rosewas tired, and a bathwould be wonderful, but leaving Dragon after she had traveled so far to be with him did not seem right. It took some convincing to get her to agree, and after one last glance at Dragon’s sleeping features, she left.
Emily and Blythe were waiting in Rose’s bedchamber when she arrived. They must have realized she was too exhausted to answer questions, for they made small talk that required no answers as they helped her undress. Rose could scarcely keep her eyes open. Her head lolled against the rim of the tub while Emily bathed her. Then Blythe helped her out of the cooling water, dried her and slipped a nightgown over her head. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Rose felt someone shaking her and wondered why she was being awakened when she had just fallen asleep. Then she recalled her mother’s promise to wake her should Dragon’s condition change, and she jerked upright. Panic raced through her when she saw Nelda standing over her.
“Mama! What is it? Is Dragon … Is he—”
“Wake up, Rose. Come directly to Lord Dragon’s chamber when you are dressed.”
“How long have I slept?”
“A night and a day,” Nelda threw over her shoulder as she hurried off.
Rose flew into her clothing and out the door. She was panting and out of breath when she arrived at Dragon’s bedside. Stunned, she could do naught but stare at him. He had been freshly shaved and was propped up against several pillows. He was still pale, but the unnatural color staining his cheeks was gone.
He gave her a wobbly smile that made her go weak in the knees.
Rose stretched out her hand and touched his forehead. It felt cool to her touch.
“You are real,” Dominic said in a whispery voice hardly recognizable as his own.“I thought I dreamed you.”
” Twas no dream, Dominic. I am here.”
“How?”
Rose had explained the day she arrived, but obviously Dragon had been too sick to remember. The king refused to let me leave the palace, so Raj brought Starla to take my place. I will remain at Dragonwyck for as long as it takes you to recover, but eventually I must return to the palace.”
He reached for her. She grasped his hand and carried it to her breast.“I am glad you came,” he whispered hoarsely.
“I never expected to see you again,i feared I would die before I arrived home. What happened that day? Were the Welshmen defeated? Did we win the day?”
The king’s forces won more than the day. The battle is over for the time being; the Welsh have retreated. A messenger arrived at Westminster soon afterward. He claimed that you had perished on the battlefield.”
He squeezed her hand.“I very nearly did.”
“How do you feel?”
“Like I have been dragged from the depths of hell.”
“Are you in pain?”
“A little.”
Rose knew by his tone of voice that he hurt more than a little. “You are looking better since your fever broke.”
“I have your mother and Sister Agatha to thank for pulling me through.”
“And Raj. If not for Raj, Mama and Sister Agatha would not be here now. Raj is a good friend to you, Dominic.”
“‘Twas my good fortune the day I encountered him. Where is he? Why has he not come to see me?”
“I sent him back to the palace to look after Starla. I am worried about her. She is such an innocent. I hope she steers clear of Lady Veronica.”
Anger flared in Dominic’s eyes. “Did Veronica do or say something to upset you?”
“I do not wish to discuss her,” Rose said. “I should leave you to your rest.”
She leaned down to kiss his cheek, but at the last minute he turned his head and her kiss landed on his mouth. The kiss was short but poignant, and Rose wanted to jump with joy at the sweetness of it. For the first time since her arrival at Dragonwyck, she was sure Dragon would recover.
Dominic’s recovery was slow but sure. Each day was a hurdle he had to surmount, but surmount it he did. Knowing that Rose was with him had delivered him from death’s door.
A sennight after Rose had arrived, Lady Nelda and Sister Agatha came to his chamber to bid him goodbye. Dominic urged Nelda to remain, but she insisted that she was not ready yet to leave the seclusion of the convent. To show his gratitude, Dominic gave Sister
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Agatha a substantial contribution for her religious order.
Dominic’s wound was clear of infection now, and he was able to sit up in a chair for short periods.He was impatient to leave his chamber and eager to regain his strength through swordplay and other manly exercise. But more importantly, he wanted to make love to Rose.
Dominic graduated from sitting in a chair to walking about his chamber. The first time he negotiated the winding staircase to join his vassals and Rose at the evening meal, he received a rousing ovation. That was the night he decided he was well enough to make love to Rose.
“You look wonderful, Dominic,” Rose said as he settled into the seat beside her. “How do you feel?”
He gave her a cheeky grin. “Ready to tackle just about anything. Ride a horse, engage in swordplay make love to my wife.”
He loved the way her cheeks colored so prettily.
“‘Tis too soon,” Rose replied. “Your wound…”
“… is healed. I admit my strength may still be lacking, but I vow I will not disappoint you. I want you in my bed tonight.”
“Is that wise, Dominic?”
“Not only wise but desirable. I have been without my wife too long.”
“You know what I mean. I have not shared your bed because I did not want to hurt you.”
He grasped her hand, pulled it beneath the tablecloth and placed it over his rigid sex. “I am hurting now, love. My cock aches. I need you, Rose.”
Rose’s color deepened as she removed her hand from his cock and concentrated on the trencher they shared. “Behave.”
Dominic sighed and filled the trencher with food. His appetite had returned and he ate with gusto, periodically choosing tender morsels of meat to feed Rose. She looked charmingly flustered, and it took all Dominic’s willpower to keep from grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs to their bedchamber. He wished he could sweep her up into his arms but feared he lacked the strength. Soon, he thought, very soon.
Dominic rose immediately following the last course and offered Rose his hand.
“Cynric the bard has returned,” Rose said.“Should we not stay and hear his wondrous tales?”
“There is something even more wondrous in our. bedchamber.”
He strode toward the stairs, drawing Rose along with him. When they reached their bedchamber, he slammed the door behind him and regarded her through slumberous eyes.
“You have suffered a great deal,” Rose said. “I do not want to hurt you.”
He pulled her gently against him. “Aye, I have suffered, but not as much as I will if I cannot make love to you tonight. Kiss me, Rose.”
Rose’s subtle female scent wrapped around him like a fragrant mist. She pressed her lips to his, but it was not enough. He prodded her lips with the tip of his tongue, and she opened to him. Desire spiraled through him as he savored the sweet taste of her and felt her heat. He broke off the kiss, needing her, wanting to be inside her as he began tearing off his clothing.
“Help me,” he panted as he struggled to remove his tunic. His side hurt like the very devil, but a little pain was not going to stop him.
Rose pulled his tunic over his head and tossed it aside. “I told you it was too soon.”
“Tis not too soon, love. But I need your help undressing.”
Rose stared at him as if unable to believe he intended to go through with this. “You want to make love even though it might hurt you?”
“Aye, more than you know.”
He sat on the bed and lifted his foot. “My shoes first, sweeting.”
His dark eyes glittered like polished obsidian as Rose removed his shoes and
hose. When only his braies remained, he stood and untied the string that kept them on. His braies caught on his rigid cock and held. Meeting her gaze, he shoved them down his hips.
An astounding realization suddenly came to him. He was completely, utterly, hopelessly in love with his wife. That startling revelation robbed him of the ability to think or speak.
“Dominic, are you all right? You look so … odd. I knew this was a bad idea.”
“‘Tis a most wonderful idea. Take off your clothes. I want to see every lovely inch of your body.”
He watched through narrowed lids as she undressed. His heart was beating madly in anticipation. Then he lay back on the bed and extended his hand. Rose hesitated no more than a moment before joining him.
Chapter Fifteen
Gather the Rose of love, whilst yet is time.
—Edmund Spenser
Dominic remembered with stark clarity the day the king had ordered him to wed Rose and how displeased he had been. It was Veronica, not Rose, he had wanted. But after making love to Rose that very first time, all thoughts of Veronica had been banished from his mind. Each time he made love to Rose, it was a revelation, opening his eyes to how right they were together.
Now, with Rose’s naked body pressed so sweetly against his, everything left Dominic’s mind but the need to taste her passion again, to arouse her with his mouth and tongue and hands, to take her in all the ways a man could take a woman. Grasping her face between his hands, he kissed her.
Rose sighed and gave herself up to Dragon’s searing kiss. She knew with utter certainty they had explored but the very tip of something immense and glorious. Dragon owned her heart. Their future together was bright with promise, and Rose sealed that promise by putting her heart and soul into the kiss.
His lips were hot and hard and insistent, hardly the kiss of a man who had recently been close to death. It was not a gentle exploration but a demand. She strained upward to meet his kiss, inhaling his breath, savoring his taste and essence.
Placing a finger beneath her chin, he tilted her head up to a better angle, kissing her until she was breathless. Their hearts beat in unison. She wanted more and arched closer. He obliged, his hands moving over her breasts, her hips, between her thighs.
He stroked her nipples. Tremors ran down her spine as his restless hands moved downward, sliding between her thighs again, his fingers exploring her weeping center. A cry left her lips, and he muffled it with his own. She tried to be careful of his wound, but apparently Dominic felt no pain, for he pressed her naked body hard against his. She twisted and writhed, her passion mounting to a feverish pitch as he kissed and touched and stroked.
She bit hard into her lower lip to keep from shrieking aloud when he positioned himself between her legs and penetrated her, going deep, so very deep. Exquisite, thrumming pleasure swept through her. Her hips arched to meet his driving thrusts, and she wound her arms around his neck, matching her movements to his.
How strange, Rose thought in a brief moment of clarity, that not long ago Dragon did not exist for her, nor did she realize such pleasure was possible. Then her thoughts skewered as Dragon whispered soft endearments into her ear, calling her his sweetheart, his only love.
Gasping, moaning, she was possessed by sensations too pleasurable to bear. Her throat ached with love, and she wondered how she had existed without Dragon.
She reached up and touched his lean jaw. “I cannot bear for this moment to end.”
“Nor I,” Dominic rasped. “You drive me to madness.”
But eventually it had to end. Dragon had taken her to the brink, and there was no pulling back. She reached the top, touched the beckoning splendor and clung to it for several breath-defying moments. Then she plummeted, shattering as she fell. The storm in Dominic broke at the same time and he thundered to his own climax, joining her in the swirling void of pleasure.
Much, much later, cozily snuggled against Dragon’s uninjured side, Rose was amazed that she had attained that ultimate peak of splendor a second time, but Dragon had made love to her again and she had responded. He would have loved her again the following morning if Rose had not hopped out of bed just as he reached for her. Dull morning light revealed the drawn lines of Dragon’s face, and Rose feared he had overtaxed his strength.
Her husband, she thought fondly, recognized no limitations when it came to feeding his lust. Not that she minded. She had enough of her own to match, but it was not she who had barely escaped death but a short time ago. She washed quickly in the pale light and pulled on her clothing.
“Where are you going, wife?”
“The keep does not run itself, husband.‘Tis early yet. Go back to sleep.”
“Come back to bed.”
She shook her head. “Nay. You are not a temperate man, and I fear you will do yourself harm if we make love again. You are still weak.”
A wicked grin stretched his lips. “Did I appear weak to you last night?”
“You know you did not, but you could have a relapse.”
He started to rise, then fell back against the pillow with a sigh.“Very well, but do not expect me to remain in bed. I will join you in the hall. I thought to test my strength at sword practice today.”
“Men,” Rose muttered as she let herself out of the bedchamber. Did they think of naught but war and sex?
Yawning, Dominic lay back on the pillow and recalled every blissful moment of the previous night. He had unleashed a wildness in Rose that filled him with insatiable hunger.
He smiled as he recalled the startling revelation that had come to him last night. Had he told Rose he loved her? He had whispered so many endearments during lovemaking,he could not recall his exact words. He did know, however, that Rose had not returned his sentiments. Had the oversight been intentional? Could Rose make love to him with such abandon if she did not love him? He did not think so.
Dominic climbed out of bed, stretched and winced. Rose was right about one thing: Though his wound was healing and he was on the road to full recovery, he was still weak. But it was not his nature to coddle himself. He had no intention of limiting his exercise because of a small wound.
Rose was worried about Starla. Now that Dragon was no longer at death’s door, she felt it was time to return to Westminster Palace. She confronted Dragon with her fears when he appeared in the hall to break his fast.
“I have been thinking about Starla,” Rose ventured. “‘Tis time I returned to Westminster.”
Dominic paused with a spoonful of porridge halfway to his mouth. He set the spoon down carefully and said, “You cannot leave until I am well enough to accompany you.”
“Dominic, you do not mean that,” Rose said reproachfully. “It may be weeks before you are fit for travel, and Starla is out of her element at court. I cannot abandon her.”
“Nevertheless, you are not to go to London without me. If something were amiss, Raj would have let us know. You worry for naught, Rose. We will leave Dragonwyck together, when I am able to travel. The king is aware that I live, for a messenger was sent to Westminster with word of my recovery,” he reminded her.“Now that John knows I am alive and well, Starla has naught to fear from him.”
“I cannot help how I feel. Starla and I are so close, we sometimes feel each other’s fear and pain. I must go to her.”
“Nay, Rose. I forbid it. Each day I feel myself growing stronger.I will be fit to travel very soon.”
Rose’s mouth thinned. Soon was not good enough. She needed to return to Westminster now. Getting there without Dragon’s permission, however, posed a problem.
Rose knew that her father’s vassals were loyal to her and thought she might be able to convince a groom to accompany her. Aye, it was a thought that bore consideration.
“If you are plotting something devious, Rose, forget it,” Dominic warned. “You have the look of a woman scheming mischief.”
Rose gave him an innocent stare.“I plan no mischief, Dominic.”
Though Dragon gave
her a suspicious look, he dropped the subject. Rose heaved a sigh of relief and concentrated on her porridge. She hated lying to Dragon, but he was being exceptionally obstinate. She refused to place Starla’s life in peril any longer than necessary.
Rose did not mention Starla or her desire to return to London again, but she did not give up. Contrary to Dragon’s wishes, she visited the stables soon after that conversation, hoping to convince a groom to accompany her. Unfortunately, the grooms were either too old or two young for her purposes. Rose needed a man capable of defending her should the need arise. Disheartened, she left the stables to rethink her plan.
“My lady, do you remember me?”
Rose glanced up, surprised to see Piers, the man she had championed at the manor court. “Of course I remember you. What are you doing in the stables, Piers?”
“‘Tis my time to serve Lord Dragon. Every vassal owes his overlord a certain length of labor each year, and Sir Braden put me to work in the stables.” He shrugged. “I do not mind. I owe you and His Lordship more than I can ever repay.”
Rose smiled. “How fares your wife? Are you getting along with your father-in-law?”
Piers’s face lit up. “Vella is well. She prays for you daily, my lady. Without your intervention, she would have been forced to wed the man her father chose for her. Algar and I are not friends, but he accepts me.”
As Rose stared at Piers, she realized she had before her the man she’d been looking for. Though she expected her journey to London to be without mishap, the need for a protector made an effective argument for asking Piers to provide escort.
But the notion of asking Piers to do something that was likely to anger Dragon made her hesitate.
“You look troubled, Lady Rose.Is aught amiss?”
After a long pause in which Rose wavered between revealing her dilemma and saying nothing, she decided to take Piers into her confidence.
“Can you keep a secret, Piers?”
“For you, anything, my lady.”
“I am desperate to return to London and have need of an escort. I had thought to enlist the help of a groom, but I saw no one who met my requirements.”