The Dark Spawn (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 5)

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “Says you.”

  Corisande made a face at him as she propped up the privacy screen between the tub and the rest of the chamber. It started to fall over but Cole grabbed it swiftly, setting it up properly as she turned for her satchel behind her. She pulled out soap that smelled of lavender, a comb, and a sleeping shift. On the other side of the screen, Cole sat down again, removing his gloves and removing the belt that held his broadsword. Both ended up on the bed as he propped his feet up.

  A sigh of relaxation escaped his lips.

  “Well?” he said. “What do you wish to speak of now that I am here, in this very dangerous position?”

  Corisande fought off a grin as she began to pull off her clothing. The apron and broadcloth dress went up and over the privacy screen, hanging there.

  “We can speak of many things,” she said. “For example, where shall we live once we are married?”

  “Foulburn Castle,” he said promptly, looking around to see if there was anything to drink in the chamber. “It is my garrison, a property my father has given to me, as his heir. My father is Baron Blackadder, you know. The king gave him that title. There is a courtesy title that comes with it of Lord Lambden, which is mine, though I do not use it. But if you like, I shall start using it and you can be Lady Lambden.”

  “Lady Lambden,” she said, rolling it over on her tongue. “That sounds very nice. Tell me of Foulburn. Is it large?”

  “Large enough,” he said, realizing that he could see her silhouette through the screen because the wood was so thin. With the fire behind her, he could see every move. “It sits on a rise overlooking a small river called Foulburn, hence the name. My father keeps about a hundred men there, as a garrison, so the Scots will not try to take it over.”

  “Odd that you should not remain there since it is your property,” she said. “Does your father demand you remain with him at Pelinom?”

  “Nay,” Cole said. “I have the freedom to choose where I serve.”

  “So you live and serve at Pelinom and leave your own property vacant?”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment. He knew she wasn’t being nosy, simply asking normal and natural questions of a man she would marry, but the subject of what he actually did with his time had come up. She still didn’t know that he served The Marshal, so he thought that now was perhaps the time for total truth.

  As Lady de Velt, or Lady Lambden, it would be her right to know.

  “There is a reason for that, love,” he said, lowering his voice. “What I am to tell you must not leave this room.”

  He could see her through the screen as she sat on the stool and began to pour water on herself. “Of course, Cole,” she said. “I would never repeat what you tell me in confidence.”

  “Good,” he said. “It is important you do not. Ever. If you do, my very life could be in danger, but as my wife, you have a right to know.”

  “Know what?”

  “I am an agent for William Marshal.”

  She stopped pouring. He could see her outline as she sat there, pondering what he’d said and trying to make sense of it. “What does that mean, exactly?” she finally asked.

  He leaned back against the wall, watching her as she resumed her bath. “Simply put, it means I am a spy,” he said. “I have spent two years in the Scottish royal court, as a personal guard of William the Rough. That is why I do not live at Foulburn. I go where The Marshal sends me and on the rare occasion that I am home, I stay at Pelinom.”

  Slowly, she resumed her bath. She set down the pitcher she’d been pouring water with and picked up the soap. “A spy?” she repeated. “Cole, are you serious? You are a spy for William Marshal?”

  “Aye.”

  She resumed scrubbing her arms. He could smell the scent of the lavender soap as she rubbed it all over her skin. “Oh,” she said simply. “This is quite… surprising.”

  “I know.”

  “How long have you been a spy?”

  “For ten years.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment and he watched her figure as she rinsed off her arms and torso. “That is a long time,” she said. “But ten years of serving The Marshal as a spy? And the past two years in Scotland? You’re not even Scottish.”

  He smirked. “Chan fheum mi a bhith Albannach airson seirbheis ann an Alba.”

  “What in the world did you just say?”

  “I said that I do not need to be Scottish to serve in Scotland,” he said. “My Gaelic is perfect. I speak without an English inflection, so no one suspects that I am not Scots. Had it not been for me and Addax and Essien, we would have never known about The Rough’s plans to invade England with the help of the Earls of Orkney. This entire army is because of me and a few brave men, doing our duty for our country. My work is important to the safety of England and I do not take it lightly.”

  “I should think not,” she said, washing her torso and legs. “It does seem very important.”

  “It is.”

  “And you like this work?”

  “I do.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, rubbing her hands over her wet legs. “And… and this is something you intend to do forever?” she asked. “Even after we are married? It is very prestigious work, I think.”

  He moved his chair so he could lean against the wall. “It is only prestigious to those who know about it,” he said. “But there are very few, which is why you must never tell anyone. If it becomes known, my service with him would be ended. A spy is no good if everyone knows he is a spy.”

  She rinsed off her torso and body. When she sat straight, he could see the silhouette of her breasts, full and round and firm, and it was far more of a show than he had been anticipating. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to tell her she was casting shadows on the thin wood, or leave the room altogether, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do it. It was the experience of a lifetime as far as he was concerned, and given what was going to happen tomorrow, possibly his last. He wasn’t one for morbid thoughts, but Corisande had been right when she had said at least give me this memory to reflect on.

  He needed that memory, too.

  Of her.

  But watching her breasts against the screen was arousing him, so he looked away, trying to think of something other than her silky, nude form.

  “I would never tell anyone, I swear it,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “I think what you are doing is a fine and honorable thing. You are protecting all of us from those who would see us come to harm. But you did not answer me.”

  “Answer what?”

  “Will you continue serving The Marshal after we are married?”

  He paused a moment before answering. “Serving the man as I do, it is well and good because I have no dependents,” he said. “Spying is not for married men. Take my mission to Scotland, in fact – I was there for two years, only coming home on rare occasions. I do not think I could be away from you for two years, Cori. I do not think I could be away from you at all.”

  “I do not think I could be, either,” she admitted. “What you do is very dangerous.”

  “No more dangerous than being in an unmarried lady’s chamber while she is bathing and her brothers are nearby.”

  He heard her giggle. “I shall not be unmarried for long,” she said. “When this battle is over, promise me you will speak to your father about Lady Audrie. Tell him that he must tell the Earl of Teviot that you do not wish to marry his daughter.”

  “Nay, I do not wish to marry her,” Cole muttered, watching her stand up in the bath and collect a piece of linen to dry off with. He couldn’t look away any longer. “I wish to marry you and I shall, no matter what.”

  He could see her drying off her legs, her arms. “Cole, this may be a strange thing to say, but it is how I feel,” she said. “I am rather old to be married, you know.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty years and three.”

  “Christ, an old maid,” he sai
d. “Is that what you wanted to tell me? That you’re old for a bride? I am twenty years and eight, so we are not so far apart in age, you know. I suppose that makes me an old maid, too.”

  He was snorting, but she found no humor in it. “That is not what I wanted to tell you,” she said. “What I wanted to say is this – ever since Auden left me, I truly never thought I would marry anyone else. I did not look for anyone and the suitors who did approach my father were turned away. I simply wasn’t interested until I met you, but if you leave me tomorrow, there will be no one else. I have given my whole self to you, Cole. There is nothing left to give to another.”

  He wasn’t smiling anymore. She came out from behind the screen, her hair wet and her body wrapped in the drying linen, and Cole could see that there were tears in her eyes. He stood up and went to her, putting his enormous hands on her shoulders, but the moment he touched her, the tears spilled over and he pulled her into a crushing embrace.

  “You have made me the happiest man in the world,” he whispered into her wet hair. “The gift of your love is more than I deserve, Cori, but I swear to you that I shall never take it for granted. I will strive every day of my life to show you just how greatly I appreciate it. And you.”

  She pressed herself against him, damp from her bath, but wanting desperately to be close to him.

  “This may be the one and only time I feel such things,” she murmured tightly. “I have seen battle, Cole. I know what can happen. I know that by this time tomorrow, I may have lost the man I love because I have seen men die before my eyes. I know how precious life is and I know how precious love is. Love me, Cole. Love me as if tomorrow will never come.”

  His face was pressed into the top of her head. “I will always love you,” he whispered. “You need not even ask.”

  Sniffling, she stood back and looked up at him. She was looking him in the eyes when she let the towel go and it fell in a pile at her feet, leaving her nude and soft and clean. Reaching out, she grabbed his hands and pressed them to her breasts.

  “This way, Cole,” she whispered. “Love me this way.”

  Cole’s control left him. Her soft breasts against the palms of his heated hands undid him. He didn’t think about her brothers or father, or his father, or anyone else. He didn’t think about the rightness or wrongness of it.

  All he thought of was Corisande.

  With a groan, he mouth slanted over her hers, licking and stroking her until she was gasping for air. His hands on her breasts fondled them, pinching the nipples until they were hard pellets. Corisande’s gasps were muted against his fevered lips, moaning softly into the still night air as his mouth moved hungrily over her breasts and he took possession of a taut nipple. He suckled her hard, from one breast to the other, and Corisande’s hands were in his long hair, tugging. The harder she pulled, the more he liked it.

  In a flash, he lifted her up and lay her upon the bed, carefully setting her down to avoid his gloves and broadsword. He removed the items and tossed them to the floor. Unfortunately, he was still in full protection, so he fell to his knees beside the bed, his mouth on her breasts and belly as he feverishly worked his way out of his tunics and protection. Pieces were coming off, being flung across the room or onto the floor in the heat of passion. He tossed his de Velt tunic partially into the hearth, singeing the wool before he smelled the burned fabric and took the time to yank it out of the flames.

  When he was finished batting the flames out, he looked at Corisande sheepishly and she started to laugh. He grinned, too, but the momentary humor gave him time to yank off his boots and his breeches. Everything came off, his body taut and aroused and powerful, and he came down on top of her as she lay upon the mattress.

  His kisses were sweet and tender now, his hands roaming her soft body. He returned to her breasts, caressing them, because they had aroused him through the privacy screen. Corisande writhed beneath him, her legs instinctively parting to make way for his substantial weight, and as she did so, Cole moved to touch the unfurling flower between her legs.

  He simply couldn’t help himself.

  Love me as if tomorrow will never come.

  He fully intended to.

  Corisande gasped with surprise when his fingers delicately touched the thick outer lips, matted with a fine fluff of dark hair. He was gently tugging on a nipple as he fondled her with the utmost gentleness, allowing her to become accustomed to his touch. Corisande groaned with pleasure as she gradually became accustomed to his careful fingers. Only when her body loosened beneath his restrained touch did he attempt to part her pink, quivering petals.

  She was unbelievably hot and wet. He slipped a finger into her sheath, so incredibly tight that he very nearly released himself at that moment. But he fought his reaction, nibbling on her neck and her ear, whispering words of beauty and adoration. Corisande’s reaction was to spread her legs a little wider, bending her knees, willing to submit to anything he wanted to do to her. Cole could feel her tight passage contracting about his slick finger, pulling at him.

  Settling between her legs, he rubbed his manhood against her Venus mound, stroking the outer lips as he had done with his fingers. She was glistening with wet heat, spilling down onto the linens, and he continued to rub himself against her as she watched his face without fear.

  Their eyes met.

  “Are you certain this is what you want?” he whispered. “I can stop at this moment and there is no harm done.”

  Her answer was to pull him down to her, her mouth latching on to his, and Cole’s restraint was gone.

  He tried to move slowly. God knows, he did, but he found himself fighting against his natural instinct to drive into her like a rutting bull. He worked carefully, gaining headway slowly and feeling her tightness draw him in. She was so slick that it would have been easy to simply thrust into her and be done with her maidenhood quickly, but he held back. She was being bold, willing to know him on a deep and intimate level, but he wanted it to be a good experience for her.

  He wanted her to love it as much as he was.

  Corisande was calm beneath him, her hands on his enormous biceps for support as he forged ahead into virgin territory. Beneath her hands, she could feel his heated body trembling as he struggled to maintain control, but that didn’t last.

  His desire overwhelmed him.

  Drawing her knees up, he thrust into her tender body and Corisande gasped loudly with the sting of possession. Cole was seated to the hilt and he pulled her into an embrace as he began to move gently within her. Slowly at first, relishing the feel of his erection embedded within her tender body as Corisande clutched him, wrapping her legs about his hips to hold him fast.

  Cole’s pace increased, quickening his thrusts into her. His strokes were measured and long; enjoying the moment, the closeness to her, experiencing an outlet for the emotions he was feeling for her. Against him, Corisande’s gasps of passion told him that she was beginning to experience the same pleasure that had so easily consumed them both.

  It was passion on an entirely new plane.

  But it was passion that was building to a climax faster than Cole had wanted. He had hoped to draw out their experience, to savor every move, every taste, but his body had other ideas. He was so highly aroused that his climax came like a tidal wave. It washed over him and he growled low in his throat as he spilled himself deep into her body, feeling every last spasm with the greatest of pleasure. But his release never stopped his movement; he continued to stroke in and out of her even after he spent himself, wanting Corisande to experience the same delirium that he was.

  He shifted his weight, gazing down at her flushed face as he continued to roll his pelvis against hers. Her eyes were closed, her head thrown back, and he found his gaze drawn to her magnificent breasts as they bounced every time their bodies came together. One hand trailed down her neck, encircling a breast before moving towards the junction where their bodies were joined.

  Seeking her hard little nub, he stroked her a few
times before Corisande’s eyes flew open with surprise. In the next moment, she bit off a loud shriek against his shoulder, muffled against his heated flesh. The last thing they wanted was to tip anyone off to their activities, so Corisande kept her mouth against his shoulder until the ripples faded and she was reduced to a quivering shell.

  “Breathe, love,” he whispered. “Just breathe.”

  Corisande pulled away from his shoulder, gasping for air. “What… what was that?”

  He buried his face in her neck, chuckling. “That is why men and women risk everything to do what we have just done,” he said. “Are you well? I did not hurt you, did I?”

  Corisande swallowed hard as she caught her breath. “Not at all,” she said, looking at him as he loomed over her. “That was… miraculous.”

  He smiled tenderly. “Are you sure you are well?”

  “I am,” she said. “I promise, I am. Oh, Cole… swear to me that it will always be like this. That this moment will come again.”

  He brushed a bit of stray hair off her forehead as he looked at her. “If it is within my power, it will always be like this,” he murmured. “Forever and ever, I swear it.”

  She smiled faintly, gazing into his unique eyes. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, my lady.”

  He said it seductively and she realized that he didn’t understand her. “I did not mean for that,” she said. “I meant for coming to The Keld in the first place. For seeing something in me that I have never seen in myself.”

  “What’s that?”

  She lifted her slender shoulders. “Love, I suppose,” she said. “You saw a woman you would marry. You saw love. No matter what happens tomorrow, I am yours until the end of time, Cole. There is no one in this world or in any other that could ever take your place in my heart or soul.”

  He put a massive hand on her face, dwarfing it. “I will see you tomorrow at the end of the day,” he assured her softly. “I will return to you, Cori. The only thing that can keep us apart is death and I am not even sure that is strong enough to keep me from your side. I will always be with you, no matter what comes.”