by Emily Ward
He grunted with effort and kept that tongue working its wonders until she relaxed.
He was smiling when her hands released his hair and he crawled up her body, running his hand over her breasts.
She looked down at his nakedness. The well-endowed manhood that hung between his legs was already fully engorged and ready to consummate the strange relationship that they shared.
“I want you more than anything.” He groaned as he planted kisses along her collarbone.
“I want you.” She writhed under his lips as he slowly positioned himself.
“I’ll try to be gentle.”
She nodded, still breathless. “I’ve never.”
“I know.” He slowly pushed into her core until she winced at the resistance her body offered.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered the word softly before starting to touch her, toying with her nipples.
“I’m ok. I promise.” She smiled softly up at him as he readied himself.
With one thrust he pushed past her maidenhood and paused, giving her a chance to adjust to his girth.
Her eyes actually crossed with how it made her feel.
It didn’t take long for her body to be ready for more of him and she pulled him in further. And he started to thrust into her, bringing her towards that edge again with his patient motions.
“Faster.” She begged him for more.
And he started to take her with the desire she knew that he was hiding in there. His movements grew quicker and he captured her lips in a hot kiss that sent them both into the throes of ecstasy.
The grunts, groans, and moans filled the room. Two bodies came together as one. Two souls joined. Two people mixed in the love that they had shared. They had been children at the time of that first chaste kiss, but they weren’t children anymore. And their bodies hummed with pleasure. It was echoed and amplified between them.
The crowned their desire together and she could feel the flood pouring between her legs. Her moans softened as his arms wrapped around her body, holding her close as they both came down from the desperate high that they had shared.
Her head rested on his chest as he laid next to her. She was safe there, laying in his arms. And her life was suddenly that level of perfection that only belonged in fairy tales. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t meant to last. What mattered is that she trusted that he would keep her as safe as he could. “I love you, Clara.” He smiled into the light from the window.
She snuggled closer into his arm. “I love you too, Liam.”
His heart soared.
Chapter Seven
Liam was almost late to the funeral, but he didn’t feel like his father or brother would blame him. Not for the woman that was in his arms.
She had been so peaceful. He hadn’t wanted to wake her. Clara, sleeping there, so sweet and pure. But the knock had come and the time had come to move from the bed that they were resting in.
So, he did, helping her dress for the funeral while a guard brought him some of his own clothes for the event. She looked beautiful as he escorted her to the funeral with his blade strapped to his hip.
She was sitting next to him as the visitors filled the church. They had been told of the wedding that had happened. He didn’t mind the word being spread and now he had his eyes on Septimus sitting in the back of the cathedral. He only had known the man in passing, but Septimus was staring at him from the rear of the church.
He was nervous as the ceremony wore on. But the man didn’t seem to make a move, letting the situation unfold.
The priest spoke about life and death. About the sacred act of mourning and how the dead would be missed, but the living had to continue on with life. To bring honor to the memory of those that they had lost.
Liam felt like he should have paid more attention, but his mind was on all of the pain and joy that had intermingled over the past few days.
So many things had happened. So much had been lost. And so much had been gained. And he didn’t know whether the sadness or the happy had been the biggest part of these days.
It wasn’t until after the funeral that he found himself face to face to the monster that he had stolen Clara from.
Septimus had a soft voice with a warm smile. He had always been unassuming and charming. It made it easier to live with this man in their midst for so long. The fact that he never made a public move. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Liam answered as he felt Clara’s hand closed on his.
“You’re a lucky man.” Septimus eyed Clara hungrily.
“I like to believe such.” Liam forced a smile on his face. “She’s a beautiful woman. And intelligent.”
“So, I’ve heard.”
Liam nodded. “Any man to have her would be lucky.”
Septimus turned to Clara and took her hand. Liam could feel the rage flow through him as the other man kissed his wife’s hand. He wanted to stop it. To cut off the hand that the man had placed on Clara.
But he couldn’t act. It would do no good to solve it if he would only end up suffering for the murder of a murderer. Instead, he spoke quietly. “I was very surprised to see you here.”
“I’ve known your father for a long time.”
“May I ask how?”
“We used to meet for cards on occasion.”
Liam frowned, but he could believe it. Still, his father knew better than to bet more than he could afford to lose, so he doubted there was much debt there. “It’s a shame we could never play.”
“I think that I could arrange a friendly game.”
“I feel as if I’ll be quite busy for a while now.”
“That’s a shame.” Septimus was taunting him now.
He resisted the urge to draw his weapon. “Thank you for your warm wishes.” Liam nodded and made his way away from Septimus.
It was so much better to be away from the situation. He could breathe again and Clara looked more relaxed. “I wish he would just leave.”
“Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare cause problems in front of all these people. We’re as safe as we could be.”
She nodded, biting her lip. “You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right.” He squeezed her hand to comfort her.
“You always have to play so confident, don’t you?” She shook her head. But he knew that she wasn’t actually disappointed in him.
“Of course, I do.” He smirked at her.
“Even at a funeral, you have that smirk. It’s enough to drive someone insane.”
“I see that you agree with my father.” He laughed softly. “He hated that I was so flippant about things that happened to me.”
“Except I see that it’s all an act.”
“An act?” He acted shocked.
She chuckled softly. “Exactly.”
“What do you think I’m acting about?”
“So, no one can see you hurt.” She grew quiet.
He nodded almost imperceptibly to show her that she was absolutely right but changed the subject as he responded. “Just don’t eat anything. Just to be safe.”
“Do you think he may poison people?”
“I don’t think it’ll happen, but I would prefer not to take any risks.” He kept her hand on his arm as they wandered further into the room. People had gathered to celebrate what had happened.
And Liam found himself commended for keeping his brother’s promise and marrying the woman on his arm.
“I think I’d like to go lay down.”
He nodded and let her go, having the guards escort her out of the room and to the rooms that she had moved into.
He was now alone. Surrounded by people that were eager to make friends with the new Duke Fortescue. It was a strange thing to experience. To see all these people that wanted more from him than he had to give. After an hour he excused himself to mourn in peace.
The crowd accepted it as he scanned the room, looking for the man that had presented himself as a threat. Septimus was nowhere to be seen.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way up the stairs, hoping that Clara was still awake.
But the guards were dead. Lying against the wall next to the door, dark blood staining their armor.
He rushed towards them, checking on the men. They were past the point of saving. More death.
Something was terribly wrong.
Clara. She screamed. He knew it was her. Someone was in that room with her and he could save his wife.
He rushed into the room, bursting through the locked door with no thought to his own safety.
Nothing was going to stand in his way. He would save her.
And he knew who was there.
There he was. Septimus over Clara’s bed with the young woman pulling her feet up and trying to dodge the man grabbing at her. She kicked at the criminal’s hand.
Septimus cursed, yanking his hand out of the range of the attack. “Damn it, woman. Stop fighting.”
“Never. I’ll never stop fighting you.” She spat at him as she tried to roll away.
Liam drew his sword with the sharp hiss of the weapon leaving the sheath. It was a reaction out of instinct as he pointed his blade at the man. “Stand down.”
Septimus turned around, drawing his own weapon. “This can be simple.”
“You’re right.” Liam didn’t wait for anything else to be said, lunging forward.
But the other man was expecting the motion, dodging easily.
His sword plunged into the mattress.
Septimus swung before Liam got a chance to pull his sword loose, but the strike was deflected.
Clara had jumped on the man’s back, digging her fingernails into the criminal’s face.
Septimus shouted in rage, flinging Clara across the room. She hit the wall hard. She grunted with pain.
And his vision went red with pure unadulterated rage. There was no denying how he felt about her. He had already declared his love, and now he was willing to die for it. But he had to get Septimus’ attention off of the woman.
Liam yanked his sword out of the mattress. He darted around the other man to stand between Septimus and Clara. This way he could keep the woman that he loved safe. “Get out of my way, Fortescue.”
“You’ll have to go through me. She’s my wife.”
“Then you’re a fool. Did you see what she brought on your family? She was promised to me.”
“She was not.” Liam stabbed again, cutting a slash on the man’s upper arm.
Septimus hissed and lunged. Liam managed to block it enough so that the strike managed to only sink into his thigh.
Septimus pulled his weapon back and Liam had to adjust his stance to compensate for the flaring pain in his leg. But he wasn’t going to let that drop him, stabbing at the man again. This time he was blocked and Septimus spoke again, the confidence filling the criminal’s voice. “She was promised to me. We’ve already made the contract.”
“It’s too late for any of that.”
“That’s only because she ran to your house.” The man hissed violently. “Making the deal and forging her father’s signature. Then running away with only a maid to help her.”
“None of that matters.” He shook his head. “She came to where she was safe. She would never be safe with you.”
“She’ll never be safe here!” Septimus shouted. “All I wanted to do was convince her to do the intelligent thing. But you both are determined to fight.”
“I would lay down my life for her,” Liam shouted and jabbed at the man again, the rage-filled him.
This time the strike was true, sending the crook stumbling back and onto the bed that he had just shared with Clara not hours before.
It was almost dreamlike. To watch the end of their problems. Liam felt himself struggling to stand as the pain in his leg rushed to the forefront of his mind.
He knew that he had to distract Clara. There was no reason for her to know how badly he was hurting. He had to come up with some sort of solution. Some way to get her out of the room. His mind started to race as he adjusted his stance, playing up that he wasn’t as badly hurt as he felt.
The lifeblood started to seep into the sheets and all he could do was stare until he felt Clara’s hand on his arm. “Does this mean?”
“It’s over. You’re going to be safe now.”
“Can it really be that simple?”
He nodded, staring at the growing bloodstain. “Can you go call for some guards?”
She slipped away and he fell heavily into the nearest seat. His leg still bled, soaking through his clothes and dripping onto the floor. He ripped off some of his shirt and started to tie the makeshift bandages on the wound.
In moments Clara was back, her hands over his and helping to bandage his wound.
The guards came in. It was a blur. “Liam?”
He looked at Clara and smiled. “I’m fine.”
“You’ve lost some blood. We need to get you to bed.”
“I need to explain what happened.” He frowned.
“The guard can do that. I’ll make sure all of the guests are taken care of. Right now you need to take care of yourself.”
He sighed. “If I do this will you come to see me afterward?”
“Of course.”
“Then that sounds like quite the deal for me. You spending the night in my bed.”
She laughed. “I’ll be there.”
“This is quite the wedding day. Full of excitement.”
She hugged him. “We’ll talk more about it in the morning.”
“Promise me that you will be there.”
“You can let the doctor look at your wound and I will be in your bed very soon. You have my word.”
“You made the right.”
“What?”
Two guards walked in with a stretcher. Liam was distracted before he responded to her. Clara carefully talked Liam onto the device and he was carried off to sleep by himself.
Chapter Eight
Clara watched Liam slowly stir awake. He shifted and winced slightly. He had barely been awake. A nasty infection had formed in his leg, the wound so bad that there was a real risk of his leg needing to be amputated.
She felt his skin. He was cooler. It no longer felt like there was a fire living right beneath his skin.
“Liam.” She stretched out alongside his body.
He turned and smiled at her. “There’s my beautiful wife.”
“And my husband. Finally awake.” She pressed her body against his. His fever had broken. The infection had faded. She felt like her worry was finally starting to fade because the man definitely seemed to have lost the strange behaviors that came with a fever. He was going to live.
There had been worrying moments. Changing poultices. The doctor had tried to get her to rest and enjoy her life, but she refused to leave her husband’s side. Visitors were told to wait for her husband to awake. Work was left to the steward that had managed the estate for years. And she had been solely focused on Liam, reading to him and worried about him.
And he had paid her for her kindness with fever dreams that had him calling her name. Each time she had rushed to him, holding his hand. Speaking his name. Holding him to her chest.
And now Liam had finally woken up. And she fought the urge to scream in joy. He groaned and pulled himself up to sit in the bed.
She wrapped herself around him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I need to get out of bed.”
She smiled. “Good, because I bought you a gift.”
“You know that I can’t ever say no to a wonderful gift from an amazing woman. What kind of man would I be if I did that?”
She laughed and climbed out of the bed, walking over a small wardrobe.
“Oh, you’ve got it in a cabinet. I can hardly wait.” Liam smirked at her.
“Look at you with that sense of humor.” She teased him back.
“I can barely wait to see what you’ve got. You wouldn’t keep an injured man in suspense, would
you?”
“If he continues to think that everything is a joke, I may consider it.”
“How dare you insult my sense of humor.”
She shook her head as she pulled the object out of where she had hidden it, carrying the long package over to the bed. “This is for you.”
He greedily opened the package, revealing a cane that she had made for him.
The wood was curled and the lines traced the grain of the wood. It looked like a carved branch that had been turned into a twisted cane. He grinned and held it up. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I had it specially made.”
“Remind me that whoever did this deserves to have an excellent tip.”
She laughed. “I’ll be sure to arrange it.”
“Good. Now, where’s breakfast.”
“Are you actually hungry?”
“Well, I also have the urge to make love to my wife, but I don’t think I’m quite up to that yet.”
She laughed. “You seem to be back to your old self.”
“Except now I have a dashing limp that I gained defending my wife. Quite the war story. I’ll be sure to tell that to everyone I meet.”
“You’re already the talk of the town.”
“Am I?” He grinned at her. “About my amazing heroics?”
“That would be it.”
“And this cane is my new badge of armor, I suppose.”
“Hopefully you won’t use it for very long.” She smiled.
“I think I would be quite dashing with a cane.” He got to his feet, testing how he put weight on his leg.
He managed to actually stay standing and cautiously tested out the cane.
“Be careful.”
“I am careful.” He tsked and wobbled for a moment.
She rushed over to his side to help him stay on his feet.
“Ah, there’s the healer. Tell me, doctor. Am I destined to die?”
“You aren’t permitted to die.”
He laughed loudly. “Not permitted to die? Who gave that order?”
“Your wife.” She adopted a warning tone.
He placed his hand to his chest. “I would never dare to do such a thing to my wife. Tell her I will staunchly refuse the approach of death and remain as dashing as ever.” He straightened up and took a tentative step.