Blood Lust (17 page)

“Would you?” A dark brow arched in mocking regard. “I would have thought you were interested in that, that earl.”

“You believe I am interested in him?”

“You are telling me you are not?”

“Well, we are acquainted. And he has expressed an interest in me and I have. . .”

“You have what, my lady? Encouraged his pursuit? Allowed him liberties? Spent time in his bed! Will you certainly wasted no time in that matter!” His gaze ran over her once more. “Then again, I discovered what a hot little piece you were when I took you that day at the cottage.”

“How dare you!” she felt anger taking control of her rage. “He has been a perfect gentleman, which is more than I can say for you!”

“You are right, my lady. I am no gentleman. I told you that from the start.” His arms went around her waist and he pulled her against him. She tried to twist free, but his hold only tightened. Forcing her lips apart he thrust his tongue inside, deeply, taking what he wanted. Katherine gasped as he took hold of the front of her wrapper and ripped it down the front. Her chemise followed the same fate, leaving her naked in front of him.

“I want you,” he whispered, tearing his lips away, planting hot, damp kisses down the line of her jaw and her neck. “God, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“William. . .” She slid her arms around his neck, giving herself up to his hands and his mouth, letting his closeness fire her passions. She had thought of him too, and God how she had missed him.

He kissed her again, gently now, coaxing instead of demanding. “I need you,” he whispered, filling his hands with her breasts, teasing the peaks until they stiffened, then lowering his head to take one of the tight little crests into his mouth.

Katherine moaned and arched against him, felt his palm cupping her bottom to lift her against his thick arousal. He kneaded her buttocks, slid a finger deeply inside her. Sweet Lord, she was wet and ready, aching for him to take her.

“You want me,” he said softly, his voice raspy with male satisfaction. “Just as much as I want you.”

She didn’t deny it, didn’t resist when he backed her against the wall and unbuttoned his breeches, cupped his hands beneath her bottom and lifted her up. She moaned as she slid atop his heavy arousal. She was wet but so tight she gasped when he impaled her full length, felt a white-hot jolt of pleasure, or was it pain.

“Easy,” he whispered, kissing her deeply, wrapping her legs around his waist then beginning to move inside her. One of his hands laced through her hair. Tightening her hold around his neck, she let him guide her, lifting her up then plunging her down on his still arousal. Each heavy thrust went deeper, pounded harder, demanded more.

William! Her mind screamed, her nails digging into the muscles across his shoulders, her head thrown back as waves of fire washed over her. He filled her completely, driving hard against her, stroking with fiery determination.

“William!” she cried out at the fury and the head seething through her. Great waves of pleasure tore loose inside, spirals of heat, sparks of fiery sweetness. Her body contracted, tightened around him, and William groaned. With a huge force of will, he dragged himself free of her body and Katherine despaired to realize he had spilled his seed outside her womb. The knowledge left her feeling strangely empty.

The tremors of her passion began to fade. Katherine pressed her lips to his shoulders and the sinews there went tense. He let go of her legs and she slid down his tall hard frame until her feet once more touched the floor.

Wordlessly, he turned away and began to work the buttons at the front of his breeches. Katherine dragged out a white night gown from her top dresser drawer and pulled it on, then turned to face him.

Her breath caught when she saw he stood at the balcony doors. Her heart squeezed. He was leaving. He had taken her in anger, used her like a whore, and one look at his face said that he would not return.

“A pleasure as always, my lady.” The line of his jaw appeared to be carved in stone. He started through the doors, but the sound of her voice made him stop.

“I have to marry,” Katherine said softly. “It would be unfair of me, after what has happened this night, but I must do so all the same.”

His dark brows drew together. “What do you mean you have to marry? Are you telling me I have gotten you with child?” He turned away from the doors and long strides carried him closer. “Or perhaps it is his babe you carry.” He passed directly in front of her, his eyes dark and stormy.

Katherine did not look away. “I am not with child. I have committed an even graver sin, your grace. I am impoverished. In my world that is a crime of magnificent proportions.”

She smiled with bitter despair. “Take a look around, your grace. If the furnishings appear a bit shabby, the walls a trifle bare, that is because they are. Much as I regret to say it, in truth, your brother Benjamin, and I were taking the very same journey. I was marrying him because he was wealthy. My father gambled away the family fortune. The only money my brother and I have left is what my father set aside for my dowry.” When he started to speak she rushed on, afraid that if she stopped, she might not have the courage to continue.

“Unfortunately, I cannot get hold of the money. Only my husband can do that. The man I marry will receive a small fortune, along with it, I’m afraid he will also inherit the debts.”

William looked stunned. “I can hardly credit what you’re saying.”

“I assure you, my grace, it is all true.”

His eyes darted around the room, taking in the barren walls and the sturdy, unpretentious furnishings. William said nothing, but his eyes grew cloudy, with pain or perhaps it was simply regret. He looked at her, took in her swollen, passion bruised lips, the tangled disarray of her hair, and a low groan rumbled from his throat.

He was standing just a few feet away from her. In two long strides he caught her against him, buried his face in her hair. “Ah, duchess, I am sorry. So very sorry. Good God, but you bring out the worst in me.”

Katherine clung to him, knowing she shouldn’t, that holding him would only make losing him harder, yet craving the strength of his arms.

“I should have told you the truth in the beginning. I suppose I was embarrassed. You had enough problems of your own and mine were hardly your concern.”

He drew back to look at her. “It is my concern. I’ve damaged your reputation. I’ve taken your innocence. In the marriage mart, those are two of your most valuable commodities. That makes it my concern.”

He kissed the top of her head. “If I were any kind of man, I would marry you myself. But odds are, I’ll be swinging from a rope before this is over. Even if I manage to cheat fate again, there is no guarantee I’ll be able to prove my innocence, and even if I do, I won’t be staying in England.”

“You’re going to leave?” Something painful clenched inside her. He was leaving. Sooner or later, he would be gone from her life for good. “Where? Where will you go?”

“Back from where I came from. That is where I belong. Katherine I do not belong in England. I’m not civilized enough for it anymore. I just don’t fit in.”

She thought of the dance they had shared, of how magnificent he had looked. She could have argued that he could fit wherever he wanted, but she didn’t. If William wished to leave England, she had no right to stop him.

“I can’t marry you Katherine, but I can help you. I have money, quite a sum. I have more than enough to set your debts in order and see that you and your brother are comfortable for as long as you need. You won’t be forced into marriage. You can wait until you find the right man.”

Katherine ignored the dull ache inside her, the pressure building in her chest. She had found the right man. But marriage was not his intention. “In truth, if I had my way, I would not marry at all. I’ve come to enjoy my independence and once I marry I’ll be forced to have to give it up.”

“What of children?” William asked. “Surely you want a family. All women do.”

“Actually, I’ve given it very little thought. I presumed they would come as a result of the marriage. Other than that, I’ve not thought that much about it.” Until this moment. Having children with William was another matter entirely. She couldn’t think of anything that would give her more pleasure than bearing him a son.

He caressed her cheek with his hand. “I’m sorry about tonight, my lady, but I’m not sorry I’ve come. Now that I know the truth, everything is going to be fine, I promise you.” He bent over and gave her a soft kiss, their lips clung to each other as the kiss grew more fierce. “Damn, I want you again already!”

A feeling of warmth began to spread through her body. In truth she wanted him too.

William, however, turned to leave. “It’s getting light outside. I’ve got to get out of here before someone sees me.” A quick glance toward the window, then he looked back at her. “I meant what I said. Everything is going to be fine.”

“I don’t want your money. I have money of my own. I simply must marry to get it.”

William ignored her. With a final hard kiss, he headed toward the door leading out on to the balcony. He swung his long legs over the railing, and began his descent down the trellis. She heard his boots hit the ground, and then he was gone.

She sat down on the bench in front of her mirror. The clock ticked in the darkness. Since she had met William, she had never felt so alone.

Though her body was pleasantly satisfied, Katherine slept little for the remainder of the night. William had come to her, made love to her in this very room. Memories of his hard-muscled body surging into hers made her skin grow damp with perspiration. Her nipples grew hard to think of his tongue brushing over it, remembering the way he had taken the fullness into his mouth. With one hand, she touched herself there, wishing he were still with her.

Instead she lay in bed alone, aching for a man who wanted her but had no interest in marriage, at least not to her.

It was late when she dragged herself from beneath the covers. Crossing to the window, she shoved it open and inhaled a breath of the damp air. Mary Ann helped her into a simple day dress made of muslin and she made her way downstairs.

“Good morning, Thomas.”

“That it is my dear.” Seated at the dining room table, he smiled at her as she took her place. “Slept well, I trust? I didn’t hear you come in last night.”

She wasn’t surprised. He rarely heard her, and even if he had, he probably wouldn’t remember it. “I slept fine, Thomas.” Recalling the events of the night made her blush. She didn’t like lying to her brother. “I hope you haven’t been waiting for me. I’m afraid I’ve been a bit lazy this morning.”

He nodded, then glanced down at the small white calling card he held in his hand. He pondered it for a moment, then his face lit up.

“I nearly forgot, Katherine. You have a visitor coming to call. The earl of York. He ought to be here any minute.”

“Damien!” Her stomach tightened. Had something happened to William? “What does he want?”

“Haven’t the foggiest idea, my dear. Guess you’ll find out when he gets here.”

Which was, as Thomas said, not long. She had just finished her morning tea and biscuits, barely able to get them down for the fear tearing through her stomach when the butler appeared in the dining room doorway.

“You’ve a guest, my lady. The earl of York has come to call. I’ve shown him into the drawing room.”

“Thank you.” Taking a breath, she slid back her chair and stood.
Please don’t let it be William.

Her hands were shaking as she walked down the hall and stepped into the drawing room. She closed the doors behind her. She felt a sigh of relief when the raven-haired earl began walking toward her with a smile.

“Good morning, Lady Katherine.”

“My lord.” They exchanged pleasantries but only for a moment. Then the earl handed her a wax sealed message, which Katherine immediately broke open. A piece of paper folded up inside fluttered neatly to the floor. When she bent to retrieve it, she saw that it was a bank draft for twenty thousand pounds.

“Sweet Lord.” A glance of the paper proved her instincts correct. The money had come from William. It was all she could do to keep her mouth clamped shut. “Do you know what is in here, my lord?”

“Yes, I do, my lady. I hope you realize you may count me among your friends. Your secrets - and William’s - are completely safe with me.”

She believed him. It didn’t lessen the shame she felt that William would send her money. She wondered how much Damien knew of their relationship and how much more he had simply guessed.

“You may tell him that he may take his good intentions and shove them.”

A corner of Damien’s mouth smiled. “Is there anything else, my lady?”

“You may tell his grace he owes me nothing. What I have, I gave of my own free will. Money was not then, nor is it now the reason for what happened between us. You may also remind him I have money of my own, that soon it will be used to solve my problems, and I will no longer be in need of his assistance.”

Damien looked even more amused. “I will tell him, my lady.” He started toward the door.

“Oh, and Damien.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“You may also tell him that I said thank you. I enjoyed our last meeting very much.”