Bride by Midnight (7 page)

“I suppose a kiss to seal the marriage will not do,” she interrupted. “Do you have a room?”

“I do.”

“Is it nearby?”

The first peal announcing midnight rang, and his bride twitched visibly.

“Not
that
nearby.” He took her hand and led her quickly toward the closest alleyway.

As he pulled her into darkness, she asked, on a whispered breath, “Here?”

The second peal echoed.

“It’s here or not at all, if you wish the deed done before tomorrow arrives.” And suddenly he was anxious to have it done, to have her. Not only because she was a means to an end, not only because she could lead him into the palace and straight to Volker, but because she called to him as a woman. He wanted her, wanted to be inside her, to make her scream.

“Fine,” she said again, with a sigh that coincided with the third peal. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Nothing.” Blade lifted her skirt and slipped his hand between her thighs. She was startled, jumping a bit as the fourth bell rang out. Her skin was wonderfully soft, her response untaught and arousing. This woman who had never been touched by a man was ripe and hungry in a way she undoubtedly didn’t understand. The fifth bell rang, and he found the nub at her entrance. She was surprised by her reaction to the touch; her body responded. Her hips rocked gently and she uttered a soft, “Oh.” The sixth bell rang, and he slipped a finger inside her. She was wet, but not wet enough, so he stroked and teased as the seventh and eighth bell rang.

She gasped and moved against him. He fell into her, breathed in her sweet scent.

“Shouldn’t you...” she said breathlessly. “This feels strangely nice. I didn’t really expect...
oh
... but it’s not... There’s no time, Blade, not nearly enough time.”

The ninth bell rang on the tail end of her words, and he freed his erection. He lifted her up, guided his length to her wet heat, and slowly, as the tenth bell rang, he pushed the head of his cock inside her. She gasped, and her hands clutched at his shoulders. He pushed a little bit deeper. She was tight, wet, hot, inexperienced, and ignorantly awaiting something she didn’t understand.

He held her up, so her back rested lightly against the wall behind her, and as the eleventh bell peeled he pushed deeper. She gasped as he thrust, breaking past her maidenhead. One more thrust and he filled her completely. With the final peal of the palace bells, by any law or custom he and Lyssa were man and wife.

***

Princess—that was her name now, and she rather liked it—woke with a start as the bells marking midnight pealed beyond her window. Their new Father did not call either of the others Princess, as he called her. She was his favorite, perhaps because he saw that she was the most powerful of them all. Princess. She liked the sound of her new name, even though it only resonated in her head and not against the stone walls that surrounded her. She remained imprisoned, but she’d been moved to a new room and was no longer alone. She did not like being alone, as she had been for so much of her lifetime.

She had lived in much worse places than this one in her almost-sixteen years. Even before she’d come into her power, she’d been shunned by those who knew the circumstances of her birth. She’d slept in harder beds, or on the floor or the ground. This was a very nice prison.

There were three other beds in this large chamber. Two of them were occupied by her sisters, Ksana demons like herself. Each had been fathered by the Isen Demon but they had come into this world by way of different mothers; mothers who had died during childbirth. The babies those chosen women had delivered were deadly poisonous as they came into the world, and not one of those mothers had survived.

And now, after years of living without a true knowledge of who and what they were—without knowing exactly what they were meant to be and do—the Ksanas were poison once again. As they became women they discovered the true depths of their varied powers. They also came into their own as the most deadly of all the demon daughters. No man could withstand their kiss.

The fourth bed in this large chamber was empty, awaiting yet another sister, perhaps.

One of Princess’s sisters, the one called Divya, sat up in her bed. The other slept on. Perhaps her more limited powers did not allow her to see what Princess and Divya had seen.

“She has been awakened,” Divya whispered.

Princess looked at her sister, seeing her well even in the dark. Divya was slighter in build than she or their other sister. Her blond hair was almost silver. “It was inevitable.” Princess attempted to sound as if she didn’t care. “She will come for us... in time. That was always meant to be.” The witch and the blade. Separately they were mere annoyances. Separately they were nothing. Together... together they could ruin it all. One woman, one man. It was so unfair.

“One witch and one man,” Divya said, sounding more annoyed than frightened. “Columbyana has many witches and more men than I can count, so I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

“The witch will be hard to kill as long as the blade lives,” Princess said. She was not afraid; not really. “We do not know the extent of her abilities, and he gives her strength. But the blade is just a man. Take him, and she will be just another witch, more easily disposed of if she dares to get in our way.”

“Now that the witch has been awakened, we will be able to sense her,” Divya said. “Perhaps we can dispose of her before she comes into her full power.”

“Perhaps.” Princess left her bed and walked to the window, bare feet on a cold floor, and looked down. She felt the moonlight wash over her, as powerful and energizing as sunlight. The night was hers, or soon would be. She still had so much to learn; there was so much to be taken from the world.

She would not let two pitiful humans get in her way. Joined or not, prophesied or not, witch or not... they were only human and should be easy enough to kill. The witch, the blade... perhaps both of them, just to be safe. She could not allow them to get in the way of what she wanted.

“Princess” was a start, but one day... one day she would be more than a Princess. Empress? Queen? Goddess? Her life, her rule, had only just begun.

Chapter Five

The final peal of the midnight bells faded away. Lyssa held onto Blade, who was moving in and out of her at a slow, steady pace. There had been some pain at first, but she could not say she felt pain any longer. A little discomfort, maybe. Mainly it was just odd to have a part of a man inside her. Odd and strangely compelling. Her hips moved against him, almost without thought or intent, as if she had an itch and he was scratching it gently. Gently. Oh, not
always
gently.

She’d known what to expect, in a vague way, but his manly part was bigger than she’d thought it would be. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it, because it was so dark here in the shadows, but she could certainly feel it. And it was so
hard
. How did he keep that thing under control at all times? How on earth did any man walk down the street without waddling? She would have to ask Blade how he handled normal activities with such an impediment, but now was not the time for such a question.

How desperate she must be not to become a nun, to allow herself to be here, in this position, with this man she’d just met. Blade Renshaw was her husband, yes, but she didn’t know him at all. Well, she knew that he was kind enough to rescue a woman in need, even though he didn’t
look
at all kind. She knew he had no real desire to take a wife, though he didn’t seem to mind this part of the arrangement at all. He had once been a sailor and a ship builder, he’d said, so why did he no longer live by the sea? She knew he was most likely a thief, perhaps a beggar, perhaps both, but he’d spoken to Father Kiril as if he were a gentleman.

She really could not think of Father Kiril now! He would be shocked to see her in such an undignified position. She was shocked herself. This was certainly not how she’d imagined the night ending. She’d imagined a proper bed, one candle on the bedside table, some kissing before and after. Instead she was... here. And what was happening
here
had completely scattered her wits.

The important thing was that she was married and bedded, albeit without the bed. She was a wife in all ways. Maybe she didn’t know much about the man she’d wed, but she had taken a husband before her twenty-third birthday. She wouldn’t live her life alone in darkness, as her dreams—and that awful witch Vellance—had warned.

Her thoughts came quickly, disjointed. She really needed to stop thinking so much. The movement of her husband within her was terribly distracting, and soon she couldn’t think of anything else but the way it felt
there
, where their bodies came together. She shifted, and he thrust deeper. She buried her face against his warm neck and breathed in his manly scent. It was intriguing; intoxicating.

Her body warmed, and her breath came differently, as if she had to work to bring air into her lungs. She forgot everything but the way it felt to have Blade inside her. She even forgot that she was in an alley, with her back against a rough wall and her skirt bunched up around her waist.

Blade moved faster, and so did she. It was as if she was driven instinctively to take him in. To rub her body against his and urge him deeper. She wanted more, but she wasn’t sure exactly how to get it or even what
it
was. He drove deep and held himself still, and he shook. She felt his release inside her own body, heard a low groan in her ear. He went still, but for the effort it took for him to breathe. His body remained linked to hers, though it was now... different.

“Sorry,” he said, as he withdrew and very gently placed her on her feet.

Reality came back to her as she smoothed out her skirt. Her body throbbed, her head swam, and she found herself... squirming. She wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Why are you sorry? The fucking was not entirely unpleasant, and we are truly man and wife, as I requested. You have nothing to apologize for that I can see.”

There was little light in the alleyway but there was enough for her to see that his lips twitched, as if there was a danger he might actually smile. “One day you
will
see,” he said, straightening his clothes and then hers, though she’d already made an attempt at the chore. “I imagine. And, dear wife, I would suggest that you not use the word ‘fuck’ so frequently.”

“Why not?” she asked. “You used the word yourself, so I assumed it was the proper word for what we just did. Did I not use the word correctly? Was my pronunciation incorrect?”

“Your pronunciation was stellar,” Blade said, a touch of humor in his deep voice. “However, it is not a word used by proper ladies. Your Father Kiril would have heart failure if he heard you say it.”

She inhaled sharply. “It’s vulgar?”

“It is.”

“You should have told me so immediately,” she admonished.

“I suppose I should have,” he admitted. He sounded much more agreeable than he had on their first meeting a short while ago, or even at the wedding, when he’d been so pleasant for Father Kiril’s benefit. In fact, he sounded downright pleased with himself. “I’m surprised you don’t know the word. It’s rather common.”

She hesitated to tell him that her father had always protected her from the more common aspects of life.

“You can use that word when we’re alone,” he said before she had a chance to prepare a response. “I rather like the sound of it coming out of your sweet, pretty mouth. You can whisper it into my ear whenever the mood strikes you.”

“I can’t see how that will be necessary,” Lyssa said, as Blade took her arm and led her from the alley.

“Many pleasant things are not necessary, wife.”

Wife. Hmm. She rather liked the way
that
word sounded coming out of
his
mouth.

They walked a short way down the road in silence. Lyssa deemed herself to be badly in need of a bath. The act of consummating her marriage had left her sweaty and sticky, and she was quite certain she smelled. She also felt as if Blade was still inside her, in a way she could not explain. Even though she had managed to get everything she wanted and needed on this momentous evening, she was horribly on edge, jumpy... skittish. And she was also convinced for some reason that they were not finished.

“Will we live in your room or in mine?” he asked.

Lyssa pursed her lips. What was done was done, but she hadn’t yet worked out all the details. “I suppose we will live together eventually, but...”

“Not eventually,” Blade said. “Immediately. How else am I to gain your father’s trust so that he will take me into the palace with him on his next delivery?”

“There are many deliveries to be made in the coming months. It doesn’t have to be the next.”

“Yes, it does.” He grabbed her shoulders and spun her about to face him. “I’ve waited too long. I won’t wait any longer.”

She wished she could see him better, but there was not enough light here. Not
nearly
enough light. “Why exactly do you wish to get into the palace?” she asked. She’d thought maybe he was just curious. There were many who simply wanted to see the imperial opulence for themselves, to walk among the fine ladies and gentlemen there, and look upon the jewels and paintings and sculptures. Perhaps he wanted a close look at the emperor, the empress, and their children. But as little as she knew about her husband, she seriously doubted that he was curious about such things. “You’re not going in there to steal something, are you?” she asked, horrified.

“No.”

“I know you’re not above thievery,” she argued. “The uniform you’re wearing proves that much.”

“I swear to you that I have no plans to steal anything from the palace.”

That was a relief. She wanted no part in thievery.

“So, your room or mine?” he asked again.

Lyssa’s mind spun. “Tonight I’ll return to my house alone. My parents will be alarmed if they awake in the morning and I’m not there. They would also be shocked to find a man in my bed. I can only imagine the commotion that would ensue. It would be best if you came to the house later in the day, at which time I will make proper introductions.”