Lady Thief (17 page)

William’s brow nearly touched his hairline.
The vision of her running from the church upon discovering that he
was not who she thought he was flashed in his memory.
‘Twas no
singular incident, but he said nothing of it.

“Very well,” he said.

Marianne worried her bottom lip.
“If your men
find my father, and bring him back, and if he did steal those
things from you, what will you do to him?”

William clasped the bridge between his eyes,
as though he searched for the proper words.
“‘Tis a difficult
question.
He needs punishment, I cannot pretend he did not steal
from me simply for your sake and allow him to stay.” He looked down
at her.
Marianne squirmed as he continued.
“Yet for your sake, I do
not believe I can not turn him out into the cold.”

Marianne hesitated.
Actually, he could do
whatever he wanted to the man and Marianne could say naught about
it.
She certainly did not want her father to freeze during the
winter months, but at the same time…

“You could always give him a thrashing.”

He sputtered.
“What is this?”

Marianne did not know if he was shocked by
her statement or the predatory smile on her face.

“Or you could put him in the barn and have
him clean the stalls until he has learned his lesson.
But you must
wait until they are good and full, with no one there to aid
him.”

William laughed.
“Aye, I can see him in my
mind doing that.
He will need to be watched of course,”

“Naturally.
We cannot have him trying to run
off again.”

“Aye, when he returns I shall have to order
the men at the gates to not only refuse to open the drawbridge for
you, but now for him as well.”

Marianne laughed.
How was it possible he
could still her anger like this?
The tension was no longer in her
body, and their closeness did not stir a worry in her gut either.
The old warm feelings in her belly returned, the air surrounding
her became hot and comforting.
How could she tell him that she
wished to make love again without humiliating herself?

His face was close to hers, breath warming
her cheeks further.
The heat traveled into her lungs, which worked
harder to take in more air.
Slowly, hesitantly, Marianne reached up
to touch his lightly colored hair, holding the strands between her
fingertips like he had done to her.

The few threads of gray made him handsome,
and she wondered if he had been just as handsome, or more so,
before the small lines creased under his eyes.

Nay, she thought after some seconds of study,
smoothing the hair the dropped to his forehead.
He could never have
been more pleasing to the eye at any other time.
He was perfect
now.

Marianne shifted, embarrassment gripped her
body and she bit her bottom lip to regain control.
She wanted to
ask him to touch her, but she could not speak, nor did she need to.
William, having somehow sensed her inner conflict, dropped his head
and covered her mouth with his.

What had begun as soft and feathery kissing,
lips massaging lips, became rough and wanting within seconds.
Teeth
met teeth, nipping gently before becoming rough in their play.

William’s larger hand cupped her face, then
burned down her neck, over her breasts and stomach, trailing fire
with it as he lifted her green gown.

Frustration swelled inside her.
She did not
want him to lift it, she wanted him to take the damned thing off.
If she could burn so much with his touch through her gown, she
needed to feel his touch to her flesh.

She jolted when his fingers reached between
her legs.
They were cold and shocking, but then her back arched
with the spasm that came with them.
The cold was promptly replaced
with severe heat that made her sweat.
Her mouth opened though there
was naught she wanted to say, and nothing emerged but tiny
squeaks.

William took advantage of her mouth then and
kissed her again.
Marianne threw her arm around his neck to anchor
her, using the other to keep her propped up, and kissed him back.
Wordless noises continued to erupt from her mouth through their
kiss but she did not care.
All she wanted was for him to keep
touching her, keep rubbing that spot, never stop until she reached
her destination.
Where she did not know but again all that mattered
was that he
never
stop.

Abruptly he pulled away his entire body to
stand on his knees before her, and Marianne fell back on the bed,
panting, unsatisfied and confused.

She was so close!
She could not say what it
was that she was close to, but something almost happened and she
nearly burst into tears because he had the audacity to stop.

She was going to tell him what she really
thought of him for presenting her with such a cruel punishment, but
he was preoccupied with the removing of his blue outer robe, and
then loosening his pants.

“What are you—”

His voice was hurried as he threw away his
tunic.
“If you are going to reach your pleasure so soon you will do
it with me inside you.”

The needful rumble in his voice excited her,
the interest between her thighs again aroused.
When he guided her
legs apart she lifted them and allowed him to settle in between
without fear.

Without notice he stopped.
“This will hurt
for a few moments,”

Marianne felt the hard shaft of his manhood
waiting to enter her and felt a new rise in her excitement.
She
doubted very much that anything could hurt her at this point and
ignored the warning.

***

William thrust into her quickly and felt
Marianne tense beneath him, heard the stunned squeak escape her
lips and watched her eyes flare open.

He pulled her closer and rested his face in
the crook of her neck, calling all of his willpower to keep him
from moving.

She clutched at his shoulders, horror nearly
took him with the idea that she would tell him to stop, that he was
hurting her far too much for her to handle and that she wished him
to lift himself off and leave her.

But then she relaxed in his arms.
He returned
his hand to the spot between her legs and massaged the tender flesh
through her curls while he thrust into her.

Marianne opened her mouth and released soft,
throaty mewls that went straight to William’s cock.
The whole of
her body seemed to squeeze him, an encouragement that could only
mean any pain she had felt had vanished in favor of the building
pleasure.

Then he found that little spot inside her and
she truly let the noises come out.

“Again!
Touch me there again,” she demanded,
eyes wide and mouth open with intense excitement.

Encouraged, he complied to her wishes with a
grin.

Marianne clutched the bed sheets and lifted
herself to meet his thrusting hips and fingers, once, twice, and
then tensed when she finally made it
there
, the lips of her
sex contracting around William’s manhood.

He could not hold himself off as her
contracting inner walls pulled him along with her, and he could
only pump himself faster, harder, bringing her wave after wave of
the most exquisite feeling either of them had ever experienced
until they finally made it to shore and rested there, out of breath
from the intense exercise, slick with sweat.

William collapsed on top of her and Marianne
released a light hearted giggle, a smile on her rosy lips.

He pressed his lips to her shoulder.
“I take
it you are satisfied?”

“More than satisfied.” She purred, clinging
to his chest and snuggling there like a content feline.

“Good.
Next I will take you to the same place
and show you how much more wonderful it could be.”

Later, he promised himself,
later
.

Strange, how loving her could cause him to be
so clumsy in bed.

His breath caught at the thought.

He had not thought of loving her in the
physical sense, but the kind that stirred his silent heart.

Did he love her?
‘Twas the first time he had
ever outright asked himself that question.
He had not loved in
years and nearly forgot what it felt like, along with the
consequences of it.

William sighed and settled himself again.
He
would sort out his thoughts when he was no longer in a pleasure
filled haze.

He lifted his head enough to admire
Marianne’s still glowing face.

He lazily traced her jaw with his finger.
“May I ask what it is that you find so amusing, my dear?”

Her face brightened.
“I used to hear women
speak of how horrible the physical act of loving a man could
be.”

William looked at her, stunned that she would
ever hear such talk.

“Gossiping of servants.” She said by way of
explanation.
“They were trying to console their soon-to-be wed
daughters while other, less merciful servants, taunted the poor
girl with the pains and chores of the bed.” Her wide smile
returned.
“Ye have proved them all wrong.”

William’s insides warmed at the admission.
“There was no pain?”

She shook her head.
“Ye were very gentle.
Those girls were silly cowards.” She continued to smile at him.
“We
will do that again.”

William felt his shaft twitch in response.
Amazing.
“As you wish, my dear.”

Chapter Eleven

Marianne awoke as
though she were
being lifted from a soothing bath.
A delicious ache touched
everywhere on her body.
It comforted her with the knowledge of
where it came from.

She stretched her legs down and her arms up,
savoring the sensation before settling back into her nest of
blankets, warm and comfortable despite the lack of a fire.

Yet she could not return to sleep.
Her
husband’s fingertips tickled up and down her naked arm.
Marianne
smiled.

As she suggested the night before, she and
William stayed where they were to make love again.
Only that time
their garments had been entirely removed.

She admired his body the night of her bath
when he insisted they become better acquainted with each other, but
‘twas completely different the second time.
Her eyes took him in
again, the sensation of touch accompanying her sight while she
removed his under-tunic and hose.

He was no man.
He was an angel.
His skin had
glowed as her fingers travelled along the warm flesh, and Marianne
had prayed that he might think her half as beautiful as she did
him.

He had satisfied her unasked question with
his hurried removal of her clothes, hungry touches and throaty
moans of pleasure escaped him as he touched and tasted her.
Then
her fears were forgotten.

Her skin touching his while he moved sent a
stronger buzz though her bones than when they made love the first
time.
Even her hair came loose from the braid and cascaded plainly
down her back as he insisted that
everything
be undone.

She never would have thought she could spend
the better part of an afternoon and night in bed, and now it seemed
she would have some difficulty with rising this morning, especially
if William insisted on caressing her in
that
place.

She felt the heat of his face lower to her
neck, and she opened her eyes.
The press of lips trailed under her
jaw and rose to her ear.

Marianne giggled when his kiss reached the
sensitive area.
She tilted her head to allow him better access,
sighing when he moved to place the same treatment below her ear,
along her throat and shoulders.

“If we do not present ourselves the servants
will wonder where we went.” William said, his eyes meeting hers and
lips returning to the sensitive skin below her ear.

She sensed his true meaning.
His obvious wish
to stay, conflicted with the responsibility that required him to
go.

Marianne slid her eyes shut.
What did she
care for responsibilities?
“They can handle themselves for
now.”

“Can they?” Despite his words, he did not
stop.

She nodded.
“Aye, they know that if they do
not do their work Hawisa and I shall scream their ears off.”

William laughed.
Marianne opened her eyes so
that she might see his amusement.

His lips stretched into a smile that touched
and lit his eyes.
His gaze could teach the stars to sparkle.

She touched his face, inspired by the
thought.
“I’m glad ‘twas you I forced to wed me.”

She spoke the words without thinking, but
once they were out, she realized they were true.

He took her small hand into his larger one
and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers.
“As am I.”

He had said kind things to her before, had
comforted her and never pushed her for what she could not give, but
those words warmed her like naught he had ever said.

His hand traveled sensuously down her torso
and legs, burning through the blanket she did not remember being
covered with before falling asleep.

“As much as I prefer being here with you, we
are not in our chamber, and if the servants think we are missing
they shall call for Blaise, who will riot until we are found.”

Moaning, Marianne grabbed the woolen blanket
and pulled it over her head.

“Am I to take that to mean you do not mind?”
William asked.

She snorted.
Marianne struggled with the
thought of leaving her comfortable cocoon, turning her eyes away
from William’s naked chest beneath the blanket, and getting up to
ensure that the morning’s duties were handled properly.

“God’s teeth.” Marianne threw her covers off
and hissed against the sudden cold as she searched for her chemise
and gown.

Only when Marianne managed to half dress
herself did she sense William watching.
He stayed in bed, leaning
against one arm and smiling leisurely as he observed her.

The blanket fell over his upper thigh, barely
concealing his manhood, yet revealing his firm legs and his lightly
haired chest.
Seeing him barely clad was somehow more erotic than
if he’d been completely naked.

Though she tried to refuse the blush, it came
without her permission.
She turned her face away and her nose found
the air.
“Ye are as bad as a curious boy.”

“Ah, but I am not curious.
I have already had
you.
Now I merely wish to admire you.”

The heat ravaged her cheeks.
She grabbed his
tunic and flung it at him.
He caught it and laughed again.

***

William rose to dress with her, contemplating
taking her back to bed despite the consequences he’d told her of.
But there were things that needed to be done and decisions to be
made.

William should have gone with his men on
their search for Marianne’s father.
But the theft, while insulting,
had not posed enough threat for him to leave her side.
Not when she
would likely do something rash without calm words to sooth her
hissing spirit.

And now, Holton’s theft was not the only
thing on his mind.
Last night he said—to himself at least—that he
loved Marianne.

Strange how thinking such things about his
wife could stun him.
As if he had been hit in the head with a club,
or thrown from his horse.

He could allow himself to grow fond of her,
to enjoy her like he had last night.
So how was it possible for him
to love after all the pain the emotion had brought him the last
time he experienced it?
The foolish way he acted because of it?
Ruined a young woman’s life over it?

Even if he could love her, until he was
certain that he could defend her from Ferdinand’s threat, if the
man did indeed pose a threat, he would keep the emotion that
squeezed in his chest under firm control.
For both of their
sakes.

***

Marianne could not finish tightening the back
of her gown on her own.
When she finished as much as she could, she
looked to William, sensing the mood darkening around him, and
puzzled over it.

Only a few moments ago he’d lain with her and
laughed with her.
Now she did not know what to make of him.
His
sudden scowl was uninviting and his back visibly taut.
She reached
out to touch him but he pulled away from her.

Her hand retracted.
Though she had not
touched him, she felt as though her entire body burned with painful
rejection.

He tried to hide his behavior by smiling at
her again.
‘Twas too late.
She had already seen that something was
amiss.

“Perhaps you shall spend more time with me
today,” He said, leaning back with the air of a man who had
everything his heart desired.
Almost everything, at least.

Something he desired had to be missing.

Still, the invitation brought ease back into
her nerves.
She returned his smile.
“I would like that.”

He stood.
Marianne’s entire being warmed as
he pulled her to him.
Her body drank in his heat like a woman who
had been without water for days.

He encircled her with his arms, bent to press
his mouth to her lips, and the sensation was complete.

She was not aware that he pulled away until
he spoke.
“I must warn you that my work is far from exciting,
unless ye believe sitting and writing for hours on end is
excitement.
I shall bore ye into leaving.”

Marianne shrugged.
“Aye, ‘tis likely, but I
would still wish to be with ye.” She would not tell him that she
planned to seduce him from his work.

He kissed her again.

Oh, how his mouth made her lips tingle!
Marianne arched her back and lifted her head for a better position.
Her breath left her.
She nearly forgot that they had to leave for
their own chamber.

William chuckled as her eager mouth refused
to leave his.
He put his hands against her shoulders and pushed
just enough to part their mouths, though she clutched his tunic,
keeping their bodies firmly together.

“Eager imp, perhaps I have been too generous
with you in bed.”

Marianne stood straighter, interest and awe
in her voice.
“If ye have more generosity I would like to know of
it.”

His laugh was throaty, a sound that warmed
Marianne’s insides, and when he kissed her again he kept the
contact of their lips brief.
“Aye, there is more to show you, but
for now we must go.”

He all but shoved her out the door, and
though Marianne was disappointed and eager for their next coupling,
she returned to her working self and called out an order to have
the room they’d spent the night in cleaned.

***

Marianne splashed her face with the cool
water brought to her while Olma aided her with her hair and gown.
James waited to be useful outside her chamber door.

William returned to his solar before she was
ready, claiming some excuse for needing to calculate the loss from
the theft into his records.

Marianne was not certain how keeping ledgers
and taxes worked, but his sudden disappearance was much more than
the need to tend to his books.

When they returned to their chamber earlier,
their true chamber, William seemed to lose control as he tried to
undress her.
She aided him with quick fingers, until Olma let
herself into their chamber unannounced.

In his embarrassment, William fled, grumbling
about servants who did not know their place and the lack of privacy
afforded to a lord.

Marianne would have throttled Olma for her
bad timing had the look on the poor girl’s face not been so
laughable.

What was more, James stood behind her, and
upon seeing Marianne with her gown nearly halfway down her
shoulders he’d flung his hands in front of his eyes and turned
away.

Marianne chided Olma, though ‘twas only half
hearted.
She was too content to remain angry.
“From now on be sure
to make yourself known before barging in wherever you like.”

Olma bobbed quickly, averting her eyes.
“Aye,
milady.”

Marianne had attempted to glare at her.
She
was not very successful.
“And there shall be consequences should
any other servants hear of the tale.”

Once the warning left her lips, Marianne
wondered why she had made the threat.
She was the wife of William,
and should they be found in a passionate embrace then who could say
‘twas wrong?

“Actually, I take back my last command.”

Olma eyed her as if she had gone mad.

“You may tell whomever you wish of this
event,” Marianne grinned like a young girl and raised her arms, no
longer wishing to play the part of offended lady simply to keep the
servants in line.
“I do not care!”

***

Guy Holton had not returned the night before,
or arrived the next morn to explain his sudden departure.

Marianne clenched her hands together.
She
despised the fact that her father was a thief, and according to
Blaise, herself by association as well.

Marianne had hoped William’s knights would
find him and bring with them the story of his innocence.

Instead, by late evening the next day they
brought back naught but news that his tracks led to the former
Holton House.
Ferdinand denied that Holton ever came to him.

William allowed her to be with him in the
great hall when his men returned empty handed.

“Did ye ask to search his stables?” William
asked.

The knight before him nodded, an older man
whom Marianne had not seen before with thick grey eyebrows and
matching hair.
Despite his outward strength, he shivered
uncontrollably even as he was questioned near the grand fire’s
heat.