Seduced (34 page)

Her mouth dried as her gaze traveled over the
warm tones of his flesh, the powerful muscles of his back. She had
thought his hips would be pale, like Warin's had been. Instead, his
buttocks were as golden tan as his shoulders and arms. His back was
now fully to her. She bit her lips when she spotted the brown area
on his left buttock.

How could she get the courage to tell him? No
matter what he did to her, he deserved to know Aubrey was his
son.

He turned toward her now. She studied his
sculpted chest and stomach, admiring the warm hue of his flesh. Did
all Scotsmen have sun kissed skin? Curious, she scanned downward.
The only pale spot on his body was his sex nestled against a bed of
black hair. Though water beat down on his flaccid tarse, it did not
look subdued even against his large balls.

Had she thought it flaccid? Far from it.

Her brows lifted.

His tarse followed suit.

Saints! When Letia's startled gaze rose, his
captured it. How long had he known she was standing there? By the
wicked glint in his forceful blue eyes, long enough to know she
wanted him.

What little of her flesh that had not been
hot was now fiery. She smiled and blinked, trying to appear
unconcerned.

"Come, Letia, join me." His strong voice rose
over the sounds of the water.

"I cannot." She shifted from one foot to
another

"Are ye afeared someone will see us? No one
would dare. My guards will protect our privacy."

"Nay, I'm not fearful of that. Freki would
not let anyone close even if your men are there."

She didn't fear prying eyes. It was a lie.
She feared his. His reluctance to bed her when they married had
been no secret. And he always had to darken the room when he did.
In sunlight, what if he did not find her form appealing? It was one
thing to feel a woman's shape in the dark, another to see her from
all sides. Standing upright. She hesitated and looked down at the
inviting water.

"I cannot swim," she blurted out.

She looked up in time to see him tuck his
head between his arms and dive into the pool. His hands separated
the water and his body followed with barely a splash. It was a
beautiful sight, one she would gladly see again.

The water was so clear she watched his arms
cutting through it, his feet thrusting him forward. More than that.
She couldn't take her gaze from his sleek brown body. With easy
strokes, he reached her side. Her face flamed when he put his hands
on the rock and bounded upward like a fish jumping a wave.

"Ye canna enjoy the water while fully
clothed, wife." His blue eyes crinkled at the corners, watching her
undecided expression.

How could she undress without the cover of a
darkened room?

"Turn."

"What? Turn where?"

"Turn yer back to me, of course." Raik's wet
hand on her shoulder urged her around. "Lift yer arms, Letia."

She bit her lip and did as he bid her. He
grasped the violet kirtle's hem and lifted it all in one fluid
motion then tossed it atop the closest bush. Before she could
protest, her smock received the same fate. She felt foolish
standing there naked except for stockings and shoes. To give
herself time to recover, she grabbed the clothing and started to
fold it.

He waited. Naked and wet.

It didn't help her recovery one whit. She
hurried to finish her chore. How in Hades could she take off her
footwear without bending over in front of him? She couldn't turn
her back. 'Twas unthinkable. And she couldn't lean forward and have
her breasts bobbing about. He saved her the trouble by going down
on one knee and rolling her stockings down to her ankles.

"Lift." She lifted her right foot for him to
slide off her shoe and the offending stocking.

"Again." He finished the job, baring her left
foot.

She wondered if he would kiss her now. He did
not. Instead, he dove into the water and came up shaking his wet
hair from his face. He stroked backward, giving her room to join
him.

"Dinna be affrighted. Hold yer breath and
jump. I'll bring ye to the surface."

She gulped, took a deep breath and plunged
in. The cold water exploded around her near making her gasp. She
felt herself going deep. Raik's hands gripped her waist as they
went to the bottom. He kicked off, hard, and shot them both to the
surface.

Once her head cleared the water, she feared
he would let her go. Instead, he enclosed her in his arms, sharing
his warmth, and kissed her.

Savoring his lips, she wrapped her fingers in
the wet hair at the back of his neck and forgot where they were.
When the kiss ended, he leaned backward pulling her along with
him.

"Have ye never enjoyed the waters here?"

"Nay. We did not have men enough to guard us
without taking from what was needed for Seton."

He nodded, understanding. Had de Mortimer not
given him the men, he would not have, either. He cleared his throat
and reached up, letting her know she was pulling his hair. When her
grip eased, he widened his legs, allowing room for her own between
his as he propelled them around the basin. She began to relax and
enjoy the sensuous feel of his wet body brushing against hers. In
fact, she enjoyed it so much she deliberately lowered her hips so
her woman's place brushed against his sex.

She was not the only one who relished the
contact. Raik was more than ready. How could two bodies create such
heat amidst cold water? When he brought them back to a spot to the
left of where she had undressed, Letia was as eager as he was. To
her surprise, her feet brushed the bottom.

Not all of the basin was as deep as she had
assumed. Letia huffed.

Raik grinned. "Think of what pleasure ye
would have missed if ye simply walked into the water?"

His teasing eased her embarrassment. When his
eyes heated with that heavy-lidded, hungry look, she glanced down
to where he gazed. With each step, water lapped at her breasts then
finally exposed her hardening nipples. Blushing, she started to
cover them with her forearms.

"Nay, dinna hide yourself. 'Tis a beautiful
sight." Raik's bronzed hands urged her arms to her sides.

When a cloud covered the sun, she bit her
tongue to keep her chin from shivering. He noted, for he stopped,
knee-deep in water, and lifted her into his arms. His flesh felt as
warm as it looked. She stopped shivering and nestled her face in
that comforting spot between his jaw and neck then wrapped her arms
around him.

His strong arms beneath her knees and around
her waist felt so right as he headed to the shelter of the
overhanging branches. Each step he took, she felt new sensations.
One she was very aware of. His stirring sex brushed against her
bottom. With each footstep, that brushing changed to prodding until
his tarse lengthened to its full size. She muffled a giggle,
wondering if she glanced down to her side, would she see the eye of
his sex peering at her.

"What amuses ye, wife?"

"Uh, naught. Why did you think it?"

"Ye stifled a giggle like any lass. Nay. From
a grown woman, I would call it more of a snicker."

She eased her head back to look up and saw he
grinned. Why, he knew what amused her. Maybe not exactly 'what' but
he guessed rightly it had something to do with his bobbing sex for
he stopped. Instead of releasing her legs, he gripped her right
knee tight to his left hip, then hefted her in his arms and brought
both legs around his waist.

Letia clutched his shoulders, thinking he
meant to dump her back in the water or on the ground. Far from it.
Warm hands on her buttocks lifted her higher until his eager
arousal nudged at her sex.

"Open for me, wife." His voice roughened with
need.

He positioned his straining erection at her
opening and held it there until he started to enter, bit by bit.
His breath rasped and his heartbeat quickened against her chest.
When he buried himself deep inside her, he groaned. His mouth
searched for hers, traveling along her chin to find her lips. His
tongue plunged inside with desperation as if he couldn't get deep
enough.

He gripped her hips and set the rhythm until
it became so frenzied she feared he would lose his balance. Both
were in such need, they didn't try to prolong their mating. When
her muscles tensed and quivered, his arms tightened until she
feared she would not get her next breath. His head lowered, his
mouth opened and clamped on her shoulder. Not a bite as to harm
her, but one that clearly marked her as his. As his seed pumped
into her, her greedy body was as dominating as his bite as it
squeezed his shaft.

Raik stretched out on the ground, Letia still
atop him. He did not want to put her beneath him, afeared rocks or
twigs hidden in the grass would bruise her back. Though no longer
joined, both still panted.

If anyone had told him he would respond so
strongly to a woman he had once considered unappealing, he would
have scoffed. Feeling the ground to his right and finding naught
that would cause discomfort; he rolled her to his side. He turned
to face her, rubbing his left leg over the top of hers.

Letia blushed at the sensual caresses.
Teasing her, he pulled her closer until he surrounded her lower
body with his sex and belly. Looking down, he brushed her wet hair
from her face and arranged it in a semi-circle around her head much
as she had arranged the pikes on the wall.

"Why do you stare at me so?"

She spoke so softly, he barely made out her
words.

"To see if ye are as beautiful as ye feel in
the darkness." He grinned when she looked hesitant. He could almost
see her mind mulling over his words, wondering what answer he had
found.

"Oh." She looked away. "Likely you find me
lacking in softness."

"Lacking?" His brows rose as he cupped her
right breast. "Nay." He stroked down over her side watching chill
bumps follow everywhere he touched. "Ye are soft in all the right
places."

Aye, and he was hardening in all the right
places. He debated whether to indulge in more lovemaking. If he
did, Cormac would be left waiting in the practice field. He sighed
and ignored his eager cock.

It would have to wait until nightfall.

o0o

Letia and Sybilla selected herbs for the next
day's meals in a hut alongside the short wall dividing the gardens.
Letia stored herbs and spices for cooking as well as medicines
there. Tied clusters of clippings hung upside down from the low
ceiling beams to dry. One wall of shelves held sealed jars and
bottles of all sizes. Everything was there, from remedies to calm
headaches from too much wine to medicines that staunched bleeding
from a sword thrust.

The day's earlier events distracted Letia.
She had never made love when the sun was up, and though she had
felt shy, it was wondrous seeing Raik naked. He was far more
impressive than she had imagined him. Though she had felt his
strength, seeing the sleek muscles playing in his body as he swam
brought home the powers they held.

They had not talked much, but they'd had no
need. It meant more, for after the awkward moments in the
beginning, they had been comfortable together. Once he had seen her
unclothed and found no fault in her body, she had relaxed.

She blushed, thinking about what hid beneath
his tunic.

"What ails you, sister?" Sybilla's gaze
probed Letia's face. "Do you have a fever?"

"Nay. I'm well. 'Tis nothing." How could she
tell her that she was thinking of Raik's hairy leg tickling her
flesh?

"Mayhap a wet-nurse should feed Aubrey?" She
came over to put her cheek against Letia's forehead. "Huh. You do
not feel hot."

"Truly, I'm fine." She put her arm around her
sister's shoulders and hugged her. "You worry about everyone else
and have little care for yourself. You should take more time to be
out in the sun working on your flowers. You know, that handsome
Cormac seems to be taken with you."

Sybilla's face flamed. She reached up to
cover her cheeks and must have felt her own heat there. Her eyes
lit with understanding.

"Ah, I know what ails you, Letia! You had a
tryst with your comely husband."

Letia's giggle confirmed it. They took their
time in their selections, for she did not expect to see Raik until
the morrow.

He had made a habit to accompany a patrol one
day or evening in a sennight. The men never knew until they
prepared to ride out which time he would choose. He had sent Giles
earlier to tell her he would return by the bells of Vigils, the
darkest part of the night.

When Letia went above after the evening meal,
she spent the time in Maud's room instead of having Aubrey brought
to her. If he nursed soon after dark, he slept through until
morning. Unfortunately, something she had eaten that day did not
agree with him, for he spewed over her shoulder, soiling her hair
and soaking her robe. Once she comforted him, he slept soundly.
Maud called the servants to bring a fresh robe, hot water and a
small tub and helped her wash her hair and bathe.

By the time she went to her bedchamber, she
was surprised to hear Raik's soft snores in the darkness. She eased
the door to and stood there, accustoming her eyes to darkness. The
sounds had eased, and not wanting to awaken him, she slipped out of
the robe and laid it on the end of the bed.

She eased between the sheets and against his
always-hot flesh.

o0o

Raik had more than his share of ale when he
returned from patrol. He, Cormac and Sir William had taken a
tankard and cups up to the battlements. Raik used the time to ask
Sir William about his father and half-brothers. He had a hunger to
know all about them, though he would not trade the time he spent
with his cousins for anything. Had he lived at his father's castle,
he would have had the agony of being on the outside watching their
family.