The Dark Lady (18 page)

“
Nay, do not, whatever it is that you want to cover is still covered. I can see nothing, but powder.” He pulled out of her before he did something else he would regret and lay still, holding his weight off of her with shaky arms.

She fell motionless and stared up at him. He pushed the uncontrolled strands of hair from her face careful not to disturb the powder. He smiled gently and gave a shaky chuckle. “Well, that decides the public bedding.”

CHAPTER 8

“
Public bedding.” Van sucked in a sharp breath. “Nay, I will not allow it.” Her voice was a tight squeal that pricked at her ears and strained her throat. She had attended many a public bedding and could not stand to think of herself up on display as those women had been. She shuddered at the thought of being utterly exposed after so many years of hiding within the safety of the Dark Knight’s embrace.

Peter’s eyes danced with a hint of worry, and she felt some of her own anxiety fall away. Her hungry gaze roamed across his rugged face and she shuddered. She took in the square of his jaw and the slight bump in a nose that had been broken more than once. She had fantasized about him a lot over the years since she had last seen him. She found that she still desired him, and that desire concerned her.

“
Do not panic. There will be no need for a public bedding.” Peter smiled in what he hoped was reassurance. “I have no way to reproduce your virgin’s blood for all to see. Not now.”

Peter pulled away and cringed at the large amount of blood smeared on her pale white thighs. Guilt swarmed him and he felt lower than he ever had in his life.

The soft silk of her skirts was cool against his hands as he slid the dress down her shapely legs. “It is all right, sweet one. Do not be afraid. You are not hurt.” He kept his voice soft and low, a bare whisper.

Vanessa groaned, shook her head. Her eyes slid closed and she took several deep breaths before opening them again. She struggled to her feet, but faltered.

Peter was at her side in a moment, an arm wrapped around her in support. Vanessa leaned into him as if she wanted comfort, but to his frustration it lasted only a moment. Then a look of confusion swept across her face and she pulled away.

He sighed as disappointment swelled within him, but reluctantly pressed on with business that had to be taken care of. “If you are not scared, I will need to check to see if I hurt you.” He paused long enough to steady the tremble in his voice. “To see what damage was done.”

He took a deep breath and forced himself to make the offer he did not want to make. “But, if you would prefer, you may wait here while I retrieve the doctor to do it.” He needed to make sure she was comfortable. He had already made a mess of things and did not want to make them any worse, if it was possible to get worse from here.

“
Nay, that is not necessary, I am not afraid of you.” Her voice trembled and she looked at the ground. “Not like that.” She looked embarrassed or ashamed, Peter could not decide which. Maybe it was both.

He fought an unimaginable urge to pull her against him, to fix the problems she had, especially the ones he caused. He took a step toward her, but did not take her in his arms. “Not like what?” He gently touched her arm. It was chilled and he could feel the gooseflesh that had erupted upon it. She jumped, looking up at him.

She shook her head sadly. Peter shoved away the guilt at pushing her so hard and extended his hand.

She stared at it, but did not move. He groaned exasperated. He grasped her hand and pulled her gently to the water’s edge. As he guided her onto the grassy bank, he prayed that he had not injured her too badly. Her nose wrinkled and she let out a slight grunt as she sat on the cool grass. He could not help but smile. She was a beauty.

Vanessa looked up at him with a mixture of distrust and fear. His smile fell away. The anger he could take. He even liked to provoke it, to see it flash in her eyes. The fear was something different. It made him feel like a monster that terrorized women. That was not him. Well, he thought sarcastically, thinking of the past few hours, it usually wasn’t him.

He pulled her skirts out of the way and slid her to the edge of the gently lapping water. She tried to pull the dress back down, but he caught her wrist in his hand. He felt a trembling, but was unsure if it was coming from her or from him. “Sit still and we will be done all the faster. I thought you said you weren’t scared of me?”

“
I am not scared.” She sat still while he pulled the dress back up. The blood was drying on her smooth white thighs. There was a lot of it and worry rippled through Peter’s stomach.

“
Don’t be.” He tore a strip from the bottom of her chemise and wet it in the cold water of the lake.

Vanessa closed her eyes as Peter gently washed away the blood and seed that covered her sex and thighs. He sighed deeply. “There is slight tearing. I am sorry. It was not well done of me at all.” He trembled with embarrassment, with guilt.

Vanessa’s head leaned back, her body relaxing. Peter smiled and continued to gently rub the wet strip of cloth along her skin even though she was clean.

Sunlight glittered across the pale blue surface of the lake. Peter glanced up as several white kingfishers swooped over the lake, squawking loudly at the intruders. Small purple flowers grew from vines throughout the small meadow, sending soft scents of light perfume wafting over Peter’s senses.

Vanessa rocked her hips forward. The soft warmth of her sex grazing his hand pulled his attention back to her. He took in the look of pleasure that swept across her face and shivers ran across his skin, leaving hot tingles in their wake. He could almost feel her pleasure as if it was his own. He wanted her, wanted her bad, but would not allow himself to hurt her once again.

Irritated with his own lack of control, he yanked down her skirts and silently cursed himself.

Confusion swept through Van as Peter roughly pulled her to her feet and stomped away. She had begun to relax and she didn’t understand why he was angry again. He had taken her, violently, submitted her to embarrassments, and now he had the gall to be mad at her.

She glowered fiercely as she watched him retrieve his saddle. She could hear him cursing as he threw it back onto his stallion. Jackal swung his head to look at his master and laid his ears back. Peter told him to shut the hell up and continued to saddle him.

Van grinned as she thought of how she had outsmarted him as he had acted so superior sitting upon his horse. A sudden image of his saddle slipping from beneath him filled her mind. Giggles bubbled up inside of her and erupted uncontrollably.

He looked up at her in surprise only reinforcing the image of his shocked look as he had gone off his mount. She could clearly see his blond brows raised in shock and his arms flailing for purchase, but finding none. She could almost hear his grunt as he hit the ground. Her giggles quickly became a full bellied laughter that she couldn’t stop, even though she tried desperately to do so.

Peter stalked toward her, a grin of his own starting. Van grinned in return. She could not remember when the last time was that she had laughed. She had always needed to be so in control of herself. She took a deep breath, trying to contain her laughter, but the vivid memory of her own fall over her dress flashed through her mind.

It was the dress that had gotten her. Of all the enemies that she had faced, she was done in by a dress. Her sides ached and her stomach hurt, but the laughter gripped her once again.

Peter stopped before her and shook his head. Grasping her arms tightly, he gave her a playful shake. The wide smile sparkled all the way up to his blue eyes. They shimmered with laughter as he spoke. “What is so funny?”

She jerked from his grasp still laughing and began to run. “I was thinking of you falling with your saddle,” she yelled breathlessly over her shoulder.

Peter took chase, catching her in an instant. He threw her to the ground and rolled on top of her. “You think that was funny, do you? Well, I think it funny that you couldn’t even run in your dress without falling over on top of me.”

The mention of the dreaded dress brought on another round of laughter. Van struggled nominally beneath him, but no longer wished to get away. Her fear was completely gone, leaving only the admiration that she had harbored for him since she was a page at the castle.

He smiled down at her and her laughter died as her breath caught painfully in her throat. Van could feel her face getting hot beneath the thick powder as she lost herself in his warm embrace.

The brush around them rustled as Grant stepped through the foliage. “Sorry, my liege, to interrupt, but you told me to inform you when all was ready at the castle.”

Peter didn’t answer, only grunted. He grasped her arm and pulled Van to her feet as he stood. She gained control of her racing heart for only a moment before he pulled her against him. She trembled deep within his tight embrace. Her heart thudded against the walls of her chest and she fought to gain control.

“
We are not finished with this,” he growled deeply, drawing her back to reality. “You keep thinking it funny that you made me fall, I will get even with you.”

Van grinned widely in anticipation. She and Richard Devenroe had played pranks on one another. It had started out as a training method to teach the young squire how to be prepared for all situations. It had ended as a competition to out-best each other. Van had loved it and missed it.

Now it seemed that she had the same opportunity and from the look on her new husband’s face, it was a challenge she was going to love once again. It was something she could see him following out fully, and she was prepared.

She pulled away from him and whispered, “Think hard on how you will get me, I do not surprise easily. I do not know if I see the skills in you that it will take to get even with me. I am quite good at this.”

Peter was left standing in dismay as she walked toward his horse, his horse of all things. Did she expect him to ride the sidesaddle? Ha, it wouldn’t surprise him one bit. Relief swept through him as she turned with a smile and waited.

His own smile had found its way back to his face by the time he had crossed the meadow and reached her side. He arched a brow as a sweet squeaky voice came from his wife.

“
I would like to ride with you back to our home. I am uncomfortable upon such a large horse by myself. I would feel much safer if I were to be with you.” She uttered such nice words that did not match her smile. Well-manufactured and looking nothing like the sweet sound coming from her, it was a look of mischief that had him worried.

She was planning something and he knew it, but he would not give her the opportunity to win. “If that is your wish, my bride.” Peter mounted Jackal who pranced and swayed beneath him. He waited for his steed, and himself to calm, and then pulled Vanessa onto his lap. With her legs draped across one of his thighs, she wrapped her arms around his neck for support. His breath caught and he tried unsuccessfully to ignore the shapely hip that pressed between his legs.

Peter motioned to his second in command and watched only long enough to make sure that Grant had hold of Vanessa’s mare before heading off. The rocking of the horse slid her hip against his sensitive manhood. His breath thickened and he closed his eyes.

Van smiled at his quiet groan. She was getting to him. She knew the ways that women used men, teasing and promising things they would do. She had been the object of desire for several women during raids. They would rub up against the Dark Knight to throw him off guard, not that it had distracted her.

It had a lot of the others, though. Pain stung at her eyes and clouded her mind as she remembered the men that had been killed in battle because they were distracted by those women. She had always thought it ridiculous that the men had been so blinded.

More than once though, she had wondered if it was possible for her to distract a man with teases and promises. Now as she watched Peter’s eyes flutter open she realized she had the chance to find out.

Peter looked startled to find her staring at him. He smiled nervously. She grinned. Did she have what it took to distract him with her body? She knew she was playing a dangerous game, and she trembled with excitement.

He pulled her tighter into his embrace as the horse gained some speed. Comfort flowed from his arms and beckoned her. She wanted to snuggle deeper into his chest, but she resisted. She intended to take control. To show him that it would not be so easy to take advantage of her again. She was determined to take control of her traitorous body. She was the Dark Knight after all and no one could get the best of her.

Van took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand—unmanning her husband and gaining control. Confident that she could master this situation as she had all others, she gently pressed herself into his tight embrace and ignored the warmth that softly caressed her. She tried desperately to concentrate only on the soft groans that escaped him, but an insistent heat was spreading through her veins and warming her. It swirled around her mind and crashed through her body, gathering heat as it went.

Hestlay had passed them quite some time ago and was now out of sight. Knowing they were alone gave her strength and confidence to forge ahead. She took a steadying breath and pressed her hip into the hardening shaft that strained against her. Turning, she pressed her breasts more fully into his hard chest.