The Succubus (12 page)

There was fervor in her voice that had been lacking when she had crooned to him a few moments before. He turned away and slowly climbed the stairs. Nothing made sense. One minute Isabel behaved like a practiced harlot and the next she was a devoted mother. The priest said she'd lived the life of an innocent and yet she knew how to drive a man mad with desire. It was as if she were two women.
How is this possible?
He intended to find out.

When Isabel returned to the upper chamber, she found Daniel sitting in a chair near the fireplace. His elbow was propped on the arm of the chair and his chin rested in his hand as he stared into the dwindling flames. She knew he must be angry with her for interrupting his pleasure, and wanted to placate him. Rushing to his side, she dropped to her knees and said, “I'm so sorry. But Chloe's in a strange place. She's not accustomed to Berta. Things will be better soon.”

He glared at her. “Didn't you know when she'd next be hungry?”

“She let Berta feed her earlier while I was in the room. I guess waking up in the dark with a stranger was too much for her. She'll adjust.”

“But you don't really want her to adjust, do you? This is your way of keeping her tied to you.”

She tried to remain calm and play the part necessary to please him, but his cruelty was more than she could endure. “No mother wants her babe torn from her breast.”

He sat back in the chair and stared down at her with an emotionless face. “Most noblewomen use wet nurses.”

Apparently he was determined to quarrel, so she stood and stepped away from him. “There was no room for one at my mother's house.”

“All the more reason why you should have stayed at Tewsbarrow.”

She fisted a hand on her hip. “I left because I was afraid of you, and as it's turned out, with good cause.”

He gestured to the chair across from his. “Sit down, please. I think it's time we had a serious talk.”

She toyed with the idea of defying him, but knew such action would gain her nothing, so she plopped into the chair. “I know you believe you've been terribly wronged, but I had no choice, I had to do what I did to you.”

“Because Kendrick told you to?”

“He was my husband and my lord.”

“How did you come to marry Kendrick?”

The sudden change in the direction of their conversation took her by surprise. “He asked—after my father died, Kendrick sent word he would need Whitmere Keep for the new steward and asked how quickly we could leave. My mother had relatives in the north but no way to get to them. She went to Kendrick to ask for his help. He told her if I became his wife, he'd care for the whole family.”

“So you felt you had no choice but to marry him?”

Isabel considered lying, but her past attempts to lie to Daniel had worked so poorly she quickly dismissed the idea. “I could have said no, but I wasn't totally opposed to the match. I liked the idea of being the lady of a castle, of the clothes and jewelry I'd have, and I thought my family would be with me. But Kendrick gave them the tenant's cottage instead. I realized later he didn't want them around to interfere with his plans for me.”

“His plans?”

“He told me on our wedding night that my one duty as his wife was to supply him with an heir. Since neither his former wife nor any of the other women he'd lain with down through the years ever bore his fruit, he said I'd undoubtedly have to get the child from another man. He'd recently heard of his brother's death and had decided you would be the perfect substitute father. He then set about teaching me how to seduce you when you came here.”

For the first time, Daniel's face showed emotion—skepticism. “Are you saying a man in his mid-fifties, who'd spent most of his life in this isolated castle, taught you all you know about servicing men?”

“He tried, but said I was a poor student, cold and wooden; that I'd never be able to seduce anyone. Then he heard that Wanda the Witch sold love potions. She's an old woman who lives in a hovel in the forest and trades herbs and potions to the villeins round about.

“When she came before Kendrick, however, she fearfully admitted her love potion only worked because it gave the timid courage. Thinking Kendrick wanted the potion for himself, she told him she had another one that would make it impossible for the desired one to resist a lover's attentions.

“Even in my room, I heard the old woman gasp when Kendrick asked if it would work on men as well as women. She tearfully admitted she didn't know, that no one had ever tried it on a man. So Kendrick sent for a woman named Esmeralda.”

Daniel's brows shot upward. “Esmeralda of Winchester?”

“She never said where she was from. Do you know her?”

“She was pointed out to me once. My friends said she was the most famous courtesan in the kingdom. Are you saying she came to Tewsbarrow?”

“Yes. She arrived all draped in a black veil, saying she was a widow on a pilgrimage and needed rest before continuing her journey. Kendrick installed her in the guest quarters and as far as anyone else knew, she stayed there the whole time she was here. Of course, she came and went through the secret door.

“On her first night here, Kendrick had a servant slip Wanda's potion into the ale of a young soldier. After he collapsed, Kendrick had him carried into the solar, saying Wanda would nurse him. Instead he brought Esmeralda out and told her to see if she could coax some life back into the unconscious man. She did the things I later did to you, only when it came time for him to erupt Esmeralda used her hand to make him shoot off so Kendrick could see it. He was so delighted he laughed and clapped his hands. Then he said Esmeralda must teach me to do everything she had done.

“She stayed here for four more days and every night we did things together.”

“You and Esmeralda?”

“And Kendrick. At first he made her do things to pleasure him while I watched. On the last night—he told us to do things while he watched. At first I was terribly embarrassed, but she made me feel as I'd never felt before.”

He stared at her for a long moment of silence. Finally he asked, “And that's all?”

“What do you mean?”

“You did nothing else before you came to my bed?”

As his meaning became clear, her jaw clenched with anger. “Kendrick kept me a virtual prisoner in this tower. How could I do anything else?”

“It's just that you seemed so confident in my bed.”

“I was frightened near to death the first night, afraid you might awaken or I'd fail and Kendrick would punish me.”

“And the other nights?”

“I was afraid, especially the third night when you were awake, but you made me feel so good I started looking forward to coming to you.”

“Did I make you feel as good as Esmeralda did?”

“Better.”

A small smile extended his lips.

After staring at her for a moment of silence, he asked, “How old were you when you married Kendrick?”

“Six and ten.”

He flinched. “It's no wonder you didn't know how to defy him. Can you forgive me for the heartless way I've treated you since I've been back?”

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Four and twenty.”

“We're both young.”

“And foolish?” he asked.

“Inexperienced.”

“And my late, unlamented uncle took full advantage of that.”

“So you believe what I've told you?”

His grin grew into a broad smile.

Isabel frowned at him and asked, “What's funny?”

“I'm realizing how lucky I am that Esmeralda of Winchester taught bedroom arts to the woman who'll be my wife.”

“Wife!” Isabel jumped to her feet, her heart hammering so hard she could feel it move.

“After the stern lecture I received from Father Clemens this afternoon, what choice do I have but to marry you?”

He continued to grin so foolishly that Isabel didn't know if he were serious or joking. “Father Clemens? He never criticized Kendrick.”

“Probably another reflection of my youthful inexperience.”

“Or maybe, he thinks you're more open to reason than Kendrick.”

“So, will you marry me, Isabel?”

Is he offering marriage just to please the priest?
Deciding it would be best to hide her own feelings, she shrugged. “Now that you've dishonored me before everyone at Tewsbarrow, I don't suppose I have a choice either.”

He held out his hand and she went to him. He pulled her onto his lap. “I haven't actually dishonored you tonight. You can still go back to the guest quarters.”

She found it hard to believe he'd really let her leave, but she didn't want to go even if he would. She ran her fingers through his hair. “I'd hate to disappoint you twice in one night.”

“That would be cruel.”

She twisted further into his lap until his growing cock pressed into her thigh. “Perhaps it will be best if I stay and make sure you believe my story by showing you some of the things Esmeralda taught me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Well, there are the four ways to use the tongue.”

“Four?”

She stood and held out her hand. “Why don't you join me on the bed?”

He pulled his robe aside, allowing his cock to jut out. “I'd rather sit so I can watch more closely. I might learn something I can use on you.”

Isabel smiled at him, not a version of Esmeralda's seductive smile but a genuine expression of her joy over once again being with the loving, giving Daniel she often dreamed of. After going down on her knees in front of him, she held his cock in one hand and looked into his eyes as she said, “First there's flicking.”

She extended her tongue and quickly flicked it back and forth across the tip of his cock. Then she changed the motion to side to side. Then she alternated from front to back and side to side. Daniel made little puffing noises.

“Next comes licking.” She opened her mouth widely and brushed her tongue against his cock's head like a cat lapping up cream. Her arms resting on Daniel's thighs could feel his muscles tensing.

“Then there's stroking.” She extended her tongue as far as possible, pressed it against his shaft near the base. Then she moved her head so her tongue glided toward the tip. After several such strokes his body stiffened so his hips barely rested against the chair.

“And finally, sucking.” She took him into her mouth and pressed her tongue against his now rock-hard cock in pulsing motions. He began to moan.

Then he pushed against her shoulder. “I'm-I'm—”

She ignored his warning, and kept up her moist massage, taking him as far into her mouth as she could, until he cried out and his hot, salty juices exploded into her mouth. She swallowed what she could, but some of it came out and ran onto her chin. As she looked up at Daniel's now slumped figure, he lifted the side of his robe to wipe her face.

“Esmeralda is truly a great teacher. But how am I ever going to please you as well as you please me?”

She gripped one of his hands between hers. “If you marry me and let me keep Chloe, at least until she's a proper age to foster, I'll do that anytime you want.”

A strange look came over his face, almost as if he was disappointed. Then he pulled her up onto his lap and embraced her. “I won't take Chloe away from you. I'm sorry I ever threatened to do so.”

“Oh, Daniel.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his face with a flurry of quick pecks. “Thank you, thank you. You won't be sorry. I'll do anything you want me to.”

He leaned back and kept a hand on her shoulder, holding her away from him so he could see her face. “After a promise like that, I may be a fool to say this, but your mastery of the bedroom arts and Father Clemens' lecture aren't the only reasons I want to marry you.”

“Oh?”

He lightly stroked her cheek. “Back when I still thought you were a lady's maid, I fell in love with you and wanted to take you with me when I left. I think that's what made me so angry when I found out you'd tricked me. When I came back, I kept telling myself I wanted to punish you, but what I want the most is to be with you because I still love you, Isabel.”

She stared at him, wondering if this was a joke or maybe a new form of punishment. The stolen hours they'd spent together over a year ago had been the happiest times of her life, but she'd known nothing more could ever exist for them because she was Kendrick's wife.
Could Daniel possibly love me despite all the things I did to him?

A great pressure built in her chest until she had no choice but expel it as a shrill sob. She tightened her arms around him and buried her face against his neck so he couldn't see the tears flowing from her eyes.

Daniel awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Here, now. Is the prospect of being loved by me so terrible?”

“No,” she managed to gasp out between sobs. “There's nothing I want more. Oh, Daniel, you've made me so ha-ha-happy.”

“I pray I never make you sad.”

Realizing she must look a sight, Isabel wiped at her tear-streaked cheeks and sniffled away her tears. “Sometimes tears can be for joy, and this is one of those times.”

He pushed her off his lap and rose to his feet. “Come to bed with me and I'll cheer you even more.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Try those tongue movements on you.”

“How can you do them to a woman?”

“I'm not sure, but I'm willing to experiment.”

In a few moments, Isabel forgot all about crying and was sighing in delight.

* * * *

The next morning, Daniel awoke much rested despite a night of vigorous activity. Then he noticed the empty space beside him and felt a twinge of anxiety.
Where has Isabel gone? What is she up to? Will I ever trust her completely?