To Have and to Hold (38 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Slowly easing the
door inwards, within moments they had entered the large cavernous kitchen
area.
 
Their eyes had long since grown
accustomed to the darkness.
 
It wasn’t
any hardship to see the large mass of the kitchen table, and two pot-laden
dressers along the far wall.
 
Silently
nodding, Dominic moved across the kitchen with cat like grace.
 
Careful to keep her flowing cloak close to
her legs, Isobel followed closely, fighting the urge to cling to him like a
frightened rabbit.
 
She had, after all,
started this.
 
If he hadn’t found her,
she would have to be facing doing this herself.
 
Suddenly the enormity and foolhardiness of what she had actually done
hit her, and she felt renewed gratitude that Dominic had actually come after her.
  

It took them a
lifetime to get to the upper floors and begin searching for Alfred’s room.
 
Isobel was certain dawn would be approaching
imminently.
 
It felt they had been inside
Rupert’s house for that long.
 
Dominic
had already found the master suite, and two guest rooms.
 
Luck was on their side though, Rupert’s room
being the next they entered.
 

After carefully
closing the door behind them, they paused and waited while the candle passed by
the gap at the bottom of the door.
 
A few
heartbeats more and they began their search.
 
The writing table beside the window, the clothes press or small table
beside the bed revealed nothing.
 
Intensifying the search, Isobel was searching the empty trunks when
Dominic appeared behind her, quietly tapping her upon the shoulder.

Turning she
spied the roll of papers in his hand.
 
Raising her brows she unrolled them, squinting through the gloom to read
the wording that was visible to her.
 
Relief swept through her as she found herself looking at the two
documents that would seal Rupert’s fate.
 
A delighted smile of triumph lit her face as she look at Dominic,
nodding with satisfaction.

Dominic had
never seen such beauty.
 
Even with her
hair carefully buried beneath her flat cap, and dressed in manly work trousers,
her body shrouded by his voluminous cloak, Dominic had never seen a more
alluring feminine sight.
 
He only wished
they were at Tavistock and they could make good use of the bed there.
 
Unable to resist, he placed a hand on either
side of her face and tipped her head upwards for a quick but thorough
kiss.
 

Several moments
later, her mind turned to mush by Dominic’s thoroughness, Isobel eyed the bed
with something akin to regret.
 
Briefly
considering if they had enough time for..... Quickly, she shook her head at the
folly of her thoughts.
 
Already it had
been ridiculously easy to get into the house and find what they were looking
for.
  
They couldn’t take the risk of
being overheard.

Isobel wondered
if there was something they hadn’t picked up on, as they slowly eased the
kitchen door closed behind them.
 
Carefully hiding in the shrubbery long enough to see the candle light
vanish from the upper window, presumably to take the stairs down, they swiftly
retraced their steps back across the gardens until they were once again in the
secluded protection of the trees.
 

She was about to
pause long enough to celebrate, when Dominic prodded her in the back, urging
her on.
 
“Don’t stop, remember?”
 
His voice held enough reproach to catapult
her into urgency.
 
Without further
hesitation, she took off at a fast march through the woods back towards home.

Once or twice
Isobel was aware of Dominic pausing only long enough behind her to look around
carefully behind them.
 
On the one
occasion she did pause to wait for him, he motioned her on with a wave of his
hand and a fierce glare which was diminished little by the darkness of the
night.

It seemed to
take a lifetime before the reassuring bulk of Tavistock Hall came into
sight.
 
Once the solid edifice was
sighted, Isobel’s pace increased to a near run, despite her exhaustion from the
sleepless night.
 

Elation swept
through her as they paused only long enough for Dominic to unlock the door near
to the terrace.
 
Once inside, with the
door carefully locked behind them, Dominic stopped long enough to scan the
gardens and out buildings for signs of activity, chest heaving with
exertion.
 
Slowly, he turned towards his
wife.
 
She had removed her cap and pulled
the pins out of her long tresses to allow her luxurious curls to cascade around
her shoulders in a riot of silk.
 
Her
cloak gaped open revealing the partially open neckline of her white, see
through shirt.
 
He knew what was behind
the cotton material.
 
Immediately he
hardened as he considered the long length of her legs, deliciously outlined in
the gentleman’s long trousers she wore.
 
Later, he would find out when she had gone through the contents of his
wardrobe.
 
Now he had other plans.
 
Taking a step towards her, he watched as she
backed up warily.
 
For each step forwards
he took, she took two backwards, carefully facing him until she was close to
the door.

Her playfulness
only heightened his lust, as the tension that had eaten at him all night
suddenly gave way and the tumult of emotions he had held within all surged
forward in one powerful barrage.
 
Determined to gain some payment for his participation in the risks they
had taken tonight, Dominic carefully matched his wife, pace for pace until in
clear sight of the open doorway, she quickly spun on her booted heel and took
off.
 
With a satisfied smile of
retribution, Dominic took off after her.

Isobel took the
stairs at a most unladylike pace.
 
Two at
a time.
 
Out of the corner of her eye she
spied her husband’s dark head as he pelted down the hallway and began to climb
the stairs behind her.
 
Her blood pounded
through her veins as panting, she reached the top of the stairs.
 
Without hesitation, she sprinted down the
upper hallway, the door of their bedroom in sight.
 
She was within arm’s reach of the door, when
she was suddenly swept off her feet, her husband shouldering the door open as
they surged through, pausing only long enough to kick it closed behind them
with a resounding thud.

Panting Isobel
stared up at the harsh lines of her husband’s rugged features.
 
Her warrior was back.
 
All pretence of softness was gone.
 
The cold glitter of his emerald green eyes
glistened at her through the firelight as he threw her on the bed.
 
Quickly snatching off his cloak, he threw it
to the floor before leaning forwards long enough to pull her knees apart enough
to stand between them.
 
Chest heaving
from their flight, Isobel’s heart pounded as she eyed the lust etched upon her
husband’s face as his eyes hungrily devoured her partially naked chest.
 
Suddenly, she became aware of just how much
flesh was exposed as she flicked a look downwards.
 

In the woods he
had torn her shirt partially open, the laces were hanging loose and did little
to hold the gaping edges of the cotton material together.
 
One side of the material was clinging
desperately to the pink rosebud of a nipple, the other side only partially
obscuring the round mound of her breast.
 
Below her breasts was bare, the fabric being torn and useless revealing
the flat plane of her belly.

Squirming
restlessly under his intent gaze, she paused briefly as his hand settled gently
upon the soft mound of her stomach.
 
Isobel watched as his roving gaze trailed down her bare midriff to pause
at her stomach, questioning.
 
Searching.

He remained
silent as he fingered the soft material of the waistband of her trousers before
releasing the ties.
 
Once loose, he gave
one huge tug before stepping back long enough to reveal her nakedness to
him.
 
She could find no embarrassment as
she lay before his roving gaze, even feeling so bold as to arch her back
wantonly as her body languished under his scrutiny.

Isobel wasn’t
sure what he was planning, but complied willingly when he placed his hands upon
her knees, raising them before sliding his hands down her calves to clasp her
ankles.
 
She gasped with surprise as she
watched the rigid shaft of his manhood probe her feminine core before
disappearing inside.

Eyes closed she
revelled in his possession as she arched her back and sighed with
pleasure.
 
Her turgid nipples pointing
skyward she felt his hands place her ankles upon his shoulders as he slid into
her once again.
 
Feeling decadent, she
watched as he withdrew only to plunge into her once again.
 
The sight of him possessing her fuelled the
delicious sensations deep within until she fought to withhold scream of ecstasy
that coursed through her.

Something within
her held back from clinging to him and whimpering.
 
Instead, she raised her arms above her head
to grasp desperately at the softly luxurious cover beneath her.
 
Lost to the tumult of sensations sweeping
through her, eyes closed Isobel gloried in her femininity.

Dominic watched
as his wife writhed with sensual delight beneath him.
 
Sometime during the night she had become
aware of her feminine sensuality, and was glorying in the revelation.
 
He wondered briefly if revealing some of the
horrid memories of her ordeal with Rupert had freed her in some way.
 
Or, if their love making outside had released
a side of her, strictures of life dictated she keep buried deep.
 
For his wife, certainly was no slave to
convention.

Smiling through
gritted teeth, Dominic fought hard to control the surging of his loins to
stretch out the sensual sight of his glorious wife’s delight as long as he
could, but the feel of her clamping around him as she succumbed to her climax
was just too much for him to bear.
 
With a
groan of sheer relief, Dominic plunged into her once more and leant over her as
he released himself deep within her.

Shaking slightly
from the sheer intensity of his release, Dominic carefully lowered her legs to the
bed before easing himself away from her.
 
Carefully he removed the precious documents from the hidden pocket
within his cloak, taking a few moments to conceal it in a hidden compartment
within the fireplace, before taking his place beside her in the big bed.
       
“Now sleep,” he ordered with a yawn of
exhaustion as he pulled her tighter against him.

“Yes, my
darling,” Isobel murmured softly, as dutiful as she was willing to be for the
time being, carefully ignoring his snort of disbelief.

Sunlight had
moved to the far end of the bedroom by the time Isobel awoke the following
day.
 
It was clearly early
afternoon.
 
Usually a habitual early
riser, she stretched sensuously against the soft sheets with a sigh of delight.

She should be
shocked at her wilful and hedonistic behaviour last night, but couldn’t find
one scrap of regret within her.
 
Instead
she felt liberated.
 
For the first time
in her life, she felt able to be just herself.

Contentment
swept through her as she slowly slithered around to face her husband.
 
Sweeping her wayward hair out of her eyes,
she smiled softly as her eyes met the steady gaze of her husband’s.
 
Her contentment diminished slightly when
there was no smile in return.
 
Instead
his gaze held hers steadily and firmly.

“What is
it?”
 
Not feeling quite so pleased with
her world, Isobel slid higher upon the bed, oblivious when the sheet fell to
her waist revealing the creamy expanse of her breasts to his scrutiny.

Dominic shifted
uncomfortably as he eyed the wonderful bounty she had unconsciously revealed,
his manhood immediately springing to life beneath the sheets.
 
Coughing discretely, he carefully averted his
eyes to the ceiling, and tried to keep his attention on the issues he needed to
discuss with her.

“There is
something you need to do now.”
 
Dominic’s
voice was firm.
  
Sweat began to bead his
brow as he carefully bent the knee closest to her in a bid to ease the ache in
his groin, and the obvious evidence of his growing attraction.
 
Sitting upright he leant forwards and braced
an elbow upon his knee in a desperate attempt to ease the ache.