Bewitching My Love (13 page)

Fern stopped squirming when she caught the meaning behind his words. Relaxing against him, she searched his face for her answer. Oh, she wanted him, of that she had no doubt. With her fingertip she traced the line of his strong jaw. “Do I really have a choice? Or are you just testing me?”

He smiled wickedly before lowering her to the blanket. “No, you don’t have a choice. But then, you didn’t want one, did you, Fern?” Her reddish golden hair was slicked back against her head, showing off the radiance of her face. Not waiting for an answer, he lowered his head to just inches above hers. The heat of her soft breath against his lips fueled him. As his blood pulsed wildly through his veins, he let their lips brush together as he spoke. “I don’t know if I can stop once we start, Fern. If you intend to make me suffer, do it now, or let me make love to you before I explode.”

Arching her back until the tips of her breasts pressed hard against his chest, Fern forced the kiss. Rowen wrapped his muscular arms around her waist, pulling her up against him hard, until the heat of their bodies was more than she could bear. When his lips finally pulled away she let her head rest against his shoulder. In gasping breaths she gave him her answer. “It would be torture for me as well, Rowen. Is it wrong for me to admit that I want you?”

Rowen tensed when her hand slid down to rest between his thighs. “If it is what we want, how can it be wrong, Fern?” Laying her back gently against the blanket, he savored his view. He’d been with many women, but none as sexy as Fern. He knew she’d never given herself to a man, God only knew why not. She certainly had more than her fair share of passion. But the thought of being the first somehow worried him, would he be able to match her expectations? Pushing doubt aside, he let passion guide him.

Sliding the straps of her wet, silky bra down each arm, he bent forward to kiss each shoulder. The night they’d been under the spell and almost made love, he saw her, but not in this much light; her body was exquisite, all the way down to her little toes. Her thong rode high on each hip, dipping down to lie smooth against her flat stomach. With his fingers he picked up the delicate material, tickling her hipbones underneath.

Fern closed her eyes against the bright sun, partly because it was bright and partly out of embarrassment. When the tiny feathery kisses started on the arch of her foot, she giggled. But when they ended on the tips of her breasts, she found herself shaking and aching for more. His teeth dug into the delicate flesh around the pink tips and she let a soft moan escape the pit of her throat, then she arched her back to let him know she was ready for more.

Somehow in the middle of his caresses Rowen managed to maintain control. The coolness of the seawater had long ago left him to be replaced by the hot sweat he now felt rolling down his temples and his spine. “I must have you, you’re driving me to insanity, Fern.” Dipping his head down again he bit hard, then suckled the sweet tip of her breast when a small scream escaped her lips.

Entwining her fingers into the long locks of his hair, Fern pulled his head back up to hers. Teasing the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip, she pulled her legs up until they rested on each side of his hips. “Show me what I’m supposed to do, Rowen.”

Her felt her flat abdomen quiver with anticipation underneath him and realized she was nervous. Her words didn’t show it, but her body did. “You’re already doing it right, love. You’re driving me to insanity and I fear I will not be able to hold on much longer before I must make love to you.” He took her mouth again, hungrily, as he prepared himself for what he knew would send him over his edge. His mind echoed a warning, You can never go back, Rowen.

Then there was another voice, other than Fern’s breaking in to their perfect world. Turning his head sharply he just barely caught the flash. With a blinding display of stars surrounding him, he was rendered unconscious, falling forward heavily into Fern’s open arms.

Fern screamed into the eyes of the wicked old lady. “No! Rowen, look out.” But it was too late.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Rowen rolled over and winched from the pain. His head was pounding. There wasn’t much light, thank God, or he might have thrown up. Sitting up, he looked around. Fern was standing next to a small window set high in the dirt wall. Breathing a sigh of relief, he struggled to stand. “Where are we, Fern?”

“
Thou art in my mother’s house. She hath locked us in here. There is no way out, Rowen Nichols.” Mary turned to look at Rowen where he sat on the hard boards of the cellar, rubbing his head. She’d cleaned the blood the best she could, but the cut was deep. Her mother was a callous woman.

“
Mary? Come closer, let me see you.” Rowen stood and approached her. She was Mary. “Where is Fern? What has that old bitch done with her?”

Mary’s hand rose to her mouth instantly, unable to hide her shock at his words. “Rowen Nichols, you should not speak such words.” Turning, she looked out the window again. “My mother has taken your Fern; she replaced her for me at the dungeon. We are to remain imprisoned here until your Fern dies in my place on the gallows.” She didn’t turn when she heard his breath quicken. “You see this window, Rowen Nichols? If you can lift me up, I will try to squeeze through.”

“
Do you know who I am, Mary?”

“
Aye, most certainly I do. You are Rowen Nichols, seventeenth generation to Jonathan Nichols. You are here to ensure my mother’s curse is not carried out. But you are also here to ensure your survival. My only question for you now, Rowen Nichols…” She took her eyes off the bars of the window for just a second and turned back to look at him. “Will you allow the woman you love to die for your own future?”

Rowen felt the skin on his back tingle from the sting of her words. “What would you do, if the choice were yours?” He tried not to let her cool resolve unsettle him.

“
But it isn’t my choice, is it? If I die, you will just come back here another seventeen generations from now and this will all start again. You have to make the choice of how many times you want to see Fern die, Rowen. You love her; it is as plain as the hair on your head. Mayhap, you didn’t love her all the other times before.”

“
Are you trying to tell me we’ve done this before?” He stared at her in disbelief. “I can hardly believe that, I would remember. Wouldn’t I?” he frowned at the mere idea of it.

Turning back again to face him, Mary wiped the dirt from her hands then walked over to stand in front of him. “Rowen Nichols, I think we should leave this conversation for another time. Help me to get out of the window then I’ll let you out. We cannot free Fern until we free ourselves.”

“
Tell me what to do.” He followed her back to the window and after gently gripping her waist between his hands; he hoisted her to the window.

“
Higher Rowen, just a little higher, I’m almost out.” She yelled down to him.

Rowen stood back then as she pulled herself through the bars of the window. When he could no longer see the hem of her dress, he knew she’d gone. Stepping back he took in his surroundings. There was nothing in the room except him. The floor was made out of dirty boards and the rafters above him were covered in spider webs. It smelled of mold. The steps were rickety, as if they would fail under any stress. He wondered how Elizabeth was able to get him down here; she had to have had help. He was just beginning to think he might have to find his own way to escape when he heard the door hinges creak open. Mary stood with the light of the room behind her staring down at him.

“
Come, we haven’t much time. You must get me back to the dungeon and free Fern before mother feels my absence.” Mary stepped back after he’d made the climb in just a few steps.

“
How long were we down there, Mary?” Rowen asked as he began to realize all that had taken place since he’d been rendered unconscious.

“
I have watched you sleep since yesterday. Mother brought me here just after dark last evening. You were lying in there when she threw me down the stairs.”

Rowen followed her through the house until they came to the back entrance, the same one he and Fern had escaped from the first night. “Do we dare try to free Fern before dark? What if we are seen?”

“
I will cover my face, the guard will think I am your sister. We will ask for a visit, then I will trade places with her.” Turning, she took him by the arm. “You must gather your belongings from the cave and find another place to hide. Mother will not leave you alone now. She will stop at nothing to have her will done. Including forcing my death.”

“
Where do we go? I know of no other place.” Rowen watched her pull out a key from around her neck.

“
Just north of the village there is a cottage hidden amongst the trees, before the Ipswich River; it is mine and Jonathan’s, it was where we planned to live after our marriage, before Sarah came here, before he married her at his father’s bidding.”

Rowen heard the obvious pain behind her words. “You won’t mind us staying there?”

“
If it will ensure your safety! Neither Jonathan nor I will mind. Here, take the key.” She saw the doubt still lingering in his face. “Please!”

Rowen took the key. He was torn, he was supposed to make sure Fern took Mary’s place, but now he wanted nothing more than to save her. He was beginning to understand his demise was imminent; there was no way in hell he could ever watch Fern die. “I don’t know how to thank you, Mary.”

“
Take care of Fern, keep her safe at all costs. That is how you can thank me, Rowen Nichols.”

“
It is amazing how much you two look alike. Every time I look at you, I see Fern.” He smiled at the blush in her cheeks. “You have passed your beauty down to her, but have not lost any of your own in the process.”

“
My family has strong blood, Rowen, my mother was even beautiful once, before she succumbed to evil.”

They were walking fast now trying to make it to Fern without being seen. Rowen couldn’t imagine Elizabeth ever being beautiful. “She is very old, she must have had you at a late age.”

“
Aye, she did. I am her only child. It is not age that makes her ugly, but the evil that lives within her heart.” Stopping, she reached out and held him back with her small hand. “We are here, I’ll walk behind you until we get to her cell.”

Fern sat on the dirty cot with her mouth gagged and her hands bound behind her back. She heard footsteps and started to shake, was the wicked old witch coming back again to taunt her? She didn’t know what happened to Rowen after the old lady dragged her from the rocks in the midst of being called a wench and whore. The vivid memory of him lying unconscious on the rock with his head bleeding had haunted her all night. Was he still alive, or was he dead, leaving her here in this horrid place all alone? What she still couldn’t figure out was how the old lady managed to subdue her. Her much younger years should have given her the strength to stop her; instead, she was rendered helpless. Her eyes widened as the footsteps got closer. The night had been long and she was exhausted. She feared any strength she had to fight off whoever it was, wouldn’t be enough.

Rowen felt his heart slam into his ribs when he saw the way Fern was sitting on the cot. Her eyes were open wide, and her fear was apparent. “Hold on, love, we’re here to get you out.” He took his eyes from her only for a moment to address Mary. “How are we supposed to unlock the door, there is no key?”

Mary gently pushed him to the side. “Aye, I know what to do.” With her eyes closed, she concentrated, then tapped the door three times, saying the word
Alohomora
each time. When the door clicked open she turned and smiled at Rowen. “Don’t worry, Rowen Nichols, I am not a witch like my mother. I listened to her say the same words last night when she switched us.”

Reaching Fern, he pulled the rag from her mouth and without hesitation, kissed her tears away. “Thank God you are alright. Raise up and I’ll undo your hands.”

Fern slumped forward to rest her head on his shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re here, Rowen, I thought for sure the old bitch had killed you.”

“
Not a chance.” He pulled back after untying her hands and looked at her. “Thanks to Mary, I’m here. We have to hurry before someone comes, can you walk?”

“
Yes, I’m fine, Rowen.” Getting up, she quickly followed him to the door. Then turned and waited for Mary. “Hurry, we need to leave now before the guard comes back.”

Rowen had Fern under the elbow urging her to follow him, but stopped when Mary slammed the door closed, locking herself in. “Are you sure, Mary? Isn’t there any other way?”

Confused, Fern looked from one to the other, “Mary, you don’t have to stay here for me, come on, we’ll help you get away, won’t we, Rowen.” She looked up into Rowen’s eyes, pleading.

“
Mary has to stay here right now Fern.” His eyes left Mary’s to drop back down to Fern’s. “If she doesn’t stay, there will be a manhunt to bring her back. You might be caught instead, or worse yet, they would kill Mary on the spot. It is up to you and me now to save her.” Pulling her by the elbow again, he forced her to follow.

Yanking her arm away, Fern ran back to stare at Mary through the bars of the cell. “You can leave here anytime you want, can’t you? Why do you choose to stay?”

Mary settled in front of Fern and laid her fingers over Fern’s where they held the bars. “One day, you will know. You have a strong aura, Fern, when you learn to understand your power, you will become the strongest of us all.”